The Riverside
electoral ward of
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
covers the
Riverside and
Pontcanna areas of the city, electing three councillors to
Cardiff Council
Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...
. The ward was originally created in 1890, as a ward to
Cardiff County Borough Council.
Description
The Riverside ward includes the
communities of Riverside and Pontcanna, which are located immediately west of
Cardiff city centre
Cardiff city centre ( cy, Canol Dinas Caerdydd) is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway s ...
and the
River Taff
The River Taff ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan (''little Taff'') and the Taf Fawr (''great Taff'') before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with th ...
. According to the
2011 census the population of the ward was 13,771.
The boundary of the electoral ward initially matched that of the Riverside community. However, Pontcanna saw itself as distinctly different, with its smart
Victorian houses and villas surrounding
Cathedral Road despite these existing in other, 'less desirable', parts of Riverside like Fitzhamon Embankment or Lower Cathedral Road. In November 2016 the northern two-thirds of the ward became a separate Pontcanna community.
Riverside is bounded by the wards of
Cathays
Cathays ( ; Welsh: officially ''Cathays'' but also , 'the constant meadow') is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is very densely populated and contain ...
to the east,
Grangetown to the south;
Canton and
Llandaff
Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of ...
to the west. There is no
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 ...
for the area.
It is located in the parliamentary constituency of
Cardiff West and the
Welsh Assembly
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh ...
constituency of the same name.
Representatives
2017
2015 by-election
Labour councillor Cecilia Love resigned her seat in August 2015 for family reasons causing a by-election, which was won on 7 October 2015 by Labour candidate Caro Wild.
2012
After a "bitter" campaign Plaid Cymru lost their remaining two ward seats to the Labour Party, with sitting Labour councillor Iona Gordon topping the poll.
2011 by-election
Plaid Cymru councillor
Gwenllian Lansdown
Gwenllian Lansdown Davies (born 1979) is a former Welsh Plaid Cymru politician, a former County Councillor for Riverside, and Chief Executive of Plaid Cymru between 2007 and 2011. She is currently the Chief Executive of Mudiad Ysgolion Meithr ...
resigned her seat in January 2011 after six years representing Riverside, because she had moved from Cardiff to live in
Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
. The resulting by-election took place on 3 March 2011, which was won unexpectedly by the Labour candidate, Iona Gordon. The turnout was 39.8%.
2008
Ward creation
In July 1890, following the creation of
Cardiff County Borough Council, Riverside was the name of one of the ten new electoral wards created in the county borough. It was briefly known as "Canton South", having been split from the existing
Canton ward, which had been growing rapidly.
Each of the three councillors took turns to stand for re-election, on a three-yearly cycle.
1890
The first election on 1 November 1890 was unusual because there were contests to elect two councillors rather than one. This was because sitting Conservative Cllr Smith had recently died and an election was needed to elect a replacement. Both elections saw the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
gain seats from the Conservatives, by small majorities. Noah Rees won Cllr Smith's seat and Dr James defeated sitting councillor, Mr R. Price.
References
{{Politics and Government in Cardiff, state=collapsed
1890 establishments in Wales
Cardiff electoral wards