| Alyn and Deeside Welsh: Alun a Glannau Dyfrdwy | |
|---|---|
| District | |
 | |
| History | |
| • Created | 1 April 1974 |
| • Abolished | 31 March 1996 |
| • Succeeded by | Flintshire |
| • HQ | Hawarden |
 | |
| Contained within | |
| • County Council | Clwyd |
Alyn and Deeside (Welsh : Alun a Glannau Dyfrdwy) was one of six local government districts in the county of Clwyd, north-east Wales from 1974 to 1996. There is still a parliamentary constituency of the same name.
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered three former districts from the administrative county of Flintshire, which were all abolished at the same time: [1]
The government initially specified that the new district should be called Alyn-Dee, reflecting the district's location between the River Alyn and River Dee. The neighbouring district was similarly called Delyn, combining the names of the same two rivers the other way around. [2] The shadow council elected in 1973 requested that the name be changed from Alyn-Dee to Alyn and Deeside. The change of name was confirmed by the Secretary of State for Wales on 19 October 1973, before the new district formally came into being. [3]
The district was abolished under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which saw Clwyd County Council and its constituent districts abolished, being replaced by principal areas, whose councils perform the functions which had previously been divided between the county and district councils. The former area of Alyn and Deeside all became part of the new Flintshire principal area on 1 April 1996. [4]
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. From 1974 until the council's abolition in 1996, political control was held by the following parties: [5]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–1976 | |
| No overall control | 1976–1987 | |
| Labour | 1987–1996 | |
The council inherited three main offices from its predecessor authorities, and for most of the council's existence its functions were divided between them:
In 1992 the council consolidated all its offices at a new building which it called the Civic Offices at St David's Park in Ewloe in the community of Hawarden. [8] After the council's abolition ownership of the Civic Offices passed to the new Flintshire County Council, which leased the building to Unilever who renamed it "Unity House". In 2018, after Unilever's lease expired, Flintshire County Council brought the building back into civic use, renaming it "Ty Dewi Sant" and moving various departments there from County Hall, Mold. [9]
Hawarden is a village, community and electoral ward, in Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the Deeside conurbation on the Wales-England border and is home to Hawarden Castle. In the 2011 census the ward of the same name had a population of 1,887, whereas the community of the same name, which also includes Ewloe Mancot and Aston had a population of 13,920. The scenic wooded Hawarden Park abuts the clustered settlement in the south. Hawarden Bridge consists of distribution and industrial business premises beyond Shotton/Queensferry and the Dee. The west of the main street is called The Highway, its start marked by the crossroads with a fountain in the middle, near which are public houses, some with restaurants.
Flintshire is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders England to the east, Denbighshire to the west and Wrexham County Borough to the south. It is named after the historic county of the same name which has notably different borders. Flintshire is considered part of the Welsh Marches and formed part of the historic Earldom of Chester and Flint. The county is governed by Flintshire County Council which has its main offices in County Hall, Mold.
Flintshire, also known as the County of Flint, is one of Wales' thirteen historic counties, and a former administrative county. It mostly lies on the north-east coast of Wales.
Clwyd is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to the east and Shropshire to the south-east. Powys and Gwynedd lie to the south and west respectively. Clwyd also shares a maritime boundary with Merseyside along the River Dee. Between 1974 and 1996, a slightly different area had a county council, with local government functions shared with six district councils. In 1996, Clwyd was abolished, and the new principal areas of Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham County Borough were created; under this reorganisation, "Clwyd" became a preserved county, with the name being retained for certain ceremonial functions.
The River Dee is a river in the United Kingdom. It flows through parts of both Wales and England, forming part of the border between the two countries.
Buckley is a town and community in Flintshire, north-east Wales, two miles (3 km) from the county town of Mold and contiguous with the villages of Ewloe, Alltami and Mynydd Isa. It is on the A549 road, with the larger A55 road passing nearby.
Queensferry is a town, community and electoral ward in Flintshire, Wales, lying on the River Dee near the border. The community includes the village of Sandycroft. It is between Connah's Quay, Shotton and Saltney Ferry. Queensferry is also part of the wider Deeside conurbation.
Shotton is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales, within the Deeside conurbation along the River Dee, joined with Connah's Quay, near the border with England. It is located 5 miles (8 km) west of Chester and can be reached by road from the A548. In the 2011 census Shotton had a population of 6,663. The Ordnance Survey Grid Reference is SJ305685.
Ewloe is a village and electoral ward in the community of Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales. It is situated close to the Flintshire/Cheshire sector of the Wales-England border. The A55 expressway passes through Ewloe and its most notable landmark is Ewloe Castle. The Ewloe electoral ward had a population at the 2011 Census of 5,420. The urban area of the village is contiguous with Hawarden, Buckley and Shotton. The Office for National Statistics deems Ewloe to form part of the Buckley built-up area, which covers much of Deeside.
Alyn and Deeside is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created in 1983, and it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post method of election.
Flintshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Flintshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. It is based at County Hall in Mold.
Delyn 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.
Deeside is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee that flows from neighbouring Chester into the Dee Estuary. These include Connah's Quay, Shotton, Queensferry, Aston, Garden City, Sealand, Broughton, Bretton, Hawarden, Ewloe, Mancot, Pentre, Saltney and Sandycroft. The population is around 50,000, with a plurality (17,500) living in Connah's Quay.
Shotton railway station serves the towns of Shotton and Connah's Quay, Flintshire, Wales. It is situated where the Borderlands Line crosses the North Wales Coast Line. All passenger services are operated by Transport for Wales, which manages the station.
The Borough of Rhuddlan 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.
Connah's Quay, known locally as "The Quay" and formerly known as Wepre, is a town and community in Flintshire, lying within the Deeside conurbation along the River Dee, near the border with England. It is the largest town in Flintshire. It is located 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Chester and can be reached by road from the A548, by rail from the nearby Shotton railway station, and also is on the National Cycle Network Route 5. It also lies just south of Deeside Industrial Park, one of the largest such complexes in the region. The major part of Tata steelworks is also on the town's border on the north bank of the River Dee. Wepre Woods, an ancient woodland in the town, is controlled by Flintshire County Council's Ranger Service and includes Ewloe Castle which dates from the 13th century.
The Flintshire Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge spanning the Dee Estuary in North Wales. The bridge links Flint and Connah's Quay to the shore north of the River Dee at the southern end of the Wirral Peninsula. The bridge cost £55million to construct. This cost was met by the then Welsh Office and in the future, maintenance costs are expected to be the responsibility of the local authority Flintshire County Council.
County Hall is a municipal facility at Raikes Lane in Mold, Flintshire. It was the headquarters of the old Flintshire County Council from 1967 to 1974, the headquarters of Clwyd County Council from 1974 to 1996 and has been the headquarters of the new Flintshire County Council since 1996.
