Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council ( cy, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Rhondda Cynon Taf) is the governing body for

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vill ...

, 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 ...

. The council headquarters are located in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

of Cwm Clydach on the outskirts of Tonypandy.

History

The council was established on 1 April 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 ...

, covering the area of the three former districts of Rhondda, Cynon Valley, and Taff-Ely (except

Pentyrch Pentyrch ( cy, Pen-tyrch) is a village and community located on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The village gives its name to a Cardiff local authority electoral ward, Pentyrch, which covers the village and immedi ...

, which went to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

). As well as taking over the functions of the abolished district councils, the new authority also took over the functions of the abolished

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 ...

in the area. The new county borough was described in the 1994 Act with different spellings in English and Welsh: Rhondda Cynon Taff (English) / Rhondda Cynon Taf (Welsh). The council now uses the latter spelling for both languages.

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 first

leader of the council In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...

, Bill Murphy, was the last leader of the old Rhondda Borough Council. The leaders since 1996 have been:

Current composition

As at 5 May 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.

Premises

The council is based at The Pavilions, a group of 1990s office buildings at the Cambrian Industrial Park in the community of Cwm Clydach on the outskirts of Tonypandy in the

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fa ...

, which is the largest urban area in the borough. When the council was created it inherited the offices of the three former district councils, being Rock Grounds on High Street in

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

from Cynon Valley, the Municipal Offices on Llewellyn Street in

Pentre Pentre is a village, community and electoral ward near Treorchy in the Rhondda valley, falling within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's name is taken from the Welsh word Pentref, which translates as homestead, though ...

from Rhondda, and the Municipal Buildings on Gelliwastad Road in

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

from Taff-Ely. In the period leading up to the creation of the new authority there was some debate about where the new council should be based, with Plaid Cymru leading a campaign for Pontypridd to be the headquarters, but Labour preferring a location in the Rhondda. The recently built site at The Pavilions was secured for the new council in 1995. The older offices at Aberdare and Pontypridd continue to be used by the council as secondary offices, whilst the Pentre building has been sold.

Mayors of Rhondda Cynon Taf

Past mayors of the council are: *1996–1997: Russell Roberts *1997–1998: K Rees *1998–1999: J David *1999–2000: G Beard *2000–2001: R Moses *2001–2002: L Jones *2002–2003: I Wilkins *2003–2004: D E B Arnold *2004–2005: A L Davies *2005–2006: E Jenkins *2006–2007: J Cass *2007–2008: Jane Ward *2008–2009: Margaret Davies *2009–2010: Robert Smith *2010–2011: Simon Lloyd *2011–2012: Sylvia J Jones *2012–2013: Doug H Williams *2013–2014: Ann Crimmings *2014–2015: John Watts *2015–2016: Barry Stephens *2016–2017: Rhys Lewis *2017–2018: Margaret Tegg *2018–2019: Steve Powderhill *2019–2020: Linda De Vet *2020–2021: Susan Morgans *2021–2022: Jill Bonetto *2022–: Wendy Treeby

Electoral wards

Since the 2022 elections, the Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough has been divided into 46 electoral wards returning 75 councillors. Some of these electoral wards are coterminous with

communities A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, to ...

(parishes) of the same name. Some communities have their own elected council. The following table lists council electoral wards, communities and associated geographical areas: * = Communities which elect 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. I ...

^c = Ward coterminous with community of the same name Election Maps

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

. Retrieved 21 June 2022.

References

External links

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
{{Authority control Politics of Rhondda Cynon Taf