Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway
The natural place
Logo Coat of arms
Location
ScotlandDumfriesGalloway.png
Geography
Area Ranked 3rd
 - Total 6,426 km2 (2,481 sq mi)
 - % Water  ?
Admin HQ Dumfries
ISO 3166-2 GB-DGY
ONS code 00QH
Demographics
Population Ranked 12th
 - Total (2007) 148,300
 - Density 23 /km² (60 /sq mi)
Politics
Dumfries and Galloway Council
http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/
Control Conservative/Liberal Democrat (minority control)
MPs
  • Russell Brown
  • David Mundell
MSPs
  • Dr Elaine Murray
  • Alex Fergusson

Dumfries and Galloway (Gaelic: Dùn Phris agus an Gall-Ghaidhealaibh, pronounced [d̪̊unˈfɾʲiʃ aɡ̊əs̪ əŋ ɡ̊auɫ̪ɣəɫ̪əv]) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. To the north, it borders onto South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire; in the east the Borders; and to the south the county of Cumbria in England. It lies to the north of the Solway Firth and to the east of the Irish Sea. The region is well-known for its many artists and writers.

Contents

Geography

The Dumfries and Galloway region is composed of several sub areas and former counties.
From west to east:

The term 'Dumfries and Galloway' has been used since at latest the 19th century - by 1911 the three counties had a united Sheriffdom under that name. Dumfries and Galloway covers the majority of the Western area of the Southern Uplands [1], it also hosts Scotland's most Southerly point, at the Mull of Galloway[1] in the west of the region.

Governance

The region was created in 1975, by merging the former counties of Wigtownshire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Dumfriesshire as a two-tier region with the districts of Wigtownshire, Stewartry, Nithsdale and Annandale and Eskdale within it. In 1996 the region became a unitary authority area and the districts were wound up. After 1996 the unitary authority became known as Dumfries and Galloway Council, instead of Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council.

Transport

Local transport strategy is co-ordinated on behalf of the council and Transport Scotland by SWESTRANS (The South West of Scotland Transport Partnership).

Rail

A Virgin Pendolino leaving Lockerbie station for Edinburgh

The region has 6 working railway stations. All are on the Glasgow South Western Line, except Lockerbie which is on the West Coast Main Line

Bus and coach

The area is served by buses which connect the main population centres. Express bus services link the main towns with Glasgow, Ayr, Edinburgh and Carlisle. Local bus services are also operated across the region.

Sea

Stena Line provide HSS sailings between Stranraer and Belfast

Dumfries and Galloway is home to two ports which have services to Northern Ireland, both are in the West of the region. Stena Line have a port in the town of Stranraer, and P&O Irish Sea in the village of Cairnryan.

Air

The region also has no commercial airports; the nearest are Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Carlisle Airport. The region does host a number of private airfields. The town of Lockerbie was the scene of the Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist attack on December 21 1988.

Roads

The main roads to and from the region are:

Emergency services

The Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary is the police force for the region, and is the smallest in the United Kingdom. Dumfries and Galloway Fire and Rescue Service provide firefighting services across the region. The Coastguard, Lifeboats, Moffat mountain rescue and Galloway Mountain Rescue also offer emergency services across Dumfries and Galloway.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway provide healthcare services across the region, the two main hospitals are the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary in Dumfries and Galloway Community Hospital in Stranraer.

Education

Dumfries & Galloway Council provides nursery, primary and secondary education across the region.

Nurseries and primary schools

For a list of nurseries and primary schools see this page.

Secondary schools

Stranraer Academy.

Wildlife

The region is known as a stronghold for several rare and protected species of amphibian, such as the Natterjack toad and the Great crested newt.[2] There are also RSPB Nature Reserves at the Mull of Galloway[3], Wood of Cree (Galloway Forest Park)[4], Ken Dee Marshes (near Loch Ken)[5] and Mereshead (near Dalbeattie on the Solway Firth)[6].

Welcome sign

Towns and villages

Main settlements in bold text.

Places of interest

Council political composition

The council consists of 47 councillors elected for a four-year term from 13 wards. These wards were introduced for the 2007 election and each returns three or four members by the single transferable vote system of election. This system was introduced by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004,[7] as a means of ensuring a reasonably proportionately representative outcome.

2003-2007

The result of the 2003 election returned a council with no party having overall control[8]. A 'silver' coalition was first formed invovling all parties but Conservative and Labour, after this coalition resigned[9] Labour took minority control of the council. The following number of councillors were elected for each party as follows:

Party Councillors
Labour 14
Independent 12
Conservative 11
Scottish National Party 5
Liberal Democrat 5

2007-2011

The result of the 2007 election returned the following number of councillors for each party as follows:

Party Councillors
Conservative 18
Labour 14
Scottish National Party 10
Liberal Democrat 3
Independent 2

The council is currently controlled by a Conservative and Liberal Democrat minority coalition.

After the resignation of Bruce Hodgson (Conservative councillor for the Abbey ward) a by-election was held on 1 May 2008, with Michael Thomson (Conservative) being returned as the replacement councillor[10]. On Tuesday 20 May 2008, Councillor Robert Higgins stood down as Scottish National Party (SNP) Group Leader, after he received a triple driving ban for reckless driving[11]. Similarly Councillor John Charteris Conservative was banned from driving for 12 months and fined £500 after he to admitted drink driving at Dumfries Sheriff Court on Friday, 29 August 2008 [[3]]

Current Councillors

By political groupings.

Conservative

Labour

Scottish National Party

Liberal Democrat

Independent

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ www.mull-of-galloway.co.uk
  2. ↑ BBC NEWS | Scotland | South of Scotland | Rallying cry from frog stronghold
  3. ↑ The RSPB: Mull of Galloway
  4. ↑ The RSPB: Wood of Cree
  5. ↑ The RSPB: Ken-Dee Marshes
  6. ↑ The RSPB: Mersehead
  7. ↑ See also Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website
  8. ↑ BBC NEWS | VOTE 2003 | Dumfries & Galloway
  9. ↑ BBC NEWS | Scotland | Tax defeat leads to resignation
  10. ↑ DGC -Document: By-Election For Abbey Ward - Result
  11. ↑ BBC NEWS | Scotland | South of Scotland | Drive ban councillor quits posts

See also

Council areas of Scotland

Aberdeen · Aberdeenshire · Angus · Argyll and Bute · Clackmannanshire · Dumfries and Galloway · Dundee · East Ayrshire · East Dunbartonshire · East Lothian · East Renfrewshire · Edinburgh · Falkirk · Fife · Glasgow · Highland · Inverclyde · Midlothian · Moray · Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) · North Ayrshire · North Lanarkshire · Orkney · Perth and Kinross · Renfrewshire · Scottish Borders · Shetland · South Ayrshire · South Lanarkshire · Stirling · West Dunbartonshire · West Lothian
Former local government regions of Scotland

Borders · Central · Dumfries and Galloway  · Fife · Grampian · Highland · Lothian · Strathclyde · Tayside