The Borough of Aberconwy was a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, si ...

from 1974 to 1996, being one of five districts in the county of

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, north-west

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

History

The borough was created on 1 April 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. It covered parts of nine former districts from the

administrative counties An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

and

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

, which were all abolished at the same time: *

Betws-y-Coed Betws-y-Coed () is a village and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The village is located near the confluence of the River Conwy and the River Llugwy and is on the eastern edge of Snowdonia. The population of the co ...

Urban District An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...

Municipal Borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

Eglwysbach Eglwysbach is a village and community in Conwy county borough, Wales. The village plays host to an annual Agricultural show and horticultural show in August, which includes displays of local cattle, sheep, heavy and light horses, showjumping a h ...

parish from Hiraethog Rural District‡ * Llanddoget parish from Hiraethog Rural District‡ *

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community � ...

Urban District *

Llanrwst ; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is on the east bank of the River Conwy and the A470 road, and lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (histori ...

Urban District‡ *Llanrwst Rural parish from Hiraethog Rural District‡ *

Llanfairfechan ; ) is a town and community in the Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is known as a seaside resort and had a population at the 2001 Census of 3,755, reducing to 3,637 at the 2011 Census. The history of the area dates back to at least Roman time ...

Urban District *

Llansantffraid Glan Conway Llansanffraid Glan Conwy (), usually shortened to Glan Conwy, is a village, community and electoral ward in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The name translates from the Welsh as ''Church of St Ffraid on the bank of the River Conwy''. The village w ...

parish from

Aled Rural District Aled was a rural district in the administrative county of Denbighshire, Wales, from 1935 to 1974. The district was created by a county review order in 1935 which reorganised districts in the county. It was formed by merging the bulk of St A ...

‡ *

Nant Conwy Rural District Nant Conwy was a rural district in the administrative county of Caernarfonshire from 1934 to 1974. The district was formed by a County Review Order, combining the areas of Geirionydd Rural District with most of Conwy Rural District and part o ...

Penmaenmawr Penmaenmawr (, ) is a town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, which was formerly in the parish of Dwygyfylchi and the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. It is on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan and was an ...

Urban District * Tir Ifan parish from Hiraethog Rural District‡ ‡From Denbighshire (rest from Caernarfonshire) The new district was named Aberconwy, meaning mouth of the

River Conwy The River Conwy (; ) is a river in north Wales. From its source to its discharge in Conwy Bay it is long and drains an area of 678 square km. "Conwy" was formerly anglicised as "Conway." The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh words ''c ...

, with the same name being used in both Welsh and English. 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 ...

, the previous two tier system of counties and districts was replaced with new principal areas (each designated either a "county" or a "county borough"), whose councils perform the functions previously divided between the county and district councils. The Aberconwy area merged with the neighbouring

Colwyn Colwyn may refer to: Wales * Colwyn Bay – town in north Wales ** Bay of Colwyn Town Council – town council in north Wales * Colwyn (district) – former district and borough in north Wales ** Colwyn Borough Council – former council in nort ...

district from the county of

Clwyd Clwyd ( , ) is a preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English cerem ...

to become a county borough which the government originally named "Aberconwy and Colwyn". During the transition to the new system, the shadow authority requested a change of name from "Aberconwy and Colwyn" to "

". The government confirmed the change with effect from 2 April 1996, one day after the new council came into being. The pre-1996 counties of Wales continued to be used for some ceremonial purposes such as lieutenancy, being called preserved counties. The new Conwy County Borough therefore initially straddled the preserved counties of Gwynedd and Clwyd. In 2003 the area of the former Aberconwy district was moved from the preserved county of Gwynedd to

, uniting Conwy County Borough within the preserved county Clwyd.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 1996 was as follows:

Premises

The council was based at Bodlondeb, a large house built in 1877 on Bangor Road in

, which had served as the main offices of the old Conwy Borough Council since 1937. The council also maintained additional offices at Llandudno Town Hall, which had been built in 1902 for the former Llandudno Urban District Council. After Aberconwy's abolition in 1996, Bodlondeb became the headquarters of the replacement

Conwy County Borough Council Conwy County Borough Council () is the local authority for Conwy County Borough, one of the principal areas of Wales. History Conwy County Borough was created in 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which replaced the previous two ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aberconwy (District) History of Conwy County Borough Districts of Wales abolished in 1996 History of Gwynedd 1974 establishments in Wales