Croes-y-ceiliog was designated as one of the seven residential areas in the 1951 Master Plan for Cwmbran New Town. Already a small settlement on the east side of the valley of around 1,050 people, it was proposed to build two linked neighbourhoods of approximately 5000 people each, covering an area of some 418 acres.

It was proposed to build two new bridges over the river and railway line to ensure adequate links between the shopping centres of Croes-y-ceiliog North and South and the main town centre. In the centre of the area, between Croes-y-ceiliog North and South and the two bridges an educational campus was proposed with a secondary modern school, a boys and a girls grammar school and a technical college.

S Fielding, RCAHMW, 2018