Interesting Recent History of Avon County, UK By Frederick Williams At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The old County of Avon used to be a non-metropolitan county and formal county in the western side of Britain, named after River Avon, that flowed through it. This county was abolished in 1996, and the area split between the North East Somerset and Bath, Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset united local authorities. Avon area is still functioning for some designs and these days have a population of more than one million people.

Under the Local Government Act 1972, Avon was formed, on April 1, 1974. It took areas of the former county boroughs of Bath and Bristol and areas from other administrative counties of Gloucestershire (Kingswood, Mangotsfield, and the rural districts of Warmley(most), Thornbury and Sodbury (most)), and Somerset (Clevedon, Keynsham, Weston-super-Mare, Portishead, Norton-Radstock and the rural areas of Bathavon, Axbridge (much), Long Ashton and Clutton.

Most of the new counties created by this Act, its boundaries were seriously reduced from its beginnings, with Frome and Bradford on Avon were removed from the designated area.

It had six districts Bath and. Bristol was accepted from the former county boroughs. In northern side, the Gloucestershire side, the urban districts of Mangotsfield and Kingswood formed a single borough of Kingswood and the rest becoming Northavon. In the southern side, there were two districts, Woodspring, on the coast and Wansdyke, in the interior.

Northern side shared borders with Gloucestershire, to the southern side it was Somerset and to the eastern side Wiltshire. On the west it shared a shore with Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel.

Avon's area was 1,347 square kms (520 sq miles) and its population in 1991 was 919,800. Towns and cities in Avon included Bath, Bristol, Bradley Stoke, Clevedon, Midsomer Norton, Weston-super-Mare, Portishead, and Radstock Thornbury, Nailsea, Keynsham, Yatton and Yate,.

Like other English cities such as Liverpool, Newcastle, Plymouth and Bristol developed as a harbor city at the start of a river that separated these historic counties. It increased and flourished economic linkages on either side of the primitive boundary. In such a situation most of the times have been claimed, close communities have most of the times kept sentimental affections to their primitive counties, instead of those cities that lie on the edge of the primitive counties that they were attached due to cultural facilities, shopping and work.

The county did had a fairly solid rational basis, being largely connected with the Bristol which is described as "Travel to Work Area" defined for the last 4 decades since the 1950s and '60s for planning purposes. In addition for the first time, people in the new county and beyond the Bristol City limits, were brought within easy traveling distance of their offices of main county council.

The "first tranche" of reviews conducted by the Banham Commission, Avon became one of the counties in the 1990s. Both it and its districts be scrapped and replaced with four unitary authorities, was what the Commission recommended. The Avon's structural change on Order 1995 was debated on 22 February 1995 in the House of Commons.

The Order was carried out on 1 April 1996 and Avon County is now gone.

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