TWO councils working closer with a joint regeneration partner could boost economic activity and house building north of Pontypool’s ‘snow line’ it has been claimed.
Torfaen Borough Council’s cabinet has given its blessing to working with neighbouring Blaenau Gwent to appoint a joint development partner to support regeneration and infrastructure projects in both boroughs.
Both Labour-led councils share a chief executive and some senior staff and the move has already been supported by Blaenau Gwent’s cabinet before it was discussed by counterparts in Torfaen.
Torfaen leader Anthony Hunt said he believed the move would aid regeneration in the north of Torfaen as well as Blaenau Gwent.
“We’ve had some concerns in the past with the ‘snow line’. It’s difficult to get investment above Pontypool,” said Councillor Hunt who added Torfaen hasn’t always had land available “to attract and retain employment, could this unblock that?”
Christina Harrhy, joint director of economy for both councils, said they are “strategically positioned” with the Heads of the Valleys to the north and M4 to the south.
She said: “In Torfaen, we don’t have a big, large bank of employment land and when employers want to come into the borough, we are finding it quite difficult to locate these companies.
“But, conversely, over in Blaenau Gwent they have a plentiful bank of significant employment sites which are readily available and rather than potentially be losing those companies to elsewhere in Wales, the UK, or even internationally it would be far better to be placing them in Blaenau Gwent.”
Ms Harrhy said Torfaen has significant sites for the next 15 years but the “pipeline” would be boosted for the “foreseeable future” over the two boroughs.
She also said the “snow line is very real” but said the economies of scale would lead to a “different emphasis” in talks with housing developers.
She said: “We are able to look over a much wider land area to overcome some of the financial and commercial aspects to developing north of the county boroughs. Social housing is another area that we are able to look at in a much wider perspective when we are looking over both county boroughs.”
Torfaen’s cabinet agreed it will enter a partnership with Blaenau Gwent to find a development partner, with no financial commitments at this time, and it will have to agree at a later stage whether to enter a contract likely to be for 10 years.