Torfaen

Torfaen is a Principal Area with the status of a county borough in south-east Wales. The name literally means Torfaen in Welsh rock crusher and says the scenery along the reaches of the Afon Llwyd arising with Blaenavon ( "Grey River ").

Geography

Torfaen is bordered to the south by the city of Newport, to the east and north-east Monmouthshire, in the northwest of Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly to the west.

The area of the prefecture is located in the historic county of Monmouthshire. It roughly corresponds to the valley of the Afon Llwyd, the easternmost valley of the South Wales Valleys landscape. The valley of the Afon Llwyd is very urbanized, seen from north to south consists of the villages of Blaenavon Torfaen, Abersychan, Pontypool, Griffiths Town, New Inn and Cwmbran, the sometimes already merge.

Population

Torfaen has 90,700 inhabitants. The largest towns are Cwmbran with 47,300 inhabitants and Pontypool with 35,400 inhabitants. 14.5% of the population speak Welsh ..

History

Torfaen was formed in 1974 as the then newly established District administrative county of Gwent. Introduction of the one-step local government in Wales Torfaen was on 1 April 1996, an independent administrative district.

Policy

Torfaen is considered a stronghold of the Labour Party ( Labour Party, Welsh Y Blaid Lafur ), could both win the ( slightly different from the boundaries of the administrative district ) constituency of Torfaen in 2005 in the general election than in 2007 in elections to the National Assembly for Wales.

Local election results

Attractions

The city high-altitude in the valley of the Afon Llwyd Blaenavon ( Welsh: Blaenafon ) is regarded as one of the centers of early industrialization and is on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage. Attractions of the city are mainly the museum railway Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway and the Big Pit, the National Mining Museum of Wales.