Kilmarnock and Loudoun ( gd, Cill Mhearnaig agus Lughdan) 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 ...

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 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 ...

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 ...

from 1975 to 1996.

History

The district was created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which established a two-tier structure of local government across Scotland comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Kilmarnock and Loudon was one of nineteen districts created within the region of

. The district covered the whole area of five former districts and most of a sixth from the historic county of Ayrshire, which were all abolished at the same time: *

Darvel Darvel ( sco, Dairvel, gd, Darbhail) is a small town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It is at the eastern end of the Irvine Valley and is sometimes referred to as "The Lang Toon" ( en, the Long Town). The town's Latin motto, , means "Not for ou ...

Burgh * Galston Burgh * Kilmarnock Burgh * Kilmarnock

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 ...

(except the part within the designated area of Irvine New Town) * Newmilns and Greenholm Burgh *

Stewarton Stewarton ( sco, Stewartoun,
gd, Baile nan Stiùbhar ...

Burgh The district was abolished in 1996 by 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 ...

, which replaced the regions and districts with unitary council areas. The district's area was combined with that of

Cumnock and Doon Valley Cumnock and Doon Valley ( gd, Cumnag agus Srath Dhùin) was one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. History The district was created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) A ...

to form the

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquar ...

council area. The name Kilmarnock and Loudoun continues to be used for a constituency of the House of Commons and, covering a similar area, a Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency of the Scottish Parliament.

Political control

The first election to the district council was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 16 May 1975. Political control of the council from 1975 was as follows:

Premises

The council based itself in Kilmarnock, the area's largest town. The former Kilmarnock Town Hall on King Street was demolished around the same time the new district council was created. The council instead based itself at two pre-existing buildings on either side of John Dickie Street, calling them the Civic Centre. On the south side of the street the council chambers were in a building on the corner with John Finnie Street, which had been built in 1905 as Wallace Chambers, offices for distillery William Wallace and Company. Opposite it on the north side of John Dickie Street the council also took over the former headquarters of the Kilmarnock

Co-operative Society A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratical ...

, which had been built in 1880. The Civic Centre continues to be used as secondary offices by the council's successor, East Ayrshire Council, although that council established its headquarters at a converted school on London Road in Kilmarnock.

References

{{East Ayrshire elections History of East Ayrshire Districts of Scotland Kilmarnock Galston, East Ayrshire

History

Political control

Premises

See also

References