County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil

October 2019

Infographic Summary

Full report and maps:

https://ldbc.gov.wales/

@LDBCW

This document is available in Welsh

County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil

Summary of Final Recommendations

Who we are :

The Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales is an independent Welsh Government Sponsored Body.

It was established under the Local Democracy (Wales) Act 2013 with the main purpose of publishing a programme of work which keeps under review the electoral arrangements for the 22 principal councils.

The Commission makes electoral review recommendati ons, which it feels are in the interest of effective and convenient local government.

This review has been conducted as a result of the former Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government’s Written Statement of 23 June 2016 as part of an all

Wales review programme for the 2022 local government elections.

Summary of our Recommendations: The Commission recommends a council of 30 members, a reduction from the

present 33 members. The Commission recommends a change to the arrangement of electoral wards that will achieve an improvement in the level of electoral parity across the County

Borough of Merthyr Tydfil.

The Commission recommends 11 electoral wards, as per the current arrangements.

The largest under-representation is recommended to be 19% above the proposed

county average in Cyfarthfa. The largest over-representation is recommended to be 20% below the proposed county average in Gurnos.

The Commission recommends 11 multi-member wards in the County consisting of four two -member electoral wards, six three-member electoral wards and one four- member electoral ward.

The Commission recommends no change to 8 electoral wards.

Stage of Description Review

The Commission wrote to Merthyr Tydfil County Borough 28 March 2018 Council and other interested parties

05 April 2018 – Initial Consultation Period 27 June 2018

15 April 2019 Draft Proposals Published

23 April 2019 – Consultation Period on Draft Proposals 15 July 2019

29 October 2019 Final Recommendations Published

Overview of Final Recommendations for the

County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil

Key :

1. Bedlinog

2. Cyfarthfa

3. Dowlais and Pant 4. Gurnos

5. Merthyr Vale

6. Par k 7. Penydarren

8. Plymouth 9. Town

10. Treharris

11. Vaynor

To view this report in full, as well as the Final Recommendations map data, visit : https://ldbc.gov.wales/

What happens next?

We have now completed our review of electoral arrangements for the

County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil. It now falls to the Welsh Government, if it thinks fit, to give effect to these final recommendations either as submitted, or with modifications. County Borough of Torfaen The Welsh Government may also direct us to conduct a further review.

Our Final Recommendations:

The table lists all the wards we are proposing along with the number of voters in each ward. The table also shows the electoral variances for each of the proposed wards, which tells you how we have delivered electoral equality. Finally, the table includes electorate projections for 2023, so

you can see the impact of the recommendations for the future. No. OF ELECTORATE 2018 % variance ELECTORATE 2023 % variance from WAR D NAME COUNCILLORS 2018 RATIO from average 2023 RATIO average

Bedlinog 2 2,912 1,456 -3% 3,128 1,564 -3%

Cyfarthfa 3 5,372 1,791 19% 5,766 1,922 19%

Dowlais and Pant 3 5,145 1,715 14% 5,519 1,840 14%

Gurnos 3 3,609 1,203 -20% 3,872 1,291 -20%

Merthyr Vale 2 2,752 1,376 -9% 2,954 1,477 -9%

Park 2 3,416 1,708 13% 3,668 1,834 13%

Penydarren 3 3,954 1,318 -13% 4,246 1,415 -13%

Plymouth 3 4,077 1,359 -10% 4,377 1,459 -10%

Town 4 6,052 1,513 0% 6,495 1,624 0%

Treharris 3 5,129 1,710 13% 5,504 1,835 13%

Vaynor 2 2,841 1,421 -6% 3,051 1,526 -6%

Total 30 45,259 1,509 48,580 1,619