Rhymney Valley () 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 in

Mid Glamorgan , Government= Mid Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Mid ...

from 1974 to 1996.

History

The district was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered parts of six former districts which were abolished at the same time, and was initially arranged into nine communities based on the former districts: * Bedwas and Machen, covering Bedwas and Machen Urban District * Caerphilly, covering Caerphilly Urban District less

Taff's Well Taff's Well () is a semi-rural village, community and electoral ward located at the south easterly tip of Rhondda Cynon Taf, to the north of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Known locally as the 'Gates to the Valleys', it is separated from Gwa ...

ward (which went to Taff-Ely) *

Gelligaer Gelligaer ( cy, Gelli-gaer ) is a community in the County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales, in the Rhymney River valley. As well as the village of Gelligaer, the community also includes the small towns of Hengoed and Ystrad Mynach. The population ...

, covering Gelligaer Urban District less Bedlinog ward (which went to Merthyr Tydfil) *Llanfedw‡ * New Tredegar, covering the

Aberbargoed Aberbargoed is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough, County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales. Aberbargoed once contained the largest ever colliery waste tip in Europe, although this has now been reclaimed and turned into a country park. The town i ...

, Cwmsyfiog, New Tredegar, and Phillipstown wards from Bedwellty Urban District (the rest of which went to

Islwyn The Borough of Islwyn was one of five local government districts of Gwent from 1974 to 1996. History The borough was formed in 1974 as a local government district of Gwent. It covered the whole area of three former districts and part of a fou ...

) *Rhydygwern‡ * Rhymney, being the former Rhymney Urban District * Rudry‡ * Van‡ ‡Formerly a parish in Cardiff Rural District Bedwas and Machen, New Tredegar, and Rhymney had been in 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 ...

of Monmouthshire prior to the reforms, whilst the other communities had all been in Glamorgan. The

Rhymney River The Rhymney River ( cy, Afon Rhymni) is a river in the Rhymney Valley, South Wales, flowing through Cardiff into the Severn Estuary. The river formed the boundary between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire until in 1887, ...

was the historic boundary between the two counties.

Mid Glamorgan County Council Mid Glamorgan County Council () was the upper-tier authority for the Welsh county of Mid Glamorgan between its creation in 1974 and its abolition in 1996. History Local government in England and Wales was reorganised in 1974 under the Local Gover ...

provided county-level services to the district. The communities within the district were reorganised in 1985, which saw the small communities of Llanfedw and Rhydygwern abolished (both being absorbed into Rudry), and the creation of new communities of Aber Valley,

Bargoed Bargoed ( cy, Bargod) is a town and community in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, one of the South Wales Valleys. It lies on the Rhymney River in the county borough of Caerphilly. It straddles the ancient boundary of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, wit ...

, Darran Valley,

Llanbradach Llanbradach is a village within the historic boundaries of Glamorgan, South Wales less than north of the town of Caerphilly. It is part of the community of Llanbradach and Pwll-y-Pant. It is mostly residential, and contains three pubs, a primar ...

, Maesycwmmer,

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, and Penyrheol. In 1996 the district was abolished, merging with neighbouring

to become the new unitary

Caerphilly County Borough Caerphilly County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Caerffili) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council. Its main and largest town is Caerphilly. Other towns in the county borough are B ...

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. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 1996 was held by the following parties:

Bus operations

The district council inherited the municipal bus fleets of Bedwas and Machen, Caerphilly and Gelligaer urban district councils. The united operation was given a dark brown, cream and gold livery, and ran operations throughout the valley and into Merthyr Tydfil and Newport. With

bus deregulation Bus deregulation in Great Britain was the abolition of Road Service Licensing outside of Greater London for bus services. This began in 1980 with the abolition of Road Service Licensing for long-distance bus services and was extended into local ...

in 1986 the buses passed to Inter Valley Link Limited, owned by the district council at "arms length". Competition was very strong in the South Wales Valleys, and Inter Valley Link was sold to National Welsh Omnibus Services on 21 March 1989. National Welsh subsequently went into receivership in 1991.

Premises

The council inherited various offices from its predecessor authorities. It consolidated its premises in 1983 at Ystrad Fawr House at

Ystrad Mynach Ystrad Mynach is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough, within the ancient county of Glamorgan, Wales, and is north of the town of Caerphilly. The urban area has a population of 19,204, and stands in the Rhymney Valley. Before the Industr ...

, a Victorian house which had previously served as offices for the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

.Planning application 5/5/83/0129: Council chamber at Ystrad Fawr Offices, Caerphilly Road, Ystrad Mynach, granted 25 April 1983 Ystrad Fawr continued to be used by the successor Caerphilly County Borough Council until 2008 when it was demolished to make way for the

Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr ( en, Large Vale Hospital) is a community hospital at Ystrad Mynach in Caerphilly County Borough in Wales. It is managed by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. History The hospital was commissioned to replace Aberbargoed Ho ...

hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhymney Valley (District) Districts of Wales abolished in 1996 1974 establishments in Wales Mid Glamorgan