TREDEGAR is to get a new golf course - as part of a vision to turn Bryn Bach Park into a regional tourist attraction.

Work on the nine-hole, par three course is due to begin later this month and is expected to take around 28 weeks.

New cycling facilities are also being introduced.

A recent successful bid for Sportlot funding from the Sports Council for Wales meant Blaenau Gwent council can go ahead with its ambitious plans and its vision for the park as a regional tourist attraction.

The £182,800 grant will contribute to a total cost of £617,800 - with the remainder coming from the council and the Assembly's regeneration package made available after the Ebbw Vale steelworks closed.

The new facilities will also include a six-bay, covered and floodlit golf driving range. The council says there will also be investment in an extensive range of golf equipment.

The cycling facilities will include a cyclo-cross track - which provides a route through the park on existing roads and additional paths and trails - a BMX track, and a mountain bike trail.

The BMX track will be an international standard, 350-metre course to allow riders to develop to competition standard. Work on this is expected to be completed within a month.

A multi-skill area, with a series of obstacles for advanced riders, has already gone out to tender and work should start within a month. The golf course will need a 12-month germination period before it can be used and should be open in 18 months.

As part of the successful funding bid, the council says it is committed to setting up a golf development partnership in Blaenau Gwent.

Councillor Nigel Daniels, executive member for leisure services, said: "This project will bring high quality facilities to Bryn Bach Park that will enable us to cater for both leisure and competition use.

"By providing such a diverse set of facilities at one site, hopefully we can multiply the number of opportunities to participate in sporting activities. If someone comes to use the cycling facilities, they may come back another time to play a round of golf!"

He added: "With each new development we bring one step closer the full realisation of the vision for the park - as a focus for the development of tourism and driving forward regeneration of the area."