The Riverside

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

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

covers the Riverside and

Pontcanna is an inner-city district and community in the west of Cardiff, Wales. It is located adjacent to Canton, Cardiff. It is also located a short distance to the city centre, and its borders are approximately indicated by Western Avenue, the River ...

areas of the city, electing three councillors to

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff () is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Administrative divisions of Wales, 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 Cardiff County Borough Council, known as Cardiff City Council after Cardiff achieved city status in 1905, was the elected local authority that administered the town (later city) and county borough of Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales between 1889 and ...

Description

The Riverside ward includes the

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place (geography), place, set of Norm (social), norms, culture, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Ide ...

of Riverside and Pontcanna, which are located immediately west of

Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre () 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 stations – Cardiff Cen ...

and the

River Taff The River Taff () is a river in Wales. It rises in the Brecon Beacons as two rivers, the Taf Fechan ("little Taff") and the Taf Fawr ("great Taff") before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. At Cardiff, it empties into the Bristol Chan ...

. 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 Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

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 ( ; standardised ; sometimes , '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 densely populated and contains many Victorian ter ...

to the east, Grangetown to the south; Canton and

Llandaff Llandaff (; ; 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 the Bisho ...

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. ...

for the area. It is located in the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff West and 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 ...

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 resigned her seat in January 2011 after six years representing Riverside, because she had moved from Cardiff to live in

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 ...

. 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

, 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. For example, while the political systems ...

gain seats from the Conservatives, by small majorities. Noah Rees won Cllr Smith's seat and Dr James defeated sitting councillor, Mr R. Price. * = sitting councillor prior to the election

References

{{Politics and Government in Cardiff, state=collapsed 1890 establishments in Wales Cardiff electoral wards