Electoral wards in the city of Bangor, Gwynedd

Bangor City Council or officially the City of Bangor Council is an elected

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. I ...

serving Bangor in

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, an ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Background

Bangor's council was created in 1883 by royal charter. In 1974 it became City of Bangor Council, after Bangor had been granted city status, though many of its previous powers were passed to Arfon Borough Council (1974–1996) and the new

Gwynedd Council Cyngor Gwynedd ( en, Gwynedd Council) 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 created in 1974 under ...

, based in

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor ...

. The city council's roles include consultation on all

planning application Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building per ...

s within the city boundaries, as well as applications for alcohol licenses. Its current responsibilities extend to maintaining footpaths and bus shelters, as well as managing a number of woodland areas and open public spaces. The city council is most notably responsible for the maintenance of Wales' second longest pier, the

Garth Pier Garth Pier is a Grade II listed structure in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. At in length, it is the second-longest pier in Wales, and the ninth longest in the British Isles. Construction Designed by J.J. Webster of Westminster, London, the pier has ...

. After Arfon Borough Council had decided to demolish it in 1974, Bangor City Council bought the pier for a nominal one pence. However, in 2012 the council only had £1 million of the estimated £2 million needed to repair it. The council-financed £1 million restoration began in 2017, phased over three to four years. In addition the city council owns a number of important buildings, including the Town Clock, the City Council Offices and Penhryn Hall (containing the Council Chamber) in Ffordd Gwynedd. It owns Nantporth Football Stadium, which it leases to Bangor City Football Club. It also owns Hafan Drop-in Centre which is managed by Age Concern Cymru as a city centre drop in for the elderly and disabled. In June 2012 a curfew keeping young people out of Bangor city centre made the UK national news. Bangor City Council had to call an emergency meeting to raise their concerns, because Gwynedd Council and the local police had imposed the curfew without consulting city councillors. In May 2021 Bangor became the first Welsh city council and the sixteenth in the UK to pass a resolution supporting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Representation

Twenty councillors are elected from the eight

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to ...

s in the city, namely:

Deiniol Saint Deiniol (died 572) was traditionally the first Bishop of Bangor in the Kingdom of Gwynedd, Wales. The present Bangor Cathedral, dedicated to Deiniol, is said to be on the site where his monastery stood. He is venerated in Brittany as Sai ...

(2), Dewi (3), Garth (2), Glyder (3), Hendre (2), Hirael (2), Marchog (3) and Menai (3). In 2017 half of the seats were won by

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

. The eight wards also elect ten county councillors to

Mayor

The council elects a city

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

and deputy mayor annually. The Mayor making for 2020 was delayed by a year due to COVID-19 and both the Deputy Mayor and Mayor were to remain in their posts for another year until 2021. In May 2021 22-year old Owen J Hurcum was elected mayor, the youngest ever mayor in Wales and also possibly the first

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

person in the world to hold such a position.

Council composition

References

{{reflist Community councils of Wales Bangor, Gwynedd Government of Gwynedd