EAST WALES - Geography and history
The East Wales region covers seven unitary authorities: Flintshire, Wrexham, Powys, Monmouthshire, Newport, Cardiff, and the Vale of Glamorgan. It has an area of 8,000km2 and a population of 1.1 million in 2002.
The region has 3 geographically distinct sub-areas: an extensive rural area in the mid and south-east of the region, and urban/industrial areas in the South and North East of Wales. The sub-areas are different with regard to strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats.
The hilly landscapes of East Wales and the flat levels between Cardiff and Newport have a wealth of wildlife that includes habitats and species of international importance. The valleys extend north into the mountainous country bordering Powys and include the southern part of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
A resourceful region
The region has a high quality, job-creating, innovative and knowledge-driven economy. There is also a skilled, enterprising and adaptable workforce and the region traditionally placed a high premium on educational attainment.
Gross Value Added per head in the region was 27 per cent higher than the average for Wales in 2001 and equal to the average for the UK.
Whilst the economic development priority for Wales is focused on West Wales and the Valleys, there continue to be economic problems in parts of the East Wales region although significant progress has been made in regenerating the region?s economy
Some problems of development
The difficulties of increasing activity rates, particularly for women, is a common problem in both urban and rural areas, with the need for increased dependent care provision and flexible work and training opportunities a shared goal.
Whilst rural East Wales is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector for employment, the majority of the area is classed as Severely Disadvantaged Land in terms of handicaps to farming: this is the most disadvantaged land category in the Less Favoured Areas classification. It indicates the presence of infertile land with limited potential producing economic returns appreciably lower than the national average, and a low or dwindling population largely dependent upon agriculture.
Rural East Wales includes many of the most sparsely populated wards in Great Britain. Average earnings over most of rural East Wales are below the average for Wales as a whole.
|
|