The
Local Government Commission for Wales was established by the
Local Government Act 1958The Local Government Act 1958 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London...
to review the organisation of local government in
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
and to make recommendations for its reform. It delivered its report in 1963 and was dissolved in 1967. Its recommendations were not carried out.
The Commission was appointed by Royal Warrant dated January 5, 1959, with a membership of five. The chairman was Sir Guildhaume Myrddin-Evans, and Deputy-Chairman was Sir David Emrys Evans.
The
Local Government Commission for Wales was established by the
Local Government Act 1958The Local Government Act 1958 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London...
to review the organisation of local government in
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
and to make recommendations for its reform. It delivered its report in 1963 and was dissolved in 1967. Its recommendations were not carried out.
The Commission was appointed by Royal Warrant dated January 5, 1959, with a membership of five. The chairman was Sir Guildhaume Myrddin-Evans, and Deputy-Chairman was Sir David Emrys Evans. The remaining members were William Jones, Professor Charles Edward Gittins and Janet Morgan.
For the purposes of the Commission's work Wales was divided into three Review Areas:
- West and Mid Wales Review Area: the administrative counties
An administrative county was an administrative division in England and Wales and Ireland used for the purposes of local government. They are now abolished, although in Northern Ireland their former areas are used as the basis for lieutenancy....
of Breconshire, CardiganshireCardiganshire was an ancient county of Wales created in 1282. In extent it is more or less identical to Ceredigion, a county constituted as Cardiganshire in 1996, with the name reverting to Ceredigion a day later.-History:...
, CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. Its three largest towns are Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford...
, PembrokeshirePembrokeshire is a county in the southwest of Wales.-Geography:Pembrokeshire is a maritime county, bordered by the sea on three sides, by Ceredigion to the north east and by Carmarthenshire to the east...
and RadnorshireRadnorshire is one of thirteen historic and former administrative counties of Wales. It is represented by the Radnorshire area of Powys, which according to the 2001 census, had a population of 24,805....
:- review commenced May 5, 1959
- Glamorgan and Monmouthshire Review Area: the administrative counties of Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying names and boundaries until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three preserved...
and MonmouthshireMonmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
, and the county boroughCounty 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. The Local Government Act 1972 abolished them in England and Wales, but they are still used in the Republic of Ireland and Northern...
s of CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. According to recent estimates, the...
, Merthyr TydfilMerthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 13th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of...
, NewportNewport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff, and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
and SwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
: - review commenced May 5, 1959
- North Wales Review Area: the administrative counties
An administrative county was an administrative division in England and Wales and Ireland used for the purposes of local government. They are now abolished, although in Northern Ireland their former areas are used as the basis for lieutenancy....
of AngleseyThe Isle of Anglesey , is an island and county off the northwest coast of Wales, with a predominantly Welsh-speaking population. It is connected to the mainland by two bridges spanning the Menai Strait: the original Menai Suspension Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford in 1826; and the newer...
, Caernarvonshire, DenbighshireDenbighshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county, which covered an area in north-east Wales. It was a maritime county, bounded to the north by the Irish Sea, to the east by Flintshire, Cheshire and Shropshire, to the south by Montgomeryshire and...
, FlintshireFlintshire is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales, which mostly lay on the north-east coast of Wales....
, Merioneth and Montgomeryshire‎Montgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after one of William the Conqueror's main counsellors, Roger de Montgomerie, who was the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury....
: - review commenced March 28, 1960
The Commission submitted their draft proposals in May 1961., and their final report in March 1963.
Recommendations
The Commission recommended:
- A reduction in the number of administrative counties from 13 to 7
- Extensions of the county boroughs of Cardiff, Newport and Swansea
- The county borough of Merthyr Tydfil to become a non-county borough in Glamorgan
The Commission rejected the constitution of the boroughs of
RhonddaRhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
and
WrexhamWrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located to the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
as county boroughs.
The proposals set out in the report were not accepted by the government, and following the establishment of an inter-departmental working group in 1965, a white paper was issued in 1967. This incorporated some of the 1963 proposals and included some innovations.
The local government system envisaged in the White Paper comprised:
- 5 "administrative areas" replacing the 13 administrative counties :
- North West Wales county (Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, Merionethshire)
- North East Wales county (Denbighshire, Flintshire, Montgomeryshire)
- South West Wales county (Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire)
- Glamorgan (Glamorgan, Merthyr Tydfil county borough)
- South East Wales county (Breconshire, Monmouthshire, Radnorshire)
- The administrative areas divided into 36 districts
- The county boroughs of Cardiff, Newport and Swansea to continue
- "Common Councils" and a "Welsh Council" for the administration of joint services
While the new areas were to be based on existing administrative counties, there were to be slight boundary changes: the largest being the readjustment of the of the Caernarvonshire/Denbighshire boundary between North East and North West Wales counties, the inclusion of the Edeyrnion area of Merionethshire in North east wales, and the much of south breconshire passing to Glamorgan.
On February 26, 1964, The Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, Sir
Keith JosephKeith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, Bt., CH, PC was a British barrister, politician, and Conservative Cabinet Minister under three different Ministries. He is widely regarded as the "power behind the throne" in the creation of what came to be known as "Thatcherism"...
, indicated in the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
that the government did not intend to implement the commission's proposals. He stated that while there was an urgent need for reform, the government wished to reconsider the pattern of local government with the possibility of issuing a white paper leading to legislation in the future.
In the event, local government in Wales remained unchanged until the implementation of the
Local Government Act 1972The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
in 1974, which created a two-tier system of counties and districts throughout the principality. Two of the counties created in 1974,
DyfedDyfed is a preserved county of Wales.Dyfed was created by the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974. It was formed from the administrative counties of Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and was divided into local government districts as so:...
and
GwyneddGwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although one of the biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
closely resembled the South West and North West Wales areas.