I.

Introduction

West Glamorgan, former county, southern Wales, bounded on the north by Powys, on the east by Mid Glamorgan, on the south by the Bristol Channel, and on the west by Dyfed. It was the smallest county in Wales after South Glamorgan, with a land area of 818 sq km (315 sq mi). Swansea was the administrative centre. West Glamorgan was created under the local government reforms of 1974 out of the county borough of Swansea and part of the former county of Glamorganshire, which was split into three. It ceased to exist on April 1, 1996, when it was divided into two new local government areas: the county of Swansea and the county borough of Neath Port Talbot. This was a result of administrative changes implemented under the Local Government Act 1994, which provided for the replacement of the two-tier system of county and district councils introduced in 1974 by a single-tier system of unitary authorities.