Moray Moireibh | |
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Coordinates: 57°25′N3°15′W / 57.417°N 3.250°W Coordinates: 57°25′N3°15′W / 57.417°N 3.250°W | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | Scotland |
Lieutenancy areas | Moray, Banffshire (Part) |
Admin HQ | High Street Elgin Moray IV30 1BX |
Government | |
• Body | The Moray Council |
• Control | Ind + Con (council NOC) |
• MPs | Douglas Ross for Moray |
• MSPs | |
Area | |
• Total | 864 sq mi (2,238 km2) |
• Rank | Ranked 8th |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 95,520 |
• Rank | Ranked 22nd |
• Density | 110/sq mi (43/km2) |
ONS code | S12000020 |
ISO 3166 code | GB-MRY |
Website | www |
Moray ( /ˈmʌri/ listen (help·info)) Scottish Gaelic : Moireibh or Moireabh) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
Between 1975 and 1996 Moray, with similar boundaries, was a district of the then Grampian Region.
The name, first attested around 970 as Moreb, and in Latinised form by 1124 as Morauia, derives from the earlier Celtic forms *mori 'sea' and *treb 'settlement' (c.f. Welsh môr-tref). [1]
During the Middle Ages, the Province of Moray was much larger than the modern council area, also covering much of what is now Highland and Aberdeenshire. During this period Moray may for a time have been either an independent kingdom or a highly autonomous vassal of Alba. In the early 12th century, Moray was defeated by David I of Scotland following a conflict with Óengus of Moray, and rule over the area was passed to William fitz Duncan.
After that the title became defunct until the 14th century when Thomas Randolph was granted the title Earl of Moray. The earldom became extinct and was recreated four times: with its last creation surviving to the present day, currently being held by the 21st Earl of Moray. Over these centuries, the territory of the County of Moray contracted to the area around Elgin.
The boundaries of the Moray Council area date from the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and the subsequent reorganisation of local government in Scotland in 1975. The area was a district of the Grampian Region between 1975 and 1996, when the regions were abolished and Moray became a unitary authority. The council area covers most of the historic county of Moray (the rest is part of the Highland council area) along with most of historic Banffshire (the rest is part of the Aberdeenshire council area). Another set of boundaries — similar to those of the historic county — are used as a lieutenancy area and as a registration county.
The Moray Council currently has 26 members, elected using the single transferable vote in eight wards. As of March 2022 [update] the council is controlled by a minority SNP administration. [2]
Moray's boundaries coincide with those of the Moray constituency of the UK House of Commons. The current MP is Douglas Ross of the Conservative Party.
For the Scottish Parliament, the majority of Moray is in the Moray constituency and the Highlands and Islands electoral region. The eastern corner of Moray (consisting of the Buckie ward and the eastern part of the Keith and Cullen ward) is instead in the Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency and the North-East Scotland electoral region.
In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Moray voted, 'No' by an above-average percentage of 57.6%. In the 2016 European Union membership referendum, Moray voted, 'Remain' by a 50.1% margin. It had the biggest percentage for, 'Leave' out of all the Scottish council areas and the narrowest margin of victory for either side anywhere in the UK.
The large majority of Moray's population live in the northern part of the district; only one of its eight wards covers the glens to the south. Elgin is by far the largest town, being home to 25% of the population at the 2011 census.
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There are 45 primary and eight secondary schools in Moray and the council currently has responsibility for educating more than 13,000 pupils. The council's community learning and development team is also involved in arranging a wide range of classes and courses for adult learners. The council also currently operates 15 public libraries, all with free internet and e-mail access, and two mobile libraries which service users in more remote areas.
Moray is also home to the University of the Highlands and Islands affiliated Moray College, and to Gordonstoun independent boarding school and its accompanying preparatory school, Aberlour House.
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Moray Council is also responsible for the maintenance of 1,000 miles of roads, 450 miles of footpaths, 468 bridges, 16,000 street lights and 10,500 road signs.
As a housing authority, Moray Council manages nearly 6,000 council properties and operates a council house waiting list. It also provides housing which has been specially designed, built, or adapted to meet the requirements of certain groups such as the elderly and those with special needs. The council's development control section, which is part of the environmental services department, deals with thousands of planning applications every year from individuals and organisations seeking permission to erect buildings or adapt existing ones.
In 2020, Scotland had the highest number of drug-related deaths in Europe, almost 3.5 times higher than the rest of the UK. [3]
Figures from the National Records of Scotland show there were 17 drug deaths in the Moray area in 2018 compared to 7 the year before. That compares to 10 in both 2016 and 2015, 2 in 2014 and 5 in 2013. The 2018 figures for the Moray area were the highest since records began in 1996, mirroring the national picture.
In 2019, 12 drug-related deaths were reported - 5 fewer than the record high of the previous year. [4] This represents a drug-related death rate per 1,000 people of 0.12. By comparison, the death rate in neighbouring Aberdeenshire per 1,000 people was 0.08; in Dundee it was 0.36 (the highest in the country); in Glasgow it was 0.35 (the second highest in the country); the lowest in Scotland was Orkney with a rate of 0.06. [4]
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Approximately 50,000 tonnes of waste is collected from homes and commercial properties in Moray. Households in many communities benefit from a kerbside recycling service. There are over 60 recycling points located throughout Moray in addition to eight larger recycling centres.
The working population of Moray in 2003 was nearly 40,000: of whom around 34,000 were employees and 6000 self-employed. Of these 34,000, 31% were employed in the public sector, compared with 27% for Scotland and 25% for the UK (the RAF personnel are not included in these figures). Only 18% of jobs are managerial or professional, compared to 25% for Scotland.
The gross value added (GVA) [5] in Moray was £1.26 billion, in 2003. This corresponds to an output of £14,500 per resident and was 6% below the average for Scotland and 12% below that of the UK.
The diagrams show the strong reliance on the food and drink industry i.e. the distilling, canned food and biscuit manufacturing industries. The public sector is also very prominent. Of the total GVA of £1.26 billion, food and drink is responsible for 19% while 3% is the Scottish figure and 2% for the UK. Moray is responsible for 9% of the entire food and drink GVA of Scotland. Significant areas where Moray has a larger than average share of national markets are in tourism, forest products, textiles and specialised metal working. In contrast, however, Moray is significantly underrepresented in the business services area at 15% of GVA while it is 19% for Scotland and 25% for the UK.
In March 2014 a tourism strategy was launched by the Moray Economic Partnership aimed at doubling the £95m industry over the next decade. [6] In June 2014 a website (morayspeyside.com) was launched under the auspices of the Moray Chamber of Commerce to support the strategy and provide a one-stop shop for visitors. [7] [8]
Compared to Scottish or British levels, average incomes in Moray are low. The average wage in 2003 was £286 per week, which was 12% below the Scottish average and 18% below the British (these statistics exclude the armed forces). These figures reflect the large amount of part-time employment, with fewer qualified workers and less managerial and professional jobs. 16% of residents commute outwards, which is relatively high. Of these, two-thirds work in Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire, mainly in the oil and gas industry. These outward commuters earn significantly more than local workers.
In 2004, there were around 2,500 VAT registered businesses in Moray, with 75% of businesses employing fewer than five people and about half of firms with a turnover of less than £100,000. 60% of employees are employed in small firms, compared to 48% for Scotland as a whole.
Moray's major companies export their products to other British regions and abroad and many of the smaller companies have direct involvement with neighbouring economies in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Highland. Also, a large outward-commuting workforce (estimated to be in excess of 5,000 people) derives its income from the neighbouring centres of Aberdeen and Inverness.
Note: 2003 and 2004 data at SCOTDAT was the most up-to-date, as of August 2006
An inhabitant of Moray, especially the historic Mormaer of Moray, is called, 'Moravian.' [9]
Source: General Register Office for Scotland. [10]
The first records on language use in the area indicate that in 1705, most of Moray except for the coast was described as "Wholly Irish & Highland Countreys" and "Ye Irish Parishes in which both languages are spoken." [11] By 1822, Scottish Gaelic had weakened in the area, with only the far south of Moray reporting that, at best, 10% of the population were speaking Gaelic better than English. [11] Records towards the end of the 19th century improved and show that between 1881 and 1921 the percentage of Gaelic speakers in Moray fluctuated as shown in the following table:
Year | Gaelic speakers (%) |
---|---|
1881 | 2.63 |
1891 | 5.64 |
1901 | 4.48 |
1911 | 2.98 |
1921 | 2.08 |
1991 [12] | 0.56 |
Since then, it has been consistently below 1%. It was largely replaced by Doric and latterly Scottish English.
Speyside single malts are single malt Scotch whiskies, distilled in Strathspey, the area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern Scotland.
The Moray Firth is a roughly triangular inlet of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland. It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching from Duncansby Head in the north, in the Highland council area, and Fraserburgh in the east, in the Aberdeenshire council area, to Inverness and the Beauly Firth in the west. Therefore, three council areas have Moray Firth coastline: Highland to the west and north of the Moray Firth and Highland, Moray and Aberdeenshire to the south. The firth has more than 800 kilometres of coastline, much of which is cliff.
Elgin is a town and formerly a Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the floodplain where the town of Birnie is. There, the church of Birnie Kirk was built in 1140 and serves the community to this day.
Lossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that eventually merged into one. From 1890 to 1975, it was a police burgh as Lossiemouth and Branderburgh.
Burghead is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a peninsula that projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, surrounding it by water on three sides. People from Burghead are called Brochers.
Moray; or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It was a local government county, with Elgin the county town, until 1975. The county was officially called Elginshire, sharing the name of the Elginshire parliamentary constituency, so named since 1708.
Banffshire ; Scots: Coontie o Banffshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray Firth to the north, Morayshire and Inverness-shire to the west, and Aberdeenshire to the east and south.
Buckie is a burgh town on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland. Historically in Banffshire, Buckie was the largest town in the county until the administrative area was abolished in 1975. The town is the third largest in the Moray council area after Elgin and Forres and within the definitions of statistics published by the General Register Office for Scotland was ranked at number 75 in the list of population estimates for settlements in Scotland mid-year 2006. Buckie is virtually equidistant to Banff to the east and Elgin to the west, with both approximately 17 miles distant whilst Keith lies 12 mi (19 km) to the south by road.
The River Spey is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At 98 mi (158 km) it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishing and whisky production.
Aberlour is a village in Moray, Scotland, 12 miles (20 km) south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. The Lour burn is a tributary of the River Spey, and it and the surrounding parish are both named Aberlour, but the name is more commonly used in reference to the village which straddles the stream and flanks the Spey – although the full name of the village is Charlestown of Aberlour.
Moray is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering most of the council area of Moray. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies within the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Elgin railway station is a railway station serving the town of Elgin, Moray in Scotland. The station is managed and served by ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line, between Keith and Forres, measured 12 miles 18 chains (19.7 km) from Forres.
Craigellachie is a small village in Moray, Scotland, at the confluence of the River Spey and River Fiddich, in walking distance of the town of Aberlour.
Portgordon, or sometimes Port Gordon, is a village in Moray, Scotland, 2 km south-west of Buckie. It was established in 1797 by Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon as a fishing village. It had a population of 844 at the time of the 2011 census. Currently the Portgordon Community Harbour Group is trying to regenerate the harbour and open a marina.
Glen Moray distillery is a Speyside distillery producing single malt scotch whisky. Situated on the banks of the River Lossie in Elgin, Moray the distillery started production in September 1897. It was sold in 2008 by the Glenmorangie Company Ltd. to La Martiniquaise.
Banffshire and Buchan Coast is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Moray. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is one also of ten constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The Moray Coastal Trail is a long distance path in north-east Scotland that runs along the coastline of the Moray council area. The route, which is 72 km long, runs between Forres and Cullen. It is designated as one of Scotland's Great Trails by NatureScot, and connects with two further Great Trails: the Speyside Way at Spey Bay, and the Dava Way at Forres. The Moray Coast Trail can be combined with sections of these two routes to form a 153 km circular route known as the Moray Way, and also forms part of the North Sea Trail. The trail is primarily intended for walkers, but many sections are also suitable for cycling and horseriding. An alternative route for cycling, the Moray Coast Ride, shares some sections of path with the Moray Coast Trail, and forms part of the National Cycle Network's Route 1. About 23,000 people use the path every year, of whom about 1,000 complete the entire route.
Buckie railway station was a railway station in Buckie, in current day Moray. The station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) on its Moray Firth coast line in 1886, served by Aberdeen to Elgin trains.