Wales has traditionally been divided into a number of ambiguous and ill-defined areas described as regions, reflecting historical, geographical, administrative, cultural and electoral boundaries within the country. Presently, the most common form of division of Wales into "regions" has been using cardinal and intercardinal references: north or south-west for example. [1] None of the variously described "regions" have official status or defined boundaries; neither is there a fixed number of regions. Various organisations use different regions and combinations of regions for their individual purposes. This includes devolved institutions, such as Visit Wales, [2] Natural Resources Wales, [3] and the Welsh Government itself, [4] [5] [6] using different sets of Wales' regions. Wales is most commonly sub-divided into between two and four regions, with a North–South divide, and North, Mid, South East and South West division being common. This article lists the various terms applied to be the "regions of Wales" and the regions used by various organisations.
The regions of Wales have little administrative status, as of 2022, nor are they officially defined. Local government is primarily managed by the twenty-two principal areas.
Some argue that Wales should stop using terms to describe regions of Wales, as they lack both strict definitions and boundaries, and instead consider Wales as a single entity. However, others campaign for more recognition of Wales' various regions, such as the north and west. [1] [7]
There may be a north-south divide, between North Wales and South Wales. [8] The Cambrian Mountains form a mountainous interior of Wales, limiting the connection between North and South with few transport links between them. [9] Most of the population of Wales is concentrated on opposing sides of Wales. Transport links between North and South Wales are significantly weak, [10] with major north–south links passing through England, and both the North and South, having closer transport links with North West England, and South West England respectively. [11] [12] Liverpool is sometimes described as the "Capital of North Wales", as its the largest city closest to North Wales. [13] Historical maps divide North and South Wales using the boundaries between Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, and between Cardiganshire and Merionethshire, but the modern-day divide is described as ambiguous or arbitrary. [14]
Since devolution, the Welsh Government is making efforts to increase connection between north and south. [8] [15] However in 2013 there were reports that the Welsh Government may have short-changed the north by £131.53 million, which critics describe as proof of a modern north–south divide. The government responded that the figures are "highly misleading", as they ignore funding through Wales-wide programmes, and that the government has spent more on health and transport in the north than in the south-east, and more on education than the national average. The then First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, disagreed that there was a north–south divide in Wales, but stated that there would "never be a time" that people will no longer see a north–south divide. [16]
There is a part-ministerial post in the Welsh Cabinet for " North Wales", [17] and a North Wales office of the Senedd. [18] Plaid Cymru has called for a trans-Wales railway as a solution to bridge the cultural divide between north and south. [19]
There is a north–south divide in language, not only between more and less Welsh-speaking areas, but also in terms of accents (both relating to English and Welsh) and dialects of Welsh. [20] There is also a cultural divide between "gogs" in the north and "hwntws" in the south.
There may be a tourism divide between north and south Wales due to geographic and existing transport capabilities, with tourism in the north aimed at nearby tourists from the rest of the UK and closer airports in Liverpool and Manchester, for day trips and staycations; whereas strategies for the south by the devolved administrations aim for more international and longer-term tourism through Cardiff Airport in the south. Strategies based on drawing tourists through Cardiff Airport may not have a big impact on the north due to a lack of connectivity with Cardiff Airport and the north of Wales. [21]
There is a debate whether to spell the regions of Wales with a capitalised letter or a lowercase letter, for example either a lower case 'n' for north Wales or a capitalised 'N' for North Wales (see North Wales#Capitalisation). The debate has been coined as the "to cap or not to cap" debate in media. [22] Usage varies, BBC News [23] and the Welsh Government [24] for example use lowercase, whereas Visit Wales uses capitalised, with the latter having their own version of Wales' regions. [25] David Williams, chairman of the North Wales Business Club, announced his support for capping the term "North" in "North Wales" stating that the region should be "very recognisable [...] in our own right". [22]
This article is part of
a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
Politics of Wales |
---|
Regions using the cardinal and intercardinal points of a compass, e.g. north and south-west for nomenclature, and are based mainly on physical and environmental geographic factors due to their lack of definition.
For many administrative purposes, most of the regions follow the boundaries of the twenty-two principal areas of Wales. Those listed below are based on the usage by organisations further down.
Note: names in-between inverted commas ("), implies there are other definitions of the region that may be more common.
Visit Wales uses four regions: [2] [26]
Business Wales uses four regions: [4]
Either a three economic region model or a four economic region model: [5] [27]
Described as the six "areas" (with an additional "marine area") by Natural Resources Wales [3]
Note: no clear boundaries shown, merely labels on a blank map.
StatsWales divides Wales into "Economic regions", of either a three economic region model or a four economic region model:
Two dialect model: [20]
Four dialect model: [38]
Also lower case for south Wales, north Wales, mid-Wales etc.
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (
link)
Wales has traditionally been divided into a number of ambiguous and ill-defined areas described as regions, reflecting historical, geographical, administrative, cultural and electoral boundaries within the country. Presently, the most common form of division of Wales into "regions" has been using cardinal and intercardinal references: north or south-west for example. [1] None of the variously described "regions" have official status or defined boundaries; neither is there a fixed number of regions. Various organisations use different regions and combinations of regions for their individual purposes. This includes devolved institutions, such as Visit Wales, [2] Natural Resources Wales, [3] and the Welsh Government itself, [4] [5] [6] using different sets of Wales' regions. Wales is most commonly sub-divided into between two and four regions, with a North–South divide, and North, Mid, South East and South West division being common. This article lists the various terms applied to be the "regions of Wales" and the regions used by various organisations.
The regions of Wales have little administrative status, as of 2022, nor are they officially defined. Local government is primarily managed by the twenty-two principal areas.
Some argue that Wales should stop using terms to describe regions of Wales, as they lack both strict definitions and boundaries, and instead consider Wales as a single entity. However, others campaign for more recognition of Wales' various regions, such as the north and west. [1] [7]
There may be a north-south divide, between North Wales and South Wales. [8] The Cambrian Mountains form a mountainous interior of Wales, limiting the connection between North and South with few transport links between them. [9] Most of the population of Wales is concentrated on opposing sides of Wales. Transport links between North and South Wales are significantly weak, [10] with major north–south links passing through England, and both the North and South, having closer transport links with North West England, and South West England respectively. [11] [12] Liverpool is sometimes described as the "Capital of North Wales", as its the largest city closest to North Wales. [13] Historical maps divide North and South Wales using the boundaries between Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, and between Cardiganshire and Merionethshire, but the modern-day divide is described as ambiguous or arbitrary. [14]
Since devolution, the Welsh Government is making efforts to increase connection between north and south. [8] [15] However in 2013 there were reports that the Welsh Government may have short-changed the north by £131.53 million, which critics describe as proof of a modern north–south divide. The government responded that the figures are "highly misleading", as they ignore funding through Wales-wide programmes, and that the government has spent more on health and transport in the north than in the south-east, and more on education than the national average. The then First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, disagreed that there was a north–south divide in Wales, but stated that there would "never be a time" that people will no longer see a north–south divide. [16]
There is a part-ministerial post in the Welsh Cabinet for " North Wales", [17] and a North Wales office of the Senedd. [18] Plaid Cymru has called for a trans-Wales railway as a solution to bridge the cultural divide between north and south. [19]
There is a north–south divide in language, not only between more and less Welsh-speaking areas, but also in terms of accents (both relating to English and Welsh) and dialects of Welsh. [20] There is also a cultural divide between "gogs" in the north and "hwntws" in the south.
There may be a tourism divide between north and south Wales due to geographic and existing transport capabilities, with tourism in the north aimed at nearby tourists from the rest of the UK and closer airports in Liverpool and Manchester, for day trips and staycations; whereas strategies for the south by the devolved administrations aim for more international and longer-term tourism through Cardiff Airport in the south. Strategies based on drawing tourists through Cardiff Airport may not have a big impact on the north due to a lack of connectivity with Cardiff Airport and the north of Wales. [21]
There is a debate whether to spell the regions of Wales with a capitalised letter or a lowercase letter, for example either a lower case 'n' for north Wales or a capitalised 'N' for North Wales (see North Wales#Capitalisation). The debate has been coined as the "to cap or not to cap" debate in media. [22] Usage varies, BBC News [23] and the Welsh Government [24] for example use lowercase, whereas Visit Wales uses capitalised, with the latter having their own version of Wales' regions. [25] David Williams, chairman of the North Wales Business Club, announced his support for capping the term "North" in "North Wales" stating that the region should be "very recognisable [...] in our own right". [22]
This article is part of
a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
Politics of Wales |
---|
Regions using the cardinal and intercardinal points of a compass, e.g. north and south-west for nomenclature, and are based mainly on physical and environmental geographic factors due to their lack of definition.
For many administrative purposes, most of the regions follow the boundaries of the twenty-two principal areas of Wales. Those listed below are based on the usage by organisations further down.
Note: names in-between inverted commas ("), implies there are other definitions of the region that may be more common.
Visit Wales uses four regions: [2] [26]
Business Wales uses four regions: [4]
Either a three economic region model or a four economic region model: [5] [27]
Described as the six "areas" (with an additional "marine area") by Natural Resources Wales [3]
Note: no clear boundaries shown, merely labels on a blank map.
StatsWales divides Wales into "Economic regions", of either a three economic region model or a four economic region model:
Two dialect model: [20]
Four dialect model: [38]
Also lower case for south Wales, north Wales, mid-Wales etc.
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (
link)