Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32

council areas For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" ( gd, comhairlean), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Ga ...

used for local government in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Together with the

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas ...

and

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of

, which currently exists as a

registration county A registration county was, in Great Britain and Ireland, a statistical unit used for the registration of births, deaths and marriages and for the output of census information. In Scotland registration counties are used for land registration purpose ...

and

lieutenancy area Lieutenancy areas are the separate areas of the United Kingdom appointed a lord-lieutenant – a representative of the British monarch. In many cases they have similar demarcation and naming to, but are not necessarily coterminate with, the coun ...

– located in the west

central Lowlands The Central Lowlands, sometimes called the Midland Valley or Central Valley, is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and ...

. It borders the North Ayrshire and Renfrewshire council areas, and is otherwise surrounded by the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

. Inverclyde was formerly one of nineteen

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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

s within Strathclyde Region, from 1975 until 1996. Prior to 1975, Inverclyde was governed as part of the local government

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, comprising the burghs of Greenock, Port Glasgow and

Gourock Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a ...

, and the former fifth district of the county. Its landward area is bordered by the Kelly, North and South Routen burns to the southwest (separating

Wemyss Bay Wemyss Bay (; ) is a town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in Inverclyde in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the traditional county of Renfrewshire. It is adjacent to Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire. The town and villages have alway ...

and

Skelmorlie Skelmorlie is a village in North Ayrshire in the south-west of Scotland. Although it is the northernmost settlement in the council area of North Ayrshire, it is contiguous with Wemyss Bay, which is in Inverclyde. The dividing line is the Kelly ...

, North Ayrshire), part of the

River Gryfe The River Gryfe (or Gryffe) is a river and tributary of the Black Cart Water, running through the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It gives its name to the surrounding Gryffe Valley, also known as Strathgryfe. Flow The Gryfe emerges ...

and the Finlaystone Burn to the south-east. It is one of the smallest in terms of area () and population () out of the 32 Scottish unitary authorities. Along with the council areas clustered around

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

it is considered part of

Greater Glasgow Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area (or conurbation). It does not relate to municipal government ...

in some definitions, although it is physically separated from the city area by open countryside and does not share a border with the city. The name derives from the extinct

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Inverclyde Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the hist ...

(1897) conferred upon Sir John Burns of

and his heirs.

Council

Inverclyde District

Inverclyde was one of nineteen

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-l ...

s in the

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...

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 an ...

, which existed between 1975 and 1996. The district was formed by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 from part of the

. The boundaries remain the same as those of the modern council area. The remaining parts of the

County of Renfrew Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It contains the local government council areas of Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, as ...

(Renfrewshire) were divided between two other districts:

Eastwood Eastwood may refer to: Places ;in Australia *Eastwood, New South Wales **Eastwood railway station **Electoral district of Eastwood *Eastwood, South Australia ;in Canada * Eastwood, Ontario *Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood ;in the Ph ...

and Renfrew District. In 1996 Inverclyde District was abolished under the provisions of 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 ...

. Most of its area became the new Inverclyde council area, with the regions - such as Strathclyde - disappearing entirely.

Towns and villages

‡ Taken from Inverclyde Ward 1 figure, minus Kilmacolm settlement population.

Places of interest

* Ardgowan Estate *The Bogal Stone * Cappielow * Castle Levan *

Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park is the collective name for areas of countryside set aside for conservation and recreation on the South Clyde estuary in Scotland. The park covers an area of of Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, stretchi ...

*Greenock Cut Visitor Centre *Custom House Quay and Museum * Duchal House *

Finlaystone House Finlaystone House is a mansion and Estate (land), estate in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire. It lies near the southern bank of the Firth of ...

Outdoor Pool * Granny Kempock Stone *

Loch Thom Loch Thom is a reservoir which since 1827 has provided a water supply to the town of Greenock in Inverclyde, Scotland. It is named after the civil engineer Robert Thom who designed the scheme which created the reservoir and delivered water ...

* Lunderston Bay *McLean Museum and Art Gallery * Newark Castle *Waterfront Leisure Complex

National voting

In the 2014 independence referendum, the "No" vote won in Inverclyde by just 86 votes and a margin of 0.2%. By either measure, this was the narrowest result of any of the 32 council areas. In the

2016 EU Referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...

, Inverclyde posted a "Remain" vote of almost 64%.

Education

Inverclyde has twenty primary schools serving all areas of its settlements. These are: * Aileymill Primary School, Greenock (merger of Larkfield and Ravenscraig primaries) * All Saints Primary School, Greenock (merger of St. Kenneth's and St. Lawrence's primaries) * Ardgowan Primary School, Greenock * Gourock Primary School, Gourock * Inverkip Primary School, Inverkip * Kilmacolm Primary School, Kilmacolm/Port Glasgow * King's Oak Primary School, Greenock (merger of King's Glen and Oakfield primaries) * Lady Alice Primary School, Greenock * Moorfoot Primary School, Gourock * Newark Primary School, Port Glasgow (merger of Boglestone, Clune Park, Highholm and Slaemuir primaries) * St. Andrew's Primary School, Greenock (merger of Sacred Heart and St. Gabriel's primaries) * St. Francis' Primary School, Port Glasgow * St. John's Primary School, Port Glasgow * St. Joseph's Primary School, Greenock * St. Mary's Primary School, Greenock * St. Michael's Primary School, Port Glasgow * St. Ninian's Primary School, Gourock * St. Patrick's Primary School, Greenock * Wemyss Bay Primary School, Wemyss Bay * Whinhill Primary School, Greenock (merger of Highlanders' Academy and Overton primaries) These are connected to several Secondary schools which serve Inverclyde as follows: *

Clydeview Academy Clydeview Academy is a non-denominational secondary school situated in Gourock, Inverclyde. It was founded in 2011 and opened to pupils on 17 August 2011. The first head teacher of the school was William Todd. The school is a modern merger of tw ...

, serving the West End of Greenock and the town of

Inverclyde Academy Inverclyde Academy is a secondary school in Greenock, Scotland that provides education to the majority of the Inverclyde area. The catchment area for the Academy stretches from the Inverclyde border at Wemyss Bay to Greenock's East End and Stro ...

, serving South and East Greenock as well as the villages of

Inverkip Inverkip (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Chip'') is a village and parish in the Inverclyde council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland, southwest of Greenock and north of Largs on the A78 trunk road. T ...

and

* Notre Dame High School, serving Greenock * Port Glasgow High School, serving Port Glasgow and

Kilmacolm Kilmacolm () is a village and civil parish in the Inverclyde council area, and the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the northern slope of the Gryffe Valley, southeast of Greenock and aroun ...

* St Columba's High School, Gourock/Greenock, serving Gourock, Inverkip and Wemyss Bay *

St. Stephen's High School St. Stephen's High School () is an Episcopal Church in the Philippines, Episcopalian school, located in the Binondo, Manila, Binondo district of Manila. It is considered the first Christian Chinese school established in Luzon. The school offers ...

, serving Port Glasgow, Kilmacolm and the East End of Greenock * Craigmarloch School which is an Additional Support Needs school for pupils aged 4–18 based at the new Port Glasgow Community Campus after the merging of Glenburn and Lilybank schools.

Demography

The average life expectancy for Inverclyde male residents (2013–2015) is 75.4 years, to rank 28th out of the 32 areas in Scotland. The average Inverclyde female lives for 80.4 years, to rank 26th out 32. There are large

health disparities Health equity arises from access to the social determinants of health, specifically from wealth, power and prestige. Individuals who have consistently been deprived of these three determinants are significantly disadvantaged from health inequiti ...

between settlements in Inverclyde with many health indicators being above the Scottish average in certain areas, whilst considerably below in others. In 2019, the Inverclyde Council Area was rated as the most deprived in Scotland by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), with Greenock Town Centre the most deprived community. (The term "deprivation" refers not only to low income according to the BBC, but may also include "fewer resources and opportunities, for example in health and education".) After the announcement, Deputy leader Jim Clocherty said that he hoped that investment money would arrive soon, and that "no part of Scotland wants to be labelled as the 'most deprived'". A £3m investment was scheduled for Greenock Town Centre and there was also plan to create a new cruise visitor centre with other investment funds being expected.

References

External links

Inverclyde Council website
{{Authority control Council areas of Scotland Firth of Clyde