Population 7,606 (2011 census) Dialling code 1633 | OS grid reference ST289905 Country Wales Postcode district NP20 7 | |
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Bettws (Welsh: Betws) is an electoral ward and coterminous community (parish) of the city of Newport, South Wales. It is one of the largest modern housing estates in Europe.
Map of Bettws, UK
The ward is bounded by Malpas to the east, the city boundary with Torfaen to the north, Rogerstone to the west, and the M4 motorway and Allt-yr-yn to the south.
It is linked to Newport by bus routes 15 and 16.
The estate was built around the 17th St. David's church in Bettws, which is the likely origin of the name 'Bettws', a place of prayer or private chapel. St David's is a grade two listed building and is currently in need of a £40,000 renovation. John Frost, who led Chartist protests in Newport for universal suffrage in the 1830s (the Newport Rising), is alleged to have married at the church.
The housing estate was built in the 1960s, and the large majority of houses are identical in plan and design. The roads in the estate are all named after rivers. 51.8% of housing is privately owned, and 42.6% is rented from either the Newport City Council or local housing associations, such as Charter Housing.
In January 2012, Welsh comedian Rhod Gilbert filmed an episode of Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience at Monnow Primary School, in the heart of Bettws, where he became a primary school teacher.
In recent years it has benefited greatly from the introduction of sporting facilities such as new football pitches. Bettws RFC is a rugby union team playing in the Welsh Division Five East. Newport Civil Service F.C. are a football team located in Bettws playing in the Welsh Football League. Malpas Cricket Club is also situated on Bettws Lane in Bettws.
In the 2012 Police and Crime Commissioner election, held on 15 November 2012, a polling station at Malpas Cricket Club recorded no votes from the 8,737 voters.