Carmarthen District Council ( cy, Caerfyrddin) was one of six

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

s of the county of

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was also the name of the area's county council and the name remains in use f ...

, west

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 ...

, from 1974 to 1996.

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of four former districts 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 either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, which were abolished at the same time: *

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

Municipal Borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

* Carmarthen Rural District * Newcastle Emlyn Rural District *

Newcastle Emlyn Newcastle Emlyn ( cy, Castellnewydd Emlyn) is a town on the River Teifi, straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It is also a community entirely within Carmarthenshire, bordered by those of Llangeler and Cenar ...

Urban District Carmarthen district was abolished 22 years later 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 ...

, with the area becoming part of the new

unitary authority on 1 April 1996.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. A majority of the seats on the council were held by independents throughout the council's existence. The most significant political grouping (as distinct from the independents) was the Labour Party who held a number of seats in Carmarthen Town and the former mining wards of the

Gwendraeth Valley The River Gwendraeth ( cy, Afon Gwendraeth) is a river in Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It has two almost equal branches that have their confluence in their joint estuary at Carmarthen Bay. The Gwendraeth Fawr (''large Gwendraeth'' in English) ...

Elections

* Carmarthen District Council election, 1973 * Carmarthen District Council election, 1976 * Carmarthen District Council election, 1979 * Carmarthen District Council election, 1983 * Carmarthen District Council election, 1987 * Carmarthen District Council election, 1991

Premises

Throughout its existence, the council was based at 3 Spilman Street in Carmarthen, which had previously been the offices of Carmarthen Rural District Council, one of its predecessor authorities.

References

{{coord, 51, 50, N, 4, 10, W, region:GB_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Districts of Wales abolished in 1996 History of Carmarthenshire 1974 establishments in Wales Carmarthen