Heritage centre reduces opening hours due to lack of visitors

Twm Owen, local democracy reporter

Low visitor numbers rather than budget pressures have been blamed for the closure of a visitor centre in an internationally recognised destination on Mondays.

The Blaenavon Heritage Centre, which is a visitor centre for those visiting the Blaenavon World Heritage Site, a designation granted by United Nations cultural body UNESCO in recognition of the area’s central role in the industrial revolution, is closed on Monday.

It would open on Bank Holiday Mondays but Janet Jones, an independent borough councillor who represents the town, told Torfaen council’s July meeting “even this has changed over the past months”.

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Budget cuts

She asked if budget cuts have forced the Monday closures and said: “As we are trying to encourage more tourists to visit Torfaen’s iconic landscapes why does this facility which is an information centre remain closed? I can probably accept early closure during the winter months but not in what is technically the tourist season from Easter to the end of October. Is the centre closed at a result of budget restraints?”

Council leader, Labour’s Anthony Hunt, said Cllr Jones was “right to question” the centre’s closure on bank holiday Mondays as it “attracts tourists and helps build footfall” but said it wasn’t due to budget cuts.

Cllr Hunt said: “Recent experience has demonstrated visitor numbers have been low when the centre has been open on bank holiday Mondays. Our staff are not contracted to work on Mondays and the centre not being open is due to practical and pragmatic reasons and not due to budget constraints.”

The Panteg councillor said officers are currently reviewing the centre’s operations including opening hours and bank holiday and said Blaenavon councillors would be kept informed.

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