Aberdeenshire Council

Aberdeenshire Council
Council logo
Leadership
Provost	Judy Whyte, Independent since 19 May 2022 [1]
Leader	Gillian Owen, Conservative since 29 June 2023 [2]
Chief Executive	Jim Savege since February 2015 [3]
Structure
Seats	70 councillors
Political groups	Administration (46)   Conservative (25)   Liberal Democrats (14)   Independent (7) Other parties (24)   SNP (18)   Independent (4)   Reform (2)
Elections
Voting system	Single transferable vote
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Woodhill House, Westburn Road, Aberdeen, AB16 5GB
Website
www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Aberdeenshire Council is the local authority for Aberdeenshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since its creation in 1996. It is based at Woodhill House, which is outside its own territory in the neighbouring Aberdeen City council area.

History

The Aberdeenshire council area was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, which abolished the regions and districts which had been created in 1975, replacing them with single-tier council areas. Aberdeenshire covered the area of the abolished Banff and Buchan, Gordon and Kincardine and Deeside districts, all of which had been part of the Grampian region. It is named after the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but covers a larger area, also including most of the historic county of Kincardineshire and eastern parts of the historic county of Banffshire. ^[4]

Governance

The council is the fifth largest Scottish council by number of councillors, having 70 members. ^[5]

The council has devolved power to six area committees: Banff and Buchan; Buchan; Formartine; Garioch; Marr; and Kincardine and Mearns. Each area committee takes decisions on local issues such as planning applications, and the split is meant to reflect the diverse circumstances of each area. ^[6]

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 1 April 1996. Aberdeenshire Council has been under no overall control since its creation: ^[7]

Party in control		Years
	No overall control	1996–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1996 have been: ^[8]

Councillor	Party		From	To	Notes
Audrey Findlay [9]		Liberal Democrats	1 Apr 1996	3 May 2007
Anne Robertson [10]		Liberal Democrats	17 May 2007	2 May 2012
Jim Gifford		Conservative	17 May 2012	8 Jun 2015
Richard Thomson		SNP	8 Jun 2015	31 Aug 2016	Co-leaders
Martin Kitts-Hayes [11]		Independent
Richard Thomson		SNP	29 Sep 2016	18 May 2017	Co-leaders
Alison Evison		Labour
Jim Gifford		Conservative	18 May 2017	May 2020
		Independent	May 2020	19 Nov 2020
Andy Kille		Conservative	19 Nov 2020	5 May 2022
Mark Findlatter		Conservative	19 May 2022	28 Jun 2023
Gillian Owen		Conservative	29 Jun 2023

Composition

Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to November 2024, the composition of the council was:

Party		Councillors
	Conservative	24
	SNP	20
	Liberal Democrats	14
	Independent	12
	Reform UK	2
Total		70

Of the independent councillors, seven form the 'Administration Independents' group, which forms part of the council's administration in coalition with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. One sits in the SNP group, and another two form the 'Democratic Independent Group'; together these comprise the 'Opposition Coalition'. The remaining two independent councillors do not belong to any group. ^[12] The next election is due in 2027. ^[13] The two Conservative councillors who defected to Reform UK in October 2024 became the party's first representatives in Scotland. ^[14]

Premises

The council is based at Woodhill House in Aberdeen, outside the council's own territory. The building was completed in 1977 for the former Grampian Regional Council. ^[15]

Elections

Main article: Aberdeenshire Council elections

Since 2007 elections have been held every five years under the single transferable vote system, introduced by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. Election results since 1995 have been as follows: ^[7]

Year	Seats	Conservative	SNP	Liberal Democrats	Labour	Green	Independent / Other	Notes
1995	47	4	15	15	0	0	13	[16]
1999	68	7	23	28	0	0	10	New ward boundaries. [17]
2003	68	11	18	28	0	0	11	[18]
2007	68	14	22	24	0	0	8
2012	68	14	28	12	2	1	11
2017	70	23	21	14	1	1	10
2022	70	26	21	14	0	0	9

Wards

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

class=notpageimage|

Map of the area's ward (2017 configuration).

The council has 70 councillors, elected by single transferable vote in 19 multi-member wards:

Ward number	Ward	Members
1	Banff and District	3
2	Troup	3
3	Fraserburgh and District	4
4	Central Buchan	4
5	Peterhead North and Rattray	4
6	Peterhead South and Cruden	3
7	Turriff and District	4
8	Mid Formartine	4
9	Ellon and District	4
10	West Garioch	3
11	Inverurie and District	4
12	East Garioch	4
13	Westhill and District	4
14	Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford	4
15	Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside	3
16	Banchory and Mid Deeside	3
17	North Kincardine	4
18	Stonehaven and Lower Deeside	4
19	Mearns	4

References

1. "Council minutes, 19 May 2022" (PDF). Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
2. Renton, Dawn (29 June 2023). "Change in leadership at Aberdeenshire Council". The Scotsman. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
3. "Jim Savege named new Aberdeenshire Council chief executive". BBC News. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
4. "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1994 c. 39, retrieved 21 February 2023
5. "Aberdeenshire Council, Elections and voting, Who represents you". Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
6. "Aberdeenshire Council - Statistics by Area". 2007-06-07. Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
7. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
8. "Council minutes". Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
9. "North east locals receive honours". BBC News. 15 June 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
10. Hind, Sally (3 April 2012). "Lib Dem steps down as leader of Aberdeenshire Council". Daily Record. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
11. Gall, Charlie (1 September 2016). "Listen to Legogate laughing stock Martin Kitts-Hayes slam holiday chalet in Denmark as a 'shed'". Daily Record. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
12. "Council report, 25 April 2024" (PDF). Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
13. "Aberdeenshire". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
14. Johnson, Simon (24 October 2024). "Three Tory councillors defect to Reform UK after Farage urges them to join party" . The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
15. "Council Offices". Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
16. Bochel, H. M.; Denver, D. T. (1995). Scottish Council Elections 1995: Results and Statistics (PDF) (Report). Election Studies. p. 95. ISBN   1-869820-35-5 . Retrieved 11 April 2024.
17. "The Aberdeenshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1998/3239, retrieved 2024-04-11
18. Local Election Results 2003: Aberdeenshire