The county of Gwynedd was created in 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of the abolished
administrative counties of
Anglesey,
Caernarfonshire, most of
Merioneth, and a small part of
Denbighshire. The new county created in 1974 was named "Gwynedd" after the medieval
kingdom of Gwynedd which had covered the area until its division into counties under the
Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, following the
Conquest of Wales by Edward I. From 1974 until 1996 Gwynedd County Council served the area as an upper-tier county council, with the county also being divided into five lower-tier
districts:
Aberconwy,
Arfon,
Dwyfor,
Meirionnydd, and
Ynys Môn – Isle of Anglesey. Local government across Wales was reorganised again in 1996 under the
Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which replaced the previous two tier system of counties and districts with "principal areas" (each designated either a "county" or a "
county borough"), whose councils perform the functions previously divided between the county and district councils. The pre-1996 county of Gwynedd was divided between three principal areas: • Anglesey () (a county) covering the district of Ynys Môn – Isle of Anglesey. •
Conwy County Borough covering the Aberconwy district and the neighbouring
Colwyn district from
Clwyd. • "Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire" () (a county) covering the Arfon, Dwyfor, and Meirionnydd districts. During the transition to the new system, the shadow authority elected for the latter requested a change of name from "Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire" to "Gwynedd". The government confirmed the change with effect from 2 April 1996, one day after the new council came into being. Since 1996, Gwynedd has therefore been a single-tier principal area, covering a smaller area than the pre-1996 county of the same name. Although the principal area is designated as a county, the council had styled itself as "Gwynedd Council" rather than "Gwynedd County Council", the latter having been the style used by the pre-1996 upper-tier authority. In October 2022, the council dropped its English name and would only use its Welsh name
Cyngor Gwynedd.
Second home controversy Controversy erupted in mid-winter 2001 when Seimon Glyn, Gwynedd Council's housing committee chairman and
Plaid Cymru member, voiced frustration over "English immigrants" moving into traditionally Welsh speaking communities. Glyn was commenting on a report underscoring the dilemma of rocketing house prices outstripping what locals could pay, with the report warning that "...traditional Welsh communities could die out..." as a consequence. In 2001 nearly a third of all purchases of properties in Gwynedd were by buyers from out of the county, with some communities reporting as many as a third of local homes used as holiday homes. Holiday home owners typically spend less than six months of the year in the local community. The issue of locals being priced out of the local housing market is common to many rural communities throughout Britain, but in Wales the added dimension of language further complicates the issue, as many new residents do not learn the Welsh language. Concerned for the Welsh language under these pressures, Glyn said "Once you have more than 50% of anybody living in a community that speaks a foreign language, then you lose your indigenous tongue almost immediately". His comments attracted strong criticism of Plaid Cymru from other national parties. According to planners in Snowdonia and Pembroke applicants for new homes must demonstrate a proven local need or the applicant must have strong links with the area.
Trade embargo with Israel In 2014, the council passed a motion which called for a trade embargo with Israel and was subsequently accused of Anti-Semitism by the organisation Jewish Human Rights Watch. Jewish Human Rights Watch won the right to a judicial review of council's decision, but their claim was dismissed by the High Court in June 2016.
Llais Gwynedd In 2008,
Llais Gwynedd or
Voice of Gwynedd, a regionalist pressure group won several seats on Gwynedd Council. It demanded an end to cutbacks in rural areas threatening schools, a relaxation of planning controls, action to provide rural employment and calls for more to be done to protect Gwynedd's "unique cultural, linguistic and social fabric". The group was represented on the council between 2008 and the
2022 election, when it lost all its seats.
2024 leader resignation Council leader, Dyfrig Siencyn, tendered his resignation on 16 October 2024, after initially refusing to apologise to the abuse victims of Gwynedd headteacher, Neil Foden. Siencyn later apologised for this, but four of his cabinet members resigned over the events. Siencyn's resignation as leader of the Plaid Cymru group and, consequently, the Council, was accepted at a meeting of the Plaid Cymru group a few days later. ==Political control==