WHERE are the healthiest and unhealthiest places in Gwent?

This has been revealed by an interactive map, monitoring pollution levels in Gwent, and the availability of open spaces, as well as the availability of health services, such as GP surgeries and pharmacies, and the number of takeaways, pubs and gambling shops.

Rural areas are likely to score low on the health index due to the distance from healthcare and open areas to keep fit and active.

The interactive map, produced by specialists at the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC), tracks their health index - also known as Access to Health Assets and Hazards (AHAH).

It takes into consideration a number of factors, including:

  • Retail environment (access to fast food outlets, pubs, off-licences, tobacconists, gambling outlets)
  • Health services (access to GPs, hospitals, pharmacies, dentists, leisure services)
  • Physical environment (Blue Space, Green Space - Active, Green Space - Passive)
  • Air quality (Nitrogen Dioxide, Particulate Matter 10, Sulphur Dioxide)

Each of these factors is tracked and provides an overall AHAH score for that area.

The lower the score, the healthier the area is, with the healthiest areas appearing blue on the map.

South Wales Argus:

The higher scores are represented with red and indicates the town is less healthy than its blue counterparts.

Areas are also ranked one to ten healthiest areas are given a rank of one while the unhealthiest regions are classed as a ten.

This is how different parts of Gwent come out:

Newport

South Wales Argus:

While parts of Newport, such as Maindee and Pill, score poorly in the study, the outskirts of the city show as being some of the healthiest in the country.

Ringland, Gaer and Rogerstone all place in the top 30 per cent of the study, while Caerleon and Malpas also score highly.

Monmouthshire

South Wales Argus:

Monmouthshire is marked down as a whole, largely because of the rural areas' distance from healthcare.

Chepstow, Magor and Caldicot all place in the seventh, sixth or fifth deciles of the study.

While parts of Monmouth rank as low as the eighth decile.

Abergavenny is a bit of an outlier when it comes to Monmouthshire, and ranks as one of the healthiest places to live in Gwent.

Caerphilly

South Wales Argus:

Risca places in the top ten per cent of places across the UK when it comes to healthy living, as does Llanbradach.

While parts of Caerphilly rank in the top 20 per cent, though other sections of the town place in the sixth decile.

While Ystrad Mynach and Newbridge both boast some of the most healthiest places to live according to the interactive map.

But it is a different story for places such as Blackwood, the majority of which falls in the bottom three deciles in the country.

Torfaen

South Wales Argus:

Another of the top performing areas is Cwmbran.

While there are areas on the outskirts of the town which fall into the lower reaches of the scale, the majority of the area ranks in the top 20 per cent of the country, according to the CDRC.

Pontypool and Aberyschan also rank among the most healthy places to live in the UK.

Blaenau Gwent

South Wales Argus:

Areas of Blaenau Gwent tend to fall at the lower end of the scale.

Though Tredegar and Ebbw Vale both have areas which are in the top half of the healthiest places to live in the UK.