Population 91,970 (2004) Capital Dumbarton University Clydebank College Area 61 sq mi | ||
Points of interest Dumbarton Castle, Inchmurrin, Balloch Castle, Inchconnachan, Inchcailloch | ||
West Dunbartonshire (Scots: ; Scottish Gaelic: , ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgows commuter towns and villages, as well as the citys suburbs. West Dunbartonshire also borders onto Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Stirling.
Contents
Map of West Dunbartonshire
The area was formed on 1 April 1996 from part of the former Strathclyde Region, namely the entire district of Clydebank and the Dumbarton district less the Helensburgh area. In the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 that created the council area its name was Dumbarton and Clydebank. The council, elected as a shadow authority in 1995, resolved to change the name of the area to West Dunbartonshire.
The area is essentially composed of three parts: the towns of Clydebank, Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven district.
West Dunbartonshire is administered from Dumbarton, although Clydebank is the largest town.
Governance and politics
The council is run by 22 councillors elected from 6 wards. All Scottish local authorities were last elected in 2012; in West Dunbartonshire, the following parties were elected:
- Scottish Labour Party 12
- Scottish National Party 6
- Independent 3
- Scottish Socialist Party 1
The Labour Party regained control of the council from an SNP/independent coalition at the 2012 local election.
On the 18th September 2014, West Dunbartonshire was one of few council areas who said "Yes" in the Scottish Independence Referendum at 54% with a 87.9% turnout rate.