Bridgend County Borough Council ( cy, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is the governing body for

Bridgend County Borough Bridgend County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. The county borough has a total population of 139,200 people, and contains the town of Bridgend, after which it is named. I ...

, one of the

Principal Areas of Wales Since 1 April 1996, Wales has been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas ( cy, Awdurdodau unedol), styled as counties or county boroughs ( or ) for local government purposes. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the pr ...

History

Bridgend County Borough and Bridgend County Borough Council came into effect from 1 April 1996, following 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 ...

''. Bridgend County Borough Council largely replaced

Ogwr Borough Council The Borough of Ogwr was one of six districts of Mid Glamorgan in Wales, which existed from 1974 to 1996. History It was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 from the urban districts of Bridgend, Maesteg, Ogmore and Garw and Porthcawl, a ...

, though St Brides Major,

Ewenny Ewenny ( cy, Ewenni) is a village and community (parish) on the River Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Over the years the village has grown into the neighbouring village of Corntown to such an extent that there is no longer a clear boundar ...

and

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placename ...

were transferred from

Ogwr The Borough of Ogwr was one of six districts of Mid Glamorgan in Wales, which existed from 1974 to 1996. History It was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 from the urban districts of Bridgend, Maesteg, Ogmore and Garw and Porthcawl, a ...

to the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

. In November 2014 the council voted to propose a merger with the neighbouring

Vale of Glamorgan Council The Vale of Glamorgan Council is the governing body for the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. It was run by the Conservative Party after the 2008 United Kingdom local elections, taking over the council from no overall contr ...

, though this was rejected by the

Welsh Government , image = , caption = , date_established = , country = Wales , address = , leader_title = First Minister () , appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...

's Public Services Minister,

Leighton Andrews Leighton Andrews (born 11 August 1957) is an academic and former Welsh Labour politician. He was the National Assembly for Wales member for Rhondda from 2003 until 2016. He was Minister for Children, Education & Lifelong Learning from 2009 to 20 ...

, as not meeting the criteria to be able to proceed.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been held by the following parties:

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2004 have been:

Current composition

As of 12 August 2022. Party with majority control in bold

Elections

Since 2012, elections take place every five years. Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in notes column. Prior to the May 2008 elections Bridgend Council was run by a coalition of Liberal Democrat, Conservative, Plaid Cymru and Independent councillors. After the election the leadership returned to the Labour Party, led by councillor Mel Nott. The council elections on 5 May 2017 saw Labour lose its majority control of the council with, for example, three of the four

Brackla Brackla ( cy, Bracla) is a large housing estate and community in the east of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Along with the communities of Bridgend and Coychurch Lower, it makes up the town of Bridgend. At the 2001 census the commun ...

seats being taken by the Conservatives from Labour. Keith Edwards and Ross Thomas, who'd been deselected by Labour for voting against the proposed local authority merger, won as Independents in

Maesteg Maesteg is a town and community (Wales), community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English ...

. In May 2022 Labour regained a majority and control of the council, though their majority was reduced following the Bridgend Central by-election on 11 August.

Premises

The council is based at the Civic Offices on Angel Street in

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, on the banks of the

River Ogmore The River Ogmore ( cy, Afon Ogwr) is a river in South Wales that is popular with anglers. It runs generally from north to south from the Ogmore Vale and Gilfach Goch, past Bridgend and Ogmore. The River Ogmore rises at Craig Ogwr (527 m) in th ...

( cy, Afon Ogwr). The building was built in 1986 for the council's predecessor, Ogwr Borough Council.

Electoral divisions

Prior to May 2022, the county borough was divided into 39

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and dist ...

. Since the 2022 local elections the county borough has been divided into 28

electing 51 councillors. Some communities also have their own elected council and community wards. The following table lists council wards, communities and associated community wards. Communities with a

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. In ...

are indicated with a '*': * = Communities which elect a

Arms

References

External links

Bridgend County Borough Council
{{Authority control Politics of Bridgend County Borough

1996 establishments in Wales