The distance from the industrial town of Pontardawe in the Swansea Valley to the old county town of the archaic county of Radnorshire is 60 miles, yet culturally and politically they are different worlds.
One has a proud heritage of manufacturing steel, iron and tinplate and being a key stop on the railroad taking coal from the Swansea Valley to the docks. It has high levels of Welsh language speakers and the town councillors are all Plaid or Labour.
Far to its north and east, over the huge physical barrier that the Brecon Beacons form, villages like new Radnor are part of a more rural, agricultural world. Its community councillors don't declare a political affiliation on the council website.
Yet the two places will soon form part of the same Westminster, and possibly ultimately Senedd, political constituency if the latest, supposedly finalised boundary proposals from the Boundary Commission for Wales are accepted as the new political map of Wales for the next General Election, expected in 2024.
It is the far greater shock for the residents of Pontardawe who have, until now, been part of the Neath constituency, but are now expanded to join up with the longstanding Brecon and Radnorshire constituency, which has been a Tory Lib Dem battleground since 1979, to become Brecon, Radnor and Cwmtawe.
'I've got more in common with the moon than Radnor,' said Pontardawe town councillor Steve Todd, who represents the Rhyd y Fro Ward for the Labour party.
He added: "It wouldn't be a Neath MP [covering us] anymore, it would be a Brecon and Radnor and Cwm-tawe MP. Brecon is rural, it's agricultural, it's not industrial, it doesn't have that history [like we do in Pontardawe]. We're an industrial town, we're in the Swansea Valley - we're not the Radnor Valley - I've got more in common with the moon than Radnor!"
"And the changes mean we could end up with a Conservative MP [historically, many people in Powys have voted Conservative] rather than a Labour [historically, many in Pontardawe have voted Labour]."
The new plans by the boundary commission have been driven by the Conservative government which wants to cut the number of MPs for Wales from 40 to 32 to even up the sizes of constituencies across the UK. You can see all of the maps of the new constituencies here.
There are many causes for controversy in the changes, not least the linking of Porthcawl with Port Talbot, in the new 'Aberafan Porthcawl' electoral area, and the joining of Pencoed, near Bridgend, with parts of the Rhondda. Yet it is in Pontardawe that perhaps the greatest confusion lies.
Read more: New plans to cut the number of Welsh MPs and create new constituencies
Under the new electoral map, the town would leave the rest of the Neath constituency, which itself would form part of a wider Neath and Swansea East' electoral area, and join up with Powys. Residents fear that the voters in the top end of the Swansea Valley will be outnumbered by the far larger number in rural Powys and their issues and concerns ignored by their MP.
'The changes proposed to the representation for the Swansea Valley are completely unacceptable'
Plaid Cymru MS for South Wales West, Sioned Williams is among the local leaders calling for the Boundary Commission of Wales to reconsider the changes proposed in the new electoral map. Ms Williams is particularly frustrated by the suggestion to place the Swansea Valley in the new 'Brecon, Radnor and Cwm-tawe' constituency and noted that the MP representing this constituency would represent communities from Pontardawe and Trebanos all the way up to Rhayader and Presteigne - more than 65 miles away.
"It is unacceptable that Wales is in a situation where our democratic voice is being unceremoniously slashed by 20% and the changes proposed to the representation for the Swansea Valley is completely unacceptable," Ms Williams said. "Lumping the post-industrial valley communities of Cwm Tawe with the distant rural areas like Brecon and Radnor makes absolutely no sense - and will make serving these communities effectively impossible.
"In forming its proposals The Boundary Commission was able to take into account geographical considerations and barriers such as mountains, the 'accessibility' of a constituency, local government boundaries as well as 'local ties' that would be broken by changes and the 'inconveniences' of changes. The proposals for the Swansea Valley fit all of these criteria and yet the representations pointing this out have been ignored.
"What's being proposed is simply undemocratic. At this tumultuous time in politics and with the cost of living crisis hitting communities, it more vital than ever that people have faith in the political process and the system of democratic representation. I urge The Boundary Commission to reconsider this proposal and would ask all concerned fellow residents of the Swansea Valley to submit their objections."
Among the residents worried about Pontardawe coming under the new Brecon, Radnor and Cwm-tawe electoral boundary, local resident and business-owner David Hammond-Williams, who has lived in the town for 20 years, said: "Pontardawe is a dormitory town for Swansea and has far more in common with Swansea than it does with Brecon, let alone Radnor. Neath, within which constituency we are currently, is also the closest town to us geographically and we are within the Neath Port Talbot council area, so that makes more sense too.
"If this [planned changes to the electoral map] goes ahead, which I suspect it will, we will be one of the few primarily urban, or suburban, areas within a predominantly rural constituency and we have to question whether that is in our best interests!"
Plus, Mr Hammond-Williams noted that Neath is typically a "solid Labour constituency" whereas Brecon and Radnor have been "represented over the years by all four major Welsh parties". "That makes elections very interesting!" he joked.
Sharing a similar viewpoint, fellow Pontardawe resident Mark Samuel told WalesOnline: "I've seen the proposed boundary change, and it seems we have been shoe-horned in at the bottom, into an area which is mostly rural compared to our position which is semi urban within the limits of Swansea city, we don't have anything in common with Brecon and Radnor, very countrified, feels they had to include to make-up numbers even if those communities don't have anything in common and have different needs!"
'Who will we have locally that we can go to with our problems?'
Michelle Moholt owns The Crafty Parlour on Herbert Street in Pontardawe town centre. She opened the shop, which sells bespoke handmade cards, gifts and decor, six years ago and has lived in the Swansea Valley for most of her life.
Ms Moholt is most concerned that the proposed change in electoral boundaries effectively means there would be one MP covering the huge area of Brecon, Radnor and part of the Swansea Valley, and fears locals will find it difficult to share their issues and viewpoints with their MP.
"We don't know what differences this new boundary could create, could there be differences in policing, refuse? It's hard enough to get someone from the police here now, if we have an issue, [but if the police force covered a wider area, it would be even harder]. And if the MP represented a bigger area - it will be harder to get hold of them," she said. "We need the MP to be much closer than Brecon and Radnor! At the minute now we have local councillors, what will happen to them going forwards? Who will we have locally that we can go to with our problems?"
Ms Moholt also feels that the Electoral Commission hadn't advertised the future changes to electoral boundaries enough. "With something as important as this, why weren't we informed earlier?" she said.
Over the last six years, Ms Moholt has faced a range of challenges with her business. She said it took a little while to build the business up at the beginning, to get her name out there and build up custom, and she was doing well until Covid came. Post-lockdown, Ms Moholt has noticed far fewer people are shopping in Pontardawe town centre and, with the cost of living crisis, have less money to spend. She fears these issues are different to those experienced by residents and some business-owners in Brecon and Radnor and could be overshadowed by their concerns.
"We've been here six years, it took a while to build the business, but after a few years we began to come into our own - then Covid struck," she said. "Now, business has started to come back but the cost of living and petrol is now affecting everything that's going on in Pontardawe."
During our visit to Pontardawe on Thursday morning, very few people were walking the streets. Reflecting on this, and pointing out the window to the few people walking around, Ms Moholt added: "It's like this most days, it's very, very quiet. Before Covid you'd have a lot more people around. Now, there's only a few and the people that are around aren't spending, they're being more careful. It's worrying."
Despite the challenges, Ms Moholt loves living in Pontardawe. "You've got everything you need in Pontardawe; an arts centre, leisure centre, parks - we get lots of holidaymakers here because of where we're located, you can access so many places from here. A lot of people [local residents] may go away, but they always come back!"
'We will be forgotten'
Local resident Debra James was shopping in a local charity shop when we asked her what she thought of the proposed changes to electoral boundaries. Debra, who has lived in Pontardawe for 23 years and previously lived in Neath, said she thinks MPs will forget about the Swansea Valley communities they represent, as they're so small in comparison to the wider Powys region.
"Pontardawe is terrible! The other day we had a PACT meeting [police and community meeting] and it was full to the rafters, everyone was there to complain. We've had dog attacks in the canal path, lots of dangerous-looking dogs," she said. "Putting us with Powys? I don't even know what it's like there!
"It's useful to have MPs and the council in the community - when you think about how small we are, with all of Powys - MPs won't be bothered [by issues in our area]."
This idea was echoed by local business-owner Viv Date. Mr Date has owned and managed Viv Date Carpets on Pontardawe's high street for almost 40 years and says he's had very little support from local MPs. He fears that if the MP representing Pontardawe also represented Powys, in the new Brecon, Radnor and Cwm-tawe electoral boundary, it would be easy for Pontardawe to be forgotten.
"I would regard us as the forgotten part of Neath Port Talbot - and we would be further forgotten!" he said. "I've never seen a politician locally, if the MP was located anywhere else we definitely wouldn't see them.
"I'd rather Pontardawe stayed where it was [in 'Neath and Swansea East' electoral area]," he added.
'Residents will struggle to get representation on their issues'
Neath Pot Talbot Council Labour Group says changing the electoral boundaries in the ways proposed is a way of "severing the Upper Swansea and Amman Valley from their historic links with the other, post-industrial communities of Swansea and Neath" and says this "makes absolutely no sense".
Deputy leader of the Labour group at Neath Port Council and Welsh Labour and Co-operative Councillor for Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Lower Brynamman, Sonia Reynolds said: "Placing these communities into the already geographically huge Brecon and Radnor Constituency will mean that residents will struggle to get representation on their issues. Their UK Parliamentary representation would be mid-Wales based, Senedd representation will be Neath and a different Welsh Region, and their local authority, Neath Port Talbot.
"That is without considering any complications for Community Councils. Residents would see a change in health board, police and other service provision which could be out of line with representation for oversight of some of those services in the Senedd. There would be implications for access to health, social care, education, leisure and similar essential services that could have truly detrimental consequences for local residents.
"The proposals do not take account of the concerns raised by the local population nor does the Commission appear to have paid attention to geographical considerations including mountains that stand as barriers between these communities and the large majority of Brecon and Radnor."
This sentiment was echoed by the MS for Neath, Jeremy Miles. "Dividing the current Neath constituency in two as is suggested is wrong," he said. "It ignores the long-established community ties between valleys communities which share a unique history, based on strong cultural links and industrial heritage.
"The notion that the Swansea and Amman valleys have more in common with the uplands of mid-Wales than they do with the Dulais and Neath valleys makes no sense at all. These proposals will make it much harder to make sure the affected communities are fairly represented."
'Placing Upper Amman and Swansea Valleys ward with Brecon and Radnor makes it almost impossible for locals to access their MP'
Members of the Gwaun Cae Gurwen Community Council have written a letter to the Boundary Commission expressing their objections to the new proposed electoral boundaries. The Council says the changed electoral boundaries would have a "negative impact" on "all members of our community" and said the changes would cause "huge inconvenience" to the local communities, cause "significant geographical difficulties" and would be "diminishing every individual's right to convenient access to Parliamentary representation."
"Indeed, it isn’t possible to get to the current Member of Parliament for Brecon and Radnorshire’s Constituency Office and back again in a single day via public transport. This is particularly concerning as many members of our community are dependent on public transport," the council's letter adds.
Additionally, the community council echo Sioned Williams MS' comments that changing the electoral boundaries is "severing long-held ties with other valley communities within the Neath area' and moves parliamentary representation outside of the area, creating a barrier to access it. You can read the council's letter in full here.
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