Gwynedd ( ) is a county in north-west
Wales
, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd
. Although one of the biggest in terms of
geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated. A
large proportion of the population is
Welsh-speaking.
Gwynedd is
the home of Bangor
University
and includes
the scenic Llŷn Peninsula, and
most of the Snowdonia National
Park.
The name
"Gwynedd" is also used for a preserved county, covering
Anglesey
as well as
the current county. Culturally and historically, the name can
also be used for most of north Wales (see below for the case of
"Gwynedd Constabulary"), corresponding to the approximate territory
of the Kingdom of Gwynedd at its fullest extent (see Kingdom of
Gwynedd: Gwynedd Uwch Conwy and Gwynedd Is
Conwy).
History
View of Tremadog bay.
Gwynedd
was an independent kingdom from the end of the Roman period until the 13th Century when it
was conquered and subjugated by England (for more on this period see
Kingdom of
Gwynedd). The modern Gwynedd was one of eight Welsh
counties originally created on 1 April 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972, based
on the principal territory of the former realm.
It covered the
entirety of the old
counties of Anglesey, and
Caernarfonshire along with all of
Merionethshire
apart from Edeyrnion Rural District
(which went to Clwyd), and
also a few parishes in Denbighshire:
Llanrwst
, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Eglwysbach
, Llanddoget, Llanrwst Rural and Tir
Ifan.
The county
was divided into five districts:
Aberconwy, Arfon, Dwyfor
, Meirionnydd
and Anglesey.
The
Local Government Act
1994 abolished the 1974 county (and the five districts) on 1
April 1996, and its area was divided: Anglesey became an
independent unitary authority, and Aberconwy (which included the
former Denbighshire parts) passed to the new Conwy County Borough. The
remainder of the county was constituted a principal area with the
name
Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire,
reflecting that it covered most of the areas of those two counties.
As one of its first actions, the Council renamed itself Gwynedd on
2 April 1996. Modern Gwynedd is governed by
Gwynedd Council. As a
unitary authority the modern entity no
longer has any districts, but Arfon, Dwyfor and Meirionnydd remain
in use as areas for
area
committees.
The pre-1996 boundaries were retained as a
preserved county for a few
purposes such as the
Lieutenancy -
in 2003 the boundary with
Clwyd was adjusted
to match the modern local government boundary, so that the
preserved county now covers the modern Gwynedd along with Anglesey,
and the area of Conwy county borough is now entirely within
Clwyd.
A
Gwynedd Constabulary was
formed in 1950 from the merger of the Anglesey, Caernarfonshire and
Merionethshire forces. A further amalgamation took place in the
1960s when Gwynedd Constabulary was merged with the
Flintshire and
Denbighshire county forces, retaining the name
"Gwynedd". In one proposal for local government reform in Wales,
"Gwynedd" had been proposed as a name for a local authority
covering all of north Wales, but the scheme as enacted divided this
area between Gwynedd and Clwyd. To prevent confusion, the Gwynedd
Constabulary was therefore renamed the
North Wales Police.
The
Snowdonia National Park
was formed in 1951. After the 1974 local authority reorganisation,
the park fell entirely within the boundaries of the County of
Gwynedd, and was run as a department of Gwynedd County Council.
After the 1996 local government reorganisation, part of the park
fell under
Conwy Borough County
Council, and the park's administration separated from the
Gwynedd council. Gwynedd Council does still appoint 9 of the 18
members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority (Conwy council
appoints 3, and the
National
Assembly for Wales appoints the remaining 6).
Welsh language
Prior to 2001, there had been a decline in Welsh speakers in
Gwynedd. According to the 2001 census the number of Welsh speakers
in Wales increased for the first time in over 100 years, with 20.5%
in a population of over 2.9 million claiming fluency in Welsh, or
one in five. Additionally, 28% of the population of Wales claimed
to understand Welsh. However, the number of Welsh speakers declined
in Gwynedd from 72.1% in 1991 to 68.7% in 2001. By 2003 however, a
survey of schools showed that just over 94% of children between 3
and 15 were able to speak
Welsh,
though there have been concerns that the influx of
English speakers is damaging the standing
of Welsh.
Political controversy over housing market and Welsh
language
In 1996 there were large protests, backed by
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg,
against the construction of 800 houses at Morfa Bychan near
Porthmadog. The protests followed a High Court decision that
planning permission given in 1964 was still valid, which Cymdeithas
yr Iaith Gymraeg described as a "scandal" in a 1998 report. The
owners of the site later entered a legal agreement with the council
which allowed building of a caravan site on part of the site, but
which set aside the earlier permission for the houses; the council
later also settled a compensation claim by the developers for its
handling of the matter.
In 2001 nearly a third of all properties in Gwynedd were bought by
buyers from out of the county, and with some communities reporting
as many as a third of local homes used as holiday homes, whose
owners spend less than six months of the year in the locally.
Controversial comments by former Gwynedd county councillor
Seimon Glyn of Plaid Cymru focused attention on
the relationship between the property market and use of the Welsh
language. Glyn was commenting on a report underscoring the problem
of rocketing house prices outstripping what locals could pay, with
the report warning that '...traditional Welsh communities could die
out..." as a consequence. Concerned for the Welsh language under
these pressures, Glyn said "Once you have more than 50% of anybody
living in a community that speaks a foreign language, then you lose
your indigenous tongue almost immediately". Plaid Cymru had long
advocated controls on second homes, and a 2001 task force headed by
Dafydd Wigley recommended land should be allocated for affordable
local housing, and called for grants for locals to buy houses, and
recommended council tax on holiday homes should double, following
similar measures in the
Scottish
Highlands. However the
Welsh
Labour-
Liberal Democrat
Assembly coalition rebuffed these
proposals, with Assembly housing spokesman
Peter Black stating that "we
[can not] frame our planning laws around the Welsh language",
adding "Nor can we take punitive measures against second home
owners in the way that they propose as these will have an impact on
the value of the homes of local people".
By
autumn 2001 the Exmoor
National Park
authority in England began consideration to limit
second home ownership there which was also driving up local housing
prices by as much as 31%. Elfyn
Llwyd, Plaid Cymru's Parliamentary Group Leader, said that the
issues in Exmoor National Park were the same as in Wales, however
in Wales there is the added dimension of language and culture.
Reflecting on the controversy Glyn's comments caused earlier in the
year, Llwyd observed "What is interesting is of course it is fine
for Exmoor to defend their community but in Wales when you try to
say these things it is called racist..." Llwyd called on other
parties to join in a debate to bring the Exmoor experience to Wales
when he said "... I really do ask them and I plead with them to
come around the table and talk about the Exmoor suggestion and see
if we can now bring it into Wales".
By spring 2002 both the Snowdonia National Park
(Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) and
Pembrokeshire Coast National
Park
(Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro)
authorities began limiting second home ownership within the parks,
following the example set by Exmoor. According to planners
in Snowdonia and Pembrokeshire, applicants for new homes must
demonstrate a proven local need or the applicant had strong links
with the area.
Notable people from Gwynedd
See also
References
- Census shows Welsh language rise. 14 February
2003. Accessed 12 April 2007.
- Remember 1996, BBC Cymru (in Welsh, extracted 1
February 2008)]
- Dewch gyda ni! (Come with us!), (extracted 1
February 2008).
- 25 year legal case ends as Welsh council pay £1.9
million, NewsWales (extracted 1 Feb 2008)]
- Apology over 'insults' to English, BBC Wales, 3
September 2001
- UK: Wales Plaid calls for second home controls, BBC
Wales, 17 November 1999
- Plaid bids to defuse 'racism' row, BBC Wales, 21
February 2001
- 'Racist' remarks lost Plaid votes, BBC Wales, 3
September 2001
- Plaid plan 'protects' rural areas, BBC Wales, 19
June 2001
- Double tax for holiday home owners Thursday, 16
December 1999, extracted 24 Jan 2008
- Controls on second homes reviewed Wednesday, 5
September 2001 extracted 24 Jan 2008
- Park to ban new holiday homes Wednesday, 6 March 2002
extracted 24 January 2008
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