Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire Siorrachd Rinn Friù
Logo Coat of arms
Location
Geography
Area	Ranked 24th
- Total	261 km2 (101 sq mi)
Admin HQ	Paisley
ISO 3166-2	GB-RFW
ONS code	00RC
Demographics
Population	Ranked 9th
- Total (2008)	169,800
- Density	651 /km2 (1,686 /sq mi)
Politics
Renfrewshire Council http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/
Control	Scottish National Party/Liberal Democrat coalition
MPs	Douglas Alexander James Sheridan
MSPs	Wendy Alexander Trish Godman Hugh Henry

Renfrewshire (Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. It is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic Renfrewshire, also known as the County of Renfrew or Greater Renfrewshire, the other two being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east. Renfrewshire can also refer to the area within the former county boundaries, which is used as a registration county and lieutenancy area.

Although containing the traditional county town of Renfrew, from which its name derives, the centre of local government in Renfrewshire is found in the nearby town of Paisley, which is the area's main settlement. Renfrewshire borders the south-west of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages.

History

Present day Renfrewshire borders the south-west of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. Renfrewshire also has boundaries with North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire. Although by area one of Scotland's smallest unitary authorities (excluding the cities), it is one of the country's most populous areas, being the fifth largest unitary authority and the ninth largest including the city authorities.

The ancient county of Renfrewshire covered a larger area — including both Inverclyde and East Renfrewshire. This area still exists in the form of a lieutenancy area and registration county, and has a statutory funding board called the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board. The county was traditionally based around its seat, the Royal Burgh of Renfrew and as such was also known as the County of Renfrew.

There was also a district named Renfrew which existed between 1975 and 1996. Renfrew District covered a slightly larger area than the present local authority area, and included the towns of Barrhead, Neilston and Uplawmoor, which, following the partition of Strathclyde region in 1996, were transferred into the new East Renfrewshire unitary local authority.

Renfrewshire Council

Renfrewshire House, headquarters of Renfrewshire Council

Renfrewshire Council is the elected local authority for Renfrewshire, which is one of thirty-two local council areas in Scotland. The council is based at Renfrewshire House in Paisley.

Current composition

As of the May 2007 Renfrewshire Council election, the composition of the council is:

As such, the election resulted in no overall control.

Previous composition

Following the previous council elections in 2003, prior to the introduction of a proportional representation system in council elections across Scotland, Renfrewshire Council was administered by a Labour majority . The results were^[1]:

Executive

Renfrewshire Council is administered by a Scottish National Party/Liberal Democrat coalition. The Provost of Renfrewshire (the council's ceremonial head and convenor) is Celia Lawson (SNP, Paisley East and Ralston), and leader of the council (its political head) is Cllr Derek MacKay (SNP, Renfrew North).

The council's apolitical employed service is headed by a Chief Executive, who is responsible to the elected council for the delivery of its policies. This executive wing is divided into eight departments: the Chief Executive's Department, Corporate Services, Education and Leisure Services, Environmental Services, Finance and IT Services, Housing and Property Services, Planning and Transport, and Social Work.^[2] Each department is headed by a Director, who is also an apolitical, paid member of staff.^[3]

Electoral wards

For the purposes of elections to Renfrewshire Council, the Renfrewshire area is divided geographically into a number of wards which then elect either three or four councillors each by the Single Transferable Vote system. The electoral system of local councils in Scotland is governed by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, an Act of the Scottish Parliament which first introduced proportional representation to councils. These electoral wards, as defined in the Renfrewshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006 (SSI 2006/551)^[4] are as follows:

Ward 1 - Renfrew North (3 councillors)
Ward 2 - Renfrew South & Gallowhill (3 councillors)
Ward 3 - Paisley East & Ralston (4 councillors)
Ward 4 - Paisley North West (4 councillors)
Ward 5 - Paisley South (4 councillors)
Ward 6 - Paisley South West (4 councillors)
Ward 7 - Johnstone South, Elderslie & Howwood (4 councillors)
Ward 8 - Johnstone North, Kilbarchan & Lochwinnoch (3 councillors)
Ward 9 - Houston, Crosslee & Linwood (4 councillors)
Ward 10 - Bishopton, Bridge of Weir & Langbank (3 councillors)
Ward 11 - Erskine & Inchinnan (4 councillors)

Transport

Renfrewshire is home to Scotland's second busiest airport, Glasgow International Airport, at Abbotsinch between Paisley and Renfrew. It is served by the M8 motorway, which terminates in the area, just east of Langbank, and is a major artery between northwest and southwest Scotland, via the Erskine Bridge. The presence of the airport and the proximity to Glasgow means that Renfrewshire supports one of the busiest transport infrastructures in Scotland, and is frequently congested. Developments to ease traffic flow have included a lifting of tolls on the Erskine Bridge, plans to extend the rail network to connect to the airport, and the M74 extension - which will handle traffic from Renfrewshire heading south, diverting it away from Glasgow city centre.[1]

Places of interest and events

Paisley Abbey

Places of interest include the historic Castle Semple Loch at Lochwinnoch which is part of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, Coats Observatory in Paisley, the Erskine Bridge, the country park at Gleniffer Braes, south of Paisley, Love Street, Paisley (home of St. Mirren FC), Muirshiel Country Park, Paisley Abbey and the Weaver's Cottage at Kilbarchan, in the care of the National Trust for Scotland.

The Braehead Arena in Renfrewshire close to the boundary with Glasgow is home to leading professional basketball team, the Scottish Rocks, who compete in the British Basketball League. The arena was also host to the 2000 Ford World Curling Championships.

Education

Renfrewshire has 11 secondary schools, 51 primary schools and 3 schools for children with additional support needs. Further education is provided by Reid Kerr College in Paisley, which caters to around 20,000 students.^[5]

The University of the West of Scotland is the single higher education provider in Renfrewshire; a new university the UWS was granted university status in 1992 as the University of Paisley. Prior to this, the Paisley Technical College and School of Art was a Central Institution or polytechnic. In 2007 the university merged with Bell College, a further education college in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire and the UWS name was adopted. The university today has sites across the west of Scotland, notably also in Ayr and a joint campus in Dumfries; the main campus remains in Paisley.

Towns and villages

• Bishopton
• Bridge of Weir
• Brookfield
• Crosslee
• Elderslie
• Erskine
• Houston
• Howwood
• Inchinnan
• Johnstone
• Kilbarchan
• Langbank
• Linwood
• Lochwinnoch
• Paisley
• Ralston
• Ranfurly
• Renfrew

References

1. ↑ http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/briefings-05/SB05-31.pdf
2. ↑ Renfrewshire Community
3. ↑ Renfrewshire Community
4. ↑ The Renfrewshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006
5. ↑ http://www.reidkerr.net/college_information

External links

• Renfrewshire at the Open Directory Project