29-463: Nation Radio Wales is a regional radio station, broadcasting to south and west Wales on FM and across Wales on DAB. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts from studios near the St Hilary transmitter on the outskirts of Cowbridge . The station's music playlist originally consisted of new and classic guitar-led music, reflecting the franchise won originally by XFM, but in 2015,
58-483: A 8 and 9 local authority model. As part of the proposed eight local authorities model, the 3 existing local authorities of North East Wales, would be combined into one authority, spanning all of North East Wales and therefore most of the former county of Clwyd. Although, no name was proposed for this county. The alternative proposal, a 9 local authority model, applies to a part of North East Wales, in which Denbighshire would be merged westwards with Conwy instead, leaving
87-444: A relay of Nation. Five months later, it was reported Nation had decided to retain the local service and would request to reverse its decision on the station's format. In May 2019, Nation Broadcasting withdrew its request and Radio Ceredigion was replaced by a relay of Nation Radio Wales as originally planned. Most of Nation Radio's programming is produced and broadcast from its St Hilary studios. Some off-peak programming - including
116-439: A voluntary basis. It also aimed to create a framework for joint regional coordination between local authorities. The bill was enacted in 2021. 53°06′N 3°06′W / 53.1°N 3.1°W / 53.1; -3.1 Conwy County Borough Conwy County Borough ( Welsh : Bwrdeistref Sirol Conwy ) is a county borough in the north of Wales. It borders Gwynedd to the west and south and Denbighshire to
145-512: Is Llanrwst. According to the 2001 census 39.7% of the population of the county borough have "one or more skills" in Welsh . In 2021 census 25.9% reported being able to speak Welsh, which ranks Conwy 5th out of 22 principal areas in Wales. The amount of Welsh spoken in the county borough greatly varies from location to location, with generally the least being spoken on the coastal fringe, in which English
174-488: Is a transport improvement project for the region. It is in concept, a multi-modal system with a combination of bus, heavy rail and light rail services linking major settlements and employment areas of the region, with hubs located in Wrexham, Chester and Deeside, in addition to further connections to Liverpool . The economic strategy for the region is for the further integration of North Wales, with Northern England , as part of
203-536: Is an area or region of Wales , commonly defined as a grouping of the principal areas of Denbighshire , Flintshire , and Wrexham County Borough in the north - east of the country . These principal areas comprise most (excluding Colwyn , and parts of Glyndŵr ) of the former administrative county of Clwyd . It is bordered by Conwy , and Gwynedd , in North West Wales to the west, Powys , in Mid Wales to
232-575: Is at the well-positioned Wenvoe site near Cardiff, broadcasting on 106.8 MHz, serving Cardiff, Newport, the Vale of Glamorgan, Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales Valleys, Monmouthshire, the Brecon Beacons and the Gower A.O.N.B. Unofficially, the 106.8 MHz frequency from Wenvoe also serves Bristol, Gloucestershire and parts of Somerset, Wiltshire and Herefordshire. Kilvey Hill serves
261-522: Is mainly spoken. Examples of the percentage of people age 3+ speaking Welsh by electoral ward, as of the 2011 census : The county borough was formed on 1 April 1996 by merging the districts of Aberconwy and Colwyn . It was originally named Aberconwy and Colwyn , but its council renamed the district a day later, on 2 April 1996, to Conwy . Conwy is represented in the UK Parliament by Labour Party politicians Gill German and Claire Hughes since
290-629: Is mostly used as a regional grouping of local authorities. The North East Wales NHS Trust existed from 1 April 1999 to 1 July 2008, when it merged with Conwy & Denbighshire NHS Trust to form the North Wales NHS Trust (now Betsi Cadwaladr LHB ). In 1963, in a review of local government in Wales, the Local Government Commission for Wales proposed a single North East Wales "administrative area" containing Denbighshire , Flintshire and Montgomeryshire . In April 2013, it
319-573: Is much less populous, and the only town is Llanrwst (3,323). The geography of Conwy is shaped by the River Conwy , which forms a wide valley down the western half of the county, bordered by the Denbigh Moors to the east and the mountains of Snowdonia National Park to the west. The River Elwy , a tributary of the Clwyd , drains the eastern half of the moors. The Conwy forms a wide estuary as it reaches
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#1733124737462348-623: The 2024 election . This election implemented new boundaries, making Conwy County Borough be in the Bangor Aberconwy and Clwyd North UK Parliament constituencies. In the Senedd , it is represented by Conservative Party politicians Janet Finch-Saunders and Darren Millar . Conwy County Borough Council was granted a coat of arms by the College of Arms in 2001. The new arms recall those of both Aberconwy and Colwyn Borough Councils. The main part of
377-671: The Northern Powerhouse project. The main roads in the area are the A55 , A494 , and A483 . On 22 November 2023, Wrexham and Flintshire were announced to be part of a "North East Wales Investment Zone". The term North East Wales is used by the Welsh Government in the Wales Spatial Plan and the BBC . Some rarer definitions of North East Wales, only included Flintshire and Wrexham. It
406-480: The Russ Williams afternoon show and Fox's Jukebox on weekday evenings - is shared with other Nation-owned stations, including Nation Radio Scotland . Local news bulletins air hourly from 6am - 7pm on weekdays and 7am - 1pm at weekends with headlines on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime. National news bulletins from Sky News Radio air hourly at other times. Nation Radio's main transmitter
435-478: The " Mersey-Dee " economic sub-region ) are crucial to the region's economy. The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located in the region. Other attractions include historical buildings such as Chirk Castle , and Erddig in Wrexham, valley towns such as Corwen and Llangollen , and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site . The North East Wales Metro
464-511: The Swansea area on 107.3 MHz albeit with a very small coverage area, Carmel serves Carmarthenshire on 102.9 MHz, Preseli serves Pembrokeshire on 107.1 MHz and Blaenplwyf serves Cardigan on 103.3 MHz. 51°39′31″N 3°49′56″W / 51.6585°N 3.8323°W / 51.6585; -3.8323 North East Wales North East Wales ( Welsh : Gogledd-Ddwyrain Cymru )
493-570: The coast, which has by wide, sandy beaches and the limestone headlands of the Great Orme and the Little Orme . The highest peak within the county is Carnedd Llewelyn , at 1,064 metres (3,491 ft), which is on the boundary with Gwynedd and is the third-highest summit in Wales. Around Betws-y-Coed is the Gwydir Forest , which is mainly given over to plantations . There are several reservoirs in
522-418: The east. The largest settlement is Colwyn Bay , and Conwy is the administrative centre. Conwy has an area of 1,126 square kilometres (435 sq mi) and a population of 114,290 in 2022, making it sparsely populated. The population is concentrated along the coast, along which are several seaside resorts and the county's largest towns: Colwyn Bay (34,284), Llandudno (20,701), and Conwy (14,753). Inland
551-401: The first Welsh language translation of the book, which originated in the area, while the oak circlet recalls that an oak tree formed the main charge in the arms of Colwyn Borough Council, and its predecessor the municipal borough of Colwyn Bay. The motto adopted is Tegwch i Bawb , meaning "Fairness to All". The Conwy Valley Line , from Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog, runs through
580-684: The format was changed to a broader format including mainstream pop music. As of September 2024, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 163,000, according to RAJAR. Nation Radio began broadcasting on 16 June 2008, taking over the regional Ofcom broadcasting licence, which was held by XFM South Wales until GCap Media sold the station to Town and Country (now Nation Broadcasting) on 30 May 2008. In 2013, Nation Radio increased its coverage area via DAB - it began broadcasting to north-east Wales and parts of Cheshire and Merseyside in March, via MuxCo 's Wrexham, Chester and Liverpool multiplex. In August,
609-567: The land area of the county borough lies in the Snowdonia National Park , and the council appoint three of the 18 members of the Snowdonia National Park Authority. Its total area is 1,126 km (435 sq mi), making it slightly larger than Hong Kong . The eastern part includes the larger section of Denbigh Moors . The vast majority of the population live on the coast; the only settlement of any size inland
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#1733124737462638-431: The remaining council spanning only Flintshire and Wrexham. In January 2017, the proposals for local authority mergers were formally dropped following the publication of a white paper , with the number of councils to remain at 22, unless two or more local authorities wish to pursue a voluntary merger. Instead, proposals for the formation of regional bodies to encourage better collaboration between existing local authorities,
667-553: The reputed arms of Nefydd Hardd, associated with the Nant Conwy area. In front of each spear is a golden garb or wheatsheaf, for the rural areas of the county borough. Above the shield, placed on the steel helm usual in British civic arms, is the crest . This takes the form of the Welsh red dragon supporting a Bible , rising from a wreath of oak leaves and acorns. The Bible is to commemorate
696-611: The shield depicts blue and silver waves for the river from which the county borough takes its name, and also recalls the gold and blue wavy field of Colwyn's arms. On top of the waves is placed a symbolic red tower, representing Conwy Castle . The chief or upper third of the shield is coloured green, the main colour in Aberconwy's arms. In the centre of the chief is a severed head from the heraldry of Marchudd ap Cynan, Lord of Abergele and Rhos. On either side are two black spears embrued , or having drops of blood on their points. These come from
725-548: The south, the English counties of Cheshire , and Shropshire to the east, and the Irish Sea , and Dee estuary to the north. It is the more urban, densely populated, and industrial part of the north Wales geographic region , centred on the city of Wrexham and the towns of Rhyl and Prestatyn , and the conurbation of Deeside . The region's close links with North West England in general and Merseyside in particular (together as
754-636: The station launched in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire via the Muxco Mid and West Wales multiplex. In December 2017, Nation began broadcasting on FM in Carmarthenshire (102.9 FM) and Pembrokeshire (107.1 FM) Since March 2018, the station has broadcast in stereo on DAB+ in North East Wales. In December 2018, OFCOM gave the station's owners permission to replace sister station Radio Ceredigion with
783-517: The valleys, the largest of which is Llyn Brenig , which has an area of 3.7 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi) and extends into Denbighshire. The River Conwy , after which the county borough is named, lies wholly within the area: rising in Snowdonia and flowing through Llanrwst and Trefriw en route to the Irish Sea by Conwy . The river here marks the border between the historic counties of Caernarfonshire and Denbighshire . One third of
812-437: Was announced that a major review was to be undertaken into the organisation of local government in Wales. A report on the findings was released on 20 January 2014. It recommended that the number of councils in Wales be reduced, through mergers rather than through boundary changes, from the current 22 to either 10, 11 or 12. In November 2015, a draft local government bill, presented by the Welsh Government , contained two proposals,
841-646: Was put forward. A subsequent 2018 green paper made the case for a reduction in the number of local authorities from 22 to 10 and suggested three possible approaches; a system of voluntary mergers, a phased approach with authorities merging in either 2022 or 2026 or a comprehensive system of mergers to occur in 2022. In relation to North East Wales, it followed the earlier 9 local authority model, with Conwy-Denbighshire and Flintshire-Wrexham. The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill , 2019, lacked any provisions on restructuring local councils but did contain mechanisms that would allow two or more authorities to merge on
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