District of Port Talbot

Port Talbot was one of the four local government districts of the county of West Glamorgan, Wales from 1974 to 1996. The borough was initially called Afan, changing its name to Port Talbot in 1986.

Port Talbot
Afan (1974–1985)
Borough

Area
 • 197437,371 acres (151.24 km2)[1]
Population
 • 1973[1]55,580
 • 1992[2]51,100
History
 • Created1 April 1974
 • Abolished31 March 1996
 • Succeeded byNeath Port Talbot
 • HQPort Talbot

History

The district was formed as Afan on 1 April 1974 as part of a general reorganisation of local government in England and Wales under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district was named after the River Afan and was granted a charter bestowing the status of a borough.[1]

The Borough of Afan was created by the amalgamation of the areas of the municipal borough of Port Talbot and the urban district of Glyncorrwg, both previously part of the administrative county of Glamorgan.[3][1] Following a resolution passed by the borough council, the borough was renamed as Port Talbot on 1 January 1986.[4]

On 1 April 1996 the two-tier system of councils introduced in Wales in 1974 was replaced, and the country was divided into twenty-two unitary "principal areas" by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. Port Talbot was amalgamated with the neighbouring Borough of Neath to form the county borough of Neath Port Talbot.[5]

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. Political control of the council from 1974 until the council's abolition in 1996 was held by the following parties:[6]

Party in controlYears
Labour1974–1976
Independent1976–1979
Labour1979–1996

Premises
Port Talbot Civic Centre, built 1987

The council was initially based at the former Port Talbot Borough Council's offices at the Municipal Buildings on Bevin Avenue at Aberavon seafront. This was a temporary prefabricated building erected in 1970 when the council vacated the old Aberavon Town Hall and Municipal Buildings (built 1915) on Water Street in Aberavon. The old town hall had then been demolished, along with a large part of the town centre, to make way for the Aberafan shopping centre.[7] In 1987 the council moved to a new purpose-built Civic Centre adjoining the Aberafan shopping centre.[8] The building at Bevin Avenue was later demolished and a cinema built on the site.

References
  1. Local government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. p. 109. ISBN 0117508470.
  2. OPCS Key Population and Vital Statistics 1992
  3. Schedule 4: Local government areas in Wales, Local Government Act 1972 (c.70)
  4. "No. 50229". The London Gazette. 15 August 1985. p. 11271.
  5. "Schedule I: The New Principal Areas". Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19). Office of Public Sector Information. 1994. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  6. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  7. "Traders fear for the future". Port Talbot Guardian. 9 April 1970. p. 11. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  8. "Borough of Port Talbot: Transfer to new Civic Offices". Neath Guardian. 6 March 1987. p. 28. Retrieved 28 October 2022.

51.596°N 3.781°W / 51.596; -3.781

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