Garw Valley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Garw Valley
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 Location of Garw Valley within Bridgend County Borough |
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 A4064 road running through Llangeinor |
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| Population | 7,784 (2011) |
| Principal area |
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| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRIDGEND |
| Postcode district | CF32 |
| Dialling code | 01656 |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament |
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| Welsh Assembly |
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Garw Valley (in Welsh: Cwm Garw) is a special area in the north of Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. It's called a "community" and an "electoral ward." This means it's both a local area where people live and a place that elects its own representatives.
As its name suggests, Garw Valley follows the beautiful valley of the River Garw. You'll find several villages here. These include Blaengarw at the top of the valley, then Pontycymer and Llangeinor along the river. The village of Bettws is also part of the valley, located between the Garw River and the nearby Llynfi.
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Exploring Garw Valley
One of the cool things about Garw Valley is the Garw Valley Railway. This is a narrow-gauge steam railway that is being brought back to life by volunteers! It's about four and a half miles long.
A Historic Railway
Regular passenger trains stopped running in the valley way back in 1953. But train fans got to ride the line a few times in 1996 and 1997. Since 2016, amazing volunteers have been working hard to re-lay the tracks. They are making it possible for steam trains to run here again!
How Garw Valley is Governed
Garw Valley has its own local government, which helps run things for the people who live there. This is done at two main levels: the community level and the county level.
Community Council
At the local level, Garw Valley has a group called the Garw Valley Community Council. This council is made up of 13 community councillors. These councillors are chosen by the people living in the four main areas of the valley: Bettws, Llangeinor, Pontycymmer, and Blaengarw. They help make decisions about local services and improvements.
County Council Representation
Garw Valley also has representatives on the larger Bridgend County Borough Council. This council looks after bigger services for the whole area, like schools and roads. Until 2022, each of the four areas (Blaengarw, Pontycymmer, Llangeinor, and Bettws) elected one county councillor.
Now, after a change in the boundaries, these four areas have been combined into one larger "Garw Valley ward." This new ward elects three county borough councillors to represent the entire valley.
