More than 30 years ago, Ebbw Vale was indisputably at the centre of Wales' history and a burgeoning tourist destination.
The Festival Park shopping centre site was once home to the Garden Festival of Wales - which saw over two million visitors after it opened in 1992 - and was filled with fairground attractions, plant exhibitions and a famous mechanical clock. After its time passed, the location became a busy shopping centre with coaches bringing families for days out to visit the free children's play park as well as the fishing lake and owl sanctuary.
The shopping centre had 30 shops including SportsDirect, Marks and Spencers, Julian Charles and Holland and Barrett. However, the site where thousands once flocked on a Saturday afternoon has been deserted for several years and by 2021, before it closed for good, SportsDirect was the only shop left. But despite a change in its fortunes, there are still a collection of dedicated independent traders maintaining Ebbw Vale's reputation as a destination for shoppers.
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Jane Lynch, 46, recently took over her mother’s business Pins & Things which has been in the town centre for 26 years. “She started off many years ago selling knitted jumpers in Brynmawr market and then it evolved into having a shop, which evolved into selling more products and fewer jumpers," said Jane.
“As with any little town we’ve had our ups and downs - but you just take it and survive as best as you can. We have both local customers and customers who travel from a 20-mile radius because we are a niche shop. Once people find that you stock a decent range they tend to come back."
“The Covid pandemic hit us because people couldn’t travel, but we weathered the storm and came out the other side.” She added that footfall in the town and the cost of living crisis have been other “major” factors.
Jane said that they had a lot of support from the community, which has helped the business stay afloat and looks forward to the new housing developments in the area, which will “hopefully bring new people in". The haberdashery store continues to move with the times to evolve to keep up with “trends.” Jane added: "If you don’t evolve your business to what is semi-popular, then you will sadly fail - you have to move with the times, as the saying goes."
Jane has found that people are now tending to spend their money on more creative products. She said: “We’ve found since lockdown that people find stuff on Instagram and TikTok, and they’ll come in and show us something and we’ll try and help them find the right products.”
She added that craft trends on the internet such as lace tatting, the Harry Styles' knitted cardigan trend and crochet fashion have brought more people into the store. She also hosts weekly knitting and crochet groups which are suitable for beginners and those with advanced skills. There is currently a waiting list, but people can enquire online or in-store.
Becky Rees, 44, opened The Flower Cwtch in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, after recovering from ill health and wanting to try a new venture when she got better. She said: “I wanted to do something that makes a difference in people’s lives - I wanted to do something to make people happy. I decided to become a florist as we do make people happy with flowers.” Becky’s florist covers all occasions from weddings, funerals and everyday flowers.
“It’s been good, but we find less footfall on this side of town - most of our business comes from Google and other sources.
“We’re establishing ourselves slowly - people are starting to know about us and know we’re here.”
Becky added that the price increase of flowers has impacted her business and resulted in higher costs for customers, as seen in many florists. She said: “There have been price increases and it’s been really hard. It does have an impact on our business, obviously with flower prices and the prices we have to pass on to customers. I think everyone has found it hard over the last 12 months or so, it’s been a really challenging time for a lot of businesses. But we’re doing okay.”
Next door to the florist, Sarah Clay, 39, and her mother, Angela Hulbert, opened Ebbw Vale’s first play cafe, Caffe Della Citta. The new business opened up five weeks ago and has received positive feedback from the community. As we venture in, we hear a mum of two share her excitement for the new business, which she said was “needed in the area.”
Sarah said: "There was nothing like this in Ebbw Vale for smaller children. I purposely laid the cafe out so you can sit anywhere and see the kids, you can order anything off the menu - from adult food, children’s food and picky bits.
"We opened about five weeks ago and it’s been up and down. We’ve had really busy and quiet weeks."
Sarah said that due to lack of funding since Covid, they’ve had to charge for children to come in and play. For parents who just want to come in and sit down to watch their children play, it’s £3.50 per child or £1.50 if you’re eating in the cafe.
She added: “We didn’t want to have to charge for play, but we’ve kept the menus cheap - I’ve been told by many customers that we’re the cheapest cafe in Ebbw Vale at the moment. So even though you have to pay for play, we’ve tried to keep the food prices as low as we can.”
Agreeing with Becky, Sarah finds that this side of town receives lower footfall than in the centre, further down the street. She added: “We’re hoping when it’s sunnier more people will come in.”
Paula Coleman, owner of Paula Jones Pretty Little Gifts, says that footfall has been the downfall of independent businesses in Ebbw Vale, especially since the closure of the Festival Park. She said: "People would be coming in and then pop to Ebbw Vale to visit the small shops. I think it’s hit the town big time."
Paula said that it’s thanks to the locals that independent businesses in Ebbw Vale are able to stay open, as she claims not many people from out of town come to the area now. She added: “Without the local people, we wouldn’t have survived.”
She added that she wanted to run her own shop after the previous business she worked for went under. She added: "Previously we were a bath bomb shop but then we realised that there is so much competition out there that we’ve had to hit on something different all the time. We’ve gone from bath bombs to soaps, perfumes, jewellery and household items, and gift wrap everything to make it more special.”
Paula recognised that her shop is more of a treat as most people are now spending their money on necessities or food. She said: "People are worried about their bills. This shop is not a necessity, it’s a luxury, so like a treat. People have to put food on the table, money in the gas and electric, which I totally understand. People are struggling in general.” But despite that, Paula is still receiving support from her community.
“We’re holding our own just about. Christmas was really good, Mother’s day was brilliant but Easter this year was a bit of a flop.” But Paula isn’t worried about selling the remaining Easter stock throughout the year but is hoping for a better summer trade.
Stuart Lewis, 48, opened his own fruit and vegetable business in the markets in 1992 and now has his own shops, Fresh 'N' Fruity, in Merthyr Tydfil, Brynmawr and Ebbw Vale. Stuart started working at the markets at 13 years old and branched off on his own at 19.
He previously had a stall just outside the entrance of the Festival Park, but as the markets declined, he ventured into shops. He added: "We opened in Merthyr Tydfil 10 years ago, been in Ebbw Vale for eight years and when the Festival Park closed we opened a shop in Brynmawr."
He said "Covid was really good for us because people were coming to us and we thought we could hold on to the trade, but obviously it's gone back to normality. They've cut a lot of bus services, so OAPs aren't coming into town now." Stuart said that he noticed a decline in footfall after Marks and Spencers closed in the Festival Park. However, support from the community has allowed Stuart's businesses to thrive and purchase vans to create a six days a week home delivery service throughout Merthyr Tydfil, Brynmawr and Ebbw Vale.
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