Gwynedd Postcodes — Wales (WLS)

Gwynedd

A county and preserved county, Gwynedd is located in northwest Wales and includes the island of Anglesey. Its neighbors are the counties of Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey across the Menai Strait, and Ceredigion across the Dyfi River. Most of Snowdonia National Park and the beautiful Lln Peninsula can be found in the county of Gwynedd. Bangor is the city where Bangor University is located.

It is the second largest LGA in Wales by land area and one of the least densely populated. Most of the locals are fluent in Welsh. Local government areas of Gwynedd and Anglesey are included in the definition of Gwynedd, which also makes it one of the preserved counties of Wales. Culturally and historically named after the ancient kingdom of Gwynedd, the name Gwynedd can be used for the entirety of North Wales, including the territory once patrolled by the Gwynedd Constabulary. As of the 2011 Census, there were 121,874 people living in an area covering 2,535 square kilometers (979 square miles).

History

From the end of the Roman era until the 13th century, when it was conquered by England, Gwynedd was an independent kingdom. Present-day Gwynedd was formed as one of Wales's eight new counties on April 1, 1974, as a result of the Local Government Act of 1972. Denbighshire's parishes of Llanrwst, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Eglwysbach, Llanddoged, Llandysul, and Tir Ifan were included, as were all of Anglesey and Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire except for Edeirnion Rural District (which went to Clwyd).

The county was split up into Aberconwy, Arfon, Dwyfor, Meirionnydd, and Anglesey.

On 1 April 1996, the county of 1974 and its five districts were dissolved by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, and its territory was split in two: the Isle of Anglesey became a unitary authority unto itself, and Aberconwy (including the former Denbighshire parishes) was transferred to the new Conwy County Borough. Since it encompasses a large portion of both Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire, the remaining part of the county was made into a principal area and given those names. The Council's first official act was to change its name to Gwynedd on April 2, 1996. The present day Gwynedd local government area is run by Gwynedd Council. The modern administration is a unitary one, so there are no longer any districts, but Arfon, Dwyfor, and Meirionnydd continue to function as area committees.

The county's pre-1996 borders were preserved for some reasons, including the Lieutenancy. Gwynedd and Anglesey are now both included in the preserved county after the boundary with Clwyd was revised in 2003 to reflect the current local government boundary. The county borough of Conwy is now completely located within Clwyd.

In 1950, the police departments of Anglesey, Caernarfonshire, and Merionethshire were merged to form the Gwynedd Constabulary. During the 1960s, the Gwynedd Constabulary merged with the county forces of Flintshire and Denbighshire, but the Gwynedd name remained. A local authority called Gwynedd was proposed to govern all of north Wales as part of one proposal to reform Welsh local government, but the final scheme split the region between Gwynedd and Clwyd. Therefore, the Gwynedd Constabulary was renamed the North Wales Police to avoid any possible confusion.

In 1951, the Snowdonia National Park was established. Due to the 1974 reorganization of local governments, the park is now entirely within Gwynedd and is administered by the Gwynedd County Council. The park's administration was split off from the Gwynedd council after the local government reorganization of 1996, and now operates under the jurisdiction of Conwy County Borough. Nine of the 18 members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority are still appointed by Gwynedd Council; three are appointed by Conwy County Borough Council; and the remaining six are appointed by the Welsh Government.

Economy

There are some prosperous and some struggling areas in the county's economy. Tourism is a major contributor to the economy, as many people come to the area to enjoy its many beaches and mountain scenery. From its northern coast to its southern district of Meirionnydd, a large portion of the county is contained within Snowdonia National Park. In contrast, year-round employment is scarce because tourism is a seasonal industry.

There are fewer people today making a living in agriculture than there were in the past, but the sector is still vital to the economy as a whole.

Slate production is the backbone of the traditional economy, but only a fraction of the workforce is currently employed in the industry.

Among the more recent developments are the television and music recording industries; the Sain record label is headquartered there.

Bangor University and the two FE colleges in the area, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Coleg Menai (now a part of Grp Llandrillo Menai), contribute significantly to the local economy.

There is a higher concentration of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd than in any other region of Wales. There were 65.4% of people aged 3 and up who reported being able to speak Welsh in the 2011 Census. An estimated 83% of the county's Welsh speakers are native speakers, the highest rate among all Welsh counties. At 92.3%, those between the ages of 5 and 15 in Gwynedd are the age group with the highest proportion of native Welsh speakers.

While the percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales as a whole increased to 20.5% during that decade, the percentage of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd decreased, from 72.1% to 68.7%, during that same time period. According to the 2018 Annual Population Survey, if you live in Gwynedd and are three or older, there's a 78% chance that you can speak Welsh.