South Glamorgan County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg) was the local government authority that administered the county of

South Glamorgan , Government= South Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= , HQ= ...

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 ...

from its creation in 1974 until its abolition in 1996.

History

Local government in England and Wales was reorganised in 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 ...

. The old administrative county of

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

was divided into three new counties and

Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Local ...

was abolished. The new county of

South Glamorgan , Government= South Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= , HQ= ...

was created covering the former

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 ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, (which had been independent from Glamorgan County Council), together with the southern parts of Glamorgan and the parish of

St Mellons St Mellons ( cy, Llaneirwg) is a district and suburb of southeastern Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Prior to 1996 St Mellons was the name given to the community largely north of Newport Road (B4487) which included the old St Mellons village. ...

from

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

. South Glamorgan County Council came into existence on 1 April 1974. There were two lower-tier district councils within South Glamorgan:

Cardiff City Council Cardiff City Council was the local government district authority that administered the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district council replaced the pre-1974 county borough council. It was succeeded in 1996 by Car ...

(later

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

) and the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council (later 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 ...

). Ahead of the 1970 general election, the Labour Party, had proposed splitting Glamorgan into two counties, East and West. However, the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

prevailed at the election and proceeded to divide the county into three, hoping South Glamorgan would become a Conservative-controlled administration.''Capital Cardiff 1975–2020'', "Chapter 3: Governing Cardiff: politics, power and personalities", p. 32 South Glamorgan County Council was abolished in 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 ...

. Its functions passed to the two district councils of

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 C ...

, which became

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

Political control

The first election to the county 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. Despite the intentions of the Conservatives who created South Glamorgan, the Labour Party gained a majority of the seats on the council at the first election. Labour held the council from 1974 to 1977 and from 1981 to 1996, with the Conservatives holding power for the four intervening years.

Leadership

The leaders of the council included:

Emyr Currie-Jones Emyr Currie-Jones CBE (1917–2008) was a local Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician in Cardiff, Wales. He was Chairman of South Glamorgan County Council and known for his role in introducing Welsh-language education in Cardiff. He has ...

was the initial Chairman of the Council from 1973 until 1975.

Elections

Elections were held every four years:

Premises

The county council was initially headquartered in a building on

Newport Road Newport Road is a 4.7 mi (7.5 km) road leading east from the centre of Cardiff, Wales, towards Newport, until it joins the A48 at St Mellons. Description Newport Road follows the route of the A4161 through Roath and the B4487 t ...

, Cardiff."Jack Brooks"
''South Wales Echo'', 25 February 2005. Retrieved 2013-05-04. In 1986 the council moved to a purpose-built County Hall at

Atlantic Wharf Atlantic Wharf ( cy, Glanfa Iwerydd) is a southern area of the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily an area of new houses and apartments located on the west side of the disused Bute East Dock and to the east of Lloyd George Avenue. It also i ...

in Cardiff. Since the county council's abolition in 1996, County Hall has been used as offices by Cardiff Council.

Sources

*Alan Hooper; John Punter (Eds.) ''Capital Cardiff 1975–2020: Regeneration, Competitiveness and the Urban Environment''. University of Wales Press (2006), .

Footnotes

{{South Glamorgan elections 1974 establishments in Wales 1996 disestablishments in Wales County councils of Wales South Glamorgan