Mid Wales ( or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands"), or Central Wales, is a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

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 ...

, encompassing its midlands, in-between

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

and

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

covered the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

areas of

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

and

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

and the area 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 ...

that had previously been the district of

Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a , a district and, as Merionethshire, a county. It is currently a committee area within the county Gwynedd. Kingdom (Meirion, with as a Welsh suffix of land, literally 'La ...

. A similar definition is used by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. The Wales Spatial Plan defines a region known as "Central Wales" which covers Ceredigion and Powys. Mid Wales is dominated by the

Cambrian Mountains The Cambrian Mountains (, in a narrower sense: ''Elenydd'') are a series of mountain ranges in Wales. The term ''Cambrian Mountains'' used to apply to most of the upland of Wales, and comes from the country's Latin name . Since the 1950s, it ...

, including the Green Desert of Wales. The region is sparsely populated, with an economy dependent on farming and small businesses.

Major settlements

* Aberaeron *

Aberdyfi Aberdyfi (), also known as Aberdovey ( ), is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales, located on the northern side of the estuary of the River Dyfi. The population of the community was 878 at the 2011 census. The electoral ward had a larger ...

Aberporth Aberporth is a seaside village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the co ...

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

* Bala *

Barmouth Barmouth (formal ; colloquially ) is a seaside town and community in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales; it lies on the estuary of the Afon Mawddach and Cardigan Bay. Located in the historic county of Merionethshire, the Welsh form of t ...

Borth Borth () is a village, seaside resort and community in Ceredigion, Mid Wales; it is located 7 miles (11 km) north of Aberystwyth, on the Ceredigion Coast Path. The community includes the settlement of Ynyslas and the population was 1,399 ...

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

Builth Wells Builth Wells (; ) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of the Wye Valley. In 20 ...

Caersws Caersws (; ) is a village and community (Wales), community on the River Severn, in the Wales, Welsh county of Powys; it was formerly in Montgomeryshire. It is located west of Newtown, Powys, Newtown, halfway between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. ...

* Cardigan *

Crickhowell Crickhowell (; , non-standard spelling ') is a town and community (Wales), community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Brecknockshire. Location The town lies on th ...

Dolgellau Dolgellau (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merion ...

Fairbourne Fairbourne is a seaside village in Gwynedd, Wales. Located on the coast of Barmouth Bay in Arthog community, to the south of the estuary of the River Mawddach, it is surrounded by Snowdonia National Park. It is in an area that had been listed ...

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, North Wales, and formerly in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it ...

Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye, or simply Hay (; or simply ), is a market town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a book town, "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the s ...

* Knighton *

Lampeter Lampeter (; (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, after Aberystwyth and C ...

Llandrindod Wells Llandrindod Wells (; ; ; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. It serves as the seat of Powys County Council, and is therefore the administrative centre of Powys. The town was Historic counties of Wales, historically in ...

Llandysul Llandysul, also spelt Llandyssul, is a town and Community (Wales), community in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. As a community it consists of the townships of Capel Dewi, Llandysul, Capel Dewi, Horeb, Pontsian, Pren-gwyn, Tregroes, Rhydowen and ...

Llanidloes Llanidloes () is a town and community on the A470 and B4518 roads in Powys, within the historic county boundaries of Montgomeryshire (), Wales. The population in 2011 was 2,929, of whom 15% could speak Welsh. It is the third largest settleme ...

Llanwrtyd Llanwrtyd is a small settlement in Powys, mid-Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), through which flows the River Irfon. It lies 1.5 miles north of the town of Llanwrtyd Wells. Llanwrtyd was historically the centre of a ...

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a po ...

* Montgomery *

New Quay New Quay () is a seaside town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales; it had a resident population of 1,045 at the 2021 census. Located south-west of Aberystwyth, on Cardigan Bay with a harbour and large sandy beaches, the town ...

Newcastle Emlyn Newcastle Emlyn () is a town and Community (Wales), community on the River Teifi, in West Wales. The community is wholly in Carmarthenshire, but the built up area also includes Adpar north of the Teifi, which is in Ceredigion. Adpar was formerl ...

* Newtown *

Rhayader Rhayader (; ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Radnorshire. The town is from the source of the River Wye on Plynlimon, the highest point of the Cambri ...

* Tregaron *

Tywyn Tywyn (; ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the location of the Cadfan Stone, a ...

Welshpool Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...

Ystradgynlais Ystradgynlais (; ) is a town in southwest Powys, Wales. It is located on the River Tawe, and was within the boundaries of the former county of Brecknockshire. The town has a high proportion of Welsh language-speakers. The community includes C ...

Railway lines

Main lines

* Heart of Wales line *

Cambrian Line The Cambrian Line (), sometimes split into the Cambrian Main Line () and Cambrian Coast Line () for its branches, is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury in England, westwards to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales. Passenger train services ...

* Welsh Marches line

Heritage lines

Talyllyn Railway The Talyllyn Railway () is a narrow-gauge railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol railway station, Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 to carr ...

* Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway *

Vale of Rheidol Railway The Vale of Rheidol Railway () is a Narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge heritage railway in Ceredigion, Wales, between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge, Ceredigion, Devil's Bridge; a journey of . It opened in 1902 and, from the Withdrawal of ste ...

Cambrian Heritage Railways The Cambrian Heritage Railways is a heritage railway company, trust and society based at both Llynclys and Oswestry in its restored Oswestry railway station, Shropshire, England. Formed after the 2009 merger of the Cambrian Railways Society ...

Brecon Mountain Railway The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Rheilffordd Fynydd y Bannau'') is a Narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons in Wales. It climbs northwards from Pant railway station (Bre ...

* Fairbourne Railway * Corris Railway

Politics

Parliamentary constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

in Mid Wales include; Brecon and Radnorshire,

, Dwyfor Meirionnydd and

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

. The region is represented in the

with an electoral region known as Mid and West Wales. In April 2021, a Mid Wales Corporate Joint Committee was formed to allow the two local councils in the region to collaborate in areas relating to economic well-being, strategic planning and the development of regional transport policies.

Mid Wales Growth Deal

On 13 January 2022, the Mid Wales Growth Deal's Final Deal Agreement was signed between the Growing Mid Wales Board; containing representatives from

Ceredigion County Council Ceredigion County Council () is the governing body for the county of Ceredigion, since 1996 one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The council's main offices are in Aberaeron. History The current council was created on 1 April 1996 under t ...

and

Powys County Council Powys County Council () is the local authority for Powys, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act ...

, and the UK and

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

s. The deal involves the commitment of £110 million of funding from the two governments, with additional funding provided by other public and private sectors over the span of 10 years. The deal aims to increase investment in the region to £400 million by 2032, support an increase in

gross value added In economics, gross value added (GVA) is the measure of the value of goods and service (economics), services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy. "The ''gross value added'' is the Value of output (economy), value of output minus t ...

of between £570 million and £700 million in the region's economy, and create between 1,100 and 1,400 jobs in Mid Wales.

References

External links

Growing Mid WalesGrowing Mid Wales Board meetingsMid Wales Corporate Joint CommitteeThe BBC's Mid Wales page Overview of Mid Wales
by the

Welsh Development Agency Welsh Development Agency (WDA; ) was an executive agency (or QUANGO) and later designated an Assembly Sponsored Public Body (ASPB). Established in 1976, it was tasked with rescuing the ailing Welsh economy by encouraging business development and ...

Mid Wales Region on Wales.com
{{Regions of Wales, state=collapsed Regions of Wales Economic regions of Wales