| Principal areas of Wales Prif ardaloedd Cymru (Welsh) | |
|---|---|
 Map of the 22 principal areas of Wales | |
| Category | Unitary authorities |
| Location | Wales |
| Created |
|
| Number | 22 |
| Possible types |
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| Government | |
| Subdivisions | |
Theprincipal areas of Wales, comprising thecounties andcounty boroughs of Wales, are aform of subdivision inWales. There are currently 22 principal areas in Wales, and they were established in 1996. They are a single-tier form oflocal government, each governed by aprincipal council. They replaced the previous two-tier system ofeight counties and37 districts that were in place in Walesfrom 1974 to 1996.
Forlocal government, Wales is divided into 22 sub-divisions collectively called "principal areas" in the 1994 act. They may be styled as either a "county" or a "county borough". Each principal area is overseen by a "principal council", which may also adopt their principal area style, being called a "county council" (Welsh:cyngor sir) or a "county borough council" (Welsh:cyngor bwrdeistref sirol).[1][2]
The basic framework of local government and specifically a council's constitution and general powers were set out in theLocal Government Act 1972, which simplified theexisting local governing structure in Wales that existed prior. The laterLocal Government (Wales) Act 1994 restructured local government, by significantly amending the previous act. The councils of the principal areas are generally supervised by theWelsh Government.[1][3]
The names of the principal areas, in both English and Welsh, are set out in the 1994 amended version of the 1972 act, under Schedule 4. Section 74 of the 1972 act allows principal councils to change their names, if there is a two-third majority support for such in a specially convened meeting. Since their establishment, multiple councils have pursued a name change. Any notice of a name change has to be submitted to theWelsh Ministers and theLocal Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales. The 1972 changes were enacted in 1974 by the thenConservative administration.[1][2][4]
The principal areas' councils areunitary authorities, and are sub-divided intocommunities andelectoral wards.[5]
Some of the principal areas havecounty borough status, a largely historical status that reflects their historical existence as major population centres.[5] The eleven county boroughs of Wales areBlaenau Gwent,Bridgend,Caerphilly,Conwy,Merthyr Tydfil,Neath Port Talbot,Newport,Rhondda Cynon Taf,Torfaen,Vale of Glamorgan andWrexham. County borough status does not award any different rights compared to the other counties. The 1994 act stated they should not be treated as a "borough" as defined by earlier legislation.[2]
The other eleven have county status, and are styled as "counties".
The principal areas' boundaries are made up of its electoral wards, and the average number of electoral wards in a principal area is 40.[5]
Five of the principal areas use different names to those given in theLocal Government (Wales) Act 1994. In each case the council renamed the area immediately, with the changes taking effect on 2 April 1996.[6] The changes were:
Other simpler changes also took place such as:
Following the enacting of theLocal Government (Wales) Act 1994, the pre-existing eight counties of Wales (now largely the ceremonialpreserved counties of Wales) and its 37districts in place since 1974 were replaced on 1 April 1996, with 22 unitary authorities, the "principal areas".[5][7][2] The 1994 act also created the communities and preserved counties.[2]
In 2014, plans were announced to reform local government in Wales, reducing the number of principal areas from 22 to a smaller number of unitary authorities, similar to the counties that they replaced in 1996.[8][7]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic in Wales in 2020, the principal areas were used as a basis for locallockdowns.[9]
| Principal area | Comprising (in 1996) | |
|---|---|---|
| Current name(s) | Initial name(s) in 1994 Act | Districts (and specific communities) |
| Counties | ||
| Isle of Anglesey (Welsh:Ynys Môn) | Anglesey (Welsh:Sir Fôn) |
|
| Gwynedd | Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire (Welsh:Sir Gaernarfon a Meirionnydd) | |
| Cardiff (Welsh:Caerdydd) | ||
| Ceredigion | Cardiganshire (Welsh:Sir Aberteifi) |
|
| Carmarthenshire (Welsh:Sir Gaerfyrddin) | ||
| Denbighshire (Welsh:Sir Ddinbych) |
| |
| Flintshire (Welsh:Sir y Fflint) | ||
| Monmouthshire (Welsh:Sir Fynwy) |
| |
| Pembrokeshire (Welsh:Sir Benfro) | ||
| Powys | ||
| Swansea (Welsh:Abertawe) | ||
| County boroughs | ||
| Conwy | Aberconwy and Colwyn (Welsh:Aberconwy a Cholwyn) | |
| Blaenau Gwent |
| |
| Bridgend (Welsh:Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) |
| |
| Caerphilly (Welsh:Caerffili) | ||
| Merthyr Tydfil (Welsh:Merthyr Tudful) | ||
| Neath Port Talbot (Welsh:Castell-nedd Port Talbot) | Neath and Port Talbot (Welsh:Castell-nedd a Phort Talbot) | |
| Newport (Welsh:Casnewydd) |
| |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | Rhondda, Cynon, Taff (Welsh:Rhondda, Cynon, Taf) |
|
| Torfaen (Welsh:Tor-faen) |
| |
| The Vale of Glamorgan (Welsh:Bro Morgannwg) |
| |
| Wrexham (Welsh:Wrecsam) |
| |
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