| |
|---|---|
 Preserved counties of Wales since 2010Show preserved counties since 2010 | |
| Category | Lieutenancy areas |
| Location | Wales |
| Created by | Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) |
| Created |
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| Number | 8 |
Thepreserved counties of Wales (Welsh:siroedd cadwedig) are the eight current areas used inWales for the ceremonial purposes oflieutenancy andshrievalty. They are based on thecounties which were used for local government and other purposes between 1974 and 1996. Each comprises one or more of the 22 single-tierprincipal areas which are used for administrative purposes.
TheLocal Government (Wales) Act 1994 abolished the eight ceremonial counties created by theLocal Government Act 1972. However, it created the concept of preserved counties based on their areas, to be used for purposes such aslieutenancy. This usage wasconsolidated by theLieutenancies Act 1997.[1] Certain statutes already in force were amended to include reference to them.
The preserved counties were originally almost identical to the 1974–96 counties, but with a few minor changes in line with local government boundary changes:Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant,Llansilin andLlangedwyn were transferred fromClwyd toPowys, andWick,St Brides Major,Ewenny andPentyrch were transferred fromMid Glamorgan toSouth Glamorgan. There were however two local government areas,Caerphilly andConwy, split between preserved counties.
The Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales were instructed by theNational Assembly for Wales on 11 March 2002 to undertake a review of preserved county boundaries. In their final proposals the part of the local government area ofCaerphilly which had been in Mid Glamorgan was to be part of Gwent and the part of the local government area ofConwy which had been inGwynedd was to be part ofClwyd. The boundary between Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan was also to be re-aligned to reflect small changes in local government boundaries.[2] The Assembly accepted these proposals such that from 2 April 2003 each preserved county encompassed between one and five whole local government areas.[3]
The boundary between West Glamorgan and Powys was further modified on 1 April 2005 as a result of boundary changes between Ystalyfera and Ystradgynlais.[4]
The boundary between Mid Glamorgan and Powys was further modified on 1 April 2010 to reflect the 2009 local government boundary changes in the area aroundVaynor,Merthyr Tydfil.[5]
| Preserved county | Land area[6] | Population (2024)[6] | Density[6] | Principal areas | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (km2) | (mi2) | (/km2) | (/mi2) | |||
| Clwyd | 2,906 | 1,122 | 507,205 | 175 | 450 | |
| Dyfed | 5,774 | 2,229 | 389,160 | 67 | 170 | |
| Gwent | 1,551 | 599 | 601,686 | 388 | 1,000 | |
| Gwynedd | 3,247 | 1,254 | 189,910 | 58 | 150 | |
| Mid Glamorgan | 786 | 303 | 449,346 | 571 | 1,480 | |
| Powys | 5,181 | 2,000 | 135,059 | 26 | 67 | Powys |
| South Glamorgan | 472 | 182 | 519,662 | 1,101 | 2,850 | |
| West Glamorgan | 819 | 316 | 394,553 | 482 | 1,250 | |
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