, Map= Swansea au pays de Galles (1974-1996).svg , HQ=

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, image=

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

, Swansea , Status=

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, Start= 1 April 1974 , End= 31 March 1996 , Replace=

, Arms= , PopulationFirst= 191,400 , PopulationFirstYear= 1974 , PopulationLast= 188,800 , PopulationLastYear= 1994 , membership_title1= County Council , membership1=

West Glamorgan , HQ= County Hall, Swansea , Government= West Glamorgan County Council (abolished 1996) , Status= , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Wes ...

The District of Swansea ( cy, Abertawe) was a local government district with city status in

West Glamorgan , HQ= County Hall, Swansea , Government= West Glamorgan County Council (abolished 1996) , Status= , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Wes ...

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 1974 to 1996.

History

When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, Swansea was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it became a

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 ...

, independent from

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 ...

. 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 ...

a uniform two-tier system of counties and districts was introduced across Wales and England. The new Swansea district was created on 1 April 1974 and covered the area of the former

of Swansea and the Gower Rural District, from the 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 ...

. The new district inherited the city status of the former county borough and so was styled as the "City of Swansea", and was governed by Swansea City Council. It was one of four districts within the new county of West Glamorgan. On 22 March 1982 the city was granted

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

raising the mayor to the dignity of Lord Mayor. The district was abolished in 1996, when

West Glamorgan County Council West Glamorgan County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Gorllewin Morgannwg) was the county council of the county of West Glamorgan in south-west Wales, from its creation in 1974 to its abolition in 1996. History The county was created in 1974 under the ...

was abolished and the districts in the county reorganised to become principal areas. The district of Swansea merged with most of the

Lliw Valley , HQ= Penllergaer , subdivision_type= Borough , Start= 1 April 1974 , End= 31 March 1996 , Replace= SwanseaNeath Port Talbot , Civic= , Motto= Nid d ...

district to form the larger

City and County of Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City ...

Political control

The first election to the 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. From 1974 until the council's abolition in 1996, political control of the council was held by the following parties: The last leader of the council was Trevor Gordon Burtonshaw.

Premises

The council was based at Swansea Guildhall, which had been completed in 1934 for the former county borough council. Between 1974 and 1982 it shared the building with West Glamorgan County Council, until the county council built its own premises at County Hall.

References

{{West Glamorgan elections Politics of Swansea

1974 establishments in Wales 20th century in Swansea