The constituency of Monmouth was severely affected by 2001's foot-and-mouth outbreak - thousands of animals were culled and tourism was hit hard.

HELEN ROBERTS profiles an area where the Assembly has helped tackle the disease's legacy

THE constituency of Monmouth ranks as one of the most prosperous in Wales and is regarded as the third most economically active area in Wales.

But despite that, it still has its problems.

The farming community is still recovering after foot-and-mouth and there are also areas of need and exclusion in the constituency.

North Abergavenny was designated as an area with some deprivation and was given £260,000 from the National Assembly to start Communities First.

The scheme was set up as a 10-year project, reviewed every three years, to get people back into education and work and make people's lives living in the locality better by them working to help each other.

After the devastation of foot-and- mouth disease in the rural areas of Monmouthshire the National Assembly gave £1.2 million to help support firms and companies that were affected by the crisis.

The funding was aimed at helping those badly affected get back into business and help develop tourism in the area.

To add to the National Assembly funding post foot-and-mouth the WDA has developed a rural recovery fund of £700,000.

Projects being helped by this are the improvements to Chepstow High Street, developing an arts and crafts trail in the county and guided walks in the major towns to add to tourism.

The National Assembly has also invested money in the Monmouthshire Rural Business Centre designed to support and develop local businesses in the rural areas.

Monmouthshire has also benefited from a share of £9 million, between the five constituencies, after the closure of Corus. The share of money will be used to help the people who travelled from Monmouthshire to work at Corus in ICT training and community development.

The major towns in the constituency, Abergavenny, Monmouth and Chepstow house nearly half of the population. Education is also a hot potato in the constituency.

In the coming months, the Assembly education minister will have to make a ruling on whether to close a number of schools in the Abergavenny area - despite a series of major protests against the move by parents and governors.