The was a short-lived
Non-metropolitan County and
Ceremonial County in the west of
England , named after the
River Avon which ran through it.
Avon was formed under the
Local Government Act 1972 , on
April 1 ,
1974 . It took in the areas of the former
County Borough s of
Bristol and
Bath , and areas from the administrative counties of Gloucestershire (
Kingswood ,
Mangotsfield , and the rural districts of
Warmley ,
Sodbury (most) and
Thornbury (most)), and Somerset (
Weston-super-Mare ,
Clevedon ,
Keynsham ,
Norton-Radstock ,
Portishead , and the rural districts of
Bathavon ,
Long Ashton ,
Axbridge (much), and
Clutton (much). Like most of the new counties created by the Act, its boundaries were substantially trimmed from its inception, with
Frome and
Bradford-on-Avon removed from the proposed area.
It had six districts.
Bristol and
Bath were taken in directly from the former county boroughs. In the north, the Gloucestershire side, the urban districts of Kingswood and Mangotsfield formed a single
Borough Of Kingswood , with the rest becoming
Northavon . In the south, there were two districts,
Woodspring , on the coast, and
Wansdyke , in the interior.
To the north it bordered
Gloucestershire , to the east
Wiltshire and to the south
Somerset . In the west it had a coast on the
Bristol Channel .
The area of Avon was 1347km
2 (520mi
2) and its population in 1991 was 919,800. Cities and towns in Avon included (in approximate order of population)
Bristol ,
Bath ,
Weston-super-Mare ,
Yate ,
Clevedon ,
Portishead ,
Midsomer Norton &
Radstock ,
Bradley Stoke ,
Nailsea ,
Yatton ,
Keynsham and
Thornbury .
It was never a well-loved institution as many Bristolians resented the removal of the "county" title from their city, and some people in parts of Gloucestershire and Somerset that were now included in Avon felt they had been cut off from their
Traditional Counties . In particular there was a long-running campaign to return Weston-super-Mare to Somerset. The county did however have a fairly strong rational basis, being largely conterminous with the Bristol 'Travel to Work Area' defined since the 50s/60s for planning purposes. In addition people in the new county, but beyond the Bristol City boundary, were brought within convenient travelling distance of their main county council offices for the first time.
Avon was one of the counties in the "first tranche" of reviews conducted by the
Banham Commission in the 1990s. The Commission recommended that it and its districts be abolished and replaced with four unitary authorities. The Avon (Structural Change) Order 1995 was debated in the
Commons on
February 22 ,
{Link without Title} .
The Order came into effect on
1 April 1996 . The four authorities replacing Avon are:
#The City and County of
Bristol
#
South Gloucestershire – formerly
Kingswood
#
Northavon ),
North Somerset – formerly
Woodspring
#
Bath And North East Somerset – formerly
Bath and Wansdyke.
For ceremonial purposes, the post of
Lord Lieutenant Of Avon was abolished, Bristol has regained its own Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff, while the other authorities were returned to their traditional counties. Suggestions to alter Bristol's boundaries (either by drawing new boundaries or by merely incorporating the mostly urbanised borough of Kingswood into it) were rejected.
The demise of the County of Avon was the focus of a documentary called The End of Avon by the
BBC produced by Linda Orr and
Michael Lund broadcast in 1996. In 2006 Adam Thomas, a
BBC Somerset Sound presenter, investigated, for Inside Out West on
BBC One , why Avon refuses to die and continues to be included in the databases of large corporations as part of addresses in the area and in names such as
Avon Wildlife Trust , the
Avon And Somerset Constabulary , and Avon Fire and Rescue. Representatives from the organisations said they had no plans to change their names. However, the
Royal Mail indicated that it was not necessary to include Avon as part of any address as it had abandoned the use of the
Former Postal County in 1996.
Some bodies still cover the whole area of the former county of Avon - for example the Avon Fire Brigade, the Avon Coroner's District the West of England Strategic Partnership and Intelligence West. Additionally the whole of the area is covered by
Avon And Somerset Constabulary .
The term ''CUBA'', the "Counties that Used to Be Avon", has been coined to refer to the Avon area post-abolition of the county. The term
Severnside is sometimes used as a euphemism for 'Avon' , although the term can also be used to refer to the stretch of shoreline from Avonmouth north to Aust, or from
Newport to
Chepstow . Many computer-generated address lists still give addresses in the area as being in the county of 'Avon', as it is a former postal county (see
Postal Counties Of The United Kingdom ).
Other relics of Avon's existence include the , an 85-mile circular route, which wends its way on quite roads and bridletracks around (or just beyond) the outer limits of the former county. Also, Avon County Council funded
Sustrans ' first cycleway, the
Bristol And Bath Railway Path , which led to the creation of the
National Cycle Network .
