Neath Port Talbot

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Neath Port Talbot County Borough
Bwrdeistref Sirol Castell-nedd Port Talbot (Welsh)
County borough
Neath Port Talbot arms.png
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Welsh: Llwyddo drwy ymdrech, lit.  'success through effort'
Neath Port Talbot UK location map.svg
Neath Port Talbot shown within Wales
Coordinates: 51°38′44″N3°44′42″W / 51.64556°N 3.74500°W / 51.64556; -3.74500
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country Wales
Preserved county West Glamorgan
Incorporated 1 April 1996
Administrative HQ Port Talbot
Government
[1]
 • Type Principal council
 • Body Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council
 •  Control No overall control
 •  MPs
3 MPs
 •  MSs
2 MSs
+4 regional members
Area
[2]
 • Total
170 sq mi (441 km2)
 • Rank 11th
Population
 (2022) [2]
 • Total
142,158
 • Rank 9th
 • Density830/sq mi (322/km2)
Welsh language (2021)
[3]
 • Speakers13.5%
 • Rank 9th
Time zone UTC+0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+1 (BST)
ISO 3166 code GB-NTL
GSS code W06000012
Website www.npt.gov.uk

Neath Port Talbot (Welsh : Castell-nedd Port Talbot) is a county borough in the south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf to the east, Powys and Carmarthenshire to the north; and Swansea to the west.

Contents

Neath Port Talbot is the eighth-most populous local authority area in Wales and the third most populous county borough. The population at the October 2024 about 141,900. [4] The population in the coastal areas is mainly English-speaking, whereas in the valleys in the north of the borough there are many who are Welsh-speaking.

Geography

The local authority area stretches from the coast to the border of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The majority of the land is upland or semi-upland and 43% is covered by forestry with major conifer plantations in upland areas. Most of the lower-lying flat land is near the coast around Port Talbot. An extensive dune system stretches along much of the coast, broken by river mouths and areas of development. [5] The upland areas are cut by five valleys: Vale of Neath, Dulais Valley, Afan Valley, Swansea Valley (or Tawe Valley), Upper Amman Valley. [6]

Modern settlement patterns reflect the industrial history of the area, with urban development along the flatter areas of the valleys and some parts of the coast. Neath with a population of 47,020 is the largest town, followed by Port Talbot (35,633), Briton Ferry (7,186), Pontardawe (5,035), and Glynneath (4,368). The majority of the population live in the coastal plain around Port Talbot and the land around the River Neath in the vicinity of Neath. Many of the larger towns in the borough lie within the Swansea Urban Area.

Neath Port Talbot
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Mapscaleline.svg
5km
3miles
Craig y Llyn
(600m)
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S W A N S E A   B A Y
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B R E C O N   B E A C O N S
N A T I O N A L   P A R K
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A F A N   V A L L E Y
T A W E   V A L L E Y
N E A T H   V A L L E Y
Neath Port Talbot County Borough is at the western end of the South Wales Valleys

Demographics

The population in the region reached its peak in the 1930s. Census figures show a population of 151,563 in 1931. The population has shown a steady decline throughout the rest of the 20th century. The population stood at 134,471 in 2001. [7] In the 1990s, most areas within the region showed a fall or little change in population with the notable exception of Bryncoch South and Margam where the population grew by 47.29% and 41.36% respectively. [8] Local council estimates show the population to have grown during the 2000s.

Government and politics

On 1 April 1996, Neath Port Talbot was created from the former districts of Neath, Port Talbot and part of Lliw Valley. Originally known as "Neath and Port Talbot" in the legislation, the name change happened on the following day. At the time of the reorganisation, many local people expected that Neath and Port Talbot districts would become separate unitary authorities, and there were protests when the new authority was announced. [9]

Local government

The whole of the Neath Port Talbot area was once part of the county of West Glamorgan, which in turn is part of the historic county of Glamorgan. Since local government re-organisation in 1996, Neath Port Talbot is governed by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council.

Neath Port Talbot is a staunch Labour stronghold, who have been in power since the authority's formation in 1996; although after the 2022 local elections, Labour failed to retain control over the council after losing several council seats.

Welsh politics

The unitary authority contains two whole constituencies which are:

United Kingdom politics

The three UK parliament constituencies covering Neath Port Talbot (in pink) from 2024. 1 = Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, 2 = Neath and Swansea East and 3 = Aberafan Maesteg. 2024 Wales Neath Port Talbot Constituencies map.svg
The three UK parliament constituencies covering Neath Port Talbot (in pink) from 2024. 1 = Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, 2 = Neath and Swansea East and 3 = Aberafan Maesteg.

Economy and industry

In 1991 Neath & Port Talbot was a distinct travel to work area (albeit with different boundaries to the current county borough), but the 2001-based revision has merged the locality into a wider Swansea Bay travel to work area. [11]

In June 2008, the economic activity and employment rates in Neath Port Talbot were below the Welsh average. [12] However, earnings for full-time workers were higher than either the Welsh or British average. [12]

Manufacturing accounts for over 22% of jobs in the county borough compared to under than 14% in Wales as a whole; just under 70% of local jobs are in services compared to a Welsh average of nearly 80%. [12] The Port Talbot Steelworks, operated by Tata, is the largest employer with approximately 3,000 staff (although in 1979 its predecessor employed 12,600); other large employers include General Electric, Hi-Lex Cable Systems Ltd (closing in 2021 [13] ), TRW Steering Systems recently closed, Envases (UK) Ltd, Crown Food UK & Ireland, Toyoda Koki, Sofidel, Cornelius Electronics, Excel Electronics Assemblies, and Tedeco. [14]

Port Talbot is also the site for Neath Port Talbot Hospital which is situated on Baglan Way, Port Talbot.

Education

The local Neath Port Talbot Council is the education authority in the area which operates primary schools and secondary schools within the county. The local education authority operates 6 infant schools, 6 junior schools, 56 primary schools, 11 secondary schools and 3 special schools. [15]

Further Education in Neath Port Talbot is provided by a range of institutions. St. Joseph's Catholic School & Sixth Form Centre in Port Talbot and Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera have traditional sixth form settings. NPTC Group operates from several sites within the county borough. The largest sites are located in Neath, Port Talbot and Pontardawe. [16]

The first dedicated higher education site in Neath Port Talbot opened in 2015 when Swansea University opened its science and innovation campus in Crymlyn Burrows.

The University of South Wales has a campus located at Baglan Energy Park in Port Talbot. The Baglan campus houses a Renewable Hydrogen Research and Development Centre.

Media

A separate daily edition of the South Wales Evening Post is published for the Neath Port Talbot area. The paper's publisher, Reach plc, also produces a free weekly paper, the Neath Port Talbot Courier, which is inserted in Thursday's edition of the South Wales Evening Post. [17] The local council publishes a quarterly, Community Spirit, produced and funded in conjunction with seven other public sector partners. [18]

Community radio station is XS broadcasts to both Neath (97.4) and Port Talbot (107.9). Nation Radio Wales briefly broadcast to the wider South Wales region from studios in Neath, but is now based in Cardiff. The county borough is within the local commercial radio licence areas of Hits Radio South Wales, its sister station Greatest Hits Radio South Wales, Swansea Bay Radio and Heart South Wales. [19]

Twinning

Neath Port Talbot used to be twinned with: [20]

In 2015, Neath Port Talbot terminated all its twin city relationships for financial reasons. [22] [23]

Places of interest

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Neath Port Talbot.

Individuals

Military Units

[28]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberavon (UK Parliament constituency)</span> UK Parliamentary constituency, 1918–2024

Aberavon was a constituency in Wales in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was represented from 1922 until 2024 by the Welsh Labour Party. It included the town of Aberavon, although the largest town in the constituency was Port Talbot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Talbot</span> Town and community in Wales

Port Talbot is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately eight miles from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south east of the town. It is one of the biggest steelworks in the world, but has been under threat of closure since the 1980s. The population was 31,550 in 2021, comprising about a fifth of the 141,931 population of Neath Port Talbot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neath</span> Town in south Wales

Neath is a market town and community situated in the Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,258 in 2011. Historically in Glamorgan, the town is located on the River Neath, seven miles east-northeast of Swansea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Glamorgan</span> Preserved county and former administrative county of Wales, United Kingdom

West Glamorgan is a former administrative county in South Wales. It is now a preserved county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pontardawe</span> Human settlement in Wales

Pontardawe is a town and a community in the lower Swansea Valley. it had a population of approximately 7,172 in the 2021 Census for Pontardawe Parish, and forms part of the county borough of Neath Port Talbot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberavon</span> Town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales

Aberavon is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Port Talbot, covering the central and south western part of the town. Aberavon is also the name of the nearby Blue Flag beach and the parish covering the same area.

Margam is a suburb and community of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. The community had a population of 3,017 in 2011; the built up area being larger and extending into Taibach community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lliw Valley</span> Former district of West Glamorgan, Wales

Lliw Valley was a local government district with borough status in West Glamorgan, Wales from 1974 to 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cwmafan</span> Human settlement in Wales

Cwmafan, also known as Cwmavon, is a large village and community in the Afan valley in Wales, lying within Neath Port Talbot County Borough. It had a population of 5,603 in 2001, increasing slightly to 5,615 at the 2011 Census. Cwmafan is known for having a high percentage of Welsh speakers. In many ways it is a suburb of the nearby town of Port Talbot which is less than 2 miles (3 km) to the south. The literal translation of Cwmafan from Welsh to English is complex, Cwm means valley with Afan as the name of the river flowing through, hence the village residing within the Afan Valley. It could be a version of Afon which means river, so literally the "River Valley", this is common in Wales and the UK with many rivers being called Afon or Avon. There is also a Saint Afan, which it is possible the river was named after. There have been other suggestions but none accepted locally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council</span> Local government of Neath Port Talbot, Wales

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is the local authority for the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council was controlled by the Labour Party from its creation in 1996 until 2022, when Plaid Cymru and a group of independent councillors agreed to share power.

Neath Port Talbot College (NPTC) was a further education institution established as two campuses in Port Talbot and Neath in Wales, United Kingdom.

Sandfields is a mainly residential district of Port Talbot, Wales. The area is located in South Wales on a narrow coastal plain between Mynydd Dinas and the sea. The M4 motorway, A48 trunk road and South Wales Main Line run nearby. The area includes a council estate, industrial areas and a seaside resort at Aberavon Beach.

Cymmer is a small village in the community of Cymer and Glyncorrwg, in Neath Port Talbot in Wales, set on a hillside in the Afan Valley near the confluence of the River Afan and the River Corrwg. In 2001, Cymmer had a population of 2,883.

The Swansea Valley is one of the South Wales Valleys. It is the valley from the Brecon Beacons National Park to the sea at Swansea of the River Tawe in Wales. Administration of the area is divided between the City and County of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, and Powys. A distinction may be drawn between the Lower Swansea valley and the Upper Swansea valley; the former was more heavily industrialised during the 19th and 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glan Afan Comprehensive School</span> Comprehensive school in Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot, Wales

Glan Afan Comprehensive School was a mixed comprehensive school which served the town of Port Talbot, Wales, and its surrounding areas for 120 years. It was opened in 1896 as Port Talbot Intermediate School under the provisions of the Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889. The school closed in July 2016 to facilitate the merger of Glan Afan itself, Cwrt Sart Comprehensive, Sandfields Comprehensive and Traethmelyn Primary School into the ultra-modern £40millon 'super-school', Ysgol Bae Baglan.

The Neath Guardian was a local weekly newspaper published between 1925 and 2009 covering Neath, Wales, and the surrounding area. At the time of its closure, it was published weekly, on a Wednesday, in the tabloid format by Media Wales, part of the Trinity Mirror group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A4241 road</span> Distributor road in Port Talbot

The A4241 Port Talbot Peripheral Distributor Road is a distributor road serving Port Talbot, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberavon (electoral ward)</span> Human settlement in Wales

The electoral ward of Aberavon electoral ward includes the communities of Baglan and Baglan Bay, in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Baglan falls within the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon.

References

  1. ↑ "Council, democracy & elections". Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics . 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "How life has changed in Neath Port Talbot: Census 2021". Office for National Statistics. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  4. ↑ "Neath Port Talbot Population (2024) - Total Population". totalpopulation.co.uk. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  5. ↑ "Neath Port Talbot Supplementary Planning Guidance - Landscape" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "Visit Neath Port Talbot: Valleys and Vales".
  7. ↑ "Neath Port Talbot District: Total Population". A Vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth - Department of Geography. 2004–2008. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
  8. ↑ "Population Change". 2001 Census. Neath Port Talbot county Borough Council. 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
  9. ↑ The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008
  10. ↑ "2023 Parliamentary Review - Revised Proposals | Boundary Commission for Wales". Boundary Commission for Wales . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "National Statistics, Introduction to the 2001-based Travel-to-Work Areas" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2009.
  12. 1 2 3 "Neath Port Talbot Council". www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk.
  13. ↑ "125 Jobs to go at Port Talbot site". BBC News. 16 October 2019.
  14. ↑ "Neath Port Talbot Council". www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk.
  15. ↑ "Find a school". www.npt.gov.uk.
  16. ↑ "Home - NPTC Group of Colleges - more than just an education". NPTC Group of Colleges.
  17. ↑ "Senedd Cymru | Welsh Parliament". senedd.wales.
  18. ↑ "Neath Port Talbot Council". www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk.
  19. ↑ "Radio Station Licence Areas - Ofcom". Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Neath Port Talbot Twin Towns". Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  21. ↑ "Atlas français de la coopération décentralisée et des autres actions extérieures". Délégation pour l’Action Extérieure des Collectivités Territoriales (Ministère des Affaires étrangères) (in French). Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  22. ↑ cf/kis (17 February 2016), "Kein Geld mehr in der Kasse: Port Talbot beendet Städtepartnerschaft", Heilbronner Stimme (in German)
  23. ↑ Twinning Arrangements within Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (PDF) (Report). Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  24. ↑ "Lloyd George Receiving the Freedom of the Borough of Neath, c.1920 | Art UK". artuk.org.
  25. ↑ "Sheen granted home town 'freedom'". 30 May 2008 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  26. ↑ "Bonnie Tyler becomes freeman of Neath Port Talbot". BBC News. 12 March 2011.
  27. 1 2 3 "Wizards Chairman to receive freedom of The Borough | Ospreys". www.ospreysrugby.com.
  28. ↑ "Neath Port Talbot residents salute troops". WalesOnline. 1 April 2009.
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