Home - Abertillery and Llanhilleth Community Council

Welcome to Abertillery & Llanhilleth Community Council

ABERTILLERY AND LLANHILLETH COMMUNITY COUNCIL is your local elected Council, representing people of the local area at the grass roots level, from Swffryd in the south, through Llanhilleth, Brynithel, Aberbeeg, Six Bells, Abertillery and Cwmtillery, to Bournville in the north. Among our most important work is the funding of detached youth workers whose engagement with young people has brought about a steep fall in anti-social behaviour in the area. We have also purchased and maintain more than a dozen publicly-available life-saving defibrillators throughout the area. In addition, the Council distributes tens of thousands of pounds of grant funding each year to local community organisations. We fund local events such as Abertillery's annual Party in the Park, a Christmas concert and a St David's Day concert. We are involved in community events such as Remembrance Sunday parades, Aberfest, Springfest and Winterfest - with even more community events planned for 2023 - and we fund traditional Christmas light displays in all our communities. Our Members serve on local school governing bodies and other organisations, look after War Memorials and lease allotments, represent local people's views to organisations such as Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and work in partnership with many local groups and organisations, to significantly and continuously improve community well-being now and for future generations.

The council is registered with the Information Commissioners Office, Registration Ref: ZA228345

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High Street banking to return to Abertillery

High Street banking is set to return to Abertillery for the first time since Barclays Bank announced the closure of the town's last branch in February 2019. The announcement follows painstaking work by Abertillery and Llanhilleth Community Council.

LINK – which operates the UK’s inter-bank payment system – has announced that Abertillery has been recommended as a location for a new Bank Hub.

Barrie Page, Community Councillor for Llanhilleth, noted that LINK had undertaken to carry out an independent assessment of a community’s banking needs when formally requested to do so.

"The local Brynithel Activity Group asked me to propose that the community council should apply to LINK to review whether the area should have a ‘Bank Hub' to provide counter services for the major banks and dedicated rooms where customers can access the support of community bankers from their own bank," said Barrie. "My fellow-community council members noted that there were no bank branches left in the area and the closure of Post Offices in Brynithel and Six Bells had left Abertillery Post Office as the only permanent location where even basic paying-in services were available. I was keen that such a review should consider all communities in the community council area."

Working with Abertillery and Llanhilleth Community Council Deputy Clerk Steve Edwards, Barrie submitted a detailed formal request for a review by LINK of local community banking needs throughout the community council area. LINK visited the community in order to gain a more detailed understanding of the local circumstances and has now announced that that Abertillery has been recommended as a location for a new Bank Hub.

Banks supporting local community Bank Hubs include Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest Group, Santander, Virgin Money, Danske Bank and TSB. Services will include cash access, deposit and basic banking services.

Councillor vacancies

Abertillery and Llanhilleth Community Council has two vacancies for community councillors. The local community in Cwmtillery has to be given an opportunity to call an election to fill one of the vacancies. Click on the council's logo to read the 'Notice of Vacancy', which explains how an election can be called.

If no election is called, we will publish details towards the end of June 2023 telling you how you could apply to become a community councillor without having to stand for election.

New councillor elected

Mark Lewis has been elected as a new Member of the Council for Cwmtillery following a by-election on 25 May 2023. Click on the image to view the full result.

The Council still has two vacant seats. See the news item above to read how you could become a community councillor.

Viaduct Run/Ras Draphont

Runners of all ages and all abilities are invited to take part in a local running event – supported by funding from Abertillery and Llanhilleth Community Council - on Sunday 9 July.

The Viaduct Run (Ras Draphont in Welsh) is a road and multi-terrain event and is expected to attract local and visiting runners from far and wide alike.

We aim to encourage fun and fitness, share the rich history of our community and to see if we can bring a bit of local pride and excitement to the area too.

Starting on closed roads in Swffryd, much of the challenging route will follow the course of the old Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway. The route then follows the cycle path down a long incline towards Llanhilleth before returning back up the hill to Swffryd.

Under-16s and disabled runners will follow a shorter course, staying on the road.

Registration is £5 (free for under 16's and disabled) and any money raised will be split between the school in Swfrydd and the charity of the community council chair. There will be prizes for different categories of runners, including the best fancy dress!

Click on the image to find out more.

Town in Bloom

Visit the 'News and Events' section to read how we could help you to bring a touch of floral splendour to your neighbourhood.

Take part in a meeting

Anyone who lives or works in the Abertillery and Llanhilleth Community Council area can take part in meetings of the Council and its committees. However, public participation is subject to some rules and regulations. If you would like to ask a question in meeting, make a short speech or simply listen to the debates, click on the Council logo for information on how to go about it.