Changes to Welsh county will leave it with fewer community councils in next elections
Changes to Welsh county will leave it with fewer community councils in next elections
A number of councillors opposed the plans, which they said would "dilute" local voices, but others argued the changes are needed to improve local democracy
Changes to electoral boundaries in the Vale of Glamorgan will leave it with fewer community councils
Proposed changes to a Welsh county which would lead to it having fewer community councils will be implemented in time for the next local government elections in 2027. The Welsh Government has agreed to the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru's recommendations to make changes to a number of communities in the Vale of Glamorgan following a process of review and consultation.
Some councillors raised concerns about the proposals, which will result in there being 19 community councils in the county instead of 27, and fear it will "dilute" local voices.
However, the chief executive of Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru argued the change will be crucial in ensuring people in the Vale receive the best representation. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here .
One Vale of Glamorgan Council Conservative councillor, Cllr Christine Cave, said at a full council meeting in 2024 that the move would amount to "throwing dedicated community councillors on to the community council scrapheap".
The proposal will also see the number of community councillors go down from 269 to 205.
At the time, the boundary commission in Wales said it would make councils more resilient going forward and a number of other councillors in the Vale pointed out that many community councils rarely have elections because of a lack of candidates.
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Colwinston Community Council is one of the communities that will be affected in the Vale of Glamorgan.
As a result of the changes, it will be abolished along with Llangan Community Council and a new community will be created which will merge both.
Chair of Colwinston Community Council in 2024, Cllr Ed Lewis, said during a full Vale of Glamorgan Council meeting at the time: "The activity that goes on in Colwinston is quite remarkable for the size of the village.
"If you reduce the number of representatives you reduce the effectiveness of the new council.
"The new council is going to have seven councillors and there will be two schools in the arrangement whereas Colwinston has only got one school.
"With seven councillors we can just manage to cover putting a governor on to the school and have representation on various bodies around South Wales.
"Effectively the new council is going to be pushed to deliver the same level of services with a lot fewer people."
At the same meeting, leader of the Plaid Cymru group at Vale of Glamorgan Council, Cllr Ian Johnson, said the review of community boundaries was important.
Cllr Johnson, who is also a Barry Town Council member, said: "I don't agree with every single part of this report but this does respond to the challenge we have at hand."
As a result of the changes in the Vale, Barry will have a new town council ward for the Waterfront area.
Chief executive of Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru, Shereen Williams MBE OStJ said: "The Commission is delighted that the first of its community reviews will now be implemented without modification.
'We'd like to thank the Cabinet Secretary for taking this decision, and also thank our partners in Vale of Glamorgan council, all the community and town councils in the Vale, and the members of the public who engaged so constructively in the review.
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'Reviewing and updating the boundaries and electoral arrangements of communities is crucial in ensuring that people across the Vale of Glamorgan continue to receive the best representation, and that local changes to populations, for example where new housing estates have been built, are reflected in the boundaries of communities.'
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