The Borough of Aberconwy was a
local government district
The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...
with
borough status
Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, s ...
from 1974 to 1996, being one of five districts in the county of
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
, north-west
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
.
History
The borough was created on 1 April 1974, under the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
. It covered parts of nine former districts from the
administrative counties
An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...
of
Caernarfonshire
, HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon
, Map=
, Image= Flag
, Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd)
, year_start=
, Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...
and
Denbighshire
Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
, which were all abolished at the same time:
*
Betws-y-Coed
Betws-y-coed (; '' en, prayer house in the wood'') is a village and community in the Conwy valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located in the historic county of Caernarfonshire, right on the boundary with Denbighshire, in the Gwydir Forest. ...
Urban District
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
*
Conwy
Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...
Municipal Borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...
*
Eglwysbach
Eglwysbach is a village and community in Conwy county borough, Wales. The village plays host to an annual Agricultural show and horticultural show in August, which includes displays of local cattle, sheep, heavy and light horses, showjumping a ho ...
parish from
Hiraethog Rural District
Hiraethog was a rural district of the administrative county of Denbighshire, Wales, from 1935 to 1974. The district took its name from the historic district of Mynydd Hiraethog.
The district was created by a county review order on 1 April 19 ...
‡
*
Llanddoget parish from Hiraethog Rural District‡
*
Llandudno
Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...
Urban District
*
Llanrwst
Llanrwst ('church or parish of Saint Grwst'; ) is a market town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy, in Conwy County Borough, Wales, and the historic county of Denbighshire. It developed round the wool trade and became known als ...
Urban District‡
*Llanrwst Rural parish from Hiraethog Rural District‡
*
Llanfairfechan
Llanfairfechan ("Little Mary, Mother of God, St Mary's llan (placename), Parish") is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is known as a seaside resort and had a population at the United Kingdom Census 20 ...
Urban District
*
Llansantffraid Glan Conway
Llansanffraid Glan Conwy (), usually shortened to Glan Conwy, is a village, community and electoral ward in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The name translates from the Welsh as ''Church of St Ffraid on the bank of the River Conwy''. The village ...
parish from
Aled Rural District
Aled was a rural district in the administrative county of Denbighshire, Wales, from 1935 to 1974.
The district was created by a county review order in 1935 which reorganised districts in the county. It was formed by merging the bulk of St Asap ...
‡
*
Nant Conwy Rural District
Nant Conwy was a rural district in the administrative county of Caernarfonshire from 1934 to 1974. The district was formed by a County Review Order, combining the areas of Geirionydd Rural District with most of Conwy Rural District and part of ...
*
Penmaenmawr
Penmaenmawr (, ) is a town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, which was formerly in the parish of Dwygyfylchi and the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. It is on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan and was an i ...
Urban District
*
Tir Ifan parish from Hiraethog Rural District‡
‡From Denbighshire (rest from Caernarfonshire)
The new district was named Aberconwy, meaning mouth of the
River Conwy
, name_etymology =
, image = Boats in River Conwy.jpg
, image_size = 300
, image_caption = Boats in the river estuary at Conwy
, map =
, map_size =
, map_caption =
, push ...
, with the same name being used in both Welsh and English.
Under the
Local Government (Wales) Act 1994
The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to create the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as ...
, the previous two tier system of counties and districts was replaced with new principal areas (each designated either a "county" or a "county borough"), whose councils perform the functions previously divided between the county and district councils. The Aberconwy area merged with the neighbouring
Colwyn
Colwyn 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.
History
The borough was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It cover ...
district from the county of
Clwyd
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 th ...
to become a
county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
which the government originally named "Aberconwy and Colwyn". During the transition to the new system, the shadow authority requested a change of name from "Aberconwy and Colwyn" to "
Conwy
Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...
". The government confirmed the change with effect from 2 April 1996, one day after the new council came into being.
The pre-1996 counties of Wales continued to be used for some ceremonial purposes such as
lieutenancy, being called
preserved counties. The new Conwy County Borough therefore initially straddled the preserved counties of Gwynedd and Clwyd. In 2003 the area of the former Aberconwy district was moved from the preserved county of Gwynedd to
Clwyd
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 th ...
, uniting Conwy County Borough within the preserved county Clwyd.
Political control
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. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 1996 was as follows:
Premises
The council was based at Bodlondeb, a large house built in 1877 on Bangor Road in
Conwy
Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...
, which had served as the main offices of the old Conwy Borough Council since 1937. The council also maintained additional offices at
Llandudno Town Hall
Llandudno Town Hall ( cy, Neuadd y Dref Llandudno) is a municipal structure in Lloyd Street, Llandudno, Wales. The town hall, which serves as the meeting place of Llandudno Town Council, is a Grade II listed building.
History
The first town h ...
, which had been built in 1902 for the former Llandudno Urban District Council.
After Aberconwy's abolition in 1996, Bodlondeb became the headquarters of the replacement
Conwy County Borough Council
Conwy County Borough Council ( cy, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy) is the local authority for Conwy County Borough, one of the principal areas of Wales.
History
Conwy County Borough was created in 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aberconwy (District)
History of Conwy County Borough
Districts of Wales abolished in 1996
History of Gwynedd
1974 establishments in Wales