{{Short description, Formal legal term for a county in England and Wales
In
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...
legislation, a principal area is one of the sub-national areas established for control by 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 ...
. They include most of the areas governed by the lowest level of local government above that of Parish or Community council.
England
In
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
the principal areas are defined by the
Local Government Act 1992
The Local Government Commission for England was the body responsible for reviewing the structure of local government in England from 1992 to 2002. It was established under the Local Government Act 1992, replacing the Local Government Boundary C ...
as,
*the
non-metropolitan counties
A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoff ...
*the
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
*the
London borough
The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at ...
s
Note that while the local authority bodies of the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
,
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...
,
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...
,
civil parishes
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...
and the
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of th ...
are not included within this definition, they otherwise remain defined as "local government areas".
While the phrase exists as a specific term in legislation such as the 1992 Act to refer to the geographical area governed by a principal council the usual descriptive title otherwise used for such an area is one of County, Borough, District, City or Unitary Area.
Wales
A principal area in
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 ...
is any one of the areas governed by a unit of local government created by 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 ...
that amended 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 ...
.Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 s.1, amending Local Government Act 1972 s.20 /ref> The first-named Act allocated the English-language descriptive titles of,
* County or County Borough
Not all councils include their description as a County or Borough within the name used for normal public presentation, an example bein Gwynedd which uses the simple ''Gwynedd Council'' and/or ''Cyngor Gwynedd'', typically combined in logos and headings as the bilingual ''Cyngor Gwynedd Council'' (with ''Gwynedd'' emphasised).
The plural Welsh translation as used in legislation such as Reg. 2 The Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (Wales) Regulations 2004 is ''Prif Ardaloedd''.