Bridgend (county borough)

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**Bridgend county borough**

Geography
Area - Total - % Water	Ranked 17th 246 km² ? %
Admin HQ	Bridgend
ISO 3166-2	GB-BGE
ONS code	00PB
Demographics
Population: - (2005 est.) - Density	Ranked 10th 130,800 Ranked 8th 530 / km²
Ethnicity	98.4% White.
Welsh language - Any skills	Ranked 14th 19.9%
Politics
Bridgend County Borough Council http://www.bridgend.gov.uk/
Control	Liberal Democrat / Independent / Conservative
MPs	Huw Irranca-Davies Madeleine Moon

Bridgend (Welsh: Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is a county borough in Glamorgan, southern Wales. The county borough has a total population of 130,000 people, and contains the settlements of Bridgend, after which it is named, Maesteg, and the seaside town of Porthcawl. Its member of the National Assembly for Wales is Carwyn Jones, and its Member of Parliament is Madeleine Moon.

The county borough lies at the geographical heart of south Wales. Its land area of 285 square kilometres stretches 20 km from east to west and occupies the Llynfi, Garw and Ogmore valleys. The largest town is Bridgend (pop: 39,773), followed by Maesteg (pop: 20,700) and seaside resort of Porthcawl (pop: 19,238). * census 2001

It is based around the Ogmore River and its tributaries, although the Ewenny and Ogwr Fach rivers are considered the border with the Vale of Glamorgan for much of their length.

It was formed on April 1, 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. It includes all of the former Ogwr borough apart from the communities of Wick, St Bride's Major and Ewenny, which went to Vale of Glamorgan.

[edit] Government

The region is governed by Bridgend County Borough Council. It is currently in the control of the Liberal Democrats with an alliance of independents and Conservatives.