Local development plans: Blaenau Gwent

The overall plan

• The plan aims for 3,500 new homes to have been built by 2021. Page 28
• The plan divides the county into a Northern Strategy Area, for growth and regeneration, and a Southern Strategy Area, for regeneration. Page 5
• The plan allocates land north of Ebbw Vale town centre for approximately 805 homes, a commercial leisure hub, employment and green links. Policy MU1, page 80

Homes

• The plan makes room for 3,907 new homes so that 3,500 can be built by 2021 to house a growing population of 70,849. Policy SP4, page 40
• The plan puts most new homes in the Heads of the Valleys area, with over 80% of growth there and 56% in Ebbw Vale, the main hub town. Policy SP5, page 42
• On larger housing sites, the plan says the council will seek 10% affordable homes on sites of 10 or more homes, or sites over 0.28 hectares. This depends on viability and evidence of need. Page 67
• The plan allocates land south of the Cwmcrachen Gypsy and Traveller site, which can accommodate 6 pitches for Gypsy and Traveller families. Policy GT1, page 89

Jobs and the economy

• The plan sets aside 50 ha of land for businesses and jobs, to meet local economic and employment needs. Policy SP8, page 46
• The plan encourages tourism, leisure and cultural activities to grow in the area. Policy SP8, page 46
• Most new employment land is planned for the Ebbw Vale area, at 85% of the total. Page 33

Town centres and shops

• The plan says Blaina will act as a local shopping centre, mainly serving Nantyglo and Blaina, with the emphasis on food shopping and day-to-day needs. Page 66

Countryside, nature and heritage

• The plan protects Blaenau Gwent's unique natural environment and designated landscape, and enhances them where appropriate. It does this by protecting named Sites of Special Scientific Interest such as Mynydd Llangynidr, and by ensuring development does not have a significant effect on nearby sites such as the River Usk Special Area of Conservation. Policy SP10, page 48
• The plan designates Special Landscape Areas, such as the mountain ridges and Cwm Tyleri, and within them development that prejudices the open nature of the land will not be permitted. Development there must meet the highest standards of design, siting, layout and materials. Policy ENV2, page 98
• The plan protects Green Wedges to stop neighbouring towns and villages merging into one another. Development that would prejudice the open nature of the land is not permitted in these areas. Policy ENV1, page 98
• The plan requires developers to provide a net gain in nature conservation by designing in wildlife. Where development would cause harm to a locally designated wildlife site, it is only allowed if it keeps the site's importance or, where the need outweighs this, compensatory provision is made. Page 48

Climate, energy and flooding

• The plan says new development will be directed away from areas of high flood risk (zone C), and emergency services and highly vulnerable development will not be permitted in zone C2. Page 45
• Where other development in a high flood risk zone C is considered, a Flood Consequence Assessment must be carried out to show that the risks of flooding can be managed. Page 45
• The plan encourages major development to include schemes that generate renewable or low and zero carbon energy, such as onshore wind, solar, biomass or hydropower, subject to protecting nature, landscape, heritage, neighbours and public safety. Policy DM4, page 63
• The plan requires energy statements for major developments of 100 or more homes or 1,000 square metres or more of floorspace, setting out how they will contribute to renewable energy generation. Page 64

Transport

• The plan includes dualling the A465 Heads of the Valleys road between Tredegar and Brynmawr, making it a two-lane-each-way road, to help regeneration and growth in the area. Policy T6, page 92
• The plan sets out a new Peripheral Distributor Road, a road that takes traffic around the edge of a site, to be built through the 'The Works' site so that the regeneration area can be reached. Policy T5, page 91
• The plan safeguards land for extending the rail link from Ebbw Vale Parkway into Ebbw Vale town, which means the land is kept free from development that would stop this. Policy T2, page 90
• The plan says the council will seek to put busy developments, such as offices, shops and leisure uses, in places well served by public transport, and that parking provision will be reduced as public transport improves. Page 59

Where it stands

Setting a timetable Reached in July 2026.

The authority is setting a timetable for writing a new plan, which the Welsh Government has to agree. This is called the delivery agreement, and it says when each consultation will be.

What happens next

Asking for candidate sites, expected 2027

The stages of a new plan

1. 1. Reviewing the current plan
2. 2. Setting a timetable
3. 3. Sites put forward
4. 4. Preferred strategy
5. 5. Draft plan published
6. 6. Sent for examination
7. 7. Being examined
8. 8. Adopted