1. Ebbw Vale – employment change an area affected by recent job losses

2. Main Steelworks closed 1978 The tinplate works closed 2002 800 jobs lost (Secondary Industry / male) Ask anyone in Wales what they know about Ebbw Vale and it's almost certain the answer will include the word "steel."

3. Ebbw Vale – Festival Park Shopping The WDA (Welsh Development Agency), local authorities and the private sector spent £60million on converting the area from a wasteland of spoil heaps into the Ebbw Vale Garden Festival. Festival Park Factory Shopping Village is now located on this site. 1990s

4. Even now, after a reshaping and shrinking of the industry, the Corus tinplate works looms large over the community and is estimated to be worth £30m to the local economy. A more depressing claim to fame is the town having the highest unemployment rate in Wales. Already 2,000 are looking for work and the problem is set to get worse at a stroke, with the closure of its steelworks. Corus tinplate works closed 2002

5. The town is already suffering from the downturn in manufacturing. A worryingly high number of local jobs - 40% - depend on this sector - twice the national average. Yuasa 2003

6. One of Blaenau Gwent's biggest employers has announced that it is shedding up to 350 jobs. Continental Teves which makes brake calipers for the motor industry is switching production to Slovakia. The German-owned company said low-volume production for manufacturers like Porsche and Aston Martin will remain in Ebbw Vale. This will mean a total of 120 jobs will remain in the area. 2006

7. Supermarkets Part-Time / flexi Open 24hours / 7days Fast food Home delivery

8. REGENERATION – passenger rail link to Newport and Cardiff 2007