It is a fact of history that many settlements were devastated by factors beyond their control and its people simply moved on. These events are mostly noted but unlamented,

For example, hundreds of villages became deserted when the Black Death wiped out a proportion of their folk, and the rest moved out. A local industrial example is at Garnddyrys to the north of Blaenavon and Pontypool. A forge was established here to further refine iron smelted at Blaenavon before it was moved down to the Brecon Canal. It operated from 1816 to 1860. Around the forge was a small village of 450 people living in homes and a pub built in a desolate spot. Then the railway came to Blaenavon. There was no further need for the Garnddyrys Forge. All its people moved on. The village was demolished and unless you knew about it, you could walk over the landscape and never knew it existed. No-one sheds a tear for the plight of its people or wonders what happened to them. They were absorbed into the local communities. You've probably never heard of Garnddyrys, although its only about thirty miles from Cardiff.

This sort of event is a fact of economic life.

Find a scapegoat. Play the blame game. Point a finger at the steel-masters. But that doesn't alter the basic fact that the village died because of economic forces which were beyond their control.