West House, Penarth - 5094705 - geograph

Penarth Town Council is an elected

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. I ...

serving the town of

Penarth Penarth (, ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg), Wales, exactly south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a weal ...

in 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 ...

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 ...

Background

Penarth has had a council of one form or another since the 1890s. Penarth Town Council came into existence in 1974 at the same time as local government reorganisation. Town councillors represent Penarth's views on various committees and to wider public bodies. It gives out awards and grants. The council is responsible for Penarth Cemetery (which was originally acquired by Penarth Urban District Council in 1903) and the town allotments. The council also manages three important buildings in the town, namely West House (the council headquarters), The Paget Rooms (a theatre in the town centre) and The Kymin (a Georgian house near the seafront). West House was purchased from Vale of Glamorgan Council for £100,000 and is the location for the council chamber (where council meetings are held), a Register Office (for births and deaths) and is a licensed wedding venue.

Representation

Electoral wards in the town of Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan

Sixteen councillors are elected from the four

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to ...

s in the town, namely:

Cornerswell Cornerswell is an electoral ward in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It elects two county councillors to the Vale of Glamorgan Council and four town councillors to Penarth Town Council. Description The Cornerswell ward covers the residential ar ...

(4),

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

(4), St Augustine's (5) and

Stanwell Stanwell is a village close to two of the three main towns in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, about west of central London. A small corner of its land is vital industrial land serving Heathrow Airport – most of the rest is residential ...

(3). In 2017 eleven of the seats were won by the Labour Party and five by the

Conservatives 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 ...

. In January 2018 the council supported recommendations that five senior councillors would receive an allowance of £500 per year.

Mayor

The council elects a town

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

and deputy mayor annually.

Council composition

Following the election on 4 May 2017 Labour were the largest party. The Conservatives increased their numbers from four to five, winning back a seat from Labour for the St Augustine's ward. Candidates also stood for

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

, the Liberal Democrats, the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

and Penarth First Independents, though these other parties didn't win any seats. Stanwell councillor Janice Birch, who'd first been elected in 1975, stood down at this election.

References

{{reflist Community councils of Wales Penarth Politics of the Vale of Glamorgan 1974 establishments in Wales