Neath Port Talbot (pop. 142,289) is a United Kingdom local government area in South Wales. It is a unitary authority, the primary form of local government in the United Kingdom. For centuries, the region was a part of the old county of Glamorganshire. It was incorporated into West Glamorgan in the reorganization of local government in 1974. It became a unitary authority in 1996.
The area consists of an upland region of high forests and moorland crossed by the river valleys of the Rivers Afan, Dulais, Neath, and Tawe. Coal mining, once a major economic activity, has been replaced by light industries. However, steel continues to be made at Port Talbot, and oil refining and chemicals remain important in the western part of the area.
The local government council in Neath Port Talbot has its headquarters in Port Talbot. Among the other important towns of the region are Aberavon, famous for its beach and leisure and entertainment complex; Margam, famous for its abbey ruins; and Neath, set in the beautiful Vale of Neath, with its fine abbey and castle both dating from the 1100’s. Major residential areas are at Sandfields, Baglan, and Briton Ferry.
