Croeserw is a village of approximately 1,380 inhabitants in Gwynfi and Croeserw,

Neath Port Talbot Neath Port Talbot () is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhon ...

county borough, Wales.

Location

It stands on a hillside in the Afan Valley (also known as Avon) at between 196 and 299 metres above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

Origins

It takes its name from the Croeserw Farm and ' woollen factory', possibly of the

Elizabethan period The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the Golden age (metaphor), golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of ...

, which was demolished for road widening of the A4107 road in 1982. A stone monument now marks the position where the farm once stood. Croeserw, meaning in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

'Crossing-acre' (Croes = Cross/crossing + Erw = acre) refers possibly to the road crossings where the lip of the Afan Valley meets the upper reaches of the Llynfi Valley.

Amenities

Old Croeserw consists of the older buildings and the large cemetery on the hill overlooking the A4107. New Croeserw, higher up the hill, consists mainly of post-war public housing, many of which are now private. A cluster of retail outlets including a post office, a former

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

supermarket, now family-run, and an older hotel-pub are also located in New Croeserw. There is also an industrial park, and a primary school. Croeserw is surrounded on all sides by

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

s and

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

s: * Rhiw Llech Mountain: North of Croeserw, meaning 'Slate Slope Mountain', rises to 390 metres above sea level. * Gelli Mountain: North-East of Croeserw. Gelli means Grove. The mountain takes its name from the nearby Gelli Farm. The mountain rises to 450m above sea level. * Caerau Mountain: South-East of Croeserw. Caerau means 'forts'. The mountain takes its name from nearby Caerau. The mountain rises to 556m above sea level. * Foel Fawr Mountain: West of Croeserw, meaning 'Great Peak', rises to 347m above sea level.

History

A woollen farm has existed in Croeserw since pre-Industrial times. In the 19th century, Old Croeserw was developed as part of the expansion of

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

into the upper reaches of the Afan Valley. Local mines included Scatton, Avon and Dyffryn coal pits as well as numerous drift mines. In order to meet the energy demand New Croeserw was developed to house mining families to service the burgeoning coal mines. These houses were substantially refurbished by the local authority in the 1980s/1990s. In 1982 the old Croeserw Farmhouse was demolished. After the mine closures, Croeserw experienced an economic downturn. Today, the main industries around Croeserw consist of light manufacturing,

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

, forestry and farming. There is also a high level of

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

and a large part of the population in retirement. It is hoped that the development of tourism and leisure facilities will provide further employment opportunities. Croeserw is well-served by regular direct bus services to

Maesteg Maesteg (; ) is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translatio ...

and

Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, including road links to

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

and the M4. Recent developments include the

Afan Forest Park The Afan Forest Park (formally and locally known as Afan Argoed Country Park) is a forest park in Britain. It is set in the Afan Valley in Neath Port Talbot, in south Wales. It is well known for its mountain biking and hiking or hillwalkin ...

(also known as Afan Argoed Country Park) Visitor Centre, the South Wales Mining Museum near Cynonville, and the Glyncorrwg Mountain Bike Centre and Ponds.

Sport

Football

* Croeserw Athletic F.C. based in Croeserw is founded in 2010.

Transport links

# A4063 road Croeserw to Caerau: to the upper Llynfi valley. # A4107 road Croeserw to Cwmavon #A4107 Croeserw to The Bwlch yr Afan (meaning Afan Mountain Pass) # A4061 road The Bwlch to

Treorchy Treorchy (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of t ...

: to the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'la ...

. #A4061 The Bwlch to Nantymoel: to the Ogmore Valley.

Windfarms

The

Welsh Assembly The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

aims to achieve 10% of all energy from

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

sources by the year 2010. Under the TAN8 plan, 38% of all potential sites within Wales have been located within Neath Port Talbot. NPowerRenewables recently completed 16 300 ft

windfarm A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...

turbines on Ffynnon Oer. Spanish-owned Gamesa plans to build 14 603 ft turbines, four on Blaencorrwg, and 10 on Gelli Mountain, which stands directly above Croeserw. Cardiff-based Eco2 plans to build 4 410 ft turbines on Corrwg Fechan overlooking Glyncorrwg. There is widespread concern that these constructions will drive away the much-needed tourism in an area that is struggling to get back on its feet. The opposition to these plans is led by Glyncorrwg Action Group,Glyncorrwg Action Group
/ref> which is also spearheading a drive with local MP Dr Hywel Francis to designate the Afan Valley as an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

References

External links

* http://www.afanforestpark.co.uk/ * http://www.diggingupthepast.org.uk/swmm.html * http://www.CroeserwAthletic.page.tl {{authority control Villages in Neath Port Talbot Electoral wards of Neath Port Talbot Afan Valley