Banff and Buchan is acommittee area of theAberdeenshire Council,Scotland, covering an area along the northern coast of the council area. The main towns areBanff andFraserburgh. Fishing and agriculture are important industries, together with associated processing and service activity.
Banff and Buchan was also the name of adistrict ofGrampian Region between 1975 and 1996. The district covered a much larger area than the modern committee area. Its council was based in Banff.
The area has a long history of human occupation. Prehistoric features include a largelong barrow atLongman Hill south-east ofMacduff, as well asCairn Lee to the west of Longman Hill.[1]
| Banff and Buchan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Banff Sheriff Court, Low Street, Banff: Council's meeting place | |
 Banff and Buchan district within Scotland | |
| History | |
| • Created | 16 May 1975 |
| • Abolished | 31 Mar 1996 |
| • Succeeded by | Aberdeenshire |
| Status | District |
| • HQ | Banff |
The Banff and Buchanlocal government district was created on 16 May 1975 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which established a two-tier structure of local government across Scotland comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Banff and Buchan was one of five districts created within the Grampian region. The new district covered parts of thehistoric counties ofAberdeenshire andBanffshire. It covered the whole area of twelve formerdistricts and parts of another two, which were all abolished at the same time:[2]
From Aberdeenshire
From Banffshire
The rest of Banffshire became part of theMoray district of the Grampian region. The new district was named Banff and Buchan, combining the names of the former county and town of Banff and the ancientprovince ofBuchan, which had covered the parts of the district from Aberdeenshire.[4]
The regions and districts created in 1975 were abolished in 1996, being replaced bycouncil areas. The area of Banff and Buchan was merged with theGordon andKincardine and Deeside districts to become the newAberdeenshire council area.[5]
The first election to the district council was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 16 May 1975. Throughout the council's existence, a majority of the seats were held byindependent councillors:[6]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Independent | 1975–1996 | |
.jpg)
The district council met atBanff Sheriff Court, the courthouse (built 1871) which had also served as the meeting place of the old Banffshire County Council.[7][8][9] The district council had its main offices at St Leonard's House on Sandyhill Road in Banff, which had also been the main offices of the former Banffshire County Council since 1934.[10][11][12] It also used other offices inherited from its predecessors, notably includingBanff Town House at 34 Low Street, formerly offices of Banff Town Council, andArbuthnot House on Broad Street in Peterhead, formerly offices of Peterhead Town Council.[13]
The offices passed to Aberdeenshire Council on local government reorganisation in 1996. St Leonard's House and Banff Town House continue to be used as area offices.[14][15]
The successor Aberdeenshire Council established a number of area committees to discuss local matters. One is called Banff and Buchan, but covers a smaller area than the pre-1996 district. The committee area just covers the wards ofBanff and District,Fraserburgh and District andTroup.[16] Other parts of the pre-1996 district are included in the committee areas of Buchan (the area around Peterhead) andFormartine (the area around Turriff).[17]
The name is also used for the Banff and Buchanconstituency of theHouse of Commons of theParliament of the United Kingdom (atWestminster). This seat has been held since 2017 byDavid Duiguid of theConservative Party who gained it from DrEilidh Whiteford of theScottish National Party. From 1999 to 2011Banff and Buchan was also used as a constituency of theScottish Parliament (atHolyrood). Despite sharing the same name, the boundaries of the two constituencies differed after 2005.
Settlements and places of interest inBanff and Buchan,Aberdeenshire | ||
|---|---|---|
| Primary settlements | | |
| Other settlements | ||
| Places of interest | ||
Local government areas ofScotland, in use 1975 to 1996 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Borders |  | |
| Central | ||
| Dumfries and Galloway | ||
| Fife | ||
| Grampian | ||
| Highland | ||
| Lothian | ||
| Strathclyde | ||
| Tayside | ||
| Island areas1 | ||
Areas and primary settlements inAberdeenshire(see also:Aberdeen City) | ||
|---|---|---|
| inBanff and Buchan |  | |
| inBuchan | ||
| inFormartine | ||
| inGarioch | ||
| inKincardine and Mearns | ||
| inMarr | ||