Depression and closed shops: Port Talbot residents fear impact of blast furnace closure

Demise of steelworks in Welsh town taking heavy toll, with job losses and higher rates of mental illness

Steve Partridge was in sombre spirits as he set up for the Port Talbot Cymric choir’s annual concert in the “heartbreaking” atmosphere brought by the closure of the last blast furnace at the vast local steelworks this week.

A “lifer” at the plant, he is now the choir’s chair, organising the concert that will take place on Friday night in a former art deco cinema only five days after one of the most significant days in the south Wales town’s recent history.

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