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The Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales has proposed 13 changes to community council boundaries in Caerphilly.

Residents were asked in March 2023 for their opinion on any potential changes, as the review affects the names of community councils, the number of community councillors, and the merging of community councils.

Under current proposals, 278 voters who are represented by Maesycwmmer Community Council will lose their right to vote at community council elections, as they would be transferred to Pontllanfraith, which are without either a community or town council.

In addition, 100 voters from Bargoed Town Council would lose their community councillor, as they’re set to merge with Pengam.

However, this would have no impact on ward boundaries for Caerphilly County Borough Council, nor would it affect parliamentary and Senedd boundaries.

The last community review was in 2010. This is different to the 2021 Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales review, which saw county council ward changes.

The proposed changes are as follows:

Risca East and Risca West

The commission proposes to merge Risca East Community Council with Risca West Town Council, to form the new Risca Community Council.

The community wards within the proposed Risca Community Council would remain the same.

One small change would see the Ty Isaf Fields ward renamed ‘Ty Isaf Fields and Ochrwyth’.

The amount of community councillors in Risca would increase from 17 to 18.

Bedwas, Trethomas, and Machen

Under the new proposals, Bedwas, Trethomas, and Machen Community Council would merge with Draethen, Waterloo, and Rudry Community Council to form ‘Bedwas, Trethomas, Machen, and Rudry (BTMR) Community Council’.

The community wards within the proposed BTMR Community Council would remain the same.

The amount of community councillors in BTMR would decrease from 21 to 17.

Gelligaer and Nelson

The first proposed change within Gelligaer Community Council would see the transfer of six streets in the Cwm Calon housing estate from the Cefn Hengoed ward to the Ystrad Mynach ward.

This is due to the 260 voters on the six streets currently not having direct access to a polling station.

The second change also relates to wards within Gelligaer Community Council, and would see a part of the Cefn Hengoed ward transfer to the Tir y Berth ward. Specifically Farm Close, which affects 63 electors.

This has also been proposed due to polling station access.

The final change proposes to transfer part of the Greenhill ward, which is part of Gelligaer Community Council, to the Llwyncelyn ward, which is part of Nelson Community Council. This would affect eight electors.

The number of community councillors in Gelligaer Community Council would increase from 13 to 14, and the number of community councillors in Nelson Community Council would remain the same at nine councillors.

Caerphilly

There are four proposed changes concerning Caerphilly Town Council, which would all see parts of wards move to other wards within Caerphilly.

The first proposal would be to see 38 voters on Castell y Fan transfer from the Parcyfelin ward to the Tonyfelin ward. As it stands, part of the street is currently in a different ward to the other.

The second proposal will affect 119 electors, who would be transferred from the Tonyfelin ward to the Parcyfelin ward.

The area involved would include Caerphilly Leisure Centre, as well as the residents on Haner Erw, Cwrt Gwaun Fach, and Heol Bro Wen.

The next proposed change would see 159 voters in and around Lawrence Street and Caerbragdy transfer from the Parcyfelin ward to the Tonyfelin ward.

Finally, the commission proposes the transfer of the grounds around Caerphilly Castle to move from the Castle ward to the Bryncenydd ward. No electors would be affected.

The amount of councillors in Caerphilly Town Council would increase from 12 to 14 under these proposals.

Bargoed and Pengam

The commission has proposed three changes, two of which would apply to wards within Bargoed Town Council, and one which would apply to Pengam – which doesn’t have a community or town council.

The first change would see part of the Gilfach ward transfer to the Park ward. It would affect 40 voters across three streets in the Park housing estate, and the whole of the Heol Fargoed allotment site.

The next change proposed is transferring part of the Bargoed ward to the Gilfach ward. This would involve using Heol Fargoed as the western boundary, Park Drive as the northern boundary and Cardiff Road as the eastern boundary. It would also include the sports fields and Bargoed Care Home.

It would affect 135 voters.

The final change would be to transfer a section of the Aberbargoed ward to Pengam.

The 100 electors would be made up of residents from the Llanmoor homes development.

The number of councillors Bargoed Town Council would have under these proposals increases from 13 to 16.

As part of the proposals, a new community council called ‘Cefn Fforest and Pengam’ would be created, which is explained in the next section.

Cefn Fforest and Pengam

As it stands, neither Cefn Fforest or Pengam has a community/town council. Under this new proposal, that would remain the case.

It would however mean that the 100 residents transferred from Bargoed Town Council would pay less council tax, which varies depending on someone’s council tax bracket.

As part of the new proposal, both areas would merge to create ‘Cefn Fforest and Pengam’, which would be represented by three councillors and have an electorate of 5,526 people.

Maesycwmmer and Pontllanfraith

Only one change has been proposed, which would see a part of Maesycwmmer transfer to Pontllanfraith.

The change would affect 278 voters across Hawtin Meadows housing development, and a section of Hawtin Park industrial estate.

For Maesycwmmer Community Council, this would mean losing one community councillor – seeing its overall tally drop from nine to eight.

There is no community or town council in Pontllanfraith, meaning electors would no longer have a vote at community council elections.

Rhymney

Rhymney Community Council would see just one change under the current proposals, and that would be the merging of the St David’s ward and Moriah ward.

The ‘St David’s and Moriah’ ward would comprise of 1,578 voters if approved. It would be represented by three community councillors.

Rhymney Community Council as a whole would lose one community councillor, going from 15 to 14.

To have your say on these draft proposals, email: consultations@boundaries.wales by no later than Monday December 4, 2023.