Over recent weeks, I travelled to Llanyrafon Golf Club alongside fellow cabinet members and staff to meet with the proprietors.
The changes they have accomplished at this venue are extraordinary—not only expanding options for players of all abilities but also making it a hub for the surrounding community.
Nestled alongside the river and just a short distance from the boating lake, the setting brought home to me how effortlessly we miss the gems we have right on our doorstep.
When away on leisure trips, I often find myself browsing travel guides or internet sites to uncover activities, only to realise that the very facilities we enjoy exist within our own localities.
This reflection feels particularly apt as we commemorate the 25th year since Blaenavon’s Industrial Landscape achieved World Heritage status.
Its UNESCO designation has transformed the area fundamentally, attracting global recognition. The status has brought hundreds of thousands of visitors and secured more than £50 million in investment for the locality.
The Economy and Environment Scrutiny Committee recently reviewed proposals for a Torfaen Destination Management Plan.
The document outlines the present condition of Torfaen’s tourism sector and examines potential strategies for the years ahead.
It assessed the provision in Torfaen arranged across several classifications: Heritage; Culture; Active; Family; Food and Drink; Events; and Retail.
The most recent STEAM report, a gauge for tourism economic performance, shows that visits during 2023 generated roughly £100 million in expenditure and sustained over 800 full-time equivalent roles throughout Torfaen.
I am delighted to learn about a new scheme called The Light We Carry. A joint public art initiative creating living memorial murals across Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent.
This location-specific public art programme employs large-scale murals as living memorials spanning both Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent.
Drawing on shared Valleys heritage and contemporary community life, the scheme will create a connected series of high-quality murals forming a Shared Valleys Memorial Trail—an accessible, visitable network of artworks honouring people, labour, memory and landscape, whilst looking confidently toward the future.
Each mural will respond to its particular setting, developed through collaboration with local residents.
The programme addresses growing interest from both authorities in regeneration, cultural pride, preventive health approaches and joint working.
Murals were deliberately chosen as an approachable, democratic artistic medium: visible daily, free to experience, and capable of turning notable buildings into symbols of identity and care.
A genuine cross-sector partnership. It will nurture local creative talent, involve schools and young people, engage older residents as guardians of memory, and establish lasting cultural infrastructure that reinforces place, connection and pride.
All too often we encounter pessimism about our world and neglect to pause to appreciate and even celebrate what exists in our own neighbourhoods.
Above I addressed the economic and regenerative aspects of Torfaen as a destination, yet the Torfaen Offer provides considerable benefits for us as residents—whether seeking recreation, reflection, adventure, or simply spending time with friends and family.
Richard Clark serves as deputy leader of Torfaen County Borough Council