A community () is a division of land that forms the lowest tier of

local government in Wales Local government in Wales is primarily undertaken by the twenty-two principal councils. The councils are Unitary authority, unitary authorities, meaning they are responsible for providing local government services within their Principal areas of ...

. Welsh communities are analogous to

civil parishes in England In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

but, unlike English parishes, communities cover the whole of Wales. There are 878 communities in Wales, with more than 730 having community and town councils.

History

Until 1974 Wales was divided into

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

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 The principal areas of Wales, comprising the counties and county boroughs of Wales, are a Subdivisions of Wales, form of subdivision in Wales. There are currently 22 principal areas in Wales, and they were established in 1996. They are a singl ...

are divided entirely into communities. Unlike in England, where

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

s exist, no part of Wales is outside a community, even in

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

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 council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

s unilaterally and may have

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

granted by

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. In Wales, all town councils are community councils. There are now three communities with city status: Bangor,

St Asaph St Asaph (; "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...

and St Davids. The chair of a town council or city council will usually have the title mayor (). 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 (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

and Newport do not have community councils. At the 2001 United Kingdom census, 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 with 45,053 recorded inhabitants to

Baglan Bay Baglan Bay () is a part of the Swansea Bay coastline and a district of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. Baglan Bay is also the name of a local government community. Baglan Bay is served by the M4 Motorway and the A48 road which traverse ...

with no permanent residents. As of 2025, there are 878 communities, although the number of them having community/town councils have remained the same at 730. 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 Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru () is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for defining local government boundaries and Senedd constituency boundaries in Wales, also known as . The Commission was established originally as ...

, which prepares a report and makes recommendations to the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

. 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.

History

See also

References

Sources

Further reading