Gwent County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Gwent) was the upper-tier local authority that governed the county of
Gwent in
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
from its creation in 1974 to its abolition in 1996. For most of its existence, the county council was based in
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...
.
History
Gwent County Council 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 took over the geographical area and main roles of the previous councils,
Monmouthshire County Council
Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) ( cy, Cyngor Sir Fynwy) is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales.
The current unitary authority was created in 1996 an ...
(1889–1974) and
Newport County Borough Council (1891–1974), subject to some boundary changes along the western border. Five district councils provided a second tier of government, namely
Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw ...
,
Islwyn
The Borough of Islwyn was one of five local government districts of Gwent from 1974 to 1996.
History
The borough was formed in 1974 as a local government district of Gwent. It covered the whole area of three former districts and part of a four ...
,
Monmouth
Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...
,
Newport and
Torfaen
Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south ...
.
Political control
The first election to the county council was held on
12 April 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 held by the following parties:
The first Chief Executive of Gwent County Council was James Bray, who had previously been deputy clerk of Monmouthshire County Council.
The Chairman of Gwent County Council from 1974 was 78-year-old Councillor Barney O'Neill, who had previously been a representative on Monmouthshire County Council and Chepstow Urban District Council.
Elections
At the first election in 1973, 78 councillors were elected from 66
electoral divisions.
The number of councillors was reduced to 63 in 1989.
Premises
The council was initially based at the old Monmouthshire County Council's headquarters at
Shire Hall in Newport, while a new headquarters was being built in
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...
.
The new
County Hall was on Turnpike Road in
Croesyceiliog
Croesyceiliog (, ''Cockerel's Cross'') is a suburb of Cwmbran, Wales.
Housing
Croesyceiliog is primarily a residential district and contains a wide variety of housing from Victorian terraces and even older Welsh cottages to property built betw ...
, on the eastern outskirts of Cwmbran, and was completed in 1977.
References
{{Gwent elections
Gwent (county)
County councils of Wales
1974 establishments in Wales
1996 disestablishments in Wales