Vale of Glamorgan
§ This page gives an overview of the Vale of Glamorgan local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ Vale of Glamorgan lies west of Cardiff, featuring rural countryside, the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, and the market town of Cowbridge. Barry is the largest town, with its port and seaside attractions. Agriculture, tourism, and commuting form much of its economy.
The administrative boundary of Vale of Glamorgan can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Vale of Glamorgan.
Key Facts about Vale of Glamorgan
What region is Vale of Glamorgan in? Vale of Glamorgan is in Wales, a statistical region and also a country in United Kingdom.
Is Vale of Glamorgan a city? No, Vale of Glamorgan is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Vale of Glamorgan? The local government for this district is: The Vale of Glamorgan County Borough Council (Wales County Borough Council).
▶ Official website of The Vale of Glamorgan County Borough Council 🔗 valeofglamorgan.gov.uk
Which police force covers Vale of Glamorgan? Policing in Vale of Glamorgan is provided by South Wales Police 🔗 south-wales.police.uk, which serves 7 local authority districts: Bridgend ⁞ Cardiff ⁞ Merthyr Tydfil ⁞ Neath Port Talbot ⁞ Rhondda Cynon Taf ⁞ Swansea ⁞ Vale of Glamorgan.
Vale of Glamorgan in International Geographies
In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, Vale of Glamorgan is within an ITLs Level 3 area:
- (ITL 1) Wales
- (ITL 2) ⇒ South East Wales
- (ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
The International Territorial Levels are used by OECD member countries for statistical purposes to classify administrative areas. We have this listable page for easy browsing of ITL names and codes: International Territorial Levels.
Constituencies in Vale of Glamorgan
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 32 of them are in Wales. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan is divided into 24 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Baruc
- Buttrills
- Cadoc
- Castleland
- Cornerswell
- Court
- Cowbridge
- Dinas Powys
- Dyfan
- Gibbonsdown
- Illtyd
- Llandough
- Llandow
- Llantwit Major
- Peterston-super-Ely
- Plymouth
- Rhoose
- St Athan
- St Augustine's
- St Bride's Major
- St Nicholas and Llancarfan
- Stanwell
- Sully
- Wenvoe
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.
Communities in Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan has 27 communities, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Barry
- Colwinston
- Cowbridge with Llanblethian
- Dinas Powys
- Ewenny
- Llan-maes
- Llancarfan
- Llandough
- Llandow
- Llanfair
- Llangan
- Llantwit Major
- Michaelston-le-Pit and Leckwith
- Penarth
- Pendoylan
- Penllyn
- Peterston-super-Ely
- Rhoose
- St. Athan
- St. Bride's Major
- St. Donats
- St. Georges-super-Ely
- St. Nicholas and Bonvilston
- Sully and Lavernock
- Welsh St. Donats
- Wenvoe
- Wick
In Wales, communities are the Welsh equivalent of civil parishes—the lowest tier of local government. Every part of Wales lies within a community, though only some have an elected community or town council. Where they exist, these councils handle very local matters and speak for residents to the county or county borough council. Like English civil parishes, communities are purely civil/administrative and are distinct from church parishes.
Built-up Areas in Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan covers 26 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Barry (Vale of Glamorgan)
- Bonvilston
- Boverton
- Bridgend *
- Cardiff *
- Colwinston
- Corntown *
- Cowbridge
- Dinas Powis
- East Aberthaw
- Eglwys-Brewis
- Llanharry *
- Llanmaes
- Llantwit Major
- Ogmore-by-Sea
- Penarth *
- Rhoose
- Sigingstone
- St Athan
- St Brides Major
- St Donat's
- St Nicholas
- Wenvoe
- West Aberthaw
- Wick (Vale of Glamorgan)
- Ystradowen
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Vale of Glamorgan.)
Vale of Glamorgan compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Vale of Glamorgan compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Vale of Glamorgan has 24 electoral wards.
Vale of Glamorgan has a population of 135,743 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Vale of Glamorgan can be found on the ONS statistics for Vale of Glamorgan.