South Glamorgan County Council

South Glamorgan County Council (Welsh: Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg) was the local government authority that administered the county of South Glamorgan, Wales from its creation in 1974 till its abolition in 1996.

South Glamorgan County Council

Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg
History
Founded1 April 1974
Disbanded1 April 1996
Preceded byCardiff County Borough Council
Succeeded byCardiff
Vale of Glamorgan
Elections
First election
April 1973
Last election
May 1993
Next election
N/A
Meeting place
County Hall, Cardiff

Creation

Local government in England and Wales was reorganised following the Local Government Act 1972. The old administrative county of Glamorgan was subdivided, with the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff forming South Glamorgan. South Glamorgan County Council came into existence on 1 April 1974.[1] The administration of the area was further subdivided between the two district councils, Cardiff City Council (later Cardiff Council) and the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council (later the Vale of Glamorgan Council).[2]

Glamorgan County Council was the only example in England and Wales of a council being divided up, rather than consolidated.[3] The Labour Party, had it won the 1970 general election, intended to split Glamorgan into East and West. However, the Conservative Party prevailed at the election and proceeded to divide the county into three, hoping South Glamorgan would become a Tory-controlled administration.[4]

Description

The new council consisted of 80 councillors, representing wards in Barry, Cardiff, Cardiff Rural, Cowbridge and Penarth.[1] It was headquartered in a building on Newport Road, Cardiff,[5] until County Hall was built at Atlantic Wharf in 1986.

Despite the hopes that South Glamorgan would elect a Conservative administration, the Labour Party gained a majority in 1974. Labour held the council from 1974 to 1977 and from 1981 to 1996, with the Conservatives holding power for the four intervening years.[6] Emyr Currie-Jones was the initial Chairman of the Council from 1973 until 1975.[7] Rev Bob Morgan led the Labour administration from 1982, until Jack Brooks took over in 1989.[8] Russell Goodway became council leader in 1992, at 35 reportedly the youngest UK council leader at the time.[9]

Party in control[10]Years
Labour1974 - 1977
Conservative1977 - 1981
Labour1981 - 1996

Dissolution

South Glamorgan County Council ceased to exist in 1996 following the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, and was replaced by the unitary authorities of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.[11]

See also
  • Category:Members of South Glamorgan County Council

Sources
  • Alan Hooper; John Punter (Eds.) Capital Cardiff 1975–2020: Regeneration, Competitiveness and the Urban Environment. University of Wales Press (2006), ISBN 0-7083-2063-5.

Footnotes
  1. South Glamorgan/De Morgannwg: Directory of Services. South Glamorgan County Council. March 1975.
  2. Stewart Williams (Ed.), The Cardiff Book: Volume I., Stewart Williams Publishers (1973), p. 8. ISBN 0-900807-05-9.
  3. Capital Cardiff 1975–2020, "Chapter 3: Governing Cardiff: politics, power and personalities", p. 31
  4. Capital Cardiff 1975–2020, "Chapter 3: Governing Cardiff: politics, power and personalities", p. 32
  5. "Jack Brooks", South Wales Echo, 25 February 2005. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  6. Hooper, Alan; Punter, John (2006). Capital Cardiff 1975-2020: Regeneration, Competitiveness and the Urban Environment. University of Wales Press. pp. 34–35. ISBN 0-7083-2063-5.
  7. "Obituary: Emyr Currie-Jones". South Wales Echo. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  8. "The Reverend Bob Morgan". The Telegraph. London. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  9. Hooper, Alan; Punter, John (2006). Capital Cardiff 1975-2020: Regeneration, Competitiveness and the Urban Environment. University of Wales Press. p. 37. ISBN 0-7083-2063-5.
  10. Capital Cardiff 1975–2020, "Chapter 3: Governing Cardiff: politics, power and personalities", p. 35
  11. "The Bridgend and The Vale of Glamorgan (Areas) Order 1996". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
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