A community ( cy, cymuned) is a division of land in

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 ...

that forms the lowest tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to

civil parishes in England In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

. There are 878 communities in Wales.

History

Until 1974 Wales was divided into

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

es. These were abolished by section 20 (6) of 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 ...

, and replaced by communities by section 27 of the same Act. The principal areas of Wales are divided entirely into communities. Unlike in England, where unparished areas exist, no part of Wales is outside a community, even in

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, ...

s. Most, but not all, communities are administered by

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. ...

s, which are equivalent to English parish councils in terms of their powers and the way they operate. Welsh community councils may call themselves town councils unilaterally and may have city status granted by

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

. In Wales, all town councils are community councils. There are now three communities with city status: Bangor, St Asaph and St Davids. The chair of a town council or city council will usually have the title mayor (Welsh: ''maer''). However, not every community has a council. In communities with populations too small to sustain a full community council, community meetings may be established. The communities in the urban areas of the cities of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

, Swansea and

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

do not have community councils. As of the

2001 United Kingdom census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th Census in the United Kingdom, UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organis ...

, there were 869 communities in Wales. 84 percent, or more than 730, have a council. They vary in size from Rhayader with an area of to Cefn Fforest with an area of . They ranged in population from

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

with 45,053 recorded inhabitants to Baglan Bay with no permanent residents. The twenty-two principal area councils are required to review the community boundaries within their area every fifteen years. The councils propose changes to the

Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales The Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales ( cy, Comisiwn Ffiniau a Democratiaeth Leol Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for defining borders for local elections and government in Wales. The name of the commission ...

, which prepares a report and makes recommendations to the

Welsh Government , image = , caption = , date_established = , country = Wales , address = , leader_title = First Minister () , appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...

. If the Welsh Government accepts the recommendations, then it implements them using a statutory instrument. For example, in 2016 four new communities were created in the City and County of Cardiff. The legislation surrounding community councils in Wales has been amended significantly in the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 and the

Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 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-loca ...

History

See also

References

Sources

Further reading