Park, Merthyr Tydfil

Park (Welsh: Y Parc) is a community and electoral ward of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales.

Park
Park
Location within Merthyr Tydfil
Population4,326 (2011)
OS grid referenceSO041072
Principal area
Ceremonial county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMerthyr Tydfil
Postcode districtCF48
Dialling code01685
PoliceSouth Wales
FireSouth Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament

Community

The community covers an area north of Merthyr Tydfil town centre, including Cyfarthfa Park and the residential areas of Abermorlais, Georgetown, Williamstown and The Quar. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 4307,[1] increasing to 4,326 at the 2011 census.[2]

Park has several notable landmarks, but its most notable is Cyfarthfa Castle, which dominates the community.[3]

Electoral ward

Prior to April 1974 Park was an electoral ward to the pre-1974 Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. In May 1972 Plaid Cymru's Dafydd Wigley achieved a shock win in the ward, pushing the sitting Labour councillor into third place.[4]

From 1973 to 1996 Park was a ward to Merthyr Tydfil District Council.[5] From 1989 till 1996 Park was an electoral ward to Mid Glamorgan County Council, electing one county councillor. It also included neighbouring Vaynor.[6]

Subsequently the Park county ward has been coterminous with the Park community and had elected three councillors to Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. At the May 2017 elections the council leader and Labour Party representative, Brendan Toomey, who had represented Park for 18 years, lost his seat to an Independent candidate, Tanya Skinner. The other two seats were retained by Labour's Chris Barry and Clive Jones, in what Toomey described as a safe Labour ward.[7] Labour had previously held all three seats in the ward since 1995.[8]

References
  1. Park Ward 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics: National Statistics. UK government. Retrieved 30 January 2011
  2. "Community population 2011". Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  3. Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel; Menna, Baines; Lynch, Peredur I., eds. (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 554. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
  4. "Labour sweep in with big gains". South Wales Echo. 5 May 1972. pp. 1, 6. The Welsh Nationalists... brought off a shock victory in the Park ward of Merthyr where Mr Eddie Rowlands, former chairman of the local Labour Party, was beaten into third place by Mr D. Wigley (Plaid) and Mr. Arthur Jones (Communist).
  5. Merthyr Tydfil Welsh District Council Election Results 1973-1991, The Election Centre. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  6. "The County of Mid Glamorgan (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1988". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 2 March 1988. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  7. "Ousted Merthyr leader Brendan Toomey says people are 'fed up with politics'". Wales Online. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  8. Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council Election Results 1995-2012, The Election Centre. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
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