Conwy County Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1996 |
| Leadership | |
Rhun ap Gareth since November 2022 [2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 55 councillors [3] [4] |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Bodlondeb, Bangor Road, Conwy, LL32 8DU | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Conwy County Borough Council (Welsh : Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy) is the local authority for Conwy County Borough, one of the principal areas of Wales.
Conwy County Borough was created in 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which replaced the previous two tier system of counties and districts with principal areas (each designated either a "county" or a "county borough"), whose councils perform the functions previously divided between the county and district councils. The county borough of Conwy was created to cover the area of the district of Aberconwy from the county of Gwynedd and the district of Colwyn from the county of Clwyd, except for the parishes of Cefnmeiriadog and Trefnant, which went to the Denbighshire. The government originally named the new area "Aberconwy and Colwyn" (Welsh : Aberconwy a Cholwyn). [5] During the transition to the new system, the shadow authority requested a change of name from "Aberconwy and Colwyn" to "Conwy", taking the name from both the River Conwy which runs through the area and the town of Conwy, where the new council established its headquarters. The government confirmed the change with effect from 2 April 1996, one day after the new council came into being. [6]
The first election to the new council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows: [7]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1996–present | |
The leaders of the council since 2005 have been: [8]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goronwy Edwards | Independent | 2005 | 15 May 2008 | |
| Dilwyn Roberts | Plaid Cymru | 15 May 2008 | 7 May 2017 | |
| Gareth Jones [9] | Plaid Cymru | 18 May 2017 | Jun 2017 | |
| Independent | Jun 2017 | 3 Jun 2019 | ||
| Sam Rowlands | Conservative | 3 Jun 2019 | 13 May 2021 | |
| Charlie McCoubrey | Independent | 13 May 2021 | ||
Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was: [10]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independent | 23 | |
| Labour | 9 | |
| Conservative | 10 | |
| Plaid Cymru | 8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 4 | |
| Green | 1 | |
| Total | 55 | |
Of the independent councillors, 19 sit together as the "Conwy First Independent Group", two sit as the "Allied Independents" and two are not aligned to any group. The Green councillor sits with Plaid Cymru as the "Plaid Cymru a'r Blaid Werdd" (English: Plaid Cymru and the Green Party) group. Cabinet positions are held by members of the Conwy First Independent, Labour and Plaid Cymru a'r Blaid Werdd groups. [11] [12] The next election is due in 2027.
Since 2012, elections have been held every five years.
| Year | Seats | Independent | Labour | Conservative | Plaid Cymru | Liberal Democrats | Green | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 [13] | 59 | 13 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 0 | |
| 1999 [13] | 59 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 0 | New ward boundaries. [14] |
| 2004 [13] | 59 | 19 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2008 [15] | 59 | 14 | 7 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2012 [16] | 59 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2017 [17] | 59 | 21 | 8 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 [18] | 55 | 22 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 1 | New ward boundaries. [19] |
Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in notes column.
The council is based at Bodlondeb, which was built as a house in 1877 on Bangor Road in Conwy, just outside the town walls and set in substantial grounds stretching down to the River Conwy. [20] The house had been bought in 1937 by the former Conwy Municipal Borough Council and converted into a civic centre. [21] The building passed to Aberconwy District Council under the 1974 reforms and then to Conwy County Borough Council on its creation in 1996. In 2018 the council also opened a new building called Coed Pella on Conway Road in Colwyn Bay to house many of the council's departments, replacing several other office buildings. [22] [23]
The county borough is divided into 38 electoral wards returning 59 councillors. Few communities in Conwy are coterminous with electoral wards. The following table lists council wards, communities and associated geographical areas. Communities with a community council are indicated with a '*':
| Ward [24] | Councillors | Communities (and community wards) |
|---|---|---|
| Abergele Pensarn | 1 | Abergele (town)* (Pensarn ward) |
| Betws-y-Coed | 1 | |
| Betws yn Rhos | 1 |
|
| Bryn | 1 | Llanfairfechan (town)* (Bryn and Lafan wards) |
| Caerhun | 1 |
|
| Capelulo | 1 | Penmaenmawr (town)* (Capelulo ward) |
| Colwyn | 2 | part of the community of Old Colwyn |
| Conwy | 2 | Conwy (town)* (Aberconwy and Castle wards) |
| Craig-y-Don | 2 | Llandudno (town)* (Craig-y-Don ward) |
| Crwst | 1 | Llanrwst (town)* (Crwst ward) |
| Deganwy | 2 | Conwy (town)* (Deganwy ward) |
| Eglwysbach | 1 |
|
| Eirias | 2 | Part of the Community of Old Colwyn |
| Gele | 3 | Abergele (town)* (Gele and St George wards) |
| Glyn | 2 | Part of the Community of Colwyn Bay |
| Gogarth | 2 | Llandudno (town)* (Gogarth ward) |
| Gower | 1 | Llanrwst (Gower ward) |
| Kinmel Bay | 3 | Kinmel Bay and Towyn* (Kinmel Bay ward) |
| Llanddulas | 1 | Llanddulas and Rhyd-y-Foel* |
| Llandrillo yn Rhos | 4 | Rhos-on-Sea |
| Llangernyw | 1 |
|
| Llansanffraid | 1 | Llansanffraid Glan Conwy* |
| Llansannan | 1 |
|
| Llysfaen | 1 | Llysfaen* |
| Marl | 2 | Conwy (town)* (Marl ward) |
| Mochdre | 1 | Mochdre |
| Mostyn | 2 | Llandudno (town)* (Mostyn ward) |
| Pandy | 1 | Llanfairfechan* (Pandy ward) |
| Pant-yr-afon/Penmaenan | 1 | Penmaenmawr* (Pant-yr-afon and Penmaenan wards) |
| Penrhyn | 2 | Llandudno (town)* (Penrhyn ward) |
| Pensarn | 1 | Conwy (town)* (Pensarn ward) |
| Pentre Mawr | 2 | Abergele (town)* (Pentre Mawr ward) |
| Rhiw | 3 | Part of the Community of Colwyn Bay |
| Towyn | 1 | Kinmel Bay and Towyn* (Towyn ward) |
| Trefriw | 1 |
|
| Tudno | 2 | Llandudno (town)* (Tudno ward) |
| Uwch Conwy | 1 | |
| Uwchaled | 1 |
Conwy County Borough is a county borough in the north of Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south and Denbighshire to the east. The largest settlement is Colwyn Bay, and Conwy is the administrative centre.
Llanrwst is a market town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy, in Conwy County Borough, Wales, and the historic county of Denbighshire. It developed around the wool trade and became known also for the making of harps and clocks. Today, less than one mile from the edge of Snowdonia, its main pursuit is tourism. Notable buildings include almshouses, two 17th-century chapels, and the Parish Church of St Grwst, which holds the stone coffin of Llywelyn the Great. The 2011 census gave it a population of 3,323.
Colwyn was a local government district with borough status from 1974 to 1996, being one of six districts in the county of Clwyd, north-east Wales.
The Borough of Aberconwy was a local government district with borough status from 1974 to 1996, being one of five districts in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales.
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Craig-y-Don is a suburb of Llandudno, a coastal seaside resort in Conwy county borough, north Wales. It is also an electoral ward to Conwy County Borough Council and Llandudno Town Council.
Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the principal areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established in 1996 to replace the previous Cardiff City Council which had been a lower-tier authority within South Glamorgan. Cardiff Council consists of 79 councillors, representing 28 electoral wards.
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Denbighshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Denbighshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Ruthin.
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Bridgend County Borough Council is the governing body for Bridgend County Borough, one of the principal areas of Wales.
Gareth Jones OBE is a Welsh politician. He was a member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Conwy from 1999 until 2003 when he lost by 72 votes. He sought a successful re-election to the newly created Aberconwy constituency in 2007 before retiring in 2011. He was also Leader of Conwy County Borough Council, from 2017 to 2019, and a Llandudno town councillor representing the Craig-y-Don ward. He was formerly a member of Plaid Cymru, but left in 2017 after attempting to form a council administration in Conwy containing Welsh Conservatives, which the national party would not allow. He ran an independent administration of the council until 2019, when the Conservatives took control of the council.
The 2017 Welsh local elections were held on 4 May 2017 to elect members of all 22 local authorities in Wales. This included the Isle of Anglesey, which was previously up for election in 2013 due to having its elections delayed for a year. Community council elections also took place on the same day. These local elections were held as part of the 2017 local elections in the United Kingdom. Apart from Anglesey, the last elections were held in 2012. Normally these elections take place every four years, but the 2017 elections were postponed for a year in order to avoid clashing with the 2016 Welsh Assembly election, which itself had been postponed by a year to avoid clashing with the 2015 general election.
Betws-y-Coed is the name of an electoral ward in the southwest of Conwy County Borough, Wales. It covers its namesake community of Betws-y-Coed, as well as the neighbouring communities of Dolwyddelan and Capel Curig.
Uwch Conwy is the name of an electoral ward in the southern central part of Conwy County Borough, Wales. It covers three communities, of Bro Garmon, Bro Machno and Ysbyty Ifan.
Conwy is the name of one of the electoral wards in the town and community of Conwy, Conwy County Borough, Wales. The ward covers the community to the west of the River Conwy and is one of four county wards included within the boundaries of the community. The wards of Deganwy, Marl and Pensarn lie east of the river.
Gower is the name of one of the electoral wards of town of Llanrwst, Conwy County Borough, Wales. It covers the northern part of the town, with its western border defined by the River Conwy and its southern border defined by the Nant y Fedwen.
Mountain Ash East is a community and coterminous electoral ward in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It primarily includes the part of the town of Mountain Ash east of the River Cynon. The community was formed in 2016 when the larger community of Mountain Ash was divided into East and West to match the ward boundaries.
Sam Rowlands is a Welsh Conservative politician serving as Member of the Senedd (MS) for the North Wales electoral region since 2021, and Shadow Minister for Health since April 2024. He also formerly served as Leader of Conwy County Borough Council from 2019 to 2021.
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