Where have all the local shops gone?

And its not just local shops either. The last decade has seen a rapid decrease in the number and variety of locally available public services in many parts of Aberavon. Those who suffer from this the worst are those who live furthest up the valley's but it is also a significant problem closer to the town centre. New housing developments are cropping up that are quite some distance from the most basic of services. They lack a local shop, a post office, some dont even have pavements!
Developers and designers of these estates assume that all residents will have a car and can drive to access these services but that is only encouraging extra car use. And in a town where 31% of the population suffer from a long-term disability it is also impractical.
Surely we should be encouraging a fitter Aberavon, with residents able to walk to the majority of their public services thereby looking after their personal health as well as their local environment.
And what about the children? More and more small, local schools are at risk of closure due to dropping pupil numbers. With their closure comes an increase in the numbers of children being driven by car or bus to their place of education, hardly helpful when we are witnessing a dramatic rise in obese and unfit youngsters.

As Green Party candidate for Aberavon, I believe that everyone should have the choice of local public services, easily accessable to them. They should be able to walk, cycle or use a short bus ride to reach their place of work, education, and a choice of local shops providing healthy, nutritious food. They should not have to travel large distances to reach their post office or job centre and importantly they should be able to access health care locally. Why is it that when you call for health care advice outside of normal office hours in Aberavon you have to speak to someone in London or Birmingham? People at the end of the phone, hundreds of miles away, decide whether or not to send you a doctor or ask you to attend your local hospital.
Moving vital services like this away from the local area leads to situations such as one I heard of recently, where one lady in Swansea was informed that her nearest hospital was in Shrewsbury!

Lets face it - people and communities in Aberavon deserve better.

Miranda La Vey.