| Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries an Gallowa Dùn Phris is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh |
|
|---|---|
|
Logo |
|
| Location | |
| Geography | |
| Area | Ranked 3rd |
| - Total | 6,426 km2 (2,481 sq mi) |
| Admin HQ | Dumfries |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-DGY |
| ONS code | 00QH |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Ranked 12th |
| - Total (2005) | 148,200 |
| - Density | 23 / km² |
| Politics | |
| Dumfries and Galloway Council http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/ |
|
| Control | Conservative/Liberal Democrat (minority control) |
| MPs | |
| MSPs | |
Dumfries and Galloway (Scots: Dumfries an Gallowa; Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh, pronounced [t̪unˈfɾʲiʃ akəs̪ əŋ kaulˠ̪ɣəlˠ̪əv]) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1973. It resulted from a union of the historic region of Galloway - consisting of the counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire - and the County of Dumfries (Dumfries-shire), hence "Dumfries and Galloway". The regions were abolished by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and Dumfries and Galloway became one of the new council areas in 1996.
To the north, the council borders 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 |
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.
The region has a number of south running water systems which break through the Southern Uplands creating the main road, and rail, arteries north/south through the region and breaking the hills up into a number of ranges.
The A701 branches off the M74 at Beattock, goes through the town of Moffat, climbs to Annanhead above the Devil's Beef Tub (at the source of the River Annan) before passing the source of the River Tweed and carrying on to Edinburgh. Until fairly recent times the ancient route to Edinburgh travelled right up Annandale to the Beef Tub before climbing steeply to Annanhead.[3] The present road ascends northward on a ridge parallel to Annandale but to the west of it which makes for a much easier ascent.
From Moffat the A708 heads north east along the valley of Moffat Water (Moffatdale) on its way to Selkirk. Moffatdale separates the Moffat hills (to the north) from the Ettrick hills to the south.
There are three National Scenic Areas within this region.
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 in the region is operated by bus companies Huston's, McEwan's, Stagecoach Western and Mcall's coaches, and train operators Scot Rail First, Transpennine Express and Virgin Trains & Planes
The region has 7 working railway stations. All are on the Glasgow South Western Line, except Lockerbie which is on the West Coast Main Line.
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.
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.
The region also has no commercial airports; the nearest are Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Carlisle Lake District 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.
The main roads to and from the region are:
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.
Dumfries & Galloway Council provides nursery, primary and secondary education across the region.
For a list of nurseries and primary schools see this page.
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.[14] There are also RSPB Nature Reserves at the Mull of Galloway,[15] Wood of Cree (Galloway Forest Park),[16] Ken Dee Marshes (near Loch Ken)[17] and Mereshead (near Dalbeattie on the Solway Firth)
Main settlements in bold text.
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,[18] as a means of ensuring a reasonably proportionately representative outcome.
The result of the 2003 election returned a council with no party having overall control.[19] A 'silver' coalition was first formed involving all parties but Conservative and Labour, after this coalition resigned[20] 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 |
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.[21] 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.[22] 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]
By political groupings.
|
|
|||||