West Dunbartonshire
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 Coat of arms | |
 West Dunbartonshire shown withinScotland | |
| Coordinates:55°59′24″N4°30′54″W / 55.99000°N 4.51500°W /55.99000; -4.51500 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Lieutenancy area | Dunbartonshire |
| Unitary authority | 1 April 1996 |
| Administrative HQ | Dumbarton Burgh Hall |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council |
| • Body | West Dunbartonshire Council |
| • Control | Labour |
| • MPs | Douglas McAllister (L) |
| • MSPs | 2 MSPs |
| Area | |
• Total | 159 km2 (61 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 31st |
| Population (2024)[2] | |
• Total | 89,120 |
| • Rank | 26th |
| • Density | 561/km2 (1,450/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-WDU |
| GSS code | S12000039 |
| Website | west-dunbarton |
West Dunbartonshire (Scots:Wast Dunbairtonshire;Scottish Gaelic:Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar,pronounced[ˈʃirˠəxkɣumˈpɾʲɛht̪ən̪ˠəɲˈiəɾ]) is one of the 32local governmentcouncil areas ofScotland. The area lies to the north-west of theGlasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow'scommuter towns and villages. West Dunbartonshire also bordersArgyll and Bute,East Dunbartonshire,Renfrewshire andStirling.
The council area was formed in 1996 from the formerClydebank district and the eastern part ofDumbarton district, which had both been part ofStrathclydeRegion.
West Dunbartonshire has three main urban areas:Clydebank,Dumbarton and theVale of Leven. The area also includes the intervening rural areas, including theKilpatrick Hills and the south-eastern bank ofLoch Lomond. The council is based at16 Church Street in Dumbarton, although Clydebank is the largest town.
West Dunbartonshire was created in 1996 under theLocal Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, which abolished theregions and districts which had been created in 1975, replacing them with unitarycouncil areas. West Dunbartonshire covered the area of the abolishedClydebank district and the eastern part ofDumbarton district. In a referendum in 1994 the largely rural western part of the old Dumbarton district, including the town ofHelensburgh, had voted to joinArgyll and Bute rather than stay with Dumbarton.[3][4]
The 1994 act originally named the new district "Dumbarton and Clydebank", but the shadow authority elected in 1995 requested a change of name to "West Dunbartonshire", which was agreed by the government before the new council area came into force.[5][6]
The 2022 Scottish Census reported that out of 86,078 residents aged three and over, 28,045 (32.6%) considered themselves able to speak or read theScots language.[7]
The area is divided into 17community council areas, 10 of which havecommunity councils as at 2023 (being those with asterisks in the list below):[8]
West Dunbartonshire | |
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| Leadership | |
Peter Hessett since 2022[10] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 22 councillors |
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Political groups |
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| Elections | |
| Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
.jpg) | |
| Burgh Hall, 16 Church Street,Dumbarton, G82 1QL | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The council comprises 22 councillors elected from 6 wards.[11]
At the2022 election,Labour won a majority of the seats on the council. After by-elections and changes of allegiance, Labour lost its majority in August 2024 and resigned the leadership of the council.[12] After the other parties and independent councillors were unable to agree an alternative administration, Labour was reinstated to the council's leadership positions in September 2024, running the council as aminority administration.[13]
The first election 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. Political control of West Dunbartonshire Council since 1996 has been as follows:[14]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1996–2007 | |
| No overall control | 2007–2012 | |
| Labour | 2012–2017 | |
| No overall control | 2017–2022 | |
| Labour | 2022–2024 | |
| No overall control[12] | 2024-present | |
The role ofprovost is largely ceremonial in West Dunbartonshire. They chair full council meetings and act as the council's civic figurehead. Political leadership is provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Campbell[15][16] | Labour | 1 Apr 1996 | 4 Jun 1997 | |
| Andy White[16][17][18] | Labour | 4 Jun 1997 | 20 Dec 2006 | |
| Martin Rooney[18][19] | Labour | 20 Dec 2006 | 12 Mar 2007 | |
| Denis Agnew[20][19] | Independent | 12 Mar 2007 | May 2007 | |
| Iain Robertson[21][22] | SNP | 16 May 2007 | 26 May 2010 | |
| Ronnie McColl[23][24] | SNP | 26 May 2010 | May 2012 | |
| Martin Rooney[25][26] | Labour | 16 May 2012 | May 2017 | |
| Jonathan McColl[27][28] | SNP | 17 May 2017 | May 2022 | |
| Martin Rooney[29][30] | Labour | 18 May 2022 | 28 Aug 2024 | |
| Martin Rooney[31][13] | Labour | 25 Sep 2024 | ||
Following the2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to August 2024, the composition of the council was:[32][33][34][35]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 10 | |
| Scottish National Party | 7 | |
| Independent | 4 | |
| West Dunbartonshire Community Party | 1 | |
| Total | 22 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[32]
The council is based at the formerBurgh Hall at 16 Church Street in Dumbarton. It also has an area office in the main shopping centre in Clydebank.[36]
When the council was created in 1996, it inherited several buildings from its predecessors, includingMunicipal Buildings and Crosslet House fromDumbarton District Council,Clydebank Town Hall and the nearby Council Offices on Rosebery Place fromClydebank District Council, and theCounty Buildings, Dumbarton fromStrathclyde Regional Council.
The council gradually consolidated its offices, with Crosslet House being demolished in 2015,[37] the Rosebery Place offices being demolished in 2017,[38] and the County Buildings being demolished in 2019.[39]
In 2018 the council consolidated most of its offices to Burgh Hall, which had been vacant for some years. The front part of the 1866 building was retained and a modern office complex built to the rear.[40] The Municipal Buildings in Dumbarton are still used by the council as aregister office, whilst Clydebank Town Hall is now primarily an events venue.
Since 2007 elections have been held every five years under thesingle transferable vote system, introduced by theLocal Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. Election results since 1995 have been as follows:[14]
| Year | Seats | Labour | SNP | Conservative | Independent / Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 22 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 22 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 1 | New ward boundaries.[41] |
| 2003 | 22 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 2[a] | |
| 2007 | 22 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 3[b] | New ward boundaries.[42] |
| 2012 | 22 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 4[c] | |
| 2017 | 22 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 2[d] | New ward boundaries.[43] |
| 2022 | 22 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 1[e] | [44] |
.svg)
Six multi-member wards were created for the 2007 election, replacing 22 single-member wards which had been in place since the creation of the council in 1995:[45]
| Ward number | Ward | Location | Largest settlement | Additional settlements | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lomond |  | Balloch | Gartocharn,Jamestown,Levenvale,Mill of Haldane | 3 |
| 2 | Leven |  | Alexandria | Bonhill,Dalmonach,Renton,Dumbarton (northern parts) | 4 |
| 3 | Dumbarton |  | Dumbarton | Milton,Bowling | 4 |
| 4 | Kilpatrick |  | Duntocher | Faifley,Hardgate | 3 |
| 5 | Clydebank Central |  | Clydebank | 4 | |
| 6 | Clydebank Waterfront |  | Clydebank | Old Kilpatrick | 4 |
On 18 September 2014, West Dunbartonshire was one of the four council areas which had a majority "Yes" vote in theScottish Independence Referendum at 54% with an 87.9% turnout rate.[46]
Largest settlements by population:
| Settlement | Population (2020)[47] |
|---|---|
| Clydebank | 25,620 |
| Dumbarton | 20,480 |
| Bonhill | 9,060 |
| Alexandria | 6,710 |
| Duntocher | 6,680 |
| Balloch | 6,010 |
| Faifley | 4,740 |
| Old Kilpatrick | 4,470 |
| Renton | 2,350 |
| Bowling | 560 |
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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