The City of Edinburgh Council is the
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
authority for the city of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, capital of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. With a population of in mid-2019, it is
the second most populous local authority area in Scotland.
In its current form, the council was created in 1996 under the
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland.
It abolished the two-tie ...
, to replace the City of Edinburgh District Council of the
Lothian region, which had, itself, been created in 1975. The history of local government in Edinburgh, however, stretches back much further. Around 1130,
David I David I may refer to:
* David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399
* David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741)
* David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881)
* David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048)
* David I of Scotland (di ...
made the town a
royal burgh
A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs.
Most royal burghs were either created by ...
and a burgh council, based at the
Old Tolbooth is recorded continuously from the 14th century.
The council is currently based in
Edinburgh City Chambers
Edinburgh City Chambers in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the meeting place of the City of Edinburgh Council and its predecessors, Edinburgh Corporation and Edinburgh District Council. It is a Category A listed building.
History
The current building ...
with a main office nearby at Waverley Court.
History
Before 1368 the city was run from a pretorium (a Latin term for
Tolbooth
A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of three esse ...
), and later from around 1400 from the
Old Tolbooth next to
St Giles' Cathedral
St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 1 ...
. A Tolbooth is the main municipal building of a Scottish burgh providing council meeting chambers, a court house and a jail. The Old Tolbooth of Edinburgh was unique in that it housed both the Edinburgh Town Council and the Scottish Parliament. As a
Royal Burgh
A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs.
Most royal burghs were either created by ...
the council was convened by a
Lord Provost, who was assisted by a team of
Bailies.
The Tolbooth had fallen into a state of disrepair by the 1560s, and was cramped, housing both the expanding Town Council of Edinburgh, and the
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...
.
Queen Mary believed the situation was intolerable, and requested extensive renovations take place. By 1639 Edinburgh Town Council paid for a new building, called
Parliament House to be constructed nearby for the Parliament to meet in so they would no longer have to share the Old Tolbooth.
In 1753 Edinburgh Town Council commissioned the construction of a new
Royal Exchange as a meeting place for the city merchants, intended to rival the
Royal Exchange of London. However the merchants preferred to carry on meeting at the
Mercat Cross. Given the conditions of the Old Tolbooth and the underused status of the Royal Exchange, the council moved into the north range of the Royal Exchange in 1811 while a new fit for purpose permanent presence could be planned, and the Old Tolbooth was demolished. The former location of the Old Tolbooth (fully demolished in 1817) is now marked by the
Heart of Midlothian, a heart
Sett
A sett or set is a badger's den. It usually consists of a network of tunnels and numerous entrances. The largest setts are spacious enough to accommodate 15 or more animals with up to of tunnels and as many as 40 openings. Such elaborate setts ...
in the paving of Edinburgh's Royal Mile. The only remaining part of the Old Tolbooth is a door which
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
recovered and added to his home
Abbotsford.
After
The Canongate
The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. It began w ...
suburb merged into the city of Edinburgh in 1856, and the
Canongate Tolbooth
Canongate Tolbooth is a historic landmark of the Old Town area of Edinburgh, built in 1591 as a tolbooth, that is, the centre of administration and justice of the then separate burgh of the Canongate which was outside the Edinburgh town walls. ...
was abandoned, the north range of the Royal Exchange became too crowded once again and in 1893 the Council bought back the rest of the old Royal Exchange building and renamed it as the Edinburgh City Chambers.
The City Chambers initially housed Edinburgh Town Council from 1893 to 1895, when that body was replaced by City of Edinburgh Corporation.
From 1895 to the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975.
The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...
Edinburgh was administered by the single tier "Edinburgh Corporation", which covered the "City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh". As such, the Edinburgh Corporation was responsible for local government services, such as the Edinburgh Corporation Transport Department (
Edinburgh Corporation Tramways until 1928).
Bodies such as the
Merchant Company of Edinburgh
The Royal Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh, previously known as the Merchant Company of Edinburgh is a mercantile company and Guild officially recognised in 1681, but dating back to at least 1260. The Company, or Confraternity, was ...
, the
Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh
The Incorporated Trades of Edinburgh are the trade and craft bodies of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland, in much the same way as the Livery companies are in The City of London, but on a much smaller scale. The Incorporations are not "guilds", t ...
and
The High Constables of Edinburgh formed part of the corporation, contributing councillors and law enforcement officers. The Edinburgh Corporation had the power to institute these organisations via the granting of a "Seal of Cause". This empowered the societies as "a legal corporation with power to hold property, make its own by-laws and regulations". Other organisations to receive the "Seal of Cause" include
The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh is a Scottish golf club, which holds claim to be the oldest golfing society in the world, with references to it being instituted in 1735 dating from 1834. The club enjoys a parkland course located ...
, who received their seal on 2 July 1800. The history of the corporation lives on elsewhere around the city, for example in the name of the members of
Muirfield golf club, who were granted a charter by the corporation in 1800 becoming "The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers". The Corporation also awarded trophies to Edinburgh institutions, such as the silver arrow presented as a prize for archery in 1714 to the
Royal Company of Archers
The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...
, and the silver golf club presented to the
Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers
''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...
.
The Edinburgh Corporation also inherited from the Town Council the power to make
Burgess __NOTOC__
Burgess may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Burgess (given name), a list of people
Places
* Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community
* Burgess, Missouri, U ...
(freemen) of the City of Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Corporation awarded its Burgess Tickets through the
Lord Dean of Guild, an office in the Corporation holding the distinction of second citizen of Edinburgh, after the Lord Provost. Like the
Corporation of the City of London
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...
, Burgess Tickets were often awarded along with a 'Freedom Casket' – a container to hold the ticket.
In 1975, Edinburgh Corporation was abolished.
The new two-tier system consisted of Lothian Regional Council (with responsibility for water, education, social work and transport) and the City of Edinburgh District Council (with responsibility for cleansing and libraries). The City of Edinburgh became a single-tier
council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot)
A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act. ...
in 1996, under the
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland.
It abolished the two-tie ...
, with the boundaries of the City of Edinburgh
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of the
Lothian region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
. The district had been created in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to include the former
county of city
County of city (or county of a city) was a term used for certain local government areas in Scotland between 1890 and 1975 which performed the functions of both a county council and the town council of a burgh. There were four such areas, covering t ...
of Edinburgh; the former
burgh of
Queensferry, the district of Kirkliston and part of Winchburgh formerly within the
county of West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Av ...
; and the district of Currie and the parish of Cramond formerly within the
county of Midlothian
Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh ...
.
[
Today Edinburgh's council remains headed by the ]Lord Provost of Edinburgh
The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the ...
, with six Bailies appointed by the council at large. Many of Edinburgh councils ceremonies and traditions date back to the days of the Edinburgh Corporation, such as the Edinburgh Ceremony of the Keys, where the Lord Provost symbolically hands the keys to the City of Edinburgh to the monarch, who hands them back to the Lord Provost proclaiming "that they cannot be placed in better hands than those of the Lord Provost and Councillors of my good City of Edinburgh". The council continues to meet in the Edinburgh City Chambers
Edinburgh City Chambers in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the meeting place of the City of Edinburgh Council and its predecessors, Edinburgh Corporation and Edinburgh District Council. It is a Category A listed building.
History
The current building ...
and also holds and maintains properties from the days of the corporation, such as Lauriston Castle
Lauriston Castle is a 16th-century tower house with 19th-century extensions overlooking the Firth of Forth, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies on Cramond Road South, between Cramond, Davidson's Mains, and Silverknowes. The substantial grounds, La ...
(which is used to host the Lord Provost's garden property), the Assembly Rooms
In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th century Britain, 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done ...
and the Church Hill Theatre
Church Hill Theatre is a Category B listed pink sandstone former church and current theatre venue owned by the Edinburgh City Council. Built originally as Morningside Free Church, the council purchased it in 1960. After undergoing an extensive r ...
. Although no longer formally part of the City of Edinburgh Council, it retains a relationship with the Merchants Company, Incorporated Trades and High Constables of Edinburgh
The High Constables of Edinburgh are a prestigious body of constables, founded in 1611 and located in Edinburgh, Scotland. Historically, the High Constables were charged with policing the streets of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, howev ...
. The office of Lord Dean of Guild now operates from the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, and continues to issue Burgess tickets.
Council area
The majority of the local authority's territory (the same as the preceding 1975–1996 ''City of Edinburgh'' district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
within the Lothian region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
) is the urban area of Edinburgh, which is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and includes all of the neighbourhoods within the A720 City of Edinburgh bypass. While the landscape changes to green belt
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which ...
farmland at the north-western edge of the city (beyond the River Almond, Cammo
Cammo () is a northwestern suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is south of A90, at the edge of the city, approximately from the city centre. Etymology
The name is Celtic in origin, but could have originated either in Scottish Gael ...
estate, West Craigs
West Craigs is the name given to two separate areas of Scotland:
*A suburb on the western periphery of Edinburgh, south-east of Edinburgh Airport and close to The Gyle Shopping Centre, Gogar, Maybury and Edinburgh Gateway station.
*A modern ...
and Gogar
Gogar is a predominantly rural area of Edinburgh, Scotland, located to the west of the city. It is not far from Gogarloch, Edinburgh Park and Maybury. The Fife Circle Line is to the north.
Etymology
The name of Gogar first appears in a clearl ...
within the Almond ward), the council area extends around further west, taking in the hamlets of Ingliston
Ingliston (; sco, Inglistoun) is an area in the west of Edinburgh, near Maybury, South Gyle and Newbridge, and is home to Edinburgh Airport and The Royal Highland Showground.
History
The name Ingliston either means the "settlement of the In ...
and Turnhouse
Turnhouse is a suburb in the west of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, near Maybury, Gogar, Cammo and West Craigs.
The area is south east of Edinburgh International Airport, and Turnhouse is also the name for the former Royal Air Force ...
adjacent to Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is an airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2019, handling over 14.7 million passengers. It was also the sixth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom by ...
, the separate villages of Kirkliston
Kirkliston is a small town and parish to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, historically within the county of West Lothian but now within the City of Edinburgh council limits. It lies on high ground immediately north of a northward loop of the Al ...
, Newbridge, Ratho Station
Ratho Station is a commuter village of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, located in Edinburgh council area. It is located south of Edinburgh Airport; the community has a population of approximately 600. About 300 houses are within the villag ...
, and the small town of South Queensferry
Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the no ...
beside the Forth Bridges, all considered to be separate localities in the Scottish Government's statistics due to their populated postcodes having no direct connection with those from the city proper.[Data Tables](_blank)
id-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland National Records of Scotland
, type = Non-ministerial government department
, logo = National Records of Scotland logo.svg
, logo_width =
, picture =
, picture_width =
, picture_caption =
, formed =
, preceding1 = National Archives of Scotland
, preceding2 = General Regi ...
, 31 March 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022 South of this, the Pentland Hills ward has a similar semi-rural profile: its furthest point is over from the A720, and Wester Hailes
Wester Hailes is an area in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Wester Hailes borders on Kingsknowe and Longstone to the east. Bankhead Industrial Estate and Sighthill Park lie to the north.
History
Although named after a large private ho ...
is its only component neighbourhood within the bypass. However, aside from the village of Ratho
Ratho ( gd, Ràthach) is a village in the Rural West Edinburgh area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Ratho Stati ...
and Riccarton Riccarton may refer to:
New Zealand
* Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch
** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it
** The location of Riccarton Race Course
* a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago
Scotlan ...
(location of Heriot-Watt University), the increasingly distant suburbs in this area along the A70 road
The A70 road is a major road in Scotland, United Kingdom . It runs a total of from Edinburgh to Ayr. It begins as Dalry Road at the Haymarket, Edinburgh junction with the A8, passing near but not through Lanark and ending as Miller Road in Ayr ...
– Baberton
Baberton is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is south-west of the Edinburgh City Bypass and Wester Hailes and south of the Shotts Line railway line. The village of Juniper Green is situated to the south of Baberton and Baber ...
, Juniper Green
Juniper Green is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated about south-west of the city centre. It bridges the city bypass, and extends along the foothills of the Pentlands. It is bordered by Colinton to the east, Baberton ...
, Currie
Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...
and Balerno
Balerno (; gd, Baile Àirneach, IPA: paleˈɛːɾʲnəx Scots: Balerno or Balernie) is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre, next to Currie and then Juniper Green. Traditionally in the cou ...
– are considered to be part of the locality of Edinburgh as their postcodes remain in a 'chain' with the rest of the city. Almond and Pentland Hills are by far the largest of the council's wards by area due to their low population density balancing against that of inner-city wards.[Population distribution and density in Edinburgh Recent trends and comparisons with other cities across Scotland and the UK](_blank)
City of Edinburgh Council, October 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2022
In contrast to the hinterland in the west, the local authority boundary with East Lothian in the east of the city (north of the end of the bypass within the Portobello/Craigmillar ward) is at the Brunstane Burn at Eastfield; the adjoining town of Musselburgh, and Wallyford
Wallyford is a village near Musselburgh and approximately east of Edinburgh in East Lothian, Scotland.
History
The village was initially populated by coal miners and later grew as an overspill/commuter town for workers in Musselburgh and Edi ...
beyond, are not within the council borders of Edinburgh and thus not within its statistical locality, although they are part of the city's defined settlement
Settlement may refer to:
*Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
* Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fin ...
which groups together connected, distinct localities. Thus the local authority area cannot be described wholly as an urban environment, nor is it technically coterminous with Edinburgh as a city, nor is the entirety of the city's built-up area within the local authority's borders.
Elections
Members of the council represent 17 electoral areas called wards. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004
The Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 9) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which provided, amongst other things, for the election of councillors to the local authorities in Scotland by the single transferable vote system.
The Commissi ...
, multi-member wards were introduced for the 2007 election, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
system, to produce a form of proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
. Previously each of 58 wards elected one councillor by the first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
system of election.
The last election to the council was held on Thursday, 5 May 2022. Due to an increase in the city's population, five extra seats on the council were added in 2017, along with some minor ward boundary changes.
Controversies
The council has been at the centre of several corruption scandals in recent years, including allegations of possible fraud, wrong-doing and incompetence in the Property Conservation Department in the BBC Scotland documentary ''Scotland’s Property Scandal'' in 2011; four men pleading guilty to corruption in the allocation of public building work contracts at the Council in 2015; and mis-spending of £400,000 of public money, and a subsequent bullying campaign against the whistle blower who brought this corruption to light in 2021.
Wards
Electoral history
See also
* Politics of Edinburgh
The politics of Edinburgh are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of the City of Edinburgh Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament.
Also, as Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh is host to th ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:The City of Edinburgh Council
Politics of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
Organisations based in Edinburgh