South Glamorgan County Council (Welsh: Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg) was the local government authority that administered the county of South Glamorgan, Wales from 1974 till 1996.
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Creation
Local government in England and Wales was reorganised following the Local Government Act 1972. The old county of Glamorgan was subdivided, with the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff forming South Glamorgan. South Glamorgan County Council came into existence on 1 April 1974. The administration of the area was further subdivided between the two district councils, Cardiff City Council (later Cardiff Council) and the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council (later the Vale of Glamorgan Council).
Glamorgan County Council was the only example in England and Wales of a council being divided up, rather than consolidated. The Labour Party, had they won the 1970 general election, intended to split Glamorgan into East and West. However, the Conservative Party prevailed at the election and proceeded to divide the county into three, hoping South Glamorgan would become a Tory controlled administration.
Description
The new council consisted of 80 councillors, representing wards in Barry, Cardiff, Cardiff Rural, Cowbridge and Penarth. It was headquartered in a building on Newport Road, Cardiff, until County Hall was built at Atlantic Wharf in 1986.
Dissolution
South Glamorgan County Council ceased to exist following the 1996 local government reorganisation, replaced by the unitary authorities of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.