"Cwmbran - Greenmeadow Community Farm" Gwent by ranger49

Gwent Travel Guide: 317 reviews and 1,116 photos

New Town in an Old Farming area.

Cwmbran does not appear in the VT database so I am locating it under Gwent even though it is now in Torfaen and previously was in Monmouthshire.
It was established in 1949 as a New Town.

Following WW2 plans to create New Towns to provide homes and jobs were made possible by an Act of Parliament in 1946.
The deliberate Planning Process to create a town with decent housing and new industries, encouraged by financial incentives, a sound social infrastructure including the preservation of green open spaces required overall control of planning and this was undertaken in each of the new towns by a Development Corporation.

Cwmbran was the only New Town in Wales and the Development Corporation established in 1949 was to oversee the work of creating the new town on the fringe of the south east Wales industrial valleys and remained in existence until 1988 when all admistrative reponsibilities were transferred to the Local Authority - currently Torfaen County Council.

A greatly enlarged new community it now has in addition to health and education services, recreational and sporting facilities, arts and craft centres and a theatre. The headquarters of the Monmouthshire County Council and the Police HQ are located there.
Industrial and retail parks surround the town. In the centre the shopping area has been remodeled and is now said to be the largest covered shopping centre in Wales.

One of the requirements of the New Towns Act was that open and green spaces should be maintained for the benefit of the residents so the town is still set amidst green hills and a stretch of the Monmouth and Brecon Canal runs along its border.

And not far from the town Centre there is a farm - the Greenmeadow Community Farm established in 1983.

The Old Farmhouse

The former farmhouse has been convertd to make a very attractive cafe and restaurant a, Ticket Office and Shop. It is well provided with facililities at the entrance for hosing down muddy Wellies and inside there are good toilet and hand washing facilities.

Every farm needs a Duck Pond

The DuckPond immediatley in front of the farmhouse building is one of the first things visitors see when visiting the Farm.

Intro Updated Oct 6, 2008
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Reviews (6)

Meeting the Dragon pre H & S Things to Do (6)

When we took our eldest 3 grandchildren to the Farm about 8 years ago and they stripped off and waited for the dragons... more travel advice

Meet the Dragon Things to Do (6)

The Big Friendly fiery-eyed Dragon that spurts water instead of fire is a great attraction for children. This steel... more travel advice

Visit the adventure playground Things to Do (6)

We arrived quite late at the playground so had it all to ourselves. The animals were forgotten as the children ran from... more travel advice

Tractor Patrol Things to Do (6)

Tractor rides in a covered wagon - not quite a Surrey with a fringe on top! - will take you on an interesting short... more travel advice

Comments (5)

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balhannah Sep 23, 2010 at 2:00 PM

Another interesting page! I bet your grandchildren loved it, I know mine would. Enjoyed your photo's too!
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JLBG Jan 19, 2010 at 9:29 PM

It is interesting to see a new town! There are very few of them in western Europe! This one seems to be very well arranged. It was a great idea to keep an old farm and it's surroundings!
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lynnehamman Jun 8, 2009 at 7:17 PM

Reading about Green Meadows makes me wish my kids were little again (or at least that we had grandchildren!) Those were the days. Great page, and lovely photos.Its good that the locals saved the farm.
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evaanna Oct 5, 2008 at 3:51 PM

This looks like an interesting place to take children to. We just used to spend holidays on a (real) farm when I was a child so we had all the animals there but not the dragon. :(
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timada Sep 6, 2008 at 5:26 AM

All those things remind me my childhood ! I finished an entire page about Dilberg...want to see ?