Stirling
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|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Stirling shown withinScotland | |
| Coordinates:56°30′00″N4°00′00″W / 56.5000°N 4.0000°W /56.5000; -4.0000 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Lieutenancy area | Stirling and Falkirk |
| Incorporated | 16 May 1975 |
| Unitary authority | 1 April 1996 |
| Named after | Stirling |
| Administrative HQ | Stirling |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council |
| • Body | Stirling Council |
| • Control | No overall control |
| • MPs | Chris Kane (L) |
| • MSPs | |
| Area | |
• Total | 844 sq mi (2,186 km2) |
| • Rank | 9th |
| Population (2022)[2] | |
• Total | 92,530 |
| • Rank | 25th |
| • Density | 110/sq mi (42/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-STG |
| GSS code | S12000030 |
| Website | stirling |
TheStirling council area (Scots:Stirlin;Scottish Gaelic:Sruighlea) is one of the 32council areas of Scotland, and has an estimated population of 92,530 (2022).[2] It was created in 1975 as a lower-tierdistrict within theCentralregion. The district covered parts of thehistoric counties ofStirlingshire andPerthshire, which were abolished for local government purposes. In 1996 the Central region was abolished and Stirling Council took over all local government functions within the area.
The administrative centre of the area is the city ofStirling, with the headquarters atOld Viewforth.
The area borders the council areas ofClackmannanshire (to the east),North Lanarkshire (to the south),Falkirk (to the south east),Perth and Kinross (to the north and north east),Argyll and Bute (to the north and north west), and bothEast andWest Dunbartonshire to Stirling's southwest.
The majority of the population of the area is located in its southeast corner, in the city of Stirling and in the surroundinglowland communities:Bridge of Allan andDunblane to the north,Bannockburn to the immediate south, and the three former coal mining communities ofCowie,Fallin, andPlean, known collectively as the "Eastern Villages".
The rest of the council area's population is sparsely distributed across the rural, mainlyhighland, expanse in the north and west of the area. The southern half of this rural area comprises the flat western floodplain of theRiver Forth, bounded on the south by theTouch Hills and theCampsie Fells. North of theglen lie theTrossachs mountains, and the northern half of the council area is generally mountainous in character.
Stirling district was created in 1975 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which abolished Scotland's counties,burghs andlandward districts and replaced them with upper-tierregions and lower-tierdistricts. Stirling was one of three districts within theCentral region. As created in 1975 the Stirling district covered five districts fromStirlingshire and four districts fromPerthshire, which were all abolished at the same time:[3]
From Perthshire:
From Stirlingshire:
The new district and its neighbourFalkirk were together made a newStirling and Falkirklieutenancy area. The lastLord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire became the firstLord Lieutenant of Stirling and Falkirk.[4]
Local government was reformed again in 1996 under theLocal Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, which abolished the regions and districts which had been created in 1975, replacing them with unitarycouncil areas. Central Region was abolished and each of the area's three districts, including Stirling, became council areas. Stirling District Council was therefore replaced by the current Stirling Council.[5]
Stirling | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leadership | |
Caroline Sinclair since 2024[8] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 23 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Old Viewforth, Pitt Terrace,Stirling, FK8 2ET | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The council has been underno overall control since 2007. Following the2022 election a minorityLabour administration formed to run the council.[9][10]
The first election to Stirling District Council was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 16 May 1975. A shadow authority was again elected in 1995 ahead of the change to council areas which came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control since 1975 has been as follows:[11]
Stirling District Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1975–1984 | |
| Labour | 1984–1988 | |
| No overall control | 1988–1996 | |
Stirling Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1996–1999 | |
| No overall control | 1999–2003 | |
| Labour | 2003–2007 | |
| No overall control | 2007–present | |
The firstleader of the council, Corrie McChord, had been the last leader of the Central Regional Council.[12] The leaders since 1996 have been:[13]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corrie McChord | Labour | 1 Apr 1996 | 12 Mar 2008 | |
| Graham Houston | SNP | 12 Mar 2008 | 17 May 2012 | |
| Corrie McChord | Labour | 17 May 2012 | 28 Feb 2013 | |
| Johanna Boyd | Labour | 28 Feb 2013 | 4 May 2017 | |
| Scott Farmer | SNP | 24 May 2017 | 19 May 2022 | |
| Chris Kane | Labour | 19 May 2022 | 12 Sep 2024 | |
| Margaret Brisley[14] | Labour | 12 Sep 2024 | 27 Oct 2024 | |
Following the2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance, the composition of the council was:
| Date | SNP | Con | Lab | Green | Ind | Vacant | Reason | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 May 2022 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2022 Stirling Council election | Chris Kane (Lab) | |
| 19 October 2022 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Ewan Dillon (Lab) becomes Independent | ||
| 18 December 2022 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Death of Graham Houston (SNP) | |
| 16 March 2023 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Robin Kleinman (Con) elected inby-election | ||
| 10 November 2023 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Resignation of Douglas Dodds (Con) | |
| 25 January 2024 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Thomas Heald (Con) elected inby-election | ||
| 20 May 2024 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Resignation of Ewan Dillon (Ind) | |
| 15 August 2024 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | David Wilson (Lab) elected inby-election | ||
| 12 September 2024 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Resignation ofChris Kane (Lab) | Margaret Brisley (Lab) |
| 27 October 2024 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Death of Margaret Brisley (Lab) | Vacant |
| 5 December 2024 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Willie Ferguson (SNP) elected inby-election | |
| 23 January 2025 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Bob Buchanan (SNP) elected inby-election |
A by-election was held in 15 August 2024 to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Ewan Dillon. FollowingChris Kane being elected as MP for Stirling and Strathallan, Labour Councillor Margaret Brisley became leader of the Council, but died on 27 October 2024,[15] and a by-election was held to fill the vacancy caused by her death. The next full council election is due in 2027.[16]
The council is based atOld Viewforth on Pitt Terrace in Stirling. The oldest part of the building is a converted house called Viewforth, which had been built in 1855.[17] The house was bought by Stirlingshire County Council in 1931 for £5,250 and converted to become its headquarters.[18] A largeart deco extension was added to the rear of the house, opening in 1937.[19] A new building called New Viewforth was built alongside the older premises in 1972, shortly before Stirlingshire County Council was abolished.[20]
Between 1975 and 1996 the premises at Viewforth served as the headquarters of Central Regional Council, whilst Stirling District Council was based at theMunicipal Buildings at 8–10 Corn Exchange Road in Stirling, which had been completed in 1918 for the old Stirling Town Council.[21][22] On local government reorganisation in 1996 Stirling Council took over Viewforth. The 1972 building known as New Viewforth was demolished in 2014.[23]
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:[11]
| Year | Seats | SNP | Conservative | Labour | Green | Liberal Democrats | Independent / Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 22 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 22 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New ward boundaries.[24] |
| 2003 | 22 | 0 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | New ward boundaries.[25] |
| 2012 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 23 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | New ward boundaries.[26] |
| 2022 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Labour minority administration with Conservative support. |
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The wards are:[26]
| Ward Number | Ward Name | Location | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trossachs and Teith |  | 3 |
| 2 | Forth and Endrick |  | 3 |
| 3 | Dunblane and Bridge of Allan |  | 4 |
| 4 | Stirling North |  | 4 |
| 5 | Stirling West |  | 3 |
| 6 | Stirling East |  | 3 |
| 7 | Bannockburn |  | 3 |
The area is divided into 42community council areas, all of which havecommunity councils as at 2023.[27]
As well as the city ofStirling itself, there are many towns, villages and hamlets spread across the council area, as well asdispersed settlements.
Largest settlements by population:
| Settlement | Population (2020)[28] |
|---|---|
| Stirling | 37,910 |
| Dunblane | 9,310 |
| Bannockburn | 6,720 |
| Bridge of Allan | 5,320 |
| Callander | 3,080 |
| Fallin | 2,850 |
| Cowie | 2,720 |
| Doune | 2,200 |
| Balfron | 2,140 |
| Strathblane | 2,000 |
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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