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The Committee of Welsh District Councils was established in April 1983 by the Welsh Branch of the Association of District Councils, with the purpose of co-ordinating the work of the District Councils in Wales. Its predecessor in this role had been the Council for the Principality (formed in 1974, also under the Association of District Councils, and superseding the Association of Welsh Local Authorities), and the Committee of Welsh District Councils was itself succeeded by the Council of Welsh Districts in 1989. The line of descent between these bodies after 1974 was distinct; they existed in direct succession, they performed almost identical functions, and many of the staff worked for more than one of them. As a result, some of the papers in the archive cover periods before and after the existence of the Committee of Welsh District Councils.

The Council for the Principality was established by the Association of District Councils in 1974, in response to the reorganization of local government, which involved the creation of new District Councils. The Council's role was to co-ordinate the work of the District Councils, thereby in effect taking over many of the responsibilities of the Association of Welsh Local Authorities, which was dissolved. It met in Cardiff from May 1974 until it was superseded by the Council for Welsh Districts in April 1983. There was a degree of administrative continuity between these two bodies, as a result of which some of the papers in the archive date from after the Council for the Principality's dissolution. The Council was involved in the Welsh Consultative Council on Local Government Finance between 1978 and 1982.

The Council of Welsh Districts (CWD) was established in 1989 as a successor to the Committee of Welsh District Councils, formed in 1983. Both were autonomous bodies within the Association of District Councils, representing District Councils in England and Wales, and were intended to promote and protect the interests of the Welsh District Councils. The Committee of Welsh District Councils had four sub-committees, but with the advent of CWD a revised committee structure was established consisting of an Economic Development and Tourism Committee, an Environment and Housing Committee and the Finance, Parliamentary and General Services Committee. CWD was an active participant in the debate on local government reform in the early 1990s and, following the Local Government Reform Act 1993, was involved in its implementation. On 1 April 1996, CWD and the Association of Welsh Councils were superseded by the Welsh Local Government Association, part of the new Local Government Association of England and Wales. CWD's first Chairman was Councillor Gwynfryn Davies, Dinefwr, 1989-1990; the last was Councillor Tom Williams, Islwyn, 1993-1996.

The Association of Welsh Local Authorities was set up in 1953 and dissolved in 1974. The Association was a representative body comprising all authorities in Wales, and provided a forum for the discussion of shared concerns, including water resources, transport, education, and the Welsh economy. It served as a means of approach to Ministers of the Crown, Government Departments and national organizations. Following local government re-organisation in 1974, the Association was replaced by the Association of County Councils (Welsh Counties Committee) and the Association of District Councils (Council for the Principality).