Electoral wards in the town of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan

Barry Town Council is an elected

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

serving

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol C ...

, one of the largest towns in

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 ...

Functions

The town council describes itself as the only elected body dedicated solely to the interests of Barry residents. Its councillors provide a channel to pass on opinions to other organisations and public bodies. Councillors are members of various local governing bodies and organisations. The council's opinion is sought on a variety of local issues, for example

planning application Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

s, street names and licensing issues. The town council has direct ownership and control of Merthyr Dyfan Burial Ground and acts as agent to run Porthkerry Cemetery. It manages and staffs the Pioneer Hall and Memorial Hall. The council also provides grant aid for many local organisations. The town council's offices are next to the

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

on Gladstone Road.

Representation

Barry Town Council is the largest town council in Wales. Twenty two councillors are elected from the eight

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

s in the town, namely:

Baruc Baruc ( cy, Barrwg ; also known as Barruc, Barrog or Barry) was a 6th-century Welsh saint. Saint Baruc, who was a disciple of Saint Cadoc, forgot to bring the latter's reading matter with him on a journey from the island of Flat Holm. Cadoc se ...

(3), Buttrills (3),

Cadoc Saint Cadoc or Cadog ( lat-med, Cadocus; also Modern Welsh: Cattwg; born or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorgan, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the British church as a centre of learnin ...

(3),

Castleland Castleland is an electoral ward in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It elects two county councillors to the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Description The Castleland ward covered an area of Barry southeast of the town centre including a large part of ...

(2), Court (3), Dyfan (2),

Gibbonsdown Gibbonsdown, colloquially known as 'Gibby', is a residential area and electoral ward situated in the north east of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Gibbonsdown borders Merthyr Dyfan to the northwest and Cadoxton to the southeast. Crime ...

(3) and

Illtyd Saint Illtud (also spelled Illtyd, Eltut, and, in Latin, Hildutus), also known as Illtud Farchog or Illtud the Knight, is venerated as the abbot teacher of the divinity school, Bangor Illtyd, located in Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major) in Gl ...

(3). These wards also elect county councillors to the

Vale of Glamorgan Council The Vale of Glamorgan Council is the governing body for the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. It was run by the Conservative Party after the 2008 United Kingdom local elections, taking over the council from no overall contr ...

Only the mayor and deputy mayor receive any form of financial allowances. The issue was debated following the 2017 elections and the council agreed not to introduce wider remuneration to the rest of the council, which it was claimed would cost an additional £100,000.

Mayor

The council elects a town

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

annually. The first mayor of Barry was Councillor Frederick Cook (1912–2008), who was also Chairman of

South Glamorgan County Council South Glamorgan County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg) was the local government authority that administered the county of South Glamorgan, Wales from its creation in 1974 until its abolition in 1996. History Local government in England and ...

and an officer of the GMB trade union. There was controversy in 2008 when the Labour controlled council chose two completely inexperienced councillors for the mayoral positions, rather than an opposition councillor with 25 years service. On 15 May 2017 Councillor Nic Hodges was elected as the first

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

mayor of Barry. The current mayor (2018/19) is Janice Charles, a Conservative, who represents Illtyd ward.

Council composition

In April 2019, a by-election was held in the wake of the resignation of the independent candidate, Richard Bertin, who represented Court ward. The successful candidate was Dennis Clarke of Plaid Cymru, thus increasing Plaid's presence on the Council from six to seven. Following the election on 4 May 2017 Labour were the largest party, though with no overall majority. Plaid Cymru became the official opposition. Following the election on 3 May 2012 Labour had a strong majority. In July 2016 a Gibbonsdown (Labour) councillor resigned his position after he had been charged with common assault on a 17-year-old woman. A by-election on 3 November elected

Welsh Labour Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 1922 ...

councillors to fill the resulting vacancies on the town council and the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

References

{{Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, state=collapsed Community councils of Wales Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Politics of the Vale of Glamorgan