Dwyfor was one of the five

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

s of

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

from 1974 to 1996, covering the

Llŷn peninsula The Llŷn Peninsula ( or , ) is a peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, with an area of about , and a population of at least 20,000. It extends into the Irish Sea, and its southern coast is the northern boundary of the Tremadog Bay inlet of Cardigan Ba ...

. Its council was based in

Pwllheli Pwllheli ( ; ) is a market town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula (), in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011, which declined slightly to 3,947 in 2021; a large proportion (81%) were Welsh language, Welsh speaking. ...

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974, under 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 ...

. It covered the whole area of four former districts and parts of a fifth from the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

, which were all abolished at the same time: *

Beddgelert Beddgelert () is a village and community (Wales), community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census was 460 (rounded to the nearest 10). This includes Nan ...

parish from Gwyrfai Rural District * Clynnog parish from Gwyrfai Rural District * Criccieth Urban District * Llŷn Rural District * Porthmadog Urban District *

Municipal Borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

The new district was named after the river Dwyfor. Dwyfor was notable for being the last stronghold of the Sabbatarian

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

in Wales. Under the terms of the Licensing Act 1961, local referendums prevented the opening of

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

s on Sundays until 1996. Under the

Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the Local Government Act 1972 to create the current local government structure in Wales of 22 unitary authority areas, referred to as ...

, the previous two tier system of counties and districts was replaced with new principal areas (each designated either a "county" or a "county borough"), whose councils perform the functions previously divided between the county and district councils. The Dwyfor area merged with Arfon and

Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a , a district and, as Merionethshire, a county. It is currently a committee area within the county Gwynedd. Kingdom (Meirion, with as a Welsh suffix of land, literally 'La ...

to become a county which the government initially called "Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire". During the transition to the new system, the shadow authority requested a change of name from "Caernarfonshire and Meirionethshire" to "Gwynedd". The government confirmed the change with effect from 2 April 1996, one day after the new council came into being. The Dwyfor area remains in use as an

area committee Many large local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees or area boards, which involve local people and organisations in decisions affecting council spending within their area. They cover a geographical are ...

Gwynedd Council Gwynedd Council, which calls itself by its Welsh name , is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language. History The county of Gwynedd was c ...

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973. The council operated as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Throughout the council's existence a majority of the seats were held by independents:

Premises

The council established its main offices on Embankment Road in

. After the council's abolition in 1996 the building became an area office of

References

{{Coord, 52.903, -4.460, display=title, region:GB_scale:500000 Districts of Gwynedd Former subdivisions of Wales Districts of Wales abolished in 1996 1974 establishments in Wales

History

Political control

Premises

See also

References