Dyfed County Council Cyngor Sir Dyfed | |
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History | |
Founded | 1 April 1974 |
Disbanded | 31 March 1996 |
Preceded by | Cardiganshire County Council Carmarthenshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council |
Succeeded by | Ceredigion Carmarthenshire Pembrokeshire |
Elections | |
First election | April 1973 |
Last election | May 1993 |
Next election | N/A |
Meeting place | |
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County Hall, Carmarthen |
Dyfed County Council (Welsh : Cyngor Sir Dyfed) was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Dyfed in south west Wales. It operated between 1974 and 1996. The county council was based at County Hall, Carmarthen.
Dyfed County Council was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It took over the functions of the three previous county councils which had covered the area: Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, and Pembrokeshire. [1]
Dyfed County Council was abolished under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, being replaced on 1 April 1996 by three unitary authorities: Carmarthenshire County Council, Ceredigion County Council, and Pembrokeshire County Council. These corresponded to the former counties which had been abolished 22 years earlier. The area of Dyfed became a preserved county, being used for some ceremonial purposes, but no longer having a county council. [2] [3]
The first election to the county council was held in April 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. The vast majority of the councillors elected in 1973 were members of one of the three previous county councils. At the 1977 election, Plaid Cymru gained some ground although not to the extent that was seen in parts of the South Wales valleys in that year. [4] Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 1996 was held by the following parties: [5]
Party in control | Years | |
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Independent | 1974–1981 | |
No overall control | 1981–1996 |
The council inherited several offices from its three predecessor county councils, including the three former county councils' main offices, being Swyddfa'r Sir in Aberystwyth from Cardiganshire, County Hall, Carmarthen from Carmarthenshire, and the County Offices on St Thomas Green in Haverfordwest from Pembrokeshire. County Hall in Carmarthen served as Dyfed County Council's headquarters throughout its existence, with the other offices serving as area offices. [6] [7] [8]
Dyfed is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel.
Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, with 12,042 people, after Milford Haven. The suburbs include the former parish of Prendergast, Albert Town and the residential and industrial areas of Withybush.
Carmarthenshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as the "Garden of Wales" and is also home to the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
Ceredigion ( ), historically Cardiganshire, is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Aberystwyth is the largest settlement and, together with Aberaeron, is an administrative centre of Ceredigion County Council.
Pembroke is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 7,552. The names of both the town and the county have a common origin; both are derived from the Cantref of Penfro: Pen, "head" or "end", and bro, "region", "country", "land", which has been interpreted to mean either "Land's End" or "headland".
South Pembrokeshire was one of six local government districts of Dyfed, Wales from 1974 to 1996.
Dinefwr was one of six local government districts of the county of Dyfed, Wales from 1974 to 1996. It was named after Dinefwr Castle which in the Middle Ages had been the court of the House of Dinefwr and one of the three principal royal courts of Wales with Aberffraw and Shrewsbury.
Carmarthen District Council was one of six local government districts of the county of Dyfed, west Wales, from 1974 to 1996.
The Borough of Llanelli was one of six local government districts of the county of Dyfed, Wales from 1974 to 1996.
Carmarthenshire County Council is the local authority for the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It provides a range of services including education, planning, transport, social services and public safety. The council is one of twenty-two unitary authorities that came into existence on 1 April 1996 under the provisions of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. It took over local government functions previously provided by the three district councils of Carmarthen, Dinefwr, and Llanelli, as well as the county-level services in the area from Dyfed County Council, all of which councils were abolished at the same time.
Preseli Pembrokeshire was one of six local government districts of Dyfed in West Wales from 1974 to 1996. Until 1987 the name of the district was Preseli. The district took its name from the Preseli Hills.
Ceredigion County Council is the governing body for the county of Ceredigion, since 1996 one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The council's main offices are in Aberaeron.
Cardiganshire County Council was the local government authority for the county of Cardiganshire, Wales, between 1889 and 1974. It was superseded by Dyfed County Council.
The office of High Sheriff of Dyfed was established in 1974 as part of the creation of the county of Dyfed in Wales following the Local Government Act 1972, and effectively replaced the shrievalties of the amalgamated counties of Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. Since 1996 Dyfed has a purely ceremonial meaning, having been broken up for administrative purposes.
The first election to Dyfed County Council was held in April 1973. It was followed by the 1977 election. The vast majority of the councillors elected had been members of one of the three previous county authorities which were merged to create Dyfed, namely Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, and Pembrokeshire.
The administrative county of Carmarthen and the first Carmarthenshire County Council was established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections were held in January 1889.
The first Pembrokeshire County Council was established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, to govern the administrative county of Pembrokeshire. This first county council was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.
Ceredigion District Council was one of six district-level authorities in the county of Dyfed, Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district had an identical area to the pre-1974 administrative county of Cardiganshire. From its creation in 1974 the district used the name "Ceredigion" rather than "Cardiganshire", which had been used for the former county council. Further local government reorganisation in 1996 saw Dyfed County Council abolished and Ceredigion become a unitary authority, with the district council taking over county-level services to become Ceredigion County Council.
An election to the Carmarthenshire County Council was held on 9 April 1970. It was preceded by the 1967 election and was the last election prior to the reorganization of local government in Wales. Carmarthenshire County Council was merged with Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire to form the new county of Dyfed and the first elections to the new authority were held in 1973.
The County Hall is a municipal building on Freemens Way in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was built in 1999 and serves as the offices and meeting place of Pembrokeshire County Council.