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The second set of Highland Council wards, 80 in number, became effective for election purposes in 1999, for the second
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
of the
Highland Council The Highland Council (' ), the political body covering the Highland (council area), Highland Local authorities of Scotland, local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable v ...
,Highland Council website, accessed 29 February 2008
/ref> and were used also for the third general election in 2003. These wards replaced 72 older wards, and were themselves replaced by a set of 22 wards for the fourth general election in 2007. The Highland Council (''Comhairle na Gaidhealtachd'' in
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
) had become a local government authority in 1996, when the two-tier system of regions and districts was abolished and the Highland region became a
unitary council area A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
, 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-tier s ...
. The first Highland Council election, however, was one year earlier, in 1995. Until 1996 councillors shadowed the regional and district councils and planned for the transfer of powers and responsibilities. Elections to the council are normally on a four-year cycle, all wards being contestable at each election. For the periods 1995 to 1999 and 1999 to 2007, each ward elected one
councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
by the first past the post system. In 2007, this arrangement was replaced with one of multi-member wards, 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 ...
. The wards used from 1995 to 1999 had been subdivisions of eight council management areas, with councillors elected from each area forming an
area committee Many large local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees or area boards, which involve local people and organisations in decisions affecting council spending within their area. They cover a geographical area su ...
. The wards created in 1999, however, were not exactly subdivisions of the management areas, management area boundaries were not adjusted to take account of new ward boundaries and, therefore, area committees ceased to be exactly representative of areas for which they were named and for which they took decisions. In 2007, the management areas were replaced with three new corporate management areas, each consisting of a whole number of the new multi-member wards.


Lists of wards, 1999 to 2007

Wards are listed by management area to which linked for area committee purposes.


Badenoch and Strathspey wards

There were five wards related to the
Badenoch and Strathspey Badenoch and Strathspey is a former district of Highland region, Scotland. The district was created under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as one of the eight districts of the Highland region. The same legislation abolished countie ...
management area:


Caithness wards

There were 10 wards related to the
Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded b ...
management area:


Inverness wards

The management area included
Loch Ness Loch Ness (; gd, Loch Nis ) is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for clai ...
,
Strathglass Strathglass is a strath or wide and shallow valley in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland down which runs the meandering River Glass from the point at which it starts at the confluence of the River Affric and Abhainn Deabhag to the point wher ...
and the former
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 ...
of
Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...
. Inverness was granted
city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...
in 2001 and the Highland Council then used the 'city' title in reference to the Inverness management area.
Letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, t ...
refer, however, to the 'Town of Inverness' and, although there is a former 'royal burgh' which had defined boundaries, there is no 'town' with such boundaries. 'Urban Inverness', below, refers to the area centred on the former royal burgh and generally urban in character during the 1999 to 2007 period. There were 23 wards related to the management area:


Lochaber wards

There were eight wards related the
Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creati ...
management area:


Nairn wards

The
Nairn Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the t ...
management area was mostly rural.
Ward boundaries radiated from the town of Nairn (a former
burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. ...
), dividing the town between all four wards:


Ross and Cromarty wards

There were 18 wards related to the
Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the l ...
management area:


Skye and Lochalsh wards

The Skye and Lochalsh management area included the islands of
Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...
,
Raasay Raasay (; gd, Ratharsair) or the Isle of Raasay is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is famous for being the bi ...
and Scalpay, the village of
Kyle of Lochalsh Kyle of Lochalsh (from the Gaelic ''Caol Loch Aillse'', "strait of the foaming loch") is a village in the historic county of Ross-shire on the northwest coast of Scotland, located around west-southwest of Inverness. It is located on the Lochal ...
on the mainland, and a rural area to the east of Kyle of Lochalsh. There were six wards related to the Skye and Lochalsh area:


Sutherland wards

There were six wards related to the
Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire ( ...
management area: {, class="wikitable" , - ! Ward ! Towns and villages , - , Brora , Included the town of
Brora Brora ( , gd, Brùra) is a village in the east of Sutherland, in the Highland area of Scotland. Origin of the name The name ''Brora'' is derived from Old Norse and means "river with a bridge". History Brora is a small industrial village, ha ...
, - , Dornoch Firth , Areas both sides of the
Dornoch Firth The Dornoch Firth ( gd, Caolas Dhòrnaich, ) is a firth on the east coast of Highland, in northern Scotland. It forms part of the boundary between Ross and Cromarty, to the south, and Sutherland, to the north. The firth is designated as a nationa ...

Included the town of
Dornoch Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the M ...
, - , Golspie and Rogart , Included the villages of
Golspie Golspie ( , gd, Goillspidh) is a village and parish in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland, which lies on the North Sea coast in the shadow of Ben Bhraggie. It has a population of around 1,350. History The name derives from the Norse for "gully ...
and Rogart , - , Sutherland Central , Included the villages of
Lairg Lairg ( gd, An Luirg, meaning "the shank/shin") is a village and parish in Sutherland, Scotland. It has a population of 891 and is at the south-eastern end of Loch Shin. Lairg is unusual in the northern Highlands in being a large settlement t ...
and
Bonar Bridge Bonar Bridge ( gd, Drochaid a' Bhanna, ) is a village on the north bank of the Kyle of Sutherland to the west and the Dornoch Firth to the east in the Parish of Creich in the Highland council area of Scotland. The Kyle of Sutherland ("the K ...
, - , Sutherland North West , Included the villages of
Durness Durness ( gd, Diùranais) is a village and civil parish in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north coast of the country in the traditional county of Sutherland, around north of Inverness. The area is remote, and the parish is ...
and
Lochinver Lochinver (''Loch an Inbhir'' in Gaelic) is a village that is located at the head of the sea loch Loch Inver, on the coast in the Assynt district of Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. A few miles northeast is Loch Assynt which is the source of ...
, - , Tongue and Farr , Included the villages of
Tongue The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste bu ...
, Farr, Bettyhill and Reay


See also

* Politics of the Highland council area


Notes and references

Highland council wards Lists of wards in Scotland