East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire
Aest Ayrshire
Siorrachd Àir an Ear

Logo
Admin HQ London Road, Kilmarnock
Government
 • Body East Ayrshire Council
http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/
 • Control SNP + Con (council NOC)
 • MPs
 • MSPs
Area
 • Total 487 sq mi (1,262 km2)
Area rank Ranked 14th
Population (2010 est.)
 • Total 123,000
 • Rank Ranked 16th
 • Density 250/sq mi (95/km2)
ONS code 00QK
ISO 3166 code GB-EAY

East Ayrshire (Scots: Aest Ayrshire, Scottish Gaelic: 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 headquarters of the council are located on London Road, Kilmarnock.[1] With South Ayrshire and the mainland areas of North Ayrshire, it formed the former county of Ayrshire.

The current chief executive officer of East Ayrshire Council is Fiona Lees, who acts as a representative of the council and as a link between East Ayrshire Council parliamentary business and local residents of the authority.[2] The current leader of East Ayrshire Council is Councillor Douglas Reid of the Scottish National Party, who is supported by the Depute Leader of the Council, currently Councillor Tom Cook of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.[3]

Overview

Kilmarnock is the largest town, followed by Cumnock; other small main towns are New Cumnock and Stewarton. The area was formed in 1996, from the former Kilmarnock and Loudoun and Cumnock and Doon Valley districts. Kilmarnock is the county's capital and also largest town. The former Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council was also twinned with Sukhum, Abkhazia. Following a review of links this link is now considered as a friendship link.[4]

Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Cill Mhearnaig agus Lughdan in Scottish Gaelic) was one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. The district was formed by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 from part of the county of Ayrshire, namely:

Apart from the former burghs the district included the towns of Hurlford and Kilmaurs.

The district was abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, which replaced the regions and districts with unitary council areas. The district's area was combined with that of Cumnock and Doon Valley to form the East Ayrshire 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.

History

There are many early settlements within East Ayrshire. The Burns Monument Centre and Dick Institutes also hold local newspapers from 1834 to date (some have been indexed), together with a selection of maps. The Burns Monument Centre holds local photographs and postcards. Microfiche/film readers are available within the Burns Monument Centre and the Dick Institute.

Education and social services

East Ayrshire currently has nine secondary schools, forty-three primary schools, four schools which cater for children with additional support needs, thirty-three early education childhood centres and three children's houses.[5] Kilmarnock Academy, situated in Elmbank Drive area of Kilmarnock is one of only two schools in the world to have educated two Nobel laureates: Alexander Fleming and John Boyd Orr.[6]

Settlements

Towns and villages

Places of interest

Politics and governance

East Ayrshire
Structure
Seats 32 councillors
14 / 32
14 / 32
2 / 32
1 / 32
0 / 32
1 / 32
Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
 3 May 2012
Website
www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Westminster

Constituency Member Party
Kilmarnock and Loudoun Alan Brown SNP
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock Corri Wilson SNP

Scottish Parliament

Constituency MSPs

Constituency Member Party
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Willie Coffey SNP
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Jeane Freeman SNP

Regional List MSPs

Constituency Member Party
South Scotland Joan McAlpine Scottish National
Emma Harper Scottish National
Paul Wheelhouse Scottish National
Rachel Hamilton Conservative
Brian Whittle Conservative
Claudia Beamish Labour
Colin Smyth Labour

Local government

Composition

Party Members
2007 2012
• SNP 14 15
Labour 14 14
• Conservative 3 2
Independent 1 1

• Denotes party which forms or supports the administration.

Councillors

Ward Councillors Party
Annick Ellen Freel Independent
Eòghann MacColl SNP
John McGhee Labour
Kilmarnock North Helen Coffey SNP
Elaine Cowan SNP
Maureen McKay (Group leader) Labour
Kilmarnock West & Crosshouse Tom Cook (Group leader) Conservative
Lillian Jones Labour
Iain Linton SNP
Douglas Reid (Group Leader) SNP
Kilmarnock East & Hurlford Jim Buchannan SNP
John Campbell SNP
Gordon Cree Labour
Drew McIntyre Labour
Kilmarnock South John Krapp Labour
Hugh Ross SNP
Jim Todd SNP
Irvine Valley Elena Whitham SNP
George Mair Labour
Bobby McDill SNP
John McFadzean Conservative
Ballochmyle Neil McGhee Labour
Stephanie Primrose SNP
Jim Roberts SNP
David Shaw Labour
Cumnock and New Cumnock William Crawford Labour
William Menzies Labour
Kathy Morrice SNP
Eric Ross Labour
Doon Valley John Bell SNP
Elaine Dinwoodie Labour
Moira Pirie Labour

[8]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.carehome.co.uk/local-authorities/profile.cfm/id/East-Ayrshire
  2. ↑ https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/CouncilAndGovernment/About-the-Council/East%20Ayrshire%20Council%20Structure/ChiefExecutivesOffice/ChiefExecutive.aspx
  3. ↑ https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/CouncilAndGovernment/About-the-Council/Councillors-and-Provost/LeaderandDeputeLeaderofCouncil.aspx
  4. ↑ http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/content.asp?URL=/crpadmmin/agendas/members/sept%202005/town%20twinning%20update%20-%207%20september%202005.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/CouncilAndGovernment/CouncilDepartments/EducationalAndSocialServices/EducationalAndSocialServices.aspx
  6. ↑ http://kilmarnockacademy.co.uk/famousindex.htm
  7. ↑ "Ward 6 (Irvine Valley) By-Election". Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  8. ↑ http://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/councillors.asp

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.