Proposed 1967 Local Government areas for Wales

[cibwr]

imgur.com/FlDs6FX

For some reason I can't get the image to upload...

[Pete Whitehead]

[Harry Hayfield]

Right then, let's have a look at this then. Mmm, number seven in North Wales is an interesting one, presumably based on Rhyl and Prestatyn. Now there's an interesting idea in Dyfed, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion all split into two councils with Llanelli on its own, now that seems a very suitable idea I say, deals with the question of localism (North Ceredigion gravitates towards Aberystwyth, South Ceredigion towards Lampeter) and by association would better reflect the politics of the county. Cardiff, Newport, Swansea all single councils, makes sense, I don't really like what they have done to the Vale of Glamorgan, mind, but, overall, yes, I don't mind that at all. The only problem is 39 councils, would that number fly in today's politics and economics?

[Chris from Brum]

Peculiar division of Pembrokeshire. Have they never heard of the Landsker Line?

[cibwr]

These are very like the districts that we got eventually before the current reorganisation. And thanks Pete. The South Pembokshire is identical. North Wales/Gwynedd almost identical. Powys totally other than some tweeks in the south of Breconshire. Dyfed almost so, just as pointed out the Tifiside and northern Ceredigion ones different. Swansea, Newport and Cardiff would have remained County Boroughs, and Merthyr would be a district of Glamorgan

[cibwr]

What I find remarkable is that there is alot of consistency between what was proposed then, what we got and what Edgar Chappell proposed in the 1940s.....

[finsobruce]

Oct 22, 2019 10:23:39 GMT cibwr said:

These are very like the districts that we got eventually before the current reorganisation. And thanks Pete. The South Pembokshire is identical. North Wales/Gwynedd almost identical. Powys totally other than some tweeks in the south of Breconshire. Dyfed almost so, just as pointed out the Tifiside and northern Ceredigion ones different. Swansea, Newport and Cardiff would have remained County Boroughs, and Merthyr would be a district of Glamorgan

sadly tweeks are almost extinct in South Breconshire these days...

[🏴‍☠️ Neath West 🏴‍☠️]

I like the Teifiside idea. Slightly surprised they didn't similarly stick Builth Wells UD and Builth RD into Radnorshire.

[cibwr]

I have to admit that the Builth Wells UD and RD into Radnor seems to make some sense. It is interesting reading the various reports into local government reorganisation in Wales, they seem to have a common thread with the need for local bodies to administer some services and regional bodies to administer others. With the exception of the reorganisation that gave us the current unitary structure all previous reviews rejected the unitary solution as either creating a small number of bodies that would be too remote from the public, or create a larger number of smaller authorities that would lack the resources and personnel to efficiently administer the "big ticket" items. The solution was two tier. I still think that 5 regions and about 25 - 30 districts would be a sensible compromise. Id also the merge some of the smaller rural community councils to create fewer while creating them in the more urban areas like Cardiff and Swansea.

[🏴‍☠️ Neath West 🏴‍☠️]

Oct 24, 2019 21:59:35 GMT cibwr said:

It is interesting reading the various reports into local government reorganisation in Wales, they seem to have a common thread with the need for local bodies to administer some services and regional bodies to administer others. With the exception of the reorganisation that gave us the current unitary structure all previous reviews rejected the unitary solution as either creating a small number of bodies that would be too remote from the public, or create a larger number of smaller authorities that would lack the resources and personnel to efficiently administer the "big ticket" items.

Of course the unitaries came a couple of years before the Welsh Assembly, but that Assembly ought to be the game-changer here: it is equally capable of delivering big-ticket items as some arbitrary region. Why for instance can't we have a single Welsh Fire Brigade? What earthly reason is there for seven tiny health boards with dreadful obscurantist names that misuse the word "university"? Can't we just abolish all those tiny local education authorities already and make all schools in Wales grant-maintained? Then we could get back to districts being districts...

[cibwr]

Ummmm because Wales is probably too large for regional local government functions. We have rejected the grant maintained status and need some form of education authority for providing joint services. No reason why a single fire or police authority should be foisted on Wales. The seven regional health boards are better than the 22 that went before... As I have said before my preference is for a two tiers system, districts looking after some functions but big ticket items going to regional bodies, education, fire, police, ambulance, heath & social services, waste disposal, transport and economic plannning. Based on 3 city regions in the south and two regions, one mid and west Wales and one for the north. Keeping 25 - 30 districts to run leisure, housing, waste collection, local planning, culture, sports, cemeteries, licensing, environmental health.

[Georg Ebner]

cibwr posted on His site (https://acardiffvoice.blogspot.com/2017/11/local-government-reform-1942.html) these maps, showing the proposal of E.Chappell in 1942:


Based on them i tried to map the 5 advocated regions:

Breaking up the historical counties for these borders in the NW! Or - worst of all - putting 63% of all Welsh into 1 single county!!

[Georg Ebner]

My proposals:
Variant 5 regions (+ perhaps Cardiff as a county of its own):

Variant 6 regions (+CardiffCity?):

And area and inhabitants:

[Penddu]

Ych a fi.....