Strathclyde Region

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 etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The Strathclyde region had 19 districts. The region was named after the medieval Kingdom of Strathclyde but covered a broader geographic area than its namesake.

Functions

The area was on the west coast of Scotland and stretched from the Highlands in the north to the Southern Uplands in the south. As a local government region, its population, in excess of 2.5 million, was by far the largest of the regions and contained half of the nation's total. The Region was responsible for education (from nursery to colleges); social work; police; fire; sewage; strategic planning; roads; transport – and, therefore, employed almost 100,000 public servants (almost half were teachers, lecturers and others in the education service).

The regional administrative headquarters was in the city of Glasgow, and politics were by and large dominated by the Labour Party. The first regional council convener was the Reverend Geoff Shaw, who died in 1978. It was largely due to his leadership that the Region forged its innovative strategy on multiple deprivation, which remained its central commitment to the end of the Region's life through "Social Strategy for the Eighties" (1982) and "SS for the 90s".

Having lain empty for some years, the Strathclyde Regional Council headquarters' debating chambers were used for a short period in 2000 by the Scottish Parliament, with its new permanent home at Holyrood under construction and the temporary buildings in Edinburgh booked out. The Strathclyde HQ buildings were eventually demolished in the 2010s.

Emergency services

Until April 2013, the area was also used as a police force area, covered by Strathclyde Police, and a fire service area, covered by Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service. Both have now been replaced by single services (Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service).

Transport

The name is still in use as a transport area, covered by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. The area covered by SPT however is smaller than the region, as most of Argyll and Bute lies outside its remit.

Boundaries

The region was formed from the county of the City of Glasgow, the counties of Ayr, Bute, Dunbarton, Lanark, and Renfrew, and parts of the counties of Argyll (all ''except the district of Ardnamurchan and the electoral divisions of Ballachulish and Kinlochleven''), and the county of Stirling (the burgh of Kilsyth, Western No. 3 district, the electoral division of Kilsyth West, and the polling district of Kilsyth East (Banton)).

Since 1996 the area of the region has been divided between 12 council areas: Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City (created as '' City of Glasgow''), Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, and West Dunbartonshire (created as '' Dumbarton and Clydebank''), all created to be entirely within the area of the region.

Sub-regions and districts

Except for Argyll and Bute and the City of Glasgow, the 19 districts were grouped to form 'sub-regions' or 'divisions', each named after a historic county. The Argyll and Bute district and the City of Glasgow district were sub-regions in their own right, and Argyll and Bute was named after two counties.

Council areas

Electoral history

District result maps

File:Strathclyde Regional Council election, 1982.svg, 1982 results map
File:Strathclyde Regional Council election, 1986.svg, 1986 results map
File:Strathclyde Regional Council election, 1990.svg, 1990 results map
File:Strathclyde Regional Council election, 1994.svg, 1994 results map

Name

The region was named after the ancient British or Brythonic Damnonii Kingdom of Strathclyde. The kingdom broadly covered the northern end of the region, except an area now covered by the Scottish Argyll and Bute council area and the Isle of Arran, which is now within the Scottish North Ayrshire council area, plus the Scottish Dumfries and Galloway council area and part of the English county of Cumbria.

Council leadership

See also

* Glasgow (European Parliament constituency)
*Strathclyde East (European Parliament constituency)
* Strathclyde West (European Parliament constituency)
*Strathclyde Park, in Motherwell, created during the era
*University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow

References

External links

*

{{Coord, 55, 44, N, 5, 02, W, type:adm3rd_region:GB_dim:100000, display=title

Regions of Scotland
1996 disestablishments in Scotland
1975 establishments in Scotland

sv:Strathclyde