The final ward-by-ward (and town/community council) preview for this year’s local elections looks at wards in and around Bridgend town itself as well as Pencoed.
Which county councillors are standing down this year?
- Nicole Burnett (Lab, Morfa) – former Cabinet Member.
- Pam Davies (Lab, Bryntirion Laleston & Merthyr Mawr) – former Mayor of Bridgend County Borough Council.
- Tom Giffard (Con, Brackla) – elected as MS for South Wales West in 2021.
- John McCarthy (Lab, Felindre) – former Mayor of Bridgend County Borough Council.
- Bridie Sedgebeer (Lab, Hendre)
- Lyn Walters (Con, Oldcastle)
- Carolyn Webster (Ind, Newcastle)
- Julia Williams (Ind, Felindre)
- Sadie Vidal (Con, Litchard)
- Richard Young (Lab, Pendre) – former Cabinet Member and Mayor of Bridgend County Borough Council.
Once again, if you’re not sure which ward you are in, enter your postcode into the widget below and it’ll tell you.
Note: Town and community councils are usually run on a non-partisan basis, but have become increasingly politicised over the last term or two, making the results and number of seats won by each party/group more important than it used to be.
Contested Elections
Bridgend Town Council (19 councillors) – The town council covers the former Morfa (including Wildmill) and Newcastle wards as well as the current Oldcastle ward.
Currently, the town council is the jewel in the crown of the Bridgend County Independents and they’re enthusiastic about maintaining their majority, being the only party or group to put up a full slate of candidates. By my count, they’re guaranteed at least 6 seats and would therefore only need to win four more to keep a majority.
The only other parties standing are Labour and the Conservatives, though the Conservatives are only standing in Oldcastle. Labour would love to spoil the Independent’s seemingly likely victory here, but they would probably prefer to win Bridgend Central county council seats instead.
Brackla Community Council (12 councillors) – The community council covers all of Brackla except for the Ffordd Cadfan and Gerddi Castell areas (both of which are in Coity Higher). Previously, all councillors were elected via a single list but following the boundary review, four wards will elect three councillors each.
Traditionally, Labour has done well in Brackla but they’ve fallen short of a full slate this year, meaning they can only secure a majority if all of their candidates are elected or re-elected. The Conservatives by contrast have managed to put up a full slate, while the Independents will be hoping to win at least 2 seats when they’ve previously struggled to win any at all.
Laleston Community Council (13 councillors) – The community council covers the Bryntirion, Cefn Glas and Broadlands areas of Bridgend, Laleston village and the area north of Stormy Down.
The Lib Dems usually enjoy success in this community council, but it’s an area the Independents have now set their sights on at both county and community council levels. Labour also usually performs well and could get a majority on the council if all of their candidates are elected.
The “Cefn Glas 2” ward has had an uncontested election, returning 2 Labour and 2 Independent community councillors.
Coity Higher Community Council (13 councillors) – The community council covers Coity village, Parc Derwen, Litchard and Pendre and extends south to cover the areas in and around Brackla Industrial Estate.
The number of community councillors increased following a review during 2021-22. However, the Litchard and Pendre wards have returned 8 Independent councillors unopposed in total and only the Coity ward will hold a contested election.
Independents already hold a majority on the council and are guaranteed at least 3 additional members in Coity, with only the Conservatives putting up alternative candidates. Labour didn’t put anyone forward – which is a surprise but something repeated elsewhere in the county.
Uncontested Elections
Pencoed Town Council (13 councillors) – The town council covers the town of Pencoed, meaning the former Hendre and Felindre wards as well as the southern part of the former Penprysg ward. Too few candidates stood for there to be a contested election so nine councillors were elected unopposed (7 Labour, 1 Conservative, 1 Plaid Cymru) with four remaining vacancies.
Coychurch Higher Community Council (7 councillors) – The community council covers the Heol-y-Cyw area of the former Penprysg ward. Only two candidates stood (2 Independents), meaning the council doesn’t have enough members to hold meetings and a fresh election will need to be held at a later date.
Coychurch Lower Community Council (7 councillors) – The community council covers the village of Coychurch and the area around the Bridgend and Waterton industrial estates. As a result of an uncontested election, five councillors have been elected unopposed (2 Conservative, 2 Independent, 1 Labour) with two remaining vacancies.
Merthyr Mawr Community Council (7 councillors) – The community council covers Island Farm Close in Bridgend, Merthyr Mawr village, Tythegston and Stormy Down. All 7 seats were filled by Independents.
