Cymmer (Afan Valley)

Cymmer ( _cy. Cymer) is a small village in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales, set on a hillside in the Afan Valley near the confluence of the River Afan and the River Corrwg. In 2001, Cymmer had a population of 2,883. [ [http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=5939647&c=Cymmer&d=14&e=16&g=417878&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1210017262875&enc=1&dsFamilyId=75 ONS: Neighbourhood statistics] ]

Cymmer can also be spelled "Cymer" with the omission of one "m." Both spellings are considered correct, however. The spelling variance is explained by "Cymmer" being the English language version, and "Cymer" the Welsh language one. The word "Cymmer" translates from Welsh into English as "joining place of two rivers", and it is here that the Afon Corrwg and the Afon Afan meet, to flow onward as the River Afan until entering the sea at Aberavon/Port Talbot.

ocial conditions

The Cymmer electoral ward was one of the top 10% most deprived wards in Wales according to the 2005 Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. [http://new.wales.gov.uk/docrepos/40382/40382313/statistics/wimd-2005/4038211011/wimd2005-analysis-pt4-r1-e.pdf?lang=en]

Amenities

Local public houses include The Refreshment Rooms (the preserved Great Western Railway station) and a working men's club called The Coronation Club. Local amenities include a library, a community swimming pool, a sports hall, primary school and secondary schools, a police station and fire station. There is also an exhibition on the history of the area held near the petrol filling station. The exhibition is owned and maintained by a local newsagent. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/inpictures/pages/cymmercarnival.shtml?11 BBC: Cymmer Carnival] ] Cymmer has four churches, although the usage of three is virtually nil.Fact|date=May 2008 One of the churches has now been boarded up and padlocked to stop youths entering and vandalising the site, one is owned by a local, one has been locked up and is never used and the last is located behind the Refreshment Rooms and is used every Sunday for church services and Sunday School.

Government and politics

Infobox Neath Port Talbot electoral ward
Electoral Ward = Cymmer
Ward

GridReference = SS860961
Largest Settlement=
Total Population = 2,883 (2001 census)
Land Area =
NoofCouncillors = 1
PostCodes = SA13
DiallingCode = +44-1639
AssemblyConstituency = Aberavon
Constituency = Aberavon The Cymmer electoral ward is coterminus with the village in Neath Port Talbot county borough. Cymmer includes some or all of the villages of Cymmer, Duffryn and Croeserw in the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon. Cymmer is bounded by the wards of Resolven to the north; Glyncorrwg to the northeast; Gwynfi to the east; Blaengarw, Caerau and Maesteg West of Bridgend county borough to the south east; Bryn and Cwmavon to the southwest; and Pelenna to the west.

The ward is set in a densely forested upland area with steep sided river valleys cut through by the Rivers Afan and Corrwg. Patches of open moorland exist to the north and south of the ward.

In the 2008 local council elections, the electorate turnout was 48.23%. The results were:

External links

* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2764574 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Cymer and surrounding area]

References