Bridgend leaders back
merger with Vale of Glamorgan
Bridgend council’s leader says the local population looks east rather than west
Bridgend council’s ruling Labour group
has backed holding merger talks with the
Vale of Glamorgan.
The issue will go before the full council, and
is likely to be passed as Labour has a majority.
Such a merger would go against a principle of
a key report on council
re-organisation published in January.
The Williams Commission recommended
new authorities should be within existing
health board boundaries, but the two councils
come under different boards. Bridgend
is served by Abertawe Bro Morgannwg
University Health Board, while the Vale of
Glamorgan is covered by Cardiff and Vale
University Health Board.
Looking east
The report, by former NHS Wales chief
executive Paul Williams, proposed that
Bridgend should merge with Neath Port
Talbot council, and possibly Swansea.
But Bridgend council leader Mel Nott said
people in the area “look to the south east”
of Wales rather than to the west. The Vale of
Glamorgan council has rejected the idea of a
merger with Cardiff, fearing it would be
swallowed up by Wales’ biggest council.
Vale of Glamorgan leader Neil Moore
has argued the council should remain a
stand-alone authority, but he regards
Bridgend as a better option than Cardiff
“should a merger become inevitable or
desirable”. Public Services Minister Leighton
Andrews has urged councils to submit plans
to merge voluntarily rather than be forced to.
The Williams Commission has recommended
the current 22 county and county borough
councils in Wales be cut to 10, 11 or 12.
Issue 01. South Wales Times. Page 3