District of Neath

Neath
Borough
Neath shown within Wales
History
• Created	1 April 1974
• Abolished	31 March 1996
• Succeeded by	Neath Port Talbot
• HQ	Neath

Neath (Welsh: Castell-nedd) was one of the four local government districts of West Glamorgan, Wales from 1974 to 1996.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, which reorganised local government across Wales and England. The new district covered the area of the former municipal borough of Neath, along with most of Neath Rural District, excluding the Rhigos parish, which went to Cynon Valley district.^[1][2]

In 1996 it merged with the district of Port Talbot to form Neath Port Talbot County Borough.^[3]

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. Throughout the council's existence the Labour Party held a majority of the seats on the council:^[4]

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1974–1996

Premises

The council was based at the Civic Centre at the junction of Gnoll Park Road and Prince of Wales Drive in Neath, which had been opened in 1966 as shared offices for the council's two predecessors.^[5] The building was subsequently used by the council's successor, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, for some years before being demolished in 2008 to make way for a retail development.^[6]

References

1. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 29 October 2022
2. "The Districts in Wales (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/34, retrieved 29 October 2022
3. "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 19, retrieved 29 October 2022
4. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
5. "Civic Centre "the finest of its kind in Wales"". Neath Guardian. 4 March 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
6. "Demolition starts for town revamp". BBC News. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2022.

51.661°N 3.804°W / 51.661; -3.804