Bangor City Council Cyngor Dinas Bangor | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Mayor | Gareth M. Parry, Plaid Cymru |
Deputy Mayor | Richard Medwyn Hughes, Plaid Cymru |
| Seats | 20 |
| Meeting place | |
| Penrhyn Hall, Ffordd Gwynedd, Bangor | |
| Website | |
| bangorcitycouncil | |
Bangor City Council or officially the City of Bangor Council is an elected community council serving Bangor in Gwynedd, Wales.
Bangor's council was created in 1883 by royal charter. In 1974 it became City of Bangor Council, after Bangor had been granted city status, though many of its previous powers were passed to Arfon Borough Council (1974–1996) [1] and the new Gwynedd Council, based in Caernarfon. [2]
The city council's roles include consultation on all planning applications within the city boundaries, as well as applications for alcohol licenses. [3] Its current responsibilities extend to maintaining footpaths and bus shelters, as well as managing a number of woodland areas and open public spaces. [3]
The city council is most notably responsible for the maintenance of Wales' second longest pier, the Garth Pier. After Arfon Borough Council had decided to demolish it in 1974, Bangor City Council bought the 1,550 feet (470 m) pier for a nominal one pence. [4] However, in 2012 the council only had £1 million of the estimated £2 million needed to repair it. [5] The council-financed £1 million restoration began in 2017, phased over three to four years. [6]
In addition the city council owns a number of important buildings, including the Town Clock, the City Council Offices and Penhryn Hall (containing the Council Chamber) in Ffordd Gwynedd. [3] It owns Nantporth Football Stadium, which it leases to Bangor City Football Club. It also owns Hafan Drop-in Centre which is managed by Age Concern Cymru as a city centre drop in for the elderly and disabled. [3]
In June 2012 a curfew keeping young people out of Bangor city centre made the UK national news. [7] Bangor City Council had to call an emergency meeting to raise their concerns, because Gwynedd Council and the local police had imposed the curfew without consulting city councillors. [8]
In May 2021 Bangor became the first Welsh city council and the sixteenth in the UK to pass a resolution supporting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. [9]
Twenty councillors were elected from the eight electoral wards in the city, namely: Deiniol (2), Dewi (3), Garth (2), Glyder (3), Hendre (2), Hirael (2), Marchog (3) and Menai (3). In 2017 half of the seats were won by Plaid Cymru. [10] The eight wards also elected ten county councillors to Gwynedd Council.[ citation needed ]
As a result of The County of Gwynedd (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021 the Deiniol ward was split and merged with its neighbouring wards of Hendre and Hirael, effective from the 2022 elections. [11] Representation on the city council was adjusted to Dewi (3), Garth (1), Glyder (3), Hendre (3), Hirael (3), Marchog (4) and Menai (3), remaining at a total of twenty councillors. [12]
The council elects a city mayor and deputy mayor annually. [2] [13] The Mayor making for 2020 was delayed by a year due to COVID-19 and both the Deputy Mayor and Mayor were to remain in their posts for another year until 2021.
In May 2021 22-year old Owen Hurcum was elected mayor, the youngest ever mayor in Wales and also possibly the first non-binary person in the world to hold such a position. [14]
List of City Mayors since 1974:[ citation needed ]
2024 - Gareth M.Parry
2023 - Dr.Elin Walker Jones
2022 - Gwynant Roberts
2021 - Owen J. Hurcum
2020 - John Wynn Williams
2019 - John Wynn Williams
2018 - John Wynn Jones
2017 - Derek C. Hainge
2016 - Dewi Wynn Williams
2015 - Evelyn M. Butler
2014 - Jean Elizabeth Forsyth
2013 - Douglas Madge
2012 - Bryn Hughes
2011 - Edward Huw Williams
2010 - Dorothy M. Bulled, MBE
2009 - Jean Elizabeth Forsyth
2008 - John Wynn Jones
2007 - Derek C. Hainge
2006 - Douglas Madge
2005 - Geraint H. Roberts
2004 - Bryn Hughes
2003 - June E. Marshall
2002 - Dorothy M. Bulled
2001 - John Martin
2000 - Tony W.Eccles
1999 - John Wynn Jones
1998 - Derek C. Hainge
1997 - Lesley Hales
1996 - Gill Luther-Jones
1995 - Evelyn M. Butler
1994 - T. Arwyn Evans
1993 - Gareth Buckley-Jones
1992 - John Llewelyn-Jones
1991 - Keith Greenly-Jones
1990 - Doreen N. Murray
1989 - Tony W. Eccles
1988 - John Martin
1987 - Edward T. Dogan
1986 - R. Keith Marshall
1985 - Christine C. Norris
1984 - Iris M.Parry, MBE, JP
1983 - Frank Woodcock
1982 - John Haydn Jones
1981 - Edward T. Dogan
1980 - Glenda W.Jones
1979 - Gareth Buckley-Jones
1978 - Jean D. Christie
1977 - Charles A. Hainge
1976 - Iris M. Parry
1975 - Frank Woodcock
1974 - Jean D. Christie
| As of 20 June 2022 [15] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Affiliation | Members | |
| Plaid Cymru | 12 | |
| Independent | 7 | |
| Vacant | 1 | |
Gwynedd is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The city of Bangor is the largest settlement, and the administrative centre is Caernarfon. The preserved county of Gwynedd, which is used for ceremonial purposes, includes the Isle of Anglesey.
Caernarfonshire, sometimes spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales, in the north-west of Wales.
Bangor is a cathedral city and community in Gwynedd, North Wales. It is the oldest city in Wales. Historically part of Caernarfonshire, the community had a population of 15,060 at the 2021 census, and the built up area had a population of 16,990. Landmarks include Bangor Cathedral, Bangor University and Garth Pier. The Britannia and Menai Suspension bridges connect the city to the Isle of Anglesey.
The Borough of Arfon was local government district with borough status from 1974 to 1996, being one of five districts in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales.
Bangor Cathedral is the cathedral church of Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol.
Arfon was a constituency in Wales represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament at Westminster. Although it is relatively large by geographical area, the constituency is a predominantly urban rather than rural seat, with the majority of the population living in the two towns of Bethesda and Caernarfon, as well as in the city of Bangor, on which the constituency is based. "Arfon" is a historical name for the area, meaning "facing Anglesey"; it is also the name of the former district council. This seat was created by the Welsh Boundary Commission in time for the 2010 general election; it replaced the old seat of Caernarfon. Bangor was in the old seat of Conwy. The same boundaries were used for the Arfon Welsh Assembly constituency in the 2007 Welsh Assembly election.
Gwynedd Council, which calls itself by its Welsh name Cyngor Gwynedd, is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language.
Arfon was a mediaeval Welsh cantref in north-west Wales. It was the core of the kingdom of Gwynedd. Later it was included in the new county of Caernarfonshire, together with Llŷn and Arllechwedd under the terms of the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. The island of Anglesey faced it across the Menai Strait; to the east was the cantref of Arllechwedd, to the south the cantref of Eifionydd, and to the west was the cantref of Llŷn.
Friars School is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and the second oldest extant school in Wales.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1833 to Wales and its people.
Garth Pier is a Grade II listed structure in Bangor, Wales. At 1,500 feet (460 m) in length, it is the second-longest pier in Wales, and the ninth longest in the British Isles.
Siân Gwenllian is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician who has represented the constituency of Arfon in the Senedd since 2016. She currently holds the seat with a majority of 8,642 votes.
Hendre is one of eight electoral wards in the city of Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. The ward covers part of the city south of the city centre, including West End and Glan Adda. It elects three councillors to Bangor City Council and one county councillor to Gwynedd Council.
Deiniol is one of eight electoral wards in the city of Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, electing councillors to the city and county councils.
Glyder is an electoral ward in the city of Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, electing councillors to the city council and Gwynedd Council.
The 2017 Gwynedd Council election took place on 4 May 2017 to elect members of Gwynedd Council in Wales. Seventy five council seats were up for re-election. In twenty one seats, the candidates were elected unopposed.
Owen Exie J. Hurcum is a former British politician. They are the former Mayor of the city of Bangor, Wales, and former ward councillor for Glyder ward on Bangor City Council. In May 2021, they became the Mayor of Bangor, the first openly non-binary mayor of any city world-wide and the youngest person in history to hold a mayoral position in Wales. In May 2022 they completed their term as mayor and did not seek re-election to the community council.
The 2022 Gwynedd Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect 69 members from 65 wards to Gwynedd Council. On the same day, elections were held to the other 21 local authorities and to community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections. The previous Gwynedd all-council election took place in May 2017 and future elections will take place every five years.