Amman Valley Trotting Club (AVTC) has made the final stages of this year’s ITV Wales People’s Millions.
AVTC is situated in the former mining village of Tairgwaith in the Upper Amman Valley and was established in 1979 on former coal tips. The Trotting Club continues to be run by a group of dedicated volunteers who are helping to transform the landscape and attract visitors to the area.
The main use for the site is for harness racing. AVTC is one of only 4 hard tracks in the UK, 2 of which are situated here in Wales. There are around 130 formal harness racing events held in the UK each year attracting around 130,000 supporters (Source: The Tourism Company 2010).
The club has played host to a number of high profile track events, and is regularly featured in S4C’s Rasus. It has also featured on Rory and Paddy’s Great British Adventure.
Although the site has hosted many high profile events there are very few facilities on site. Recently the club has installed floodlights which run off generators, but these are very expensive to run and as such the floodlights can only be used during races and televised events.
‘The funding from the People’s Millions would allow the club to connect to a mains electricity supply and employ a Project Development Officer to continue to develop the venue to attract even more events,’ said Trudy Launchbury, AVTC Secretary.
The funding would also allow the Trotting Club to offer additional activities by expanding the scope of entertainment and sporting facilities for residents of this former coal mining community.
Leader of NPTCBC Cllr Ali Thomas states, ‘The volunteers of Amman Valley Trotting Club have worked really hard to get this project to the final stages of People’s Millions. The project would not only create better facilities for residents but would attract additional visitors who will spend money in the local economy.’
Now Amman Valley Trotting Club needs your help! They need everyone to pick up the phone and vote for Amman Valley Trotting Club on the 25th November 2010.
Voting can only take place between 9am and 12 midnight on Thursday 25th November. The telephone number will be released on the People’s Millions website www.peoplesmillions.org.uk and in the Daily Mirror newspaper on the 25th November. So keep a look out and remember to vote. Calls only cost 10 pence.
