Cathays (electoral ward)

The Cathays (/kəˈteɪz/ kə-TAYZ)[2] electoral ward of Cardiff, created in 1890, which since 1974 has covered the Cathays and Castle communities. There is no community council for the area and it has elected three Cardiff councillors from the outset.

Cathays ward
Electoral ward
Location of the Cathays ward within Cardiff
Population	20,021 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference	ST181780
Principal area	Cardiff
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CARDIFF
Postcode district	CF24
Dialling code	+44-29
UK Parliament	Cardiff Central
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Cardiff Central
Councillors	4

Description

The Cathays ward includes some or all of the following areas: Blackweir, Cardiff city centre, Cathays Park and Maindy in the parliamentary constituency of Cardiff Central. It is bounded by Gabalfa and Birchgrove to the north; Plasnewydd and Adamsdown to the east; Butetown to the south; and Riverside to the west. The River Taff forms its western boundary to where it meets the South Wales Main Line, the South Wales Main Line forms the southern boundary to where it meets the Valley Lines northbound branch, this railway line then forms the eastern boundary as far as the A48 road. The Northern boundary follows the A48 as far as Allensbank Road where it follows this road south then turns north again along Whitchurch Road. It turns west along Crown Way, then south along the A470 until North Road where it bears west, passing just south of the student halls, until it meets the River Taff. The tallest building in Wales is here and is also part of the Cardiff's CBD.

The ward contains a large number of Cardiff's landmarks including:

• Cardiff Cathedral
• Cathays Park with a number of civic buildings and public gardens
• Maindy Stadium
• Cathays Cemetery

The ward has traditionally had one of the highest percentages of student residents. In 2011 70% of adults in the ward (between 16 and 74) were students.[3]

Local elections

1995–date

In 1995 the Cathays ward elected three councillors and, since 1999 four councillors to the Cardiff Council unitary authority.[4]

At the May 2017 elections all four seats were won by the Labour Party.[5]

1974–1996

Between 1974 and 1996 the Cathays ward was represented on Cardiff City Council by three councillors.[6] These included Mike German, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the council; and Derek Allinson, Lord Mayor in 1992.

The ward was represented mainly by the Labour Party, until 1983 when the Liberal Democrats, Mike German and Fred Hornblow, won two of the seats. Between 1983 and 1996 the ward was represented by councillors German, Hornblow and Allinson.[6]

1983 Cardiff City Council election [7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Alliance	Michael J. German	1,742
	Alliance	Fred J. Hornblow	1,639
	Labour	Derek R. Allinson	1,531
	Alliance	D. W. T. Rees	1,524
	Labour	M. F. Harris	1,496
	Labour	W. C. Laing	1,335
	Conservative	F. Moorcraft	961
	Conservative	S. Phillips	909
	Conservative	E. Robinson	861
	Plaid Cymru	Owen John Thomas	261
	Ecology	K. J. Pearson	225
Turnout
	Alliance gain from Labour		Swing
	Alliance gain from Labour		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

1890–1974

Wards of Cardiff, 1890

In July 1890, following the creation of Cardiff County Borough Council, Cathays was the name of one of the ten new electoral wards created in the county borough.[8] It covered an area northeast of the Taff Vale Railway (with much of what is nowadays the Cathays ward, west of the railway, being part of the Central ward).

Each of the three councillors took turns to stand for re-election, on a three-yearly (later a nine-yearly) cycle.

References

1. 2011 Census Key Statistics - Cathays Archived 5 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Ask Cardiff.
2. G.M. Miller, BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (London: Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 27.
3. Chris Wood (2 January 2017). "Cardiff students search for better digs beyond Cathays". BBC News. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
4. "Cardiff Council Election Results 1995-2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre (Plymouth University). Retrieved 11 May 2019.
5. "Election results for Cathays - Cardiff Council Elections 2017 - Thursday, 4th May, 2017". Cardiff Council. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
6. "Cardiff Welsh District Council Election Results 1973-1991" (PDF). The Elections Centre (Plymouth University). Retrieved 29 June 2019.
7. "Election Results S. Glam. - Cardiff City Council". South Wales Echo. 6 May 1983. pp. 6–7.
8. "Cardiff New Wards - Determining The Boundaries". The Western Mail. 29 July 1890. p. 6 – via Welsh Newspapers Online.