I.

Introduction

Isle of Anglesey, county and unitary authority, north-western Wales, separated from the mainland and the county of Gwynedd by the Menai Strait. The unitary authority includes Holy Island (Ynys Gybi), off the west coast, which is connected to Anglesey by a causeway. Anglesey was a county in its own right (including Holy Island) until 1974 when it became the Ynys Môn district of the former county of Gwynedd under the local government restructuring implemented in that year. The island once again became a separate administrative region in 1996 as a result of the Local Government Act 1994. This provided for the restructuring of local administration in Wales by replacing the two-tier system of county and district councils introduced in 1974 with a single-tier system of unitary authorities. The new unitary authority was named Isle of Anglesey, with the Welsh name, Sir Fôn. The Isle of Anglesey unitary authority has an area of 719 sq km (278 sq mi), including Holy Island.