County Hall, Cardiff
Encyclopedia
The County Hall is the head office of Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...

 (formerly South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area...

 County Council), located beside the disused Bute East Dock in the Atlantic Wharf
Atlantic Wharf
Atlantic Wharf 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 includes a number of refurbished dock warehouses, modern hotels, the Red...

 area of Butetown
Butetown
Butetown is a community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early nineteenth century by John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, for whose title the area was named...

, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

.

Design and construction

The building was designed by J.R.C. Bethell, the County Architect for South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan
South Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area...

, and built 1986-7. This was at a time when the surrounding area consisted mainly of post-industrial dereliction. Hence the construction of the new building has been described in Buildings of Wales: Glamorgan as a "remarkable gesture of faith [by] the South Glamorgan County Council". It is seen as representative of a new form of civic building that does not dominate its surroundings by its size, or formal language, to the extent that it could "even [be] a deliberate abregation of the arrogant assertiveness of the late C19, expressed across the water".

County Hall was officially opened by the Right Honourable Lord Callaghan of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

 KG, in October 1988.

The building is generally three storeys in height, but rises to four and five storeys in places. The distinctive shallow pitch roofs are of black slate. In plan the building is formed around a central courtyard.

Occupants and function

County Hall is the main headquarters of Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...

. It is home to many of the Council's departments.

The accommodation includes the main Council Chamber and several committee rooms.

The Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council
The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council consists of 75 councillors, representing 29 electoral wards. The authority is properly styled as The County Council of the City and County of Cardiff or in...

 Camera Control Room is also located at County Hall, where operators use CCTV to monitor locations across the city in an attempt to stop fly-tipping
Fly-tipping
Fly-tipping is a British term for dumping waste illegally instead of in an authorised rubbish dump. It is the illegal deposit of any waste onto land, i.e...

 and other criminal activity.

County Hall is also marketed as a venue for conferences, weddings and other events. It boasts an in-house catering team, a large bar for refreshments and function suites to accommodate up to 300 people.

Recent developments

In September 2007, former Council chief executive Byron Davies unveiled plans aimed at massive efficiency improvements and bringing in additional funding, which could include selling County Hall, the Cardiff Heliport
Cardiff Heliport
Cardiff Heliport is a heliport located in Tremorfa, Cardiff, Wales, approximately 2 miles from the city centre.The heliport is owned by Cardiff Council, but Veritair Ltd have a long term lease on the facility...

 and up to 40% of Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus
Cardiff Bus is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. Its hub is Cardiff central bus station...

.

As at the end of 2009 no specific proposals to implement these ideas had been brought forward by the Council.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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