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121-494: Sandwell Valley is an area of green belt in the county of West Midlands , England , on the border of Birmingham and West Bromwich , with Walsall at its northern end. It is a valley on the River Tame of which 720 hectares (1,800 acres) are owned by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council , with the RSPB leasing 25 acres as Sandwell Valley RSPB reserve . Within this large area,

242-636: A 'green web' to replace the green belt in some locations. The ambition is to create a "multifunctional green infrastructure landscape" in which new-build and publicly accessible natural space sat side by side. Research undertaken by the London School of Economics in 2016 suggests that by 1979, the area covered by green belt in England comprised 721,500 hectares, and by 1993, this had been extended to 1,652,310 hectares. Several academics, policy groups and town planning organisations in recent years have criticised

363-419: A Labour dominance of Welsh politics that continued into the 21st century. After economic growth in the first two decades of the 20th century, Wales's staple industries endured a prolonged slump from the early 1920s to the late 1930s, leading to widespread unemployment and poverty. For the first time in centuries, the population of Wales went into decline; unemployment reduced only with the production demands of

484-421: A Welsh constituency at Westminster. Yet by 1906, industrial dissension and political militancy had begun to undermine Liberal consensus in the southern coalfields. In 1916, David Lloyd George became the first Welshman to become Prime Minister of Britain. In December 1918, Lloyd George was re-elected as the head of a Conservative-dominated coalition government, and his poor handling of the 1919 coal miners' strike

605-601: A belt of some 7–10 miles wide). The motives for a green belt around London were not just environmental, Frank Pick the CEO of the London Passenger Transport Board made an economic case; he believed that London Underground had a finite potential capacity which would be breached by the growth of the city's population and overall physical size. Pick presented this case to the Barlow Commission (Royal Commission on

726-481: A countryside interest group, Campaign to Protect Rural England ( CPRE ) continue to group these into 14 green belt areas, the North West green belt encompassing three urban cores. The area designated as green belt land in England as at 12 October 2023 was estimated at 1,638,420 hectares, about 13 per cent of the land area. The distribution of green belt designated land by region of England as in 2003, 2013 and 2023

847-710: A feat with neither precedent nor successor." Owain Gwynedd (1100–1170) of the Aberffraw line was the first Welsh ruler to use the title princeps Wallensium (prince of the Welsh), a title of substance given his victory on the Berwyn range , according to Davies. During this time, between 1053 and 1063, Wales lacked any internal strife and was at peace. Within four years of the Battle of Hastings (1066), England had been completely subjugated by

968-669: A legal unit in its own right, although it remains part of the single jurisdiction of England and Wales . The Senedd has the authority to draft and approve laws outside of the UK Parliamentary system to meet the specific needs of Wales. Under powers approved by a referendum held in March 2011, it is empowered to pass primary legislation, at the time referred to as an Act of the National Assembly for Wales but now known as an Act of Senedd Cymru in relation to twenty subjects listed in

1089-463: A more flexible policy which would allow the introduction of green wedge and strategic gap policies rather than green belts, and so permit the expansion of some urban areas. In October 2007, Sir Martin Doughty , then Chair of Natural England , argued for a review of green belts, saying: "The time has come for a greener green belt. We need a 21st century solution to England's housing needs which puts in place

1210-428: A need to be met in locations with appropriate environmental capacity". The Economist has criticised green belt policy, saying that unless more houses are built through reforming planning laws and releasing green belt land, then housing space will need to be rationed out. In March 2014, it was noted that if general inflation had risen as fast as housing prices had since 1971, a chicken would cost £51; and that Britain

1331-576: A network of green wedges, gaps and corridors, linking the natural environment and people.". Similarly, the London Society published a comprehensive history of the green belt (as it emerged in the first part of the twentieth century) in 2014. Authored by the influential English urbanist Jonathan Manns, this called for a "move away from the simplistic and naïve idea that countryside is a sacrosanct patchwork of medieval hedgerows and towards an empirically informed position which once more recognises housing as

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1452-550: A railway station actually travelled to London by train on a regular basis with the vast majority (72%) travelling by private vehicle to jobs in their hometown and to other places not within London. Thus the proposal put forward in the Adam Smith report could result in 3.96 to 7.45 million additional car journeys per week on already congested roads around London. CPRE say it is a myth to connect green belts to rising house prices, since there

1573-476: A reserve supply of public open spaces and of recreational areas and to establish a green belt or girdle of open space". It was again included in an advisory Greater London Plan prepared by Patrick Abercrombie in 1944 (which sought a belt of up to six miles wide). However, it was some 14 years before the elected local authorities responsible for the area around London had all defined the area on scaled maps with some precision (encouraged by Duncan Sandys to designate

1694-458: A series of castles: Beaumaris , Caernarfon , Harlech and Conwy . His son, the future Edward II , was born at Caernarfon in 1284. He became the first English prince of Wales in 1301, which at the time provided an income from northwest Wales known as the Principality of Wales . After the failed revolt in 1294–1295 of Madog ap Llywelyn – who styled himself Prince of Wales in

1815-600: A system of government with a separate executive, the Welsh Government, drawn from and accountable to the legislature, the National Assembly. Following a successful referendum in 2011, the National Assembly was empowered to make laws, known as Acts of the Assembly, on all matters in devolved subject areas, without requiring the UK Parliament's approval of legislative competence. It also gained powers to raise taxes. In May 2020,

1936-519: A varying degree and (since 2011) Welsh is the only official ( de jure ) language in any part of Great Britain. Wales is a country that is part of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom. ISO 3166-2:GB formerly defined Wales as a principality, with England and Scotland defined as countries and Northern Ireland as a province. However, this definition was raised in the Welsh Assembly in 2010 and

2057-571: A victory for the Celtic Britons at Badon Hill against the Saxons, which was attributed to Arthur by Nennius . Having lost much of what is now the West Midlands to Mercia in the 6th and early 7th centuries, a resurgent late-7th-century Powys checked Mercian advances. Æthelbald of Mercia , looking to defend recently acquired lands, had built Wat's Dyke . According to Davies, this had been with

2178-590: Is Cymry , and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales. These words (both of which are pronounced [ˈkəm.rɨ] ) are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning "fellow-countrymen", and probably came into use before the 7th century. In literature, they could be spelt Kymry or Cymry , regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of these names, Cambrian , Cambric and Cambria , survive as names such as

2299-455: Is "building less homes today than at any point since the 1920s". According to the Institute of Economic Affairs , there is "overwhelming empirical evidence that that planning restrictions have a substantial impact on housing costs" and are the main reason why housing is two and a half times more expensive in 2011 than it was in 1975. The free market Adam Smith Institute is a particular critic of

2420-510: Is a generally mountainous country on the western side of central southern Great Britain. It is about 170 miles (270 km) north to south. The oft-quoted " size of Wales " is about 20,779 km (8,023 sq mi). Wales is bordered by England to the east and by sea in all other directions: the Irish Sea to the north and west, St George's Channel and the Celtic Sea to the southwest and

2541-524: Is an important element of sustainable development and makes an essential contribution to Scotland's economy and cultural heritage.” The term emerged from continental Europe where broad boulevards were increasingly used to separate new development from the centre of historic towns; most notably the Ringstraße in Vienna . Various proposals were put forward from 1890 onwards but the first to garner widespread support

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2662-579: Is clear that the purpose of green belt designation in the development plan as part of the settlement strategy for an area is to: However, the Scottish Government recognises that certain types of development might actually promote and support appropriate rural diversification: The Government requires that locally established green belt plans: maintain the identity of a city by the clearly establishing physical boundaries and preventing coalescence; provide countryside for recreation of denizens; and maintain

2783-480: Is coal mining which became the industry synonymous with Wales and its people. Initially, coal seams were exploited to provide energy for local metal industries but, with the opening of canal systems and later the railways, Welsh coal mining saw an explosion in demand. As the South Wales Coalfield was exploited, Cardiff, Swansea, Penarth and Barry grew as world exporters of coal. By its height in 1913, Wales

2904-457: Is described as a country rather than a principality.' In the House of Commons – the 650-member lower house of the UK Parliament – there are 32 members of Parliament (MPs) who represent Welsh constituencies . At the 2024 general election , 27 Labour and Labour Co-op MPs were elected, along with 4 Plaid Cymru MPs and 1 Liberal Democrat MP from Wales. The Wales Office is a department of

3025-447: Is largely livestock-based, making Wales a net exporter of animal produce, contributing towards national agricultural self-sufficiency . Both Welsh and English are official languages . A majority of the population of Wales speaks English. Welsh is the dominant language in parts of the north and west , with a total of 538,300 Welsh speakers across the entire country. Wales has four UNESCO world heritage sites , of which three are in

3146-661: Is no clear difference in house prices between cities with green belts and cities without them, and both land and house prices are inflated by other factors such as investment. Lewis Abbott has identified green belt barriers to urban expansion as one of several major protectionist political-economic barriers to house building with negative effects on the supply, cost/prices, and quality of new homes. (The others include new housing development taxes and quasi-taxes; political discrimination against particular classes of new housing supplier, household consumer, and housing product; and controls on housing technical-product development – in particular,

3267-770: Is set out in Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 21, published by the Scottish Government in February 2010. On 29 November, the Government published "Green Belt Policy in Scotland 10/85" As of 2010 Scotland had 10 green belt areas: Aberdeen , Ayr , Clackmannanshire , East Lothian , Edinburgh , Falkirk and Grangemouth , Greater Glasgow , Midlothian and Stirling . There are also plans for green belts around Dunfermline , Perth and St Andrews . The Scottish Government

3388-549: Is the 270 hectares (670 acres) Sandwell Valley Country Park , which contains two visitor centres, Forge Mill Farm and Sandwell Park Farm, the former using modern farming techniques, the latter with a walled kitchen garden and rare breeds of farm animals , one of 16 farm parks approved nationally by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust . Sot's Hole is one of three Local Nature Reserves in the Country Park, and lies on

3509-506: The Aberffraw dynasty from Gwynedd and Powys and then codified Welsh law in the 940s. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was the only ruler to unite all of Wales under his rule, described by one chronicler after his death as king of Wales . In 1055 Gruffydd ap Llywelyn killed his rival Gruffydd ap Rhydderch in battle and recaptured Deheubarth . Originally king of Gwynedd, by 1057 he was ruler of Wales and had annexed parts of England around

3630-528: The Cambrian Mountains and the Cambrian geological period. Wales has been inhabited by modern humans for at least 29,000 years. Continuous human habitation dates from the end of the last ice age , between 12,000 and 10,000  years before present (BP) , when Mesolithic hunter-gatherers from Central Europe began to migrate to Great Britain. At that time, sea levels were much lower than today. Wales

3751-581: The Earls of Dartmouth ) and Sandwell Priory ruins (still evident today). Exhibitions at Sandwell Park Farm tell the story of the people who lived here. The M5 motorway bisects the Country Park, with the intersection between it and the M6 (considered Junction 8 of the M6) at the northern end, and junction 1 of the M5 to the south. The latter junction surrounds a surviving gatehouse from

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3872-648: The Fifteen Tribes of Wales . The 400-year period following the collapse of Roman rule is the most difficult to interpret in the history of Wales. After the Roman departure in AD 410, much of the lowlands of Britain to the east and south-east was overrun by various Germanic peoples , commonly known as Anglo-Saxons. Some have theorized that the cultural dominance of the Anglo-Saxons was due to apartheid-like social conditions in which

3993-709: The Government of Wales Act 2006 such as health and education. Through this primary legislation, the Welsh Government can then also enact more specific subordinate legislation . Wales is served by four regional police forces: Dyfed-Powys Police , Gwent Police , North Wales Police , and South Wales Police . There are five prisons in Wales : four in the southern half of the country, and one in Wrexham . Wales has no women's prisons: female inmates are imprisoned in England. Wales

4114-548: The Normans . William I of England established a series of lordships, allocated to his most powerful warriors, along the Welsh border, their boundaries fixed only to the east (where they met other feudal properties inside England). Starting in the 1070s, these lords began conquering land in southern and eastern Wales, west of the River Wye . The frontier region, and any English-held lordships in Wales, became known as Marchia Wallie ,

4235-544: The Penmachno Document – and the rising of Llywelyn Bren (1316), the last uprising was led by Owain Glyndŵr , against Henry IV of England . In 1404, Owain was crowned prince of Wales in the presence of emissaries from France, Spain (Castille) and Scotland. Glyndŵr went on to hold parliamentary assemblies at several Welsh towns, including a Welsh parliament ( Welsh : senedd ) at Machynlleth . The rebellion

4356-577: The Sandwell Valley Naturalists' Club ( SandNats ). Every Saturday morning at 9.00am, the country park hosts a parkrun , a free, weekly timed 5 km run. Adjacent areas include Great Barr , Hamstead and Handsworth Wood . Download coordinates as: 52°31′16″N 1°58′22″W  /  52.521183°N 1.972786°W  / 52.521183; -1.972786  ( Sandwell Valley - nominal location ) Green belt (UK) The Metropolitan Green Belt around London

4477-645: The Second World War . The war saw Welsh servicemen and women fight in all major theatres, with some 15,000 of them killed. Bombing raids brought high loss of life as the German Air Force targeted the docks at Swansea , Cardiff and Pembroke . After 1943, 10 per cent of Welsh conscripts aged 18 were sent to work in the coal mines, where there were labour shortages; they became known as Bevin Boys . Pacifist numbers during both World Wars were fairly low, especially in

4598-665: The Welsh Marches , in which the Marcher lords were subject to neither English nor Welsh law . The extent of the March varied as the fortunes of the Marcher lords and the Welsh princes ebbed and flowed. Owain Gwynedd 's grandson Llywelyn Fawr (the Great, 1173–1240), received the fealty of other Welsh lords in 1216 at the council at Aberdyfi , becoming in effect the first prince of Wales . His grandson Llywelyn ap Gruffudd secured

4719-636: The Welsh Revolt against English rule in the early 15th century, and briefly re-established an independent Welsh state with its own national parliament ( Welsh : senedd ). In the 16th century the whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 . Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism , exemplified in

4840-488: The east , the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the south-west. As of 2021 , it had a population of 3.2 million. It has a total area of 21,218 square kilometres (8,192 sq mi) and over 2,700 kilometres (1,680 mi) of coastline . It is largely mountainous with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon ( Yr Wyddfa ), its highest summit. The country lies within

4961-405: The nearby valleys . The eastern region of North Wales has about a sixth of the overall population, with Wrexham being the largest northern city. The remaining parts of Wales are sparsely populated . Since decline of the country's traditional extractive and heavy industries, the public sector , light and service industries, and tourism play major roles in its economy . Agriculture in Wales

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5082-437: The north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate . Its capital and largest city is Cardiff . A distinct Welsh culture emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales was briefly united under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055. After over 200 years of war, the conquest of Wales by King Edward I of England was completed by 1283, though Owain Glyndŵr led

5203-561: The 18th century, lawyers, doctors, estate agents and government officials formed a bourgeoisie with sizeable houses. In the late 18th century, slate quarrying began to expand rapidly, most notably in North Wales. The Penrhyn quarry , opened in 1770 by Richard Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn , was employing 15,000 men by the late 19th century, and along with Dinorwic quarry , it dominated the Welsh slate trade. Although slate quarrying has been described as "the most Welsh of Welsh industries", it

5324-718: The 21st century. However, while in general these concepts are quite distinct in the UK from the green belt as a statutory development plan designation, an exception occurs in London where land may be designated as " Metropolitan Open Land " (MOL). Areas of MOL are subject to the same planning restrictions as the green belt while lying within the urban area. In 2005, the European Commission 's COST Action C11 ( COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology) undertook in-depth city case studies into cities across 15 European countries. Sheffield

5445-700: The Britons were at a disadvantage. By AD 500 the land that would become Wales had divided into a number of kingdoms free from Anglo-Saxon rule. The kingdoms of Gwynedd , Powys , Dyfed , Caredigion , Morgannwg , the Ystrad Tywi , and Gwent emerged as independent Welsh successor states . Archaeological evidence, in the Low Countries and what was to become England, shows early Anglo-Saxon migration to Great Britain reversed between 500 and 550, which concurs with Frankish chronicles. John Davies notes this as consistent with

5566-689: The Celtic languages arrived in Britain around 600 BCE. The Brythonic languages ceased to be spoken in England and were replaced by the English language, a Germanic language which arrived in Wales around the end of the eighth century due to the defeat of the Kingdom of Powys . The Bible translations into Welsh and the Protestant Reformation , which encouraged use of the vernacular in religious services, helped

5687-467: The Empire. Further Roman influence came through the spread of Christianity, which gained many followers when Christians were allowed to worship freely; state persecution ceased in the 4th century, as a result of Constantine the Great issuing an edict of toleration in 313. Early historians, including the 6th-century cleric Gildas , have noted 383 as a significant point in Welsh history. In that year,

5808-724: The English Crown, separate from England but under the same monarch. The king ruled directly in two areas: the Statute divided the north and delegated administrative duties to the Justice of Chester and Justiciar of North Wales , and further south in western Wales the King's authority was delegated to the Justiciar of South Wales . The existing royal lordships of Montgomery and Builth Wells remained unchanged. To maintain his dominance, Edward constructed

5929-641: The Geographical Distribution of the Industrial Population) , arguing that if London's radius grew beyond 12–15 miles, the capital's commuter infrastructure could not cope in financial or capacity terms, to the detriment of city's overall economy. He instead made the case for a number of economically self-sufficient new towns beyond a new green belt. New provisions for compensation in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 allowed local authorities around

6050-523: The Labour government announced plans to prioritise building on "poor quality and ugly areas" within England's green belt, including brownfield sites, which it termed the "grey belt". Wales has one green belt, between the cities of Cardiff and Newport . Northern Ireland has 30 green belt areas, accounting for approximately 226,600 hectares, about 16 percent of its total area. Green belt policy in Scotland

6171-572: The Late Bronze Age as part of a maritime trading-networked culture that included other Celtic nations . This "Atlantic-Celtic" view is opposed by others who hold that the Celtic languages derive their origins from the more easterly Hallstatt culture . By the time of the Roman invasion of Britain the area of modern Wales had been divided among the tribes of the Deceangli (north-east), Ordovices (north-west), Demetae (south-west), Silures (south-east), and Cornovii (east). The Roman conquest of Wales began in AD 48 and took 30 years to complete;

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6292-402: The NPPF's detailed advice when considering whether to permit additional development in the green belt. In the green belt there is a general presumption against inappropriate development, unless very special circumstances can be demonstrated to show that the benefits of the development will outweigh the harm caused to the green belt. The NPPF sets out what would constitute appropriate development in

6413-469: The National Assembly for Wales) in 1998, responsible for a range of devolved policy matters . At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution , development of the mining and metallurgical industries transformed the country from an agricultural society into an industrial one; the South Wales Coalfield 's exploitation caused a rapid expansion of Wales's population. Two-thirds of the population live in South Wales , including Cardiff, Swansea , Newport , and

6534-403: The National Assembly was renamed "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament", commonly known as the Senedd in both English and Welsh. Devolved areas of responsibility include agriculture, economic development, education, health, housing, local government, social services, tourism, transport and the Welsh language. The Welsh Government also promotes Welsh interests abroad. By tradition, Welsh Law

6655-499: The Norsemen occupying Northumbria to conquer the north. This alliance later broke down and Anarawd came to an agreement with Alfred , king of Wessex , with whom he fought against the west Welsh. According to Annales Cambriae , in 894, "Anarawd came with the Angles and laid waste to Ceredigion and Ystrad Tywi ." The southern and eastern parts of Great Britain lost to English settlement became known in Welsh as Lloegyr (Modern Welsh Lloegr ), which may have referred to

6776-494: The Roman general Magnus Maximus , or Macsen Wledig, stripped Britain of troops to launch a successful bid for imperial power, continuing to rule Britain from Gaul as emperor, and transferring power to local leaders. The earliest Welsh genealogies cite Maximus as the founder of several royal dynasties, and as the father of the Welsh Nation. He is given as the ancestor of a Welsh king on the Pillar of Eliseg , erected nearly 500 years after he left Britain, and he figures in lists of

6897-440: The Romans, Caerwent , is in south east Wales. Both Caerwent and Carmarthen , also in southern Wales, became Roman civitates . Wales had a rich mineral wealth. The Romans used their engineering technology to extract large amounts of gold, copper, and lead, as well as lesser amounts of zinc and silver. No significant industries were located in Wales in this time; this was largely a matter of circumstance as Wales had none of

7018-431: The Second World War, which was seen as a fight against fascism . Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925, seeking greater autonomy or independence from the rest of the UK. The term " England and Wales " became common for describing the area to which English law applied, and in 1955 Cardiff was proclaimed as Wales's capital. Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (The Welsh Language Society) was formed in 1962, in response to fears that

7139-469: The UK government responsible for Wales, whose minister, the Secretary of State for Wales (Welsh secretary), sits in the UK cabinet . Wales has a devolved , unicameral legislature known as the Senedd (Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament) which holds devolved powers from the UK Parliament via a reserved powers model. For the purposes of local government , Wales has been divided into 22 council areas since 1996. These "principal areas" are responsible for

7260-511: The agreement of king Elisedd ap Gwylog of Powys, as this boundary, extending north from the valley of the River Severn to the Dee estuary, gave him Oswestry . Another theory, after carbon dating placed the dyke's existence 300 years earlier, is that it was built by the post-Roman rulers of Wroxeter . King Offa of Mercia seems to have continued this initiative when he created a larger earthwork, now known as Offa's Dyke ( Clawdd Offa ). Davies wrote of Cyril Fox 's study of Offa's Dyke: "In

7381-499: The amount of land available for building and therefore pushing up house prices, as 70% of the cost of building new houses is the purchase of the land (up from 25% in the late 1950s). The government formerly set out its policies and principles towards green belts in England and Wales in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2: Green Belts , but this planning guidance was superseded by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in March 2012. Planning authorities are strongly urged to follow

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7502-402: The blocking of innovative low-cost house building using new materials and production technologies). Abbott argues that the greenbelts actually defeat their own stated objective of saving the countryside and open spaces. By preventing existing towns and cities from extending normally and organically, they result in more land-extensive housing developments further out – i.e., the establishment beyond

7623-413: The border. He ruled Wales with no internal battles. His territories were again divided into the traditional kingdoms. John Davies states that Gruffydd was "the only Welsh king ever to rule over the entire territory of Wales... Thus, from about 1057 until his death in 1063, the whole of Wales recognised the kingship of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn . For about seven brief years, Wales was one, under one ruler,

7744-412: The city's green belt in 2014 with publication of a report entitled "Green Sprawl". Other organisations, including the Planning Officers Society, have since responded with specific calls for a review and proposals to balance land release with environmental protection. In 2016, the London Society and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for London's Planning and Built Environment published plans for

7865-623: The country to incorporate green belt proposals in their first development plans . The codification of Green Belt policy and its extension to areas other than London came with the historic Circular 42/55 inviting local planning authorities to consider the establishment of green belts. This decision was made in tandem with the 1946 New Towns Act, which sought to depopulate urban centres in the South East of England and accommodate people in new settlements elsewhere. Green belt could therefore be designated by local authorities without worry that it would come into conflict with pressure from population growth. As

7986-418: The creation of a Welsh assembly with an 80 per cent majority. In 1997, a second referendum on the same issue secured a very narrow majority (50.3 per cent). The National Assembly for Wales ( Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru ) was set up in 1999 (under the Government of Wales Act 1998 ) with the power to determine how Wales's central government budget is spent and administered, although the UK Parliament reserved

8107-442: The dominant source of wealth. The emerging industrial period saw the development of copper smelting in the Swansea area. With access to local coal deposits and a harbour that connected it with Cornwall's copper mines in the south and the large copper deposits at Parys Mountain on Anglesey, Swansea developed into the world's major centre for non-ferrous metal smelting in the 19th century. The second metal industry to expand in Wales

8228-420: The early 20th century by David Lloyd George , was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party . Welsh national feeling grew over the century: a nationalist party, Plaid Cymru , was formed in 1925, and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. A governing system of Welsh devolution is employed in Wales, of which the most major step was the formation of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament, formerly

8349-434: The edge of the site on Dagger Lane/Church Vale, West Bromwich. In an effort to protect and restore the reserve, a group of local people joined together in November 2005 and formed the Friends of Sot's Hole. The earliest evidence of people in Sandwell Valley is in the form of flint tools from the Mesolithic period , but evidence of later periods is also present in the landscape, including the site of Sandwell Hall (home of

8470-410: The end of the 1960s, the policy of bringing businesses into disadvantaged areas of Wales through financial incentives had proven very successful in diversifying the industrial economy. This policy, begun in 1934, was enhanced by the construction of industrial estates and improvements in transport communications, most notably the M4 motorway linking south Wales directly to London. It was believed that

8591-406: The first written evidence of the use of Cymru and y Cymry is found in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan ( Moliant Cadwallon , by Afan Ferddig ) c.  633 . In Armes Prydein , believed to be written around 930–942, the words Cymry and Cymro are used as often as 15 times. However, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement onwards, the people gradually begin to adopt

8712-450: The forests to establish pasture and to cultivate the land, developed new technologies such as ceramics and textile production, and built cromlechs such as Pentre Ifan , Bryn Celli Ddu , and Parc Cwm long cairn between about 5,800 BP and 5,500 BP. Over the following centuries they assimilated immigrants and adopted ideas from Bronze Age and Iron Age Celtic cultures. Some historians, such as John T. Koch , consider Wales in

8833-448: The foundations for stable economic growth had been firmly established in Wales during this period, but this was shown to be optimistic after the recession of the early 1980s saw the collapse of much of the manufacturing base that had been built over the preceding forty years. The Welsh Language Act 1967 repealed a section of the Wales and Berwick Act and thus "Wales" was no longer part of

8954-655: The green belt, and has claimed that removing the green belt from land within ten minutes walk of a railway station would release enough land to build 1 million homes. In response to the claims made by the Adams Smith Institute, the Royal Town Planning Institute commissioned the Building In The Green Belt? report to look into the commuting patterns in London's metropolitan green belt. The study found only 7.4% of commuters, who lived near

9075-531: The green belt. According to the NPPF, there are five stated purposes of including land within the green belt: Once an area of land has been defined as green belt, the stated opportunities and benefits include: Although 16 city and town urban cores are identified by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) who are the present central government department maintaining responsibility for green belts,

9196-472: The greenbelts of new communities with lower building densities, their own built infrastructure and other facilities, and greater dependence on cars and commuting, etc. Meanwhile, valuable urban green space and brownfield sites best suited to industry and commerce are lost in existing conurbations as more and more new housing is crammed into them. Commentators such as Alan Evans and Tom Papworth have called for outright abolition of green belts, principally on

9317-664: The grounds that by inhibiting the free use of land they restrict home ownership. However, in England, where 65% of people are property-owners who benefit from scarcity of building land, the concept of "green belt" has become entrenched as a fundamental part of government policy, and the possibility of reviewing boundaries is often viewed with considerable hostility by environmental charities, neighbouring communities and their elected representatives. The general concept of "green belt" has evolved in recent years to encompass "Greenspace" and "Greenstructure", taking into account urban greenspace, an important aspect of sustainable development in

9438-541: The hall. The Birmingham-Walsall Line , part of the former Grand Junction Railway , opened in 1837, runs through the northern end of the valley, with Hamstead railway station being the nearest. The former Newton Road railway station having closed some years ago. The highest point of Sandwell Valley is in Birmingham and is known as Hill Top, where the remains of a World War II gun emplacement can still be found there. The Country Park's fauna and flora are studied by

9559-717: The highest court of first instance as well as an appellate court . The three divisions are the Court of Appeal , the High Court of Justice , and the Crown Court . Minor cases are heard by magistrates' courts or the County Court . In 2007 the Wales and Cheshire Region (known as the Wales and Cheshire Circuit before 2005) came to an end when Cheshire was attached to the North-Western England Region. From that point, Wales became

9680-413: The idea and implementation of green belts in the UK. Green belt policy has been attacked as too rigid in the face of new urban and environmental challenges, principally the lack of housing available in many cities in the UK. The policy has been criticised for reducing the amount of land available for building and therefore pushing up house prices, as 70% of the cost of building new houses is the purchase of

9801-472: The increased diversity of the Welsh economy. Population growth however outpaced economic growth and the standard of living dropped. Prior to the Industrial Revolution in Wales , there were small-scale industries scattered throughout Wales. These ranged from those connected to agriculture, such as milling and the manufacture of woollen textiles , through to mining and quarrying. Agriculture remained

9922-573: The intention of recognizing that the River Wye and its traffic belonged to the kingdom of Gwent." However, Fox's interpretations of both the length and purpose of the Dyke have been questioned by more recent research. In 853, the Vikings raided Anglesey , but in 856, Rhodri Mawr defeated and killed their leader, Gorm. The Celtic Britons of Wales made peace with the Vikings and Anarawd ap Rhodri allied with

10043-519: The kingdom of Mercia originally and which came to refer to England as a whole. The Germanic tribes who now dominated these lands were invariably called Saeson , meaning " Saxons ". The Anglo-Saxons called the Romano-British * Walha , meaning 'Romanised foreigner' or 'stranger'. The Welsh continued to call themselves Brythoniaid (Brythons or Britons) well into the Middle Ages , though

10164-418: The land (up from 25% in the late 1950s). It has also been claimed that areas of green belt can be of unremarkable environmental quality, and may not be well managed or provide the recreational opportunities originally envisaged. The Town and Country Planning Association , an organisation heavily involved in initiating the concept several decades previously, published a policy statement in 2002, which proposed

10285-517: The landscape setting of the city in question. In its Planning Policy (129), the Scottish Government states that: “All public bodies, including planning authorities, have a duty to further the conservation of biodiversity under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004, and this should be reflected in development plans and development management decisions. Biodiversity is important because it provides natural services and products that we rely on,

10406-458: The language might soon die out. Nationalist sentiment grew following the flooding of the Tryweryn valley in 1965 to create a reservoir to supply water to the English city of Liverpool . Although 35 of the 36 Welsh MPs voted against the bill (one abstained), Parliament passed the bill and the village of Capel Celyn was submerged, highlighting Wales's powerlessness in her own affairs in the face of

10527-419: The language survive after Welsh elites abandoned it in favour of English in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Successive Welsh Language Acts, in 1942, 1967 and 1993 , improved the legal status of Welsh. The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 modernised the 1993 Welsh Language Act and gave Welsh an official status in Wales for the first time, a major landmark for the language. The Measure also created

10648-575: The large number English people living in Wales. After the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 , the National Assembly was renamed " Senedd Cymru " in Welsh and the "Welsh Parliament" in English, which was seen as a better reflection of the body's expanded legislative powers. The Welsh language ( Welsh : Cymraeg ) is an Indo-European language of the Celtic family ; the most closely related languages are Cornish and Breton . Most linguists believe that

10769-500: The law making powers of the National Assembly it is now able to make laws, known as Acts of the Assembly, on all matters in devolved subject areas, without needing the UK Parliament's agreement. In the 2016 referendum , Wales voted in support of leaving the European Union, although demographic differences became evident. According to Danny Dorling , professor of geography at Oxford University, votes for Leave may have been boosted by

10890-507: The legal definition of England. This essentially defined Wales as a separate entity legally (but within the UK), for the first time since before the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 which defined Wales as a part of the Kingdom of England. The Welsh Language Act 1967 also expanded areas where use of Welsh was permitted, including in some legal situations. In a referendum in 1979 , Wales voted against

11011-455: The legal system of England and Wales since 1536. English law is regarded as a common law system, with no major codification of the law and legal precedents are binding as opposed to persuasive. The court system is headed by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom which is the highest court of appeal in the land for criminal and civil cases. The Senior Courts of England and Wales is

11132-583: The male population. Of these, roughly 35,000 were killed, with particularly heavy losses of Welsh forces at Mametz Wood on the Somme and the Battle of Passchendaele . The first quarter of the 20th century also saw a shift in the political landscape of Wales. Since 1865, the Liberal Party had held a parliamentary majority in Wales and, following the general election of 1906 , only one non-Liberal Member of Parliament, Keir Hardie of Merthyr Tydfil , represented

11253-480: The name Cymry over Brythoniad . From 800 onwards, a series of dynastic marriages led to Rhodri Mawr 's ( r. 844–77) inheritance of Gwynedd and Powys . His sons founded the three dynasties of Aberffraw for Gwynedd , Dinefwr for Deheubarth and Mathrafal for Powys . Rhodri 's grandson Hywel Dda (r. 900–50) founded Deheubarth out of his maternal and paternal inheritances of Dyfed and Seisyllwg in 930, ousted

11374-471: The necessary materials in suitable combination, and the forested, mountainous countryside was not amenable to industrialisation. Latin became the official language of Wales, though the people continued to speak in Brythonic. While Romanisation was far from complete, the upper classes came to consider themselves Roman, particularly after the ruling of 212 that granted Roman citizenship to all free men throughout

11495-559: The north. The English words "Wales" and "Welsh" derive from the same Old English root (singular Wealh , plural Wēalas ), a descendant of Proto-Germanic * Walhaz , which was itself derived from the name of the Gauls known to the Romans as Volcae . This term was later used to refer indiscriminately to inhabitants of the Western Roman Empire . Anglo-Saxons came to use

11616-555: The numerical superiority of English MPs in Parliament. Separatist groupings, such as the Free Wales Army and Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru were formed, conducting campaigns from 1963. Prior to the investiture of Charles in 1969, these groups were responsible for a number of bomb attacks on infrastructure. At a by-election in 1966, Gwynfor Evans won the parliamentary seat of Carmarthen , Plaid Cymru's first Parliamentary seat. By

11737-610: The occupation lasted over 300 years. The campaigns of conquest were opposed by two native tribes: the Silures and the Ordovices . Caractacus or Caradog , leader of the Ordovices, had initial success in resisting Roman invasions of north Wales but was eventually defeated. Roman rule in Wales was a military occupation, save for the southern coastal region of south Wales , where there is a legacy of Romanisation. The only town in Wales founded by

11858-890: The outward growth of London was seen to be firmly repressed, residents owning properties further from the built-up area also campaigned for this policy of urban restraint, partly to safeguard their own investments but often invoking an idealised scenic/rustic argument which laid the blame for most social ills upon urban influences. In mid-1971, for example, the government decided to extend the Metropolitan Green Belt northwards to include almost all of Hertfordshire . The Metropolitan Green Belt now covers parts of 68 different Districts or Boroughs. Since 1955 London's green belt has extended significantly, stretching some 35 miles out in places. London's green belt now covers an area of 516,000 hectares, an area broadly three times larger than that of London itself. The London Society began debate about

11979-525: The planning of it, there was a degree of consultation with the kings of Powys and Gwent. On the Long Mountain near Trelystan , the dyke veers to the east, leaving the fertile slopes in the hands of the Welsh; near Rhiwabon , it was designed to ensure that Cadell ap Brochwel retained possession of the Fortress of Penygadden." And, for Gwent, Offa had the dyke built "on the eastern crest of the gorge, clearly with

12100-717: The post of Welsh Language Commissioner , replacing the Welsh Language Board. Following the referendum in 2011, the Official Languages Act became the first Welsh law to be created in 600 years, according to the First Minister at the time, Carwyn Jones . This law was passed by Welsh Assembly members (AMs) only and made Welsh an official language of the National Assembly. Starting in the 1960s, many road signs have been replaced by bilingual versions. Various public and private sector bodies have adopted bilingualism to

12221-518: The provision of all local government services. Following devolution in 1997, the Government of Wales Act 1998 created a Welsh devolved assembly, the National Assembly for Wales , with the power to determine how Wales's central government budget is spent and administered. Eight years later, the Government of Wales Act 2006 reformed the National Assembly for Wales and allowed further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act also created

12342-471: The recognition of the title Prince of Wales from Henry III with the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267. Subsequent disputes, including the imprisonment of Llywelyn 's wife Eleanor , culminated in the first invasion by King Edward I of England . As a result of military defeat, the Treaty of Aberconwy exacted Llywelyn 's fealty to England in 1277. Peace was short-lived, and, with the 1282 Edwardian conquest ,

12463-406: The right to set limits on its powers. The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system of government with a separate executive drawn from and accountable to the legislature. Following a successful referendum in 2011 on extending

12584-399: The rule of the Welsh princes permanently ended. With Llywelyn 's death and his brother prince Dafydd 's execution, the few remaining Welsh lords did homage to Edward I of England . The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 provided the constitutional basis for a post-conquest government of the Principality of North Wales from 1284 until 1535/36. It defined Wales as "annexed and united" to

12705-594: The ruler. Other than in the Marches , where March law was imposed by the Marcher Lords, Welsh Law remained in force in Wales until the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. Edward I of England annexed the Principality of Wales following the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd , and Welsh Law was replaced for criminal cases under the Statute. Marcher Law and Welsh Law (for civil cases) remained in force until Henry VIII of England annexed

12826-536: The story of Cantre'r Gwaelod 's drowning and tales in the Mabinogion , of the waters between Wales and Ireland being narrower and shallower, may be distant folk memories of this time. Neolithic colonists integrated with the indigenous people, gradually changing their lifestyles from a nomadic life of hunting and gathering, to become settled farmers about 6,000 BP – the Neolithic Revolution . They cleared

12947-798: The term to refer to the Britons in particular; the plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. Historically in Britain , the words were not restricted to modern Wales or to the Welsh but were used to refer to anything that Anglo-Saxons associated with Britons, including other non-Germanic territories in Britain (e.g. Cornwall ) and places in Anglo-Saxon territory associated with Britons (e.g. Walworth in County Durham and Walton in West Yorkshire). The modern Welsh name for themselves

13068-425: The then Counsel General for Wales , John Griffiths , stated, 'Principality is a misnomer and that Wales should properly be referred to as a country.' In 2011, ISO 3166-2:GB was updated and the term 'principality' was replaced with 'country'. UK Government toponymic guidelines state that, 'though there is a Prince of Wales, this role is deemed to be titular rather than exerting executive authority, and therefore Wales

13189-444: The throne of England from Richard III of England in 1485, uniting England and Wales under one royal house. The last remnants of Celtic-tradition Welsh law were abolished and replaced by English law by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 during the reign of Henry VII's son, Henry VIII . In the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales , Wales became unified with the kingdom of England; the " Principality of Wales " began to refer to

13310-498: The whole country, though it remained a "principality" only in a ceremonial sense. The Marcher lordships were abolished, and Wales began electing members of the Westminster parliament. In 1536 Wales had around 278,000 inhabitants, which increased to around 360,000 by 1620. This was primarily due to rural settlement, where animal farming was central to the Welsh economy. Increase in trade and increased economic stability occurred due to

13431-565: The whole of Wales under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 (often referred to as the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1543), after which English law applied to the whole of Wales. The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 provided that all laws that applied to England would automatically apply to Wales (and the Anglo-Scottish border town of Berwick ) unless the law explicitly stated otherwise; this Act was repealed with regard to Wales in 1967. English law has been

13552-615: Was a key factor in destroying support for the Liberal party in south Wales. The industrial workers of Wales began shifting towards the Labour Party . When in 1908 the Miners' Federation of Great Britain became affiliated to the Labour Party, the four Labour candidates sponsored by miners were all elected as MPs. By 1922, half the Welsh seats at Westminster were held by Labour politicians—the start of

13673-609: Was as follows: * Counts are rounded The total area of green belt land in England since 2003 was as follows: As well as any underlying re-designations, changes in green belt area are explained in part by alterations in land designation by local authorities, and may also be influenced by improvements with measurement associated with digital mapping. Note that from 2006, estimates exclude the area of Green Belt land in New Forest DC and Test Valley BC (47,300 hectares) which were designated as New Forest National Park in 2005. In July 2024

13794-437: Was compiled during an assembly held at Whitland around 930 by Hywel Dda , king of most of Wales between 942 and his death in 950. The ' law of Hywel Dda ' ( Welsh : Cyfraith Hywel ), as it became known, codified the previously existing folk laws and legal customs that had evolved in Wales over centuries. Welsh Law emphasised the payment of compensation for a crime to the victim, or the victim's kin, rather than punishment by

13915-442: Was eventually defeated by 1412. Having failed Owain went into hiding and nothing was known of him after 1413. The penal laws against the Welsh of 1401–02 passed by the English parliament made the Welsh second-class citizens. With hopes of independence ended, there were no further wars or rebellions against English colonial rule and the laws remained on the statute books until 1624. Henry Tudor (born in Wales in 1457) seized

14036-558: Was first proposed by the Greater London Regional Planning Committee in 1935. The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 then allowed local authorities to include green belt proposals in their development plans. In 1955, Minister of Housing Duncan Sandys encouraged local authorities around the country to consider protecting land around their towns and cities by the formal designation of clearly defined green belts. Green belt policy has been criticised for reducing

14157-564: Was free of glaciers by about 10,250 BP, the warmer climate allowing the area to become heavily wooded. The post-glacial rise in sea level separated Wales and Ireland, forming the Irish Sea . By 8,000 BP the British Peninsula had become an island. By the beginning of the Neolithic ( c.  6,000 BP ) sea levels in the Bristol Channel were still about 33 feet (10 metres) lower than today. The historian John Davies theorised that

14278-436: Was iron smelting, and iron manufacturing became prevalent in both the north and the south of the country. In the north, John Wilkinson 's Ironworks at Bersham was a major centre, while in the south, at Merthyr Tydfil , the ironworks of Dowlais , Cyfarthfa , Plymouth and Penydarren became the most significant hub of iron manufacture in Wales. By the 1820s, south Wales produced 40 per cent of all Britain's pig iron . By

14399-595: Was one such case study city for the UK. Conclusions were published in "Case studies in Greenstructure Planning" . Wales – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the United Kingdom  (green) Wales ( Welsh : Cymru [ˈkəmrɨ] ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom . It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to

14520-559: Was producing almost 61 million tons of coal. Historian Kenneth Morgan described Wales on the eve of the First World War as a "relatively placid, self-confident and successful nation". The output from the coalfields continued to increase, with the Rhondda Valley recording a peak of 9.6 million tons of coal extracted in 1913. The First World War (1914–1918) saw a total of 272,924 Welshmen under arms, representing 21.5 per cent of

14641-560: Was put forward by the London Society in its "Development Plan of Greater London" 1919. Alongside the CPRE they lobbied for a continuous belt (of up to two miles wide) to prevent urban sprawl, beyond which new development could occur. Implementation of the notion dated from Herbert Morrison 's 1934 leadership of the London County Council . It was first formally proposed by the Greater London Regional Planning Committee in 1935, "to provide

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