Home to Ebbw Vale

MUSIC: Should I Stay Or Should I Go? By The Clash

'23rd June 2016.

'Brexit day.

'A pivotal moment that posed a key question

'about the future of the United Kingdom.'

CHEERING

'But an alarm signal for the divergence of opinion

'in Britain and in Wales.'

'Cardiff has branded itself as Europe's youngest capital.'

'And most voters here saw the benefits of the continental dream.'

# Should I stay or should I go?

'60% of them chose to stay in the European Union.'

But our capital city didn't reflect what was going on in the rest of

Wales. In Ebbw Vale, where I grew up, the mood was very different.

62% of voters in Blaenau Gwent chose to Leave,

even though it's one of the parts of the UK that has gained most

from European money.

ROCK MUSIC

They haven't listened to our voices, our little voices, you know,

and now they are. They can't hide away from it, like.

They don't represent us, I don't think, the big boys in charge.

They don't speak for the little people, like,

and the little people have spoken.

What future have they got on minimum wage?

I don't like their situation because I see it destroying youngsters.

'The people of Blaenau Gwent feel neglected but my journey home

'reveals a different view.

'No longer a tiring drive past rusting factories,

'now a new rail link brings me into a modern,

'urban development that wouldn't be here without help from Europe.'

# You are the one who loves me...

'The site of the old steelworks has been transformed

'by money from Brussels.'

# You are the one...

'New transport links, new services and new sites for business development.

'The town was at a turning point and Europe seemed to be playing

'a big part in paving the way to a better future.

'So, what hope now for new jobs and new opportunities in my home town?'

# And now's the time to run the show. #

I moved to the south of England a long time ago and I've worked there

for many years as a journalist, but Ebbw Vale is the place that I have

the strongest connection with.

My parents still live here and I'm here nearly every other weekend.

This is the community that I feel a part of.

But the referendum result really shocked me.

For a place that's gained so much from EU funding to vote so strongly

to Leave was a big surprise.

'Public investment brought the new rail line here

'and right alongside it there's a spanking new example

'of what money from Europe has done to the area.'

'The Blaenau Gwent learning zone is a state-of-the-art sixth form

'and further education college.

'It cost £33.5 million to build with over £7 million coming from EU

'convergence funds - money to help poorer areas become wealthier.'

'And just above the town, ten times that amount - £79 million -

'is improving the Heads Of The Valleys road.'

'While leaders of the Leave campaign spoke earnestly about the bright,

'sunlit uplands of Britain's future, free of Brussels,

'very little was said about regeneration support for areas

'like Blaenau Gwent.

'But that didn't prevent the majority of people here

'from voting to Leave.'

The money they're spending in Europe, roads or anything,

why can't we have our own money to go towards the NHS, schools...

-I voted out.

-Why?

-It's to do with the money what we want,

what we need, instead of what Europe's telling us to pay towards.

It's our money at the end of the day.

There'll be a climb back up but we will get there.

It's a strong country.

'Defiant words.

'But that ambitious optimism isn't shared by everyone I meet

'in the town centre.'

Why did you choose Remain, then?

Well, I thought we'd still get a lot more money coming in from the EU,

whereas now we're not going to have anything, are we?

Nothing at all.

It's a steelworks town.

It was based on a steelworks and the pits

and once they'd gone, that was more or less it.

A shop opened here about a month ago, has shut already.

'Someone who saw the town sliding from prosperity into poverty

'is Judith Roberts. Her late husband taught maths at my school

'during the period when the steelworks was winding down

'and despite recent investment from Europe,

'it hasn't solved the deep-seated problems in this area.'

We've lost an industry, we've lost work.

People have been de-skilled, the economics of the town are very poor.

So, when the men lost their jobs,

-the women were also suffering as well.

-Of course they were.

And that's another consequence of the steelworks going down, isn't it?

It is and obviously family dynamics alter then.

What people did then was families pulled together and they took

and looked for work where they actually could and when you've lost

a sense of purpose like that, it must be very, very difficult

to pick yourself up again.

And people presumably don't want to leave their families, either?

No, and when you... Again, house prices here are depressed,

so, it's very, very difficult to uproot.

You're talking childcare issues as well for people.

It's their lives that are being...

..messed with, really.

Judith was born and bred in Ebbw Vale.

She had the advantage of growing up here at a time when it wasn't just

the sun that brightened things up.

All the wages earned at the steelworks made this town shine

in other ways.

When the steelworks was working,

how did the money that was being generated down there make its way up here?

Well, it brought with it and sustained I suppose for many years

a huge variety of businesses.

They were substantial, they provided quality,

they meant that the people of Ebbw Vale felt that they were thriving

and indeed we probably were.

And that just made people feel good,

I think, and it also gave you some sort of aspiration.

'That feel-good factor has long gone and people growing up here

'these days express quite different feelings about life in the area.'

You've only got to walk down the streets around here

and realise that there's not a lot going on, you know.

And then you've only got to go to London and see that everything's

going on and are they having more of a say?

Are they being listened to more than us?

I think they are.

'This is Chapel Row.'

'A new valleys band,

'whose songs reflect the frustration felt by many of their generation.'

'Feelings of anger and neglect,

'which surfaced during the referendum campaign

'and had an impact at the polling booths on Brexit day.'

Well, I personally voted to get us out of Brussels,

to get the other politicians out that are making our decisions for us

and we don't have a say on them and they're gone now,

so hopefully we'll be able to get more control and more of a say.

'Even though Dan was the only one to vote Leave,

'the other band members also feel that politicians

'haven't been listening to people in the valleys.'

People just don't listen to us, as if, like, as if we've had our time,

like when the coal mine was around, we were absolutely booming and

we're like, it's as if we've had our time and now that's all, like gone.

They think, like, don't worry about them, they'll be all right.

Change could be good.

I think what the government need to do is invest in the smaller towns,

rather than the cities because it's these small towns

make up the country, not just the cities.

In this area it's sort of on the rise a bit, like,

but I think that is down to EU funding and now that's gone,

are we still going to rise or are we just going to fall back?

And then nobody's... Again, nobody's going to listen to us.

I think after that vote, they are going to listen to us,

they are going to listen to the little people.

We are going to get our say and things are going to change

for the better, hopefully, you know.

Let's just hope they can.

So, rather than a response to a firm plan,

is this vote a calculated gamble?

Let's roll the dice, people seem to be saying, because,

to coin another phrase, things can only get better.

Change - any change - is preferable to drifting on like this.

The question is, is there anything people here can do

to make it a positive change this time?

'To understand the challenges facing Ebbw Vale,

'you have to get a sense of the huge power and influence

'the steel industry had in this area.'

'The old steelworks filled the valley floor

'on a site which was over two miles long.'

'All but one of the buildings have been demolished or, ironically,

'carted away and melted into steel elsewhere.'

'All that's left now is the General Offices.

'This impressive Edwardian building where the managers ruled.'

When I used to come down here as a child, it was a dusty, old,

horrible building and we used to avoid this area.

'But after a face-lift, partly paid for by Europe,

'it's looking very different these days.'

This is such an impressive entrance with this grand staircase

and this beautiful stonework.

It's just a symbol of the power and influence that the corporation

that built it must have had.

'In Ebbw Vale, we make steel by first of all pouring out

'25 tonnes of iron into a ladle.'

'Iron and steel was produced in this area for over 200 years

'with a break in production during the Depression of the 1930s.'

'But with government help,

'the biggest roll steel factory in Europe was built here.

'The company running the site was nationalised in 1951

'and even though it was controlled by the Iron and Steel Corporation

'of Great Britain, Richard Thomas and Baldwins

'continued to run the show

'in more ways than one.'

-Hiya, Glyn.

-Hello, there.

-How are you?

-Pleased to meet you.

I hear you've got a great treasure trove of pictures here.

Yes, we've got some fabulous stuff in here.

'As a young boy, Glyn Walters saw one of those newsreels being filmed.

'Years later, when he worked for the company,

'he went in search of that film and discovered a real treasure trove

'of moving images.'

-That's Ebbw Vale, with the works.

-Yes.

-Wonderful.

So, we've got all this beautiful footage.

What did they use it for?

Well, at the time, Richard Thompson & Baldwins as they then were,

were very paternalistic and they produced them for the local people.

And they were shown in the local cinemas.

And I remember the first time that I saw the film

and it was shown in between Pearl & Dean and Pathe Pictorial.

In between, we had Ingot news.

'The company was on the ball when it came to keeping its workers happy.'

# Drinking beer and cabaret

# And was I having fun? #

'From Christmas extravaganzas to sporting events,

'the company organised much of the social life of the area.'

'Mr Aneurin Bevan, the Labour MP for Ebbw Vale,

'came to cheer his team on and here come the teams,

'that's Ebbw Vale in the white shirts.'

'And it must have been a real thrill for people to see themselves in local cinemas

'up there on the big screens just before the Hollywood stars appeared.'

So, can we see you, Glyn, in this footage?

Yes. Later on in the film, the commentator says,

"There is a keen young Ebbw Vale supporter."

'There's a young Ebbw Vale supporter.'

-I was that boy.

-And how did that feel?

Fabulous.

'I've spent my whole career working in television journalism and public

'relations and I'm just amazed at the quality of these newsreels

'from half a century ago.'

'These chaps going on shift are only a few of the 9,000-odd who work here...'

'It's not just the publicity they generated for the company,

'it's the boost in confidence they must have given to everyone

'in Ebbw Vale.

'Seeing their own work and their own lives portrayed on screen

'so positively must have given people here a real sense of pride

'and dignity and worth. Who wouldn't want to be part of a dynamic,

'productive community at the cutting-edge of change,

'contributing to the whole country's economy?'

# Come on baby You drive me crazy

# Goodness gracious Great balls of fire! #

'And what a contrast to the way this place is reported on so often nowadays.'

'No wonder that having done so much to forge the wealth of the nation,

'people here now feel left behind.'

'At the Ebbw Vale Institute where I met the band Chapel Row,

'the former steelworker and former MP who runs the centre

'knows full well how the loss of work has blighted Ebbw Vale,

'especially the young.'

When I was a young man at the age of 16, there was only one place to go

and that was the steelworks.

What you've got now is youngsters go to college, university

and then looking to move away,

because there's nothing to hold them in the valleys and the training that

those that can achieve will take them out of the valleys

but the problem is we'll still have a significant number left locally

that will struggle to find work.

There's no doubt the pride of the valley has taken a knock

because the identity of people has been lost.

The valley itself was always called the family of steel.

There was hardly a family in this area didn't have someone that worked

in the industry. At its height, the works employed 15,000 people.

'Those jobs disappeared in stages.

'From the mid-70s,

'when the blast furnaces closed and on into the '80s and '90s

'as tin plate production wound down.'

'No wonder other Welsh communities,

'which are heavily dependent on a single large employer,

'look back on what happened here with such trepidation.'

# He has his future in our British steel... #

You have to live there to understand when you have a community that is

dominated by a steelworks for 70 years,

then you cannot believe there will be a day when you wake up

and it's not there any more.

'Children don't normally notice these things,

'but I can tell you in my school, we did.'

As parents were losing their jobs,

more and more kids were coming in and having free school meals

and of course there was a stigma attached to that

and the school had to take action about this.

They had to make sure that everyone had meal tickets

so you couldn't tell people apart.

'After 20 years of decline,

'Ebbw Vale's worst nightmare came true

'when the steelworks finally closed in 2002.'

'No-one summed it up better than our assembly member at the time,

'Peter Law.'

Through a stroke of a pen,

my community is plunged into bottomless poverty.

That is what we face where we are in Blaenau Gwent.

# He has his future in our British steel

# Steel, steel, steel. #

'My dad was a doctor.

'Our family was sheltered from the job losses,

'so my parents could afford to help me and my brothers achieve things

'in life like going to college and setting up home.'

'Advantages that mean our children won't inherit the problems so many

'people in this area have had to put up with.'

Is it this one? Like this?

'I can only imagine a fraction of the stress the steel closures

'must have caused but my father saw these things first-hand as a GP.'

It affected the community of course after the closure of the steelworks.

Many people suffered from mental illness

and sort of depressed and anxiety and things for the future.

The other things were these

drug problems, so I felt at that time

that the loss of jobs and things certainly increased the morbidity

in this area in various ways.

'And the latest statistics bear that out.

'Long-term sickness here is twice the UK average with one in six

'taking antidepressants.

'65% of residents - three times the UK figure -

'are officially classed as financially stretched.

'It's a bleak picture and it shows how far regeneration efforts have

'yet to go before they really make a difference.'

From steel to coal before it,

Ebbw Vale has relied heavily on big industry for jobs.

It gave the community a life,

a place to work and a place to play and it's hard to think what would

replace it. If we look at the former site now,

it's completely transformed but you can't get away from the fact

that there are many empty spaces.

The dream was for new homes and factories here.

It's as if the area's waiting for something to happen.

'But the waiting could be over soon.'

'The British sports car manufacturer TVR wants to site its new factory

'in the area. More than 100 skilled jobs could be created.'

I learned to drive here, but sadly not in one of these.

But in a few years' time I could be coming back to this exact location

in a redesigned TVR, which is set to be manufactured in Blaenau Gwent.

'And the post-Brexit turmoil won't scupper the plan, they claim,

'because TVR suppliers are mainly within the UK,

'so the company shouldn't be affected by a weaker pound.

'But another big project in this area is struggling to find funding.

'The controversial scheme to build a state-of-the-art racetrack

'on this hillside does seem full of promise.'

What are your plans for this area?

Two years from now it'll be completely different.

There will be a circuit on here, which is 5.3 kilometres in length.

Capacity of approximately 80,000 spectators.

The track itself has a rise and fall of almost 50 metres,

so that in itself makes it very, very different to many,

many circuits in the world.

'They've been talking about it for almost five years

'and hopes have been raised that thousands of jobs could follow.'

'So, is this the magic bullet that could transform our economy?'

Over here to the west we have an extensive campsite

with all the extreme sports facilities.

Here we have the automotive technology park.

There's a range of activities going on on the track,

which we believe will benefit the local community.

But as someone who's grown up in Ebbw Vale,

I have seen a lot of these ideas come and go.

What is the reality of this?

Will it really happen?

I think is very strong. I think one of the problems that we've had

in the early years is that people saw this just as a racing circuit

and it's going to be so much more than that.

'The recent decision by the Welsh government not to underwrite

'more than half the cost raises further doubts as to whether

'this project will ever get going.

'But the Circuit of Wales company is still confident.'

I really hope that that isn't just a PR exercise, that they are actually

committed to bringing the jobs for the local people.

'And that work is certainly needed.'

So, it's like jobs are like gold dust around here, aren't they?

Yeah. I've got youngsters working with me up the Rassau

and they're all on minimum wage.

They can't buy a mortgage, they can't buy a car,

they can't do anything. They're not living, they're surviving.

This is why it's most important in my opinion the Circuit of Wales

comes to Ebbw Vale because of the jobs it could attract

would be brilliant for the youngsters. Quality jobs.

Jobs that's desperately needed.

'For an area that is so hungry for work it's easy to understand

'why hopes have been raised by one big idea, but help from outside,

'if it arrives, is only part of the solution.'

'Local entrepreneurs can also make a difference and even though

'Blaenau Gwent has low levels of new business start-ups,

'just up the road from where I used to live, there's a shining example

'of a grassroots initiative.'

'Three years ago, a community venture led by a local movie lover

'took over this cinema.'

-Hi, Peter.

-Hi, how are you?

-This is beautiful.

-Well, welcome to Wales' oldest cinemas.

-Thank you, it's fantastic.

'Like me, Peter Watkins Hughes watched his teenage films here

'and now he's running 2014's UK Cinema of the Year.'

How have you achieved it?

Well, I think we've achieved this because we've engaged the community.

I think ironically when this cinema itself was sort of, you know,

potentially up for closure three years ago,

people realised they had a jewel in their midst and what they had to do

then was say, well, actually, if other people aren't going to sort of

continue it for us, we have to continue ourselves.

You can take away our leisure centres,

you can take away our council offices

but what you can't do is take away our cinema.

That's an important message of Blaenau Gwent and I'm slightly

concerned that we seem to be in a climate where people are saying,

"We've got to have the outside forces come in and save us."

The truth is, if you can engage a community,

the community will support you.

The cinema's been so successful,

we're actually on the cusp of opening our second screen.

It's amazing to hear Peter talking about what he's done

with this cinema - turned a shell into something

that everyone is turning out to go and use.

But I think he's being very modest when he says, actually,

he hasn't done it on his own.

Without him it wouldn't exist and that's the bottom line.

'If only more local entrepreneurs could spot the opportunities.'

Steelworks just went on for miles and miles, didn't it? When we were kids...

'One of my brothers is an accountant and having seen the transformation

'that public investment has brought about on the work site,

'he now believes there are possibilities for the company

'he runs in London.'

-So, why do you want to come back here?

-Well, look at it.

Why wouldn't you want to come back?

We've got hundreds of kids being taught at this school,

it's an excellent school.

Many of them leave education for a minimum wage job.

They're bright kids,

they want to get on but the opportunities aren't here.

Why can't we create those opportunities?

You know, we're from here. Why shouldn't we be the ones

to come back and bring other small businesses with us?

Do you think that's what it takes?

It takes somebody from here who feels for the place

to actually have a significant impact?

I think it has to come from, from us, from Ebbw Vale.

Big businesses fail so many times in places like this.

We get lots of big talk but no big results.

But we want to do more than provide employment.

We want to create careers.

'The link between business and education

'is key to any regeneration plan.

'Low educational attainment was part of the problem here.

'But the new learning zone has changed that.'

My grandfather, he used to work at the steelworks...

'Last year, A-level results were the best ever in Blaenau Gwent

'and higher than the UK average.'

'This learning zone can also talk to potential new employers

'and tailor courses to their needs.'

There are actually talks across Wales now to actually emulate

the kind of work that's been done here, you know,

a whole county of FE provision being provided on one site.

It allows you that kind of scope, if you like,

and it allows you to build buildings like the one we're stood in.

I mean, the architecture here, when you walk in as a student

on your first day, you can't help to be inspired by the kind of

environment that you're now going to be studying in.

I think that it does one other important thing as well.

It sends an important statement to the young people

that actually people believe in them.

The college believes in them.

The investment that was used to build this and the rest of the works

regeneration site, it's a really important statement.

Not only to them, but to their parents and to the wider community as well.

"We believe in Ebbw Vale" is the statement.

'And that statement is backed up by further support.'

'Apprenticeships paid for by the Welsh government

'and the local authority will hopefully lead some students

'to permanent jobs with local companies.'

With the brand-new facility behind us,

the students coming out of this facility are the future

of the Blaenau Gwent economy,

and for us, it's important to understand what the businesses need

and to link the education sector with those businesses.

We've placed this year 20 young apprentices.

There are opportunities out there.

Obviously, there are challenging times

but businesses are now becoming confident in recruiting

and there are a number of business expansion plans in Blaenau Gwent.

'So, what about the future for young people here?

'On this journey home, I've explored two roads that could lead back

'to prosperity. One way is the big intervention -

'the sudden arrival of hundreds, perhaps thousands,

of well-paid jobs.'

Quality jobs. Jobs that's desperately needed.

'But Ebbw Vale knows that putting all your eggs in one basket

'is hugely risky.'

Through a stroke of a pen,

my community is plunged into bottomless poverty.

'The second road to recovery would be for us to nurture our own

'entrepreneurs, building this place up again from its grassroots,

'even if it's only a handful of jobs at a time.'

Replacing the wealth and sense of purpose

that coal and steel gave to Ebbw Vale is a huge task.

Past regeneration projects haven't created the employment opportunities

that people enjoyed here when heavy industry ruled.

'So, what can deliver a rich future for Ebbw Vale?

'The kind of future that its past surely entitles it to.'

European money clearly had an impact here.

But it's not been enough to counter the frustration

the people have shared with me on this visit.

What I've heard on the streets of my hometown is that people are hurt.

There's a feeling of being left behind and that's why they voted

against the status quo and that's why they're hoping

that future regeneration plans will deliver what they promise.

# And now's the time to run the show. #