The County Borough of Caerphilly (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2026
W.S.I. 2026/126 · Made 16 October 2026
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WALES
Made 16 October 2026
Coming into force in accordance with article 1(2) and (3)
The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymruf1 (“the Commission”) has, under section 36(5) of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru etc. Act 2013f2 (“the 2013 Act”), submitted to the Welsh Ministers a report dated March 2026 containing its recommendations for change and the details of its review of the electoral arrangements for the County Borough of Caerphilly.
The Welsh Ministers have decided to give effect to the Commission’s recommendations without modification.
Under section 37(3A) and (3B) of the 2013 Actf3, more than 6 weeks have elapsed since those recommendations were submitted to the Welsh Ministers and the Welsh Ministers have had regard to any representations made during that period.
The Welsh Ministers have published a statement setting out their decision in respect of each recommendation under section 37(6) of the 2013 Actf4.
The Welsh Ministers make the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 37(1)(a) and 40(1) and (2)(a) and (b) of the 2013 Act.
Under section 37(2A) of the 2013 Actf5, the Welsh Ministers make this Order more than 6 months preceding the day of an ordinary council election under section 26 of the Local Government Act 1972f6.
Annotations to the whole text
Footnotes
- f1
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The Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales was established by section 53 of, and Schedule 8 to, the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) (“the 1972 Act”). Section 53 and Schedule 8 were repealed by section 73(2) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013 (anaw 4) (“the 2013 Act”). The 2013 Act renamed the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales as the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales (see section 2(2)). The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (asc 4) renamed the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales as the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru (see section 12).
- f2
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2013 anaw 4. Section 11 of the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 renamed the short title of the 2013 Act as the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru etc. Act 2013.
- f3
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Section 37(3A) and (3B) was substituted for section 37(3) of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru etc. Act 2013 by section 43(2) of the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024 (asc 5).
- f4
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Section 37(6) was inserted by section 49(2)(b) of the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024.
- f5
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Section 37(2A) was inserted by section 47(3) of the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024.
- f6
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1972 c. 70. Section 26 was substituted by section 4(2) of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19). Section 26 was amended by S.I. 2019/1269 (W. 220) to provide that the year in which an ordinary election of councillors of local authorities must take place is 2022 instead of 2021. Section 26(1) was further amended by section 14(2) of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1) to provide that elections must take place every fifth year after 2022.
Contents
- 1Title and coming into force
- 2Interpretation
- 3Electoral arrangements for the County Borough of Caerphilly
- Signature
- Schedule NAMES AND AREAS OF ELECTORAL WARDS AND NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL
- Explanatory note
1Title and coming into force
The title of this Order is the County Borough of Caerphilly (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2026.
For any purpose set out in regulation 4(1) of the Local Government Area Changes Regulations 1976f1, this Order comes into force on 6 November 2026.
For all other purposes, this Order comes into force at 23:59 hours on the day before the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2027.
2Interpretation
In this Order—
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“the 1972 Act” (“Deddf 1972”) means the Local Government Act 1972;
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“the 2013 Act” (“Deddf 2013”) means the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru etc. Act 2013;
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“electoral ward” (“ward etholiadol”) means any area for which councillors are elected to Caerphilly County Borough Council.
Words and expressions used in this Order have the same meaning as they have in Part 3 of the 2013 Act, except so far as a contrary intention appears.
3Electoral arrangements for the County Borough of Caerphilly
The electoral wards of the County Borough of Caerphilly, as they exist immediately before the ordinary day of election of councillors in 2027, are abolished.
The County Borough of Caerphilly is divided into 30 electoral wards each bearing the English language name listed in column 1 and the Welsh language name listed in column 2 of the Table in the Schedule to this Order.
Each electoral ward comprises the areas specified in relation to that electoral ward in column 3 of the Table in the Schedule to this Order.
The number of members of Caerphilly County Borough Council to be elected for each electoral ward is the number specified in column 4 of the Table in the Schedule to this Order.
Signature
Siân Gwenllian
Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, one of the Welsh Ministers
16 October 2026
NAMES AND AREAS OF ELECTORAL WARDS AND NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL
Table
| Column (1) | Column (2) | Column (3) | Column (4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| English language name of electoral ward | Welsh language name of electoral ward | Area of electoral ward | Number of members of the council |
| Aber Valley | Cwm Aber | The community of Aber Valley | 3 |
| Aberbargoed Bargoed | Aberbargoed Bargoed | The Aberbargoed and Bargoed wards of the town of Bargoed | 3 |
| Aber-carn | Aber-carn | The community of Abercarn | 2 |
| Argoed | Argoed | The community of Argoed | 1 |
| Bedwas Trethomas | Bedwas Trethomas | The Bedwas and Trethomas wards of the community of Bedwas, Trethomas, Machen and Rudry | 3 |
| Blackwood | Coed-duon | The community of Blackwood | 3 |
| Cefn Fforest Pengam | Cefn Fforest Pengam | The community of Cefn Fforest and Pengam | 3 |
| Crosskeys | Crosskeys | The community of Crosskeys | 1 |
| Crumlin | Crymlyn | The community of Crumlin | 2 |
| Cwm Darran | Cwm Darran | The community of Darran Valley | 1 |
| Gilfach | Gilfach | The Gilfach and Park wards of the town of Bargoed | 1 |
| Hengoed | Hengoed | The Cefn Hengoed and Hengoed wards of the community of Gelligaer | 2 |
| Llanbradach | Llanbradach | The community of Llanbradach and Pwll-y-pant | 2 |
| Machen Rudry | Machen Rhydri | The Machen and the Rudry wards of the community of Bedwas, Trethomas, Machen and Rudry | 2 |
| Maesycwmwr | Maesycwmwr | The community of Maesycwmmer | 1 |
| Morgan Jones | Morgan Jones | The Bryncenydd, Parcyfelin and Tonyfelin wards of the community of Caerphilly | 3 |
| Moriah Pontlotyn | Moriah Pontlotyn | The Abertysswg, St Davids and Moriah, and Pontlottyn wards of the community of Rhymney | 2 |
| Nelson | Nelson | The community of Nelson | 2 |
| New Tredegar | Tredegar Newydd | The community of New Tredegar | 2 |
| Newbridge | Trecelyn | The community of Newbridge | 3 |
| Penmaen | Penmaen | The community of Penmaen | 2 |
| Penyrheol | Penyrheol | The community of Penyrheol, Trecenydd and Energlyn | 4 |
| Pontllan-fraith | Pontllan-fraith | The community of Pontllanfraith | 3 |
| Risca | Rhisga | The community of Risca | 4 |
| Sant Catwg | Sant Catwg | The Cascade, Greenhill and Tir-y-berth wards of the community of Gelligaer | 3 |
| Sant Martin | Sant Martin | The Castle, Twyn, Watford and Cwrt Rawlins wards of the community of Caerphilly | 3 |
| Twyncarno | Twyncarno | The Twyn Carno ward of the community of Rhymney | 1 |
| Van | Y Fan | The community of Van | 2 |
| Ynys-ddu | Ynys-ddu | The community of Ynys-ddu | 2 |
| Ystrad Mynach | Ystrad Mynach | The Ystrad Mynach ward of the community of Gelligaer | 2 |
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order implements the recommendations of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru (“the Commission”), which reported in March 2026 on its review of the electoral arrangements for the County Borough of Caerphilly. The Commission’s report proposed a reduction in the number of electoral wards from 31 to 30 and a decrease in the number of councillors from 69 to 68.
This Order implements the Commission’s recommendations without modification.
Article 3 of this Order abolishes the existing electoral arrangements for the County Borough of Caerphilly and introduces the Schedule, which sets out the new electoral arrangements for the County Borough of Caerphilly.
The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to this Order. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with this Order.