Bridgend County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is 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 ...

in the south-east of

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 ...

. The county borough has a total population of 139,200 people, and contains the town of

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

, after which it is named. Its members of the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

are Sarah Murphy MS, representing the Bridgend Constituency, and Huw Irranca-Davies MS representing the Ogmore Constituency, and its members of UK parliament are

Jamie Wallis Jamie Hamilton Wallis (born 2 June 1984) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the member of Parliament (MP) for Bridgend in Wales since the 2019 general election. Wallis defeated incumbent Labour MP Madeleine Moon, who had re ...

and

Chris Elmore Christopher Philip James Elmore (born 23 December 1983) is a Welsh Labour Party politician. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Ogmore since 2016. Early life and career Elmore was born in Newport and lived in Brynmawr and in Caerphil ...

. The county borough lies at the geographical heart of south Wales. Its land area of 110 mi² (285 km²) stretches 12 miles (20 km) from east to west and occupies the Llynfi, Garw and Ogmore valleys. The largest town is Bridgend (pop: 39,773), followed by Maesteg (pop: 20,700) and seaside resort of Porthcawl (pop: 19,238). It is situated on the

Ogmore River The River Ogmore ( cy, Afon Ogwr) is a river in South Wales that is popular with anglers. It runs generally from north to south from the Ogmore Vale and Gilfach Goch, past Bridgend and Ogmore. The River Ogmore rises at Craig Ogwr (527 m) in the ...

and its tributaries, although the

Ewenny Ewenny ( cy, Ewenni) is a village and community (parish) on the River Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Over the years the village has grown into the neighbouring village of Corntown to such an extent that there is no longer a clear boundar ...

and

Ogwr Fach The Borough of Ogwr was one of six districts of Mid Glamorgan in Wales, which existed from 1974 to 1996. History It was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 from the urban districts of Bridgend, Maesteg, Ogmore and Garw and Porthcawl, al ...

rivers form the border with 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 ...

for much of their length. It was formed on 1 April 1996 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 ...

. It includes all of the former

Ogwr The Borough of Ogwr was one of six districts of Mid Glamorgan in Wales, which existed from 1974 to 1996. History It was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 from the urban districts of Bridgend, Maesteg, Ogmore and Garw and Porthcawl, alon ...

borough apart from the communities of

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

, St Bride's Major and

, which went to Vale of Glamorgan. Bridgend County Borough was divided into 20

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...

Brackla Brackla ( cy, Bracla) is a large housing estate and community in the east of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Along with the communities of Bridgend and Coychurch Lower, it makes up the town of Bridgend. At the 2001 census the communi ...

Cefn Cribwr Cefn Cribwr is a village and community in Bridgend County Borough in south Wales. The village is located about 5 miles (8 km) from the centre of Bridgend town, and inbetween Bridgend and Pyle. Description The village is situated on a ridge ...

Coity Higher Coity Higher is a community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales. It contains the north western suburbs of Bridgend which includes the villages of Litchard and Coity. The southern boundary of the community adjoins the community of Brackla, wh ...

, Coychurch Higher,

Coychurch Lower Coychurch Lower is a community (Wales), community in Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. Along with the communities of Brackla and Bridgend (community), Bridgend, it makes up the town of Bridgend. Coychurch Lower is the eastern district of Brid ...

Cornelly Cornelly (Welsh: ''Corneli'') is a community and electoral ward in Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. As of 2011 the population of the Cornelly ward was 7,059. Cornelly was created following ''The Bridgend (Cynffig, Cornelly and Pyle Communi ...

Garw Valley Garw Valley (Welsh: ''Cwm Garw'') is a community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. As the name suggests, it follows and encompasses the valley of the River Garw. The community includes the villa ...

Laleston Laleston is a village and a community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales, directly west of Bridgend town centre. The village takes its name from the Norman Lageles family who settled in the area. Buildings of note in the village include St D ...

Llangynwyd Lower Llangynwyd Lower is a community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales. It is located to the north west of Bridgend and contains the village of Coytrahen. At the 2001 census, the population of the community was 467, reducing to 440 at the 2011 ...

Llangynwyd Middle Llangynwyd Middle is a community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales. It is located to the south of Maesteg and contains the villages of Llangynwyd and Cwmfelin. At the 2001 census, the population of the community was 2,843, increasing to 3, ...

Maesteg Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translation of Mae ...

Merthyr Mawr Merthyr Mawr is a village and community in Bridgend, Wales. The village is about 2½ miles from the centre of Bridgend town. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 267. The community occupies the area west of the Ewenny River, be ...

Newcastle Higher Newcastle Higher is a community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales. Located north west of Bridgend town centre it is made up of the townships of Pen-y-fai and Aberkenfig and straddles the M4 motorway. The community is home to several notab ...

Ogmore Valley Ogmore Valley ( cy, Cwm Ogwr) is a community in the Bridgend County Borough, Mid Glamorgan, Wales. Made up of the villages of Nantymoel, Ogmore Vale, Price Town and Wyndham, its population at the time of the 2001 census was 7,800, increasing to ...

Pencoed Pencoed ( cy, Pen-coed) is a urbanised community and town in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. It straddles the M4 motorway north east of Bridgend and is situated on the Ewenny River. At the 2011 census it had a population of around 9,166. ...

Porthcawl Porthcawl (, ) is a town and community on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, west of the capital city, Cardiff and southeast of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the So ...

Pyle Pyle ( cy, Y Pîl) is a village and Community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Bridgend (county borough), Bridgend county borough, Wales. This large village is served by the A48 road, and lies less than one mile from Junction 37 of ...

St Bride's Minor St Bride's Minor is a community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales. Located north of Bridgend town it is made up of Sarn, a large housing estate, and the villages of Bryncethin and Abergarw. The southern border of the community is defined b ...

and

Ynysawdre Ynysawdre is a small community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales. It is located to the east of Aberkenfig in Wales, and comprises the two villages of Tondu and Brynmenyn. The name Ynysawdre is also usually used for a small section of Tondu. ...

. The communities of Brackla, Bridgend and Coychurch Lower make up the town of Bridgend.

Government

The region is governed by

Bridgend County Borough Council Bridgend County Borough Council ( cy, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is the governing body for Bridgend County Borough, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. History Bridgend County Borough and Bridgend County Borough Council came ...

, a

Principal council A Principal council is a local government authority carrying out statutory duties in a principal area in England and Wales. The term “principal council” was first defined in the Local Government Act 1972, Section 270. This act created great r ...

. It is currently in the control of the Labour party with 26 seats out of 54.

Schools

Parks and green spaces

Bryngarw Country Park Bryngarw Country Park is made up of and is situated on the west bank of the Afon Garw, at the mouth of the Garw Valley in the Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The western boundary is marked by the Brynmenyn-Bettws road and the River Garw is its ...

is the largest (113

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ya ...

)

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...

in the borough. It offers many amenity based areas including an adventure play area, barbecue and picnic areas, car park, cafe, visitor centre and toilets; as well as a patchwork of

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

and

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

habitats. Bryngarw Country Park is a Grade II listed Historic Park and Garden and has been designated a 'Green Flag' Park since 2010. The Oriental Garden in the park has been noted as a 'Visit Wales Sustainable Tourism, Historic Gardens Centre of Excellence’ by the 'One Historic Garden, Centre of Excellence'. Kenfig National Nature Reserve with Glamorgan's largest natural lake, Kenfig Pool, is set on the edge of this area, with views from Sker beach across Swansea Bay to

Gower Gower ( cy, Gŵyr) or the Gower Peninsula () in southwest Wales, projects towards the Bristol Channel. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan. In 1956, the majority of Gower became the first area in the United Kingdom ...

. It is one of the finest wildlife habitats in Wales, and one of the last remnants of a huge dune system that once stretched along the coast from the River Ogmore to the Gower peninsula. The reserve is home to unique wild orchids, as well as insects and wildlife. Kenfig is one of the most important sites in Britain for nature conservation. Parc Slip Nature Reserve is an environment of wetlands, woodlands and meadows at the Parc Slip Nature Park where there is a wealth of wildlife. After a century of coal mining on the site, the Wildlife Trust began to manage the land for nature in the late 1980s. Varied habitats have since been created and the park supports an increasing diversity of wildlife.

Notable people

* :People from Bridgend

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the

Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of Bridgend.

Individuals

Military Units

* The

Royal Welsh The Royal Welsh (R WELSH) ( cy, Y Cymry Brenhinol) is an armoured infantry regiment of the British Army. It was established in 2006 from the Royal Welch Fusiliers (23rd Foot) and the Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/41st Foot). History The ...

: 30 August 2008. * 2 Company 1st Battalion The

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V ...

: 11 May 2011.

References

External links

* *
Bridgend Association of Voluntary Organisations
{{Coord, 51, 30, 24, N, 3, 34, 46, W, type:adm2nd_region:GB_dim:12000, display=title Glamorgan Principal areas of Wales County boroughs of Wales