Oldcastle is an area and electoral ward of 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 medieval bridge over the River Og ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, to the south of the town centre. The ward elects councillors to Bridgend Town Council and Bridgend County Borough Council.

Description

Oldcastle is located immediately south of Bridgend town centre. The area is bordered to the west by the

River Ogmore 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 th ...

. Oldcastle originally spread along Nolton Street and Cowbridge Road (and was also known as Nolton). The Oldcastle name is believed to refer to Nolton Castle (rather than the nearby Newcastle Castle), whose remains were recorded in the 16th-century on the southeast of a bend in the River Ogmore. With the 'new' castle dating from at least 1106, the 'old' castle is presumed to have been in existence before 1100 and would have been an earth and timber structure. The modern area also includes the Bridgend campus of Bridgend College.

Electoral ward

The Oldcastle electoral ward extends south to include the areas of Whiterock and Hernston. The ward is bounded by the

River Ewenny The Ewenny River ( cy, Afon Ewenni) is a river in South Wales. For most of its length, it forms the border between the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend. It is a major tributary of the River Ogmore, which it joins near its estuary. Course The riv ...

(and 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 ...

) to the south, The Rhiw, Brackla Street and Pen-y-Banc in the north, coterminous with the boundaries of Bridgend town to the east and west. According to the 2011 UK Census the population of the ward was 4,799 (with 3,930 aged 18 or over). Oldcastle is one of three wards to Bridgend Town Council (with Morfa and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

), electing up to six of the nineteen Bridgend town councillors. Prior to 1996 Oldcastle was a ward to Ogwr Borough Council, electing two (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

) councillors. Oldcastle is also a county ward to Bridgend County Borough Council, electing two county councillors. Since the 1995 elections the ward has generally been represented by the Labour Party, though had

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

representation between 2004 and 2012. In February 2015 the Oldcastle (Labour) councillors were two of six councillors suspended from the council for voting against a merger proposal with 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 ...

References

{{coord, 51.503, -3.575, display=title Bridgend Wards of Bridgend County Borough