Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Bwrdeistref Sirol Castell-nedd Port Talbot
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Founded	1 April 1996
Preceded by	West Glamorgan County Council Port Talbot BC Neath BC Lliw Valley BC
Leadership
Mayor of Neath Port Talbot	Robert Wood, Labour since 7 June 2022
Leader of the Council	Steve Hunt, Independent since 23 May 2022
Deputy Leader	Alun Llewelyn, Plaid Cymru since 23 May 2022
Leader of the Opposition	Robert Jones, Labour since 23 May 2022
Chief executive	Karen Jones since November 2020
Structure
Seats	60[1]
Political groups	Administration (30)   Independent (18)   Plaid Cymru (12) Confidence & Supply (3)   Liberal Democrats (2)   Green (1) Opposition (27)   Labour (27)
Length of term	5 years
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
First election	4 May 1995
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Civic Centre, Port Talbot
Website
www.npt.gov.uk

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is the local governing body for Neath Port Talbot, Wales, United Kingdom. It was controlled by the Labour Party from its creation in 1996 until 2022, when Plaid Cymru and a group of independent councillors agreed to share power.^[2]

Leadership

On 12 May 2017, Councillor Robert Jones become leader of the council, taking over from previous leader Councillor Ali Thomas.^[3] The elected deputy leader was Councillor Ted Latham.

On 6 March 2021, Robert Jones stood down from his role as leader of the council, pending an investigation.^{[citation needed]} It was confirmed that the deputy leader, Councillor Ted Latham, would replace Councillor Jones on an interim basis.^{[citation needed]} Councillor Leanne Jones was confirmed as the interim deputy leader.

On 24 July 2021, Jones was cleared of misconduct with a local government watchdog saying it found "no evidence".^{[citation needed]} However, Jones did not return to the role of leader and Ted Latham continued in the role.

On 23 May 2022, it was announced that a coalition between the Plaid Cymru and Independent groups would lead the council.^[4] The Liberal Democrats and Green Party members would support the coalition via a confidence and supply agreement. Independent councillor, Steve Hunt, became the new leader of council, with Plaid Cymru councillor, Alun Llewelyn, as the new Deputy Leader.^[4]

Political makeup

Elections take place every five years, electing sixty councillors. The last election was 5 May 2022.^[5]

Current composition

Historic results

Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in Notes column

Neath Port Talbot had been a Labour stronghold, having been in power from 1996 until 2022.^[8]

Mayoralty

On 7 June 2022, Councillor Robert Wood was appointed the mayor of Neath Port Talbot.

The deputy mayor for 2022-23 is Councillor Chris Williams.

Electoral wards

Pre-2022 electoral wards in Neath Port Talbot

Following a 2021 local government boundary review, the number of electoral wards dropped from 42 to 34, with the number of elected councillors reducing from 64 to 60, effective from the 2022 local elections.^[9]

Prior to this, the county borough was divided into 42 wards, listed below, returning a total of 64 councillors. Some of these wards are coterminous with communities (parishes) of the same name. There are 19 community councils in the county borough area. The following table lists council wards, communities and associated geographical areas. Communities with a community council are indicated with a '*':

Council premises

Office complexes for the council are located at the

• New Neath Civic Centre,
• Port Talbot Civic Centre, and
• The Quays in Baglan Bay.

The site of former Neath Civic Centre is now^[when?] undergoing re-development as a shopping mall.

Council Interests

The Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council administrates or jointly controls a number of business interests, which include:

• Afan Forest Park
• Margam Country Park