Ebbw Vale Garden Festival
Encyclopedia
The Ebbw Vale Garden Festival of Wales (National Garden Festival
1992) attracted over two million visitors to this small town in South Wales
.
proposed that derelict land should be reclaimed for a Garden Festival as a symbol of the rebirth of such areas. The festivals were held every two years. The first such Festival was held in Liverpool in 1984. Subsequent festivals were held in Stoke-on-Trent
(1986) and Glasgow
(1988) and Gateshead
(1990) and Ebbw Vale Garden Festival (1992) which eventually won the competition. The festivals were highly successful in attracting millions of visitors from all over the country to industrial areas long ignored by British tourists. However they did not always lead to the hoped-for long-term injection of private investment in the affected areas.
was chosen as the last British Garden Festival site (1992) because of the waste land which had been the British Steel
(Corus) steel and tin works, part of which had been demolished in the early 1980s.
, the Ebbw Vale Garden Festival Funicular.
(Garden Festival) site is now occupied by over 1000 houses, a fishing lake, Festival Church, an owl sanctuary, Mother Earth, woodlands and a shopping centre.
National Garden Festival
The National Garden Festivals were part of the cultural regeneration of large areas of derelict land in Britain's industrial districts during the 1980s and early 1990s. Five were held in total - one every two years, each in a different town or city - after the idea was pushed by environment...
1992) attracted over two million visitors to this small town in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
.
What were the National Garden Festivals?
The National Garden Festivals were a high-profile 1980s initiative by the then Conservative Government in response to criticism of their alleged neglect of areas hit by the decline of heavy industry. Environment Minister Michael HeseltineMichael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
proposed that derelict land should be reclaimed for a Garden Festival as a symbol of the rebirth of such areas. The festivals were held every two years. The first such Festival was held in Liverpool in 1984. Subsequent festivals were held in Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival
The Stoke-on-Trent National Garden Festival was the second of Britain's National Garden Festivals. It was held in the city from 1 May to 26 October 1986, and was opened by the Queen. Preparation of the site involved the reclamation of land formerly occupied by the Shelton Bar steelworks , about...
(1986) and Glasgow
Glasgow Garden Festival
The Glasgow Garden Festival was the third of the United Kingdom's five National Garden Festivals, and the only one to take place in Scotland.It was held in Glasgow between 26 April and 26 September 1988...
(1988) and Gateshead
Gateshead Garden Festival
The Gateshead Garden Festival was the fourth of the United Kingdom's five National Garden Festivals. Held between May and October 1990, in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, it lasted 157 days, and received over three million visitors. Attractions included public art displays, a Ferris wheel, and dance,...
(1990) and Ebbw Vale Garden Festival (1992) which eventually won the competition. The festivals were highly successful in attracting millions of visitors from all over the country to industrial areas long ignored by British tourists. However they did not always lead to the hoped-for long-term injection of private investment in the affected areas.
Why Ebbw Vale?
Ebbw ValeEbbw Vale
Ebbw Vale is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River, south Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough...
was chosen as the last British Garden Festival site (1992) because of the waste land which had been the British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
(Corus) steel and tin works, part of which had been demolished in the early 1980s.
The Festival
It started 1 May 1992 and ended 4 October 1992. As well as gardens, plant exhibitions and fairground-style attractions the festival also featured a funicular railwayFunicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
, the Ebbw Vale Garden Festival Funicular.
The Garden Festival Now
The Festival ParkFestival Park, Ebbw Vale
Festival Park is a shopping centre in Ebbw Vale, Wales.Festival Park is located on the former Garden Festival of Wales site. It was left abandoned after the closure of the festival in 1992, but has since then being converted into a shopping outlet and tourist attraction...
(Garden Festival) site is now occupied by over 1000 houses, a fishing lake, Festival Church, an owl sanctuary, Mother Earth, woodlands and a shopping centre.