Renfrew District () was, between 1975 and 1996, one of nineteen

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 ...

district 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

s in the

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

region 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 ...

History

The district was created in 1975 under 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 ...

, which established a two-tier structure of local government across mainland Scotland comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Renfrew was one of nineteen districts created within the region of

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

. The district covered the area of seven former districts from the historic county of

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, all of which were abolished at the same time: * Barrhead

Burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

* Johnstone Burgh * Paisley Burgh * Renfrew Burgh *Second

District 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

, being the landward (outside a burgh) parts of the parishes of Paisley and Neilston. *Third District, being the parishes of Erskine and Inchinnan, the eastern part of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, and the landward part of Renfrew. *Fourth District, being the parishes of Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch and the western part of Houston. The remaining parts of Renfrewshire were divided between the Eastwood and

Inverclyde Inverclyde (, , , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire, which ...

districts. The three districts together formed a single

lieutenancy area Lieutenancy areas (), officially counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, are the separate areas of the United Kingdom that are appointed to a lord-lieutenant – a representative of the British monarch. In many cases they have s ...

. The district was named after the town of Renfrew, a

royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

which had given its name to the county of Renfrewshire, but the district's largest town and administrative headquarters was Paisley. The district 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 replaced regions and districts with unitary council areas.

council area was created covering most of the Renfrew District, but the Barrhead

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

(roughly corresponding to the pre-1975 burgh of Barrhead and parish of Neilston) went instead to

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...

Political control

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. Political control of the council from 1975 was as follows:

Premises

The council was based at the Municipal Buildings on Cotton Street in Paisley, which had been completed between 1969 and 1973 as the "County and Municipal Buildings", being a joint facility for the old Renfrewshire County Council and Paisley Town Council. The council shared the building with

Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

Regional Council, who used it as their Renfrewshire sub-regional office. Following the abolition of Renfrew District and Strathclyde in 1996 the building became the headquarters of Renfrewshire Council and was later renamed Renfrewshire House.

References

{{Renfrewshire elections Districts of Scotland Politics of Renfrewshire Barrhead Paisley, Renfrewshire 1975 establishments in Scotland 1996 disestablishments in Scotland States and territories established in 1975 States and territories disestablished in 1996 Strathclyde

History

Political control

Premises

See also

References