|
Torfaen
Torfaen (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Newport, Wales, Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south-west and north-west. It is within the Historic counties of Wales, boundaries of the Monmouthshire (historic), historic county of Monmouthshire, and between 1974 and 1996 was a district of Gwent (county), Gwent, until it was reconstituted as a Local government in Wales, principal area in 1996. Toponymy Torfaen (meaning "breaker of stones") is an old name for the river – today called Afon Lwyd ("grey river") – which flows through the county borough from its source north of Blaenavon southward through Abersychan, Pontypool, and Cwmbran. The last three towns mentioned are a Geographic contiguity, contiguous urban area. History The b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torfaen County Borough Council
Torfaen County Borough Council () is the governing body for Torfaen, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. History The borough council was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as a lower-tier district council with borough status. Gwent County Council provided county-level services for the area. The county council was abolished in 1996 and Torfaen became a principal area with county borough status, with the council taking over the functions previously performed by the county council. Borough status allows Torfaen to give the chair of the council the title of mayor. However, the council discontinued the role of mayor in 2018. A presiding member role has been created instead to chair meetings. In June 2024 the council agreed to share a chief executive with neighbouring Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council. In January 2025 councillors from Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent approved the permanent appointment of Stephen Vickers as the Joint Chief Executive for both Blaenau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontypool
Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd river in the county borough of Torfaen. Located at the eastern edge of the South Wales coalfields, Pontypool grew around industries including iron and steel production, coal mining, and the growth of the railways. A rather artistic manufacturing industry which also flourished here alongside heavy industry was Japanning, a type of lacquer ware. Pontypool covers several areas, hamlets, villages and towns including New Inn, Torfaen, New Inn, Griffithstown, Sebastopol (Panteg.) Abersychan, Cwmffrwdoer, Pontnewynydd, Trevethin, Penygarn, Torfaen, Penygarn, Wainfelin, Tranch, Brynwern, Pontymoile, Blaendare, Cwmynyscoy, Talywain, Garndiffaith, Pentwyn, Torfaen, Pentwyn, and Varteg. History The name of the to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blaenavon
Blaenavon () is a town and community (Wales), community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Gwent (county), Gwent. The population is 6,055. Parts of the town and surrounding country form the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, selected as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. History ''Blaenavon'' literally means "head of the river" or loosely "river's source" in the Welsh language. Blaenavon grew around an ironworks opened in 1788 by the West Midlands (region), West Midlands industrialist Thomas Hill of Dennis, Thomas Hill and his partners, Thomas Hopkins and Benjamin Pratt. The businessmen invested £40,000 into the ironworks project and erected three blast furnaces. Hopkins, as a result of operating the Cannock Wood Forge, Staffordshire, was in contact with skilled and ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales. Lying within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New towns in the United Kingdom, New Town in 1949 to provide new employment opportunities in the south eastern portion of the South Wales Coalfield. Geography Comprising the villages of Old Cwmbran, Pontnewydd, Upper Cwmbran, Henllys, Torfaen, Henllys, Croesyceiliog, Llantarnam and Llanyrafon, its population had grown to 48,535 by 2011. This makes it the List of urban areas in Wales by population, sixth largest urban area in Wales. Sitting as it does at the corner of the South Wales Coalfield, it has a hilly aspect to its western and northern edges, with the surrounding hills climbing to over . The Afon Llwyd forms the major river valley, although the most significant water course is probably the remains of the Monmouthsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (born 26 May 1980) is a British academic, barrister and politician who has been Paymaster General, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Torfaen since 2015. Thomas-Symonds served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2020 to 2021, and held several junior shadow portfolios from 2015 to 2020. Prior to his election to Parliament, he was a chancery and commercial barrister at Civitas Law. He is also the author of books on Clement Attlee, Nye Bevan and Harold Wilson. Early life and education Thomas-Symonds was born in Panteg Hospital, Griffithstown, Torfaen, and was brought up in Blaenavon. His father was a steelworker and industrial chemist, and his mother was a secretary. He attended St Felix R.C. Primary School, Blaenavon, and St Alban's R.C. High School, Pontypool. He then studied Philosophy, Politics and Econ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lynne Neagle
Lynne Neagle (born 18 January 1968) is a Welsh Labour & Co-operative politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Education since 2024. Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales, Neagle has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for the constituency of Torfaen since the Senedd was established in 1999. Background Neagle was educated at Cyfarthfa High School, Merthyr Tydfil, and the University of Reading, where she read French and Italian. She is a former Voluntary Sector Carer and Careers Development Officer. Neagle was also a research assistant to Glenys Kinnock MEP from 1994 to 1997. Political career First and Second Senedds (1999-2007) Neagle was elected to the Senedd in 1999 as a Labour candidate to represent Torfaen. Neagle was an ally of Alun Michael during his leadership of the Welsh Labour party. Later in the first term, she was appointed to the role of Chair of the Welsh Labour group in the Senedd. She initially opposed coalition with the Welsh Liberal Democrats, and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folly Tower, Pontypool
The Folly Tower () is a folly located within the grounds of a working farm, close to Pontypool Park, Torfaen, South Wales ( Grid ref: ). It is a prominent local landmark above the A4042 Pontypool to Abergavenny road and overlooks Pontypool to the west and rural Monmouthshire to the east. The Folly is octagonal in shape and roughly high and is approximately above sea level on the eastern hill range of the Eastern Valley of Monmouthshire, just south of Mynydd Garn-Wen. Less than a mile from the folly is the Shell Grotto. Early history The precise date of construction is unknown but it is generally thought that the original tower was built around 1765 to 1770 by John Hanbury, a local landowner and ironmaster who owned Pontypool Park. The local name of The Folly was in use as far back as 1865 when the ''Free Press of Monmouthshire'' described it as: "...an elevated spot where a Tower (formerly a Roman watch-tower) was many years since rebuilt as an observatory and which is po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blaenavon Industrial Landscape
Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, in and around Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales, was inscribed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. The Blaenavon Ironworks, now a museum, was a major centre of iron production using locally mined or quarried iron ore, coal and limestone. Raw materials and products were transported via horse-drawn tramroads, canals and steam railways. The Landscape includes protected or listed monuments of the industrial processes, transport infrastructure, workers' housing and other aspects of early industrialisation in South Wales. Location The Industrial Revolution in Britain was based on iron and coal, the main products of the South Wales valleys. Production of pig iron in the region grew from 39,600 tons in 1796 to 666,000 tons in 1852, and the iron was used to build railways, factories and engines around the world. Blaenavon was an important centre of coal mining and iron making in South Wales during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Blaenavon Iron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Wales East (Senedd Electoral Region)
South Wales East () is an electoral region of the Senedd, consisting of eight constituencies. The region elects 12 members, eight directly elected constituency members and four additional members. The electoral region was first used in 1999, when the National Assembly for Wales was created. Each constituency elects one Member of the Senedd by the first past the post electoral system, and the region as a whole elects four additional or top-up Members of the Senedd, to create a degree of proportional representation. The additional member seats are allocated from closed lists by the D'Hondt method, with constituency results being taken into account in the allocation. County boundaries The region covers the whole of the preserved county of Gwent and part of the preserved county of Mid Glamorgan. The rest of Mid Glamorgan is mostly within the South Wales Central electoral region and partly within the South Wales West region. Electoral region profile The region is one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Local Government In Wales
Local government in Wales is primarily undertaken by the twenty-two principal councils. The councils are Unitary authority, unitary authorities, meaning they are responsible for providing local government services within their Principal areas of Wales, principal area, including education, social work, environmental protection, and most highway maintenance. The principal areas are divided into Community (Wales), communities, most of which have an elected community council. The services provided by community councils vary, but they will typically maintain public spaces and facilities. Local councils in Wales are elected; the most recent 2022 Welsh local elections, local elections in Wales took place in 2022, and the 2027 Welsh local elections, next are due to take place in 2027. Governance Local government is generally supervised by the (devolved) Welsh Ministers, who allocate funding of the majority of local government yearly revenue and capital settlements. The Government of Wales ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regions Of Wales
Wales has traditionally been divided into a number of ambiguous and ill-defined areas described as ''regions'', reflecting historical, geographical, administrative, cultural and electoral boundaries within the country. Presently, the most common form of division of Wales into "regions" has been using cardinal and intercardinal references: north or south-west for example. None of the variously described "regions" have official status or defined boundaries; neither is there a fixed number of regions. Various organisations use different regions and combinations of regions for their individual purposes. This includes devolved institutions, such as Visit Wales, Natural Resources Wales, and the Welsh Government itself, using different sets of Wales' regions. Wales is most commonly sub-divided into between two and four regions, with a North–South divide, and North, Mid, South East and South West division being common. This article lists the various terms applied to be the "regions of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 principal areas in the Act, and abolished the previous two-tier structure of counties and districts. It came into effect on 1 April 1996. Background In June 1991, the Secretary of State for Wales, David Hunt, published a consultation paper on reform of local government in Wales. The paper proposed the replacing of the existing two-tier system of administrative counties and districts, established by the Local Government Act 1972 in 1974, with unitary authorities. The number and size of the unitary areas was not set down, instead three options were given for ten, twenty or twenty-four new councils. On 3 March 1992, the Secretary of State made a statement in the House of Commons, in which he stated that the number of proposed unitary aut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
