County borough in Wales
County borough
Rhondda Cynon Taf
(
Welsh pronunciation:
[?r??nða
?k?n?n
?taːv]
;
RCT
; also spelt as
Rhondda Cynon Taff
) is a
county borough
in the
south-east
of
Wales
. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (
Welsh
:
Taf
) and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and villages away from the valleys.
Results from the 2011 census showed 19.1% of its 234,410 residents self-identified as having some ability in the use of the
Welsh language
.
[2]
The county borough borders
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough
and
Caerphilly County Borough
to the east,
Cardiff
and the
Vale of Glamorgan
to the south,
Bridgend County Borough
and
Neath Port Talbot
to the west and
Powys
to the north. Its principal towns are -
Aberdare
,
Llantrisant
with
Talbot Green
and
Pontypridd
, with other key settlements/towns being -
Maerdy
,
Ferndale
,
Hirwaun
,
Llanharan
,
Mountain Ash
,
Porth
,
Tonypandy
,
Tonyrefail
and
Treorchy
.
The most populous individual town in Rhondda Cynon Taf is
Aberdare
(
Welsh
:
Aberdar
) with a population of 39,550 (2011), followed by
Pontypridd
with 32,694 (2011). The largest
built-up area
as defined by the
Office for National Statistics
is the
Tonypandy
built-up area, with a population of 62,545 (2011), which covers much of the
Rhondda
valley.
[3]
The
National Eisteddfod
will be held at Rhondda Cynon Taf in 2024, postponed twice from 2022.
[4]
History
[
edit
]
The county borough was formed on 1 April 1996, by the merger of the former Mid Glamorgan
districts
of
Rhondda
,
Cynon Valley
and
Taff-Ely
(with the exceptions of
Creigiau
and
Pentyrch
, which were added to Cardiff). Its name reflects all these, and thus also the rivers
Rhondda
,
Cynon
and
Taff
. Pontypridd, a University and Market Town, is the principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf; situated 12 miles north of the capital city of Cardiff. Pontypridd is often abbreviated “Ponty” by local residents.
Some of Wales' most notorious unsolved murders occurred in Rhondda Cynon Taf in 1993, the
murders of Harry and Megan Tooze
in
Llanharry
.
[5]
Industry
[
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]
The district developed from the discovery and mining, primarily for export, of high-quality
Welsh
coals
, such as
steam coal
, via Cardiff and
Barry
docks. The landscape was dominated by
coal waste
heaps and deep mine pit-heads. Many of the roads are lined with semi-ribbon development of closely packed
Victorian
terraces of houses which have given the
Rhondda
and
Cynon
valleys their distinctive appearance. In the nineteenth century the Rhondda had over 60 mines.
As deep mines closed, a number of very large open-cast coal mines were created and remain in operation, especially towards the north of the area.
The
Welsh Development Agency
, which was formed in 1976 to help reverse the economic down-turn in Wales caused by the recession in both the
coal
and
steel
industries, was very active in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area in supporting and encouraging industrial and commercial regeneration.
Recent investment in the area has included the
Dragon International Film Studios
, on the site of
Llanilid
open-cast mine. The location of the project has led it to become known locally as "Valleywood", even though the Welsh valleys are some miles away.
Environment
[
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]
The coal industry has had major adverse impacts on the quality of the environment, such that most of the rivers were severely polluted to the exclusion of all fish life. Recent decades have shown great improvement with the return of
salmon
recorded in the
River Taff
and the
River Rhondda
but the continued presence of man-made obstacles in the rivers is inhibiting regeneration of their pre-industrial numbers and condition.
The chemical industry has also had adverse effects due to the dumping of toxic waste in the now disused
Brofiscin Quarry
in the village of
Groes-faen
. Dumping took place over a 6-year period between 1965 and 1970 by the
Monsanto Company
.
[6]
Clean-up costs have been estimated to be over £100 million. A Dr Papageorge, formerly Monsanto's chief scientist, estimates that between 60,000 and 80,000 tonnes of
polychlorinated biphenyl
(PCB) contaminated wastes were dumped there.
[7]
Works costing £1.25 million to reduce health risks to local residents and members of the public using a nearby footpath were completed at the quarry in 2012.
[8]
Monsanto,
BP
and
Veolia
contributed to the cost of the clean-up while continuing to deny liability.
[8]
Government
[
edit
]
The area is governed by
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
from headquarters in
Pontypridd
and is the host authority to the South East Wales Improvement Collaborative (SEWIC), Excellence Wales award winner 2010. Rhondda Cynon Taf is represented by four MPs in the
UK Parliament
. There are also four
constituencies
represented in the
Senedd
(Welsh Parliament).
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Sir
Tom Jones
? Treforest, Pontypridd ? singer, known to some people locally by his birth name of Tommy Woodward
- Neil Jenkins
? Church Village, near Pontypridd ? Wales and British & Irish Lions rugby union player
- Kelly Jones
? Cwmaman ? lead singer and lead guitarist of the rock band the
Stereophonics
- Baron
Merlyn Rees
(1920-2006) ? Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd ? served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974?1976) and Home Secretary (1976?1979)
- Sir
Geraint Evans
(1922?1992) ? Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd ? bass-baritone opera singer
Twinning
[
edit
]
Towns that have
twinning
arrangements in Rhondda Cynon Taf are:
Freedom of the Borough
[
edit
]
The following people and military units have received the
Freedom of the Borough
of Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Individuals
[
edit
]
Military units
[
edit
]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
51°39′00″N
3°26′24″W
/
51.65000°N 3.44000°W
/
51.65000; -3.44000