Inverclyde
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|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Inverclyde shown withinScotland | |
| Coordinates:55°54′N4°45′W / 55.900°N 4.750°W /55.900; -4.750 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Lieutenancy area | Renfrewshire |
| Unitary authority | 1 April 1996 |
| Administrative HQ | Greenock Municipal Buildings |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council |
| • Body | Inverclyde Council |
| • Control | No overall control |
| • MPs | Martin McCluskey (L) |
| • MSPs | 2 MSPs |
| Area | |
• Total | 60 sq mi (160 km2) |
| • Rank | 29th |
| Population (2022)[2] | |
• Total | 78,340 |
| • Rank | 28th |
| • Density | 1,260/sq mi (488/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-IVC |
| GSS code | S12000018 |
| Website | inverclyde |
Inverclyde (Scots:Inerclyde,Scottish Gaelic:Inbhir Chluaidh,pronounced[iɲiɾʲˈxl̪ˠuəj], "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32council areas used for local government inScotland. Together with theEast Renfrewshire andRenfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of thehistoric county ofRenfrewshire, which currently exists as aregistration county andlieutenancy area. Inverclyde is located in the westcentral Lowlands. It borders theNorth Ayrshire and Renfrewshire council areas, and is otherwise surrounded by theFirth of Clyde.
Inverclyde was formerly one of nineteendistricts withinStrathclyde Region, from 1975 until 1996. Prior to 1975, Inverclyde was governed as part of the local governmentcounty ofRenfrewshire, comprising the burghs ofGreenock,Port Glasgow andGourock, and the former fifth district of the county. Its landward area is bordered by the Kelly, North and South Routen burns to the southwest (separatingWemyss Bay andSkelmorlie,North Ayrshire), part of theRiver Gryfe and the Finlaystone Burn to the south-east.
It is one of the smallest in terms of area (29th) and population (28th) out of the 32 Scottish unitary authorities. Along with the council areas clustered aroundGlasgow it is considered part ofGreater Glasgow in some definitions,[3] although it is physically separated from the city area by open countryside and does not share a border with the city.
The name derives from the extinctbarony ofInverclyde (1897) conferred uponSir John Burns ofWemyss Bay and his heirs.
Inverclyde was created as a district in 1975 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which established a two-tier structure of local government across mainland Scotland comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Inverclyde was one of nineteen districts created within the region ofStrathclyde. The district covered the area of four former districts from thehistoric county ofRenfrewshire, all of which were abolished at the same time:[4][5]
The new district was named Inverclyde, meaning "mouth of theRiver Clyde", a name which had been coined in 1897 for the title ofBaron Inverclyde which was conferred uponJohn Burns ofCastle Wemyss, a large house atWemyss Bay. The remaining parts of Renfrewshire were divided between theEastwood andRenfrew districts. The three districts together formed a singlelieutenancy area.[6]
In 1996 the districts and regions were replaced with unitarycouncil areas under theLocal Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. In the debates leading up to that act, the government initially proposed replacing these three districts with two council areas: "West Renfrewshire", covering Inverclyde district and the western parts of Renfrew district, and "East Renfrewshire", covering Eastwood district and the eastern parts of Renfrew district.[7] The proposals were not supported locally, with Inverclyde successfully campaigning to be allowed to form its own council area. The new council areas came into effect on 1 April 1996.[8][9]
Settlements by population:
| Settlement | Population (2020)[10] |
|---|---|
| Greenock | 41,280 |
| Port Glasgow | 14,200 |
| Gourock | 10,210 |
| Kilmacolm | 3,930 |
| Inverkip | 3,490 |
| Wemyss Bay | 2,390 |
| Quarrier's Village | 710 |
The area is divided into elevencommunity council areas, seven of which havecommunity councils as at 2023 (being those with asterisks in the list below):[11]
In the2014 independence referendum, the "No" vote won in Inverclyde by just 86 votes and a margin of 0.2%. By either measure, this was the narrowest result of any of the 32 council areas. In the2016 EU Referendum, Inverclyde posted a "Remain" vote of almost 64%.
Inverclyde has twenty primary schools serving all areas of its settlements. These are:
These are connected to several Secondary schools which serve Inverclyde as follows:
The average life expectancy for Inverclyde male residents (2013–2015) is 75.4 years, to rank 28th out of the 32 areas in Scotland. The average Inverclyde female lives for 80.4 years, to rank 26th out 32.[18] There are largehealth disparities between settlements in Inverclyde with many health indicators being above the Scottish average in certain areas, whilst considerably below in others.[19]
In 2019, the Inverclyde Council Area was rated as the most deprived in Scotland by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), with Greenock Town Centre the most deprived community. (The term "deprivation" refers not only to low income according to the BBC, but may also include "fewer resources and opportunities, for example in health and education".) After the announcement, Deputy leader Jim Clocherty said that he hoped that investment money would arrive soon, and that "no part of Scotland wants to be labelled as the 'most deprived'". A £3m investment was scheduled for Greenock Town Centre and there was also plan to create a new cruise visitor centre with other investment funds being expected.[20]
Local government areas ofScotland, in use 1975 to 1996 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Borders |  | |
| Central | ||
| Dumfries and Galloway | ||
| Fife | ||
| Grampian | ||
| Highland | ||
| Lothian | ||
| Strathclyde | ||
| Tayside | ||
| Island areas1 | ||
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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