The diocese of Menevia incorporates the unitary
authorities of Ceredigion, Carmarthen, Pembrokeshire, Swansea and
Neath/Port Talbot and part of Powys. It covers an area of
9,618 square kilometres which is just under half (46%) the land area
of Wales. The area is essentially a coastal sub-region, and
predominantly rural in character. The Census of Population
shows that it had a population of some 786,563 persons in 2001 which
was 27% of the Wales population. The population is
concentrated in the towns and villages of the industrialised
south-east, stretching from Llanelli to Port Talbot, in the coastal
resorts, ports and in the market towns. Swansea, the main
centre, is the second largest city in Wales and a major centre for
retailing and associated services and a significant industrial
location.
As an environmentally attractive area, Menevia has seen retirement
led in-migration, but also with young people leaving because of a
shortage of economic opportunities. The more urban and some of
the more remote rural areas have seen a decline in population as a
consequence of the emigration of their young people. This has
resulted in a relative increase in the proportion of those in the
older age groups (55+), compared with the national average.
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There are two main languages spoken, English and
Welsh. The farming communities of west Wales are the
traditional strongholds of the Welsh language. In the more
rural areas of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for example, more than
three fifths of persons aged 3 and over have one or more skills in
the Welsh language. The Welsh language is an important factor
in defining the identity of many parts. There is increasing
concern about the decline of the language as a result of
in-migration and other socio-economic factors. There are an
increasing number of Catholics whose home language is Welsh.
The landscape is one of great diversity. The north and east of
the area is mainly uplands, whilst the majority of the southern area
is gently undulating lowlands as is the northern coastal area.
One of the area’s greatest landscape features is its long and varied
coastline, much of it designated as a Heritage Coast. In recognition
of the area’s environmental importance there are two National Parks,
the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park which is wholly within the
area and the Brecon Beacons National Park that extends into Menevia.
In addition the Gower area has been designated as an Area of
Outstanding National Beauty. Pembrokeshire, parts of eastern
Ceredigion and south Powys are classed as Environmentally Sensitive
Areas.
The area has a rich historical legacy which has evolved through the
close interaction of human and natural forces throughout the ages.
It expresses itself in the characteristic settlement pattern of
isolated farms, hamlets, villages and country towns, in the large
number of archaeological and historic remains, and in its
architecture and townscape.
The economy and life style of the rural area is closely linked to
Agriculture. Traditionally the main products are potatoes,
vegetables and flowers and sheep and cattle. The rural areas
have been badly affected by the BSE crisis, strong exchange rates
and low levels of demand in key export markets. Tourism has
now become major industry in the area.
Traditionally the coal industry was dominant in the industrial south
east of the area but has now virtually gone apart from some open
cast mining. The area contains important sea-ports with Ferry
services to Ireland from Fishguard (Rosslare), Pembroke Dock (Rosslare)
and Swansea (Cork). Milford Haven is the largest port in
Wales, handling bulk fuel, and also home to a small fishing fleet;
Port Talbot is a main port for the import of raw materials for the
steel industry, whilst Swansea handles tankers and freight.
The manufacturing sector is concentrated in the urban south east of
the area, with metal manufacturing especially steel and tinplate
important in the Neath Port Talbot, Swansea and Llanelli areas. T he
service sector plays a significant role in the rural economy with
employment in the retail trade, public administration and education
being especially important.
All of Menevia except southern Powys forms part of the ‘West Wales
and the Valleys area’, and qualifies for Objective 1 funding from
the European Union. In European terms it is regarded as a
deprived and peripheral area.
The Objective 1 Programme, which runs from 2000 to 2006, aims to
increase the growth and prosperity of economies that are currently
lagging behind the European average in terms of Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) per head. The West Wales and the Valleys area
qualifies because its GDP is less than 75 per cent of the EU
average. The aim is to reduce this disparity by promoting
growth in GDP per head, growth in employment and increased economic
activity. Parts of the older urban areas and some of the coastal
towns are regarded as suffering from multiple deprivation, with poor
skills, high unemployment and inactivity, low incomes, poor health
combining to contribute to an inter-generational cycle of low
expectations. Such areas also suffer from low levels of
educational attainment. In the remote rural areas multiple
deprivation takes a different form, with a lack of opportunities for
young people, often found in combination with low incomes, poor
access to services and isolation.
The Objective 1 programme aims to put development of the people of
West Wales and the Valleys first. Developing the skills and
attitudes to allow the region to compete as a modern advanced
economy and to develop an entrepreneurial spirit in all sectors of
the economy and society is seen as critical to overcoming the twin
challenges of deprivation and peripherality which characterise much
of the region.
