Gurnosis acommunityofMerthyr Tydfil County BoroughinWales,United Kingdom. It consists principally of the Gurnos Estate. The population in 2011 5,280.[1]

TheA465 roadembankment at the north end of the Gurnos estate

Background

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The Gurnos Estate is a largehousing estateestablished by Merthyr Tydfil Council in the early 1950s and expanded over many years. Many of the initial streets were named after trees; such asOak,AcaciaandRowan.A major expansion took place during the 1970s, including the building of Prince Charles Hospital. Streets on 1970s development were named after flowers and shrubs; such asLavender,Heather,LupinandForsythia,with the exception of the three most recent areas known asPen-Gurnos,Pen-y-DreandPen-y-Fan View.The area built since the 1970s is still often referred to locally asThe New Estate.The community population at the2011 censuswas 5,280.[2]

The area was formerly open land, including the long-established Gurnos Farm. It also encompassed the notoriously dangerous Goitre Pond.

The design and planning of the Gurnos estate borrows ideas from theRadburn system.The estate has become notorious throughout Wales, with the reputation of being an area of deprivation and crime.[3][4]

The Gurnos Tavern, one of the two community centres and many of the maisonette flats were demolished to make greener areas during the late 1990s.

Amenities

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The Gurnos estate includes a main small shopping centre at Chestnut Way, known locally asThe Gurnos Shops,a social club (The Gurnos Club), and a community centre, all located within a few yards of each other. Other shops were also part of the estate's design at Pen-Gurnos and Clover Road. There have also been twopubs,theGurnos Tavernand laterThe Matchstick Man,named after late boxerJohnny Owen,however both have since closed.

The Clover Road Stores are a small shopping section on Clover Road. They have aConvenience Store,and also aFish and chip shop.

In 1999 the 3Gs Development Trust was established to work with the communities of the Gurnos and Galon Uchaf, offering support, information and developmental activities.[5]The trust's offices are based atThe Gurnos Shops,together with other centres including a youth centre at Forsythia Close. The name3Gsillustrates the local perception that there are two estates, separated byPrince Charles Hospital;theOld Gurnosand theNew Estate;being two of the Gs, together with Galon Uchaf being the third. Penydarren was later added to the 3Gs remit and by 2013 the organisation's remit was expanded to include other wards as the Communities First North Cluster.[6]

The onlysecondary schoolin the area isPen-Y-Dre High School,there are also twoprimary schools;Goetre Primary School and St Aloysius Roman Catholic Primary School.

References

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  1. ^"Custom report - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics".
  2. ^"Communitry population 2011".Retrieved9 November2015.
  3. ^21.17 EDT (7 May 2005)."Crowds flock to 'baby in bag' estate | UK news".The Guardian.Retrieved10 February2019.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^Donald Nicolson & Lois Bibbings,Feminist perspectives on criminal law(p 124ff)
  5. ^"Archived copy"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 21 February 2014.Retrieved27 November2012.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^"3Gs Development Trust".
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51°45′32″N3°22′52″W/ 51.75889°N 3.38111°W/51.75889; -3.38111