Grampian () was one of nine

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It was created in 1975 by the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government of Scotland, local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The act followed and largely impleme ...

and took its name from the

Grampian Mountains The Grampian Mountains () is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends northeast to so ...

. The regional council was based in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. The region was abolished in 1996 under the

Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the current Local government in Scotland, local government structure of 32 Unitary authority, unitary authori ...

, which divided the region into the three single-tier

council areas For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" (), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Sc ...

Aberdeen City Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire. Aberd ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

, and

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

History

The Grampian region was created in 1975 under the

, which created a two-tier structure of local government across Scotland. Grampian covered the combined area of four former

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

and one county of a city which were abolished for local government purposes at the same time: *

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

(which was a county of a city) *

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the stewartry"), is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area on the ...

(except

Grantown-on-Spey Grantown-on-Spey () is a town in the Highland Council Area, Counties of Scotland, historically within the county of Moray. It is located on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorms, Cairngorm mounta ...

and

Cromdale Cromdale (, from ''crom'' 'crooked' and ''dal'' 'valley, dale') is a village in Strathspey, in the Highland council area of Scotland, and one of the ancient parishes which formed the combined ecclesiastical (later civil) parish of Cromdale, ...

, which went to

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

region) Grampian was divided into five

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

City of Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire. Aberd ...

Banff and Buchan Banff and Buchan is a committee area of the Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland, covering an area along the northern coast of the council area. The main towns are Banff and Fraserburgh. Fishing and agriculture are important industries, together with ...

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

Kincardine and Deeside Kincardine and Deeside was one of five local government districts in the Grampian region of Scotland. Its council was based in Stonehaven. It was created in 1975 and abolished in 1996, when the area was included in the Aberdeenshire council ...

and

. Grampian region was abolished in 1996 under the

which replaced regions and districts with

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

. The region was divided into three single-tier

. The former City of Aberdeen and Moray districts each became council areas (although 'City of Aberdeen' was renamed 'Aberdeen City' to coincide with the reforms), and Banff and Buchan, Gordon, and Kincardine and Deeside merged into a new

council area.

Geography

The Grampian region was encompassed almost all of what could be considered the north-east of Scotland. Grampian Mountains 2012

was the major city of the region. Other major towns are the former royal burgh of

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

, the major fishing port of

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

Inverurie Inverurie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Uraidh'' or ''Inbhir Uaraidh'', 'mouth of the River Ury') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Ury and River Don, Aberdeenshire, Don, about north-west of Aberdeen. Geography ...

, Westhill,

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( ) is a town on the northeast coast of Scotland, south of Aberdeen. It had a population of 11,177 at th2022 Census Stonehaven was formerly the county town of Kincardineshire, succeeding the now abandoned town of Kincardine, Aberd ...

Forres Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...

Ellon Ellon may refer to: *Ellon, Aberdeenshire Ellon () is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan, which has one of the few undeveloped river estuaries on the eastern coast of Scotland. It is i ...

and

Portlethen Portlethen (; ) is a town located approximately 7 miles south of Aberdeen, Scotland, along the A92 road, A92. The population according to the 2022 census was 8,969 making it the seventh most populous settlement within Aberdeenshire. To the ea ...

. Grampian Regional Council was based at

Woodhill House Woodhill House is a large office development on Westburn Road in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was built as the headquarters of Grampian Regional Council in 1977 and then became the offices and meeting place of Aberdeenshire Council in 1996. History T ...

, Westburn Road, Aberdeen.

Political control

The first election to the regional 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. Political control of the council from 1975 was as follows:

Leadership

The

convener The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

s of the council were:

Elections

Election results were as follows: File:Grampian Regional Council election, 1982.svg, 1982 results map File:Grampian Regional Council election, 1986.svg, 1986 results map File:Grampian Regional Council election, 1990.svg, 1990 results map File:Scottish Regional Council election, 1994.svg, 1994 Scotland results

Modern day use

Grampian continues to have a regional

NHS board NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the Publicly-funded health care, publicly–funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territoria ...

. The region also had a regional

fire and rescue service A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

and

Police service The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizens ...

before they were merged into

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is the national fire and rescue service of Scotland. It was formed by the merger of eight regional fire services in the country on 1 April 2013. It thus became the largest fire brigade in the Unite ...

and

Police Scotland Police Scotland (), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist services of the Scottis ...

respectively in 2013. Grampian also had its own Television region called Grampian Television until it was dissolved and incorporated in STV North in 2006.

Successor council areas

Premises

The regional council was based at

in the western suburbs of Aberdeen. The site had formerly been occupied by a large house, which had been bought by the old Aberdeenshire County Council in 1967. The new building was designed in 1971 to be a headquarters for the county council, to replace its old offices at County Buildings in the centre of Aberdeen. The possibility that local government reform may be coming was taken into account in the design of the building, which was completed and occupied in phases from early 1975 onwards. An official opening ceremony for the building was held in May 1977. On the abolition of the regional council in 1996 the building passed to the new

Aberdeenshire Council Aberdeenshire Council is the local authority for Aberdeenshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since its creation in 1996. It is based at Woodhill House, which is outside its own territory ...

References

External links

* {{coord, 57.228, -2.988, dim:100000_region:GB, display=title Regions of Scotland 1975 establishments in Scotland 1996 disestablishments in Scotland States and territories established in 1975 States and territories disestablished in 1996 Politics of Aberdeen Politics of Aberdeenshire Politics of Moray