West Dunbartonshire
| West Dunbartonshire Wast Dunbartanshire Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar | ||
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| Coordinates: 55°59′24″N 4°30′54″W / 55.99000°N 4.51500°WCoordinates: 55°59′24″N 4°30′54″W / 55.99000°N 4.51500°W | ||
| Admin HQ | Dumbarton | |
| Government | ||
| • Body | West Dunbartonshire Council | |
| • Control | SNP + Ind minority (council NOC) | |
| • MPs | ||
| • MSPs | ||
| Area | ||
| • Total | 61.3 sq mi (158.8 km2) | |
| Area rank | Ranked 31st | |
| Population (mid-2017 est.) | ||
| • Total | 89,600 | |
| • Rank | Ranked 26th | |
| • Density | 1,460/sq mi (564/km2) | |
| ONS code | S12000039 | |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-WDU | |
| Website | http://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/ | |
West Dunbartonshire (Scots: Wast Dunbartanshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, pronounced [ˈʃirˠəxk ɣumˈpɾʲɛʰt̪ɪɲ ə ɲiəɾ]) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages, as well as the city's suburbs. West Dunbartonshire also borders onto Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Stirling.
The area was formed on 1 April 1996 from part of the former Strathclyde Region, namely the entire district of Clydebank and the Dumbarton district less the Helensburgh area. In the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 that created the council area its name was Dumbarton and Clydebank. The council, elected as a shadow authority in 1995, resolved to change the name of the area to West Dunbartonshire.[1]
The area is essentially composed of three parts: the towns of Clydebank, Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven district.
West Dunbartonshire is administered from Dumbarton, although Clydebank is the largest town.
Governance and politics
The council is run by 22 councillors elected from 6 wards.[2] Following the 4 May 2017 election, resulted in the following political composition:[3]
| Party | Councillors | |
| Scottish National Party | 10 | |
| Labour | 8 | |
| Conservative | 2 | |
| West Dunbartonshire Community Party | 1 | |
| Independent | 1 |
Independence referendum
On 18 September 2014, West Dunbartonshire was one of the four council areas which had a majority "Yes" vote in the Scottish Independence Referendum at 54% with an 87.9% turnout rate.[4]
Towns and villages
Main sights
- Erskine Bridge
- Dumbarton Castle
- Inchmurrin, the largest freshwater island in the British Isles.
- Kilpatrick Hills
- Loch Lomond
- Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
- Overtoun Bridge, a location known for a high number of dog deaths and at least one human death
- River Leven
References
- ↑ Footnote to Scottish Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 465
- ↑ "West Dunbartonshire Council May 2007 to present". Enline pic. Archived from the original on 31 July 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
- ↑ 4 May 2017 Council Election Results - West Dunbartonshire
- ↑ "Indyref". BBC. Retrieved 19 September 2014.