Renfrewshire
Template:Infobox Scotland council area Renfrewshire (Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic Renfrewshire, also known as the County of Renfrew or Greater Renfrewshire, the other two being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east. The older Renfrewshire still remains in the form of a registration county and lieutenancy area.
Although containing the traditional county town of Renfrew from which its name derives, the centre of local government in Renfrewshire is found in the nearby town of Paisley, which is the area's main settlement. Renfrewshire borders the south-west of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages.
History
Present day Renfrewshire borders the south-west of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. Renfrewshire also has boundaries with North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire. Although by area one of Scotland's smallest unitary authorities (excluding the cities), it is one of the country's most populous areas, being the fifth largest unitary authority and the ninth largest including the city authorities.
The ancient county of Renfrewshire covered a larger area — including both Inverclyde and East Renfrewshire. This area still exists in the form of a lieutenancy area and registration county, and has a statutory funding board called theRenfrewshire Valuation Joint Board. The county was traditionally based around its seat, the Royal Burgh of Renfrew and as such was also known as the County of Renfrew.
There was also a district named Renfrew which existed between 1975 and 1996. Renfrew District covered a slightly larger area than the present local authority area, and included the towns of Barrhead, Neilston and Uplawmoor, which, following the partition of Strathclyde region in 1996, were transferred into the new East Renfrewshire unitary local authority.
Composition of the council
As of the May 2007 local council election, the composition of the council is:
| Party | Councillors | |
| bgcolor="Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color"| | Labour | 17 |
| bgcolor="Template:Scottish National Party/meta/color"| | Scottish National Party | 17 |
| bgcolor="Template:Liberal Democrats/meta/color"| | Liberal Democrat | 4 |
| bgcolor="Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color"| | Conservative | 2 |
Executive
The Council is administered by a Scottish National Party/Liberal Democrat coalition. The Provost of Renfrewshire (the council's ceremonial head and convenor) is Celia Lawson (SNP, Paisley East and Ralston), and leader of the council (its political head) is Cllr Derek MacKay (SNP, Renfrew North).
Within the council's executive are eight departments: the Chief Executive's Department, Corporate Services, Education and Leisure Services, Environmental Services, Finance and IT Services, Housing and Property Services, Planning and Transport, and Social Work.[1] Each department is headed by a director, with the Chief Executive heading his own department - the Chief Executive being overall head of the Council's paid service and responsible for delivery of the policies of the Council.[2]
Electoral wards
The wards used for elections to Renfrewshire Council are assigned a number of councillors to be selected by the Single Transferable Vote system since the coming into effect of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. These wards, as defined in the Renfrewshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006 (SSI 2006/551)[3] are as follows:
Ward 1 - Renfrew North (3 councillors)
Ward 2 - Renfrew South & Gallowhill (3 councillors)
Ward 3 - Paisley East & Ralston (4 councillors)
Ward 4 - Paisley North West (4 councillors)
Ward 5 - Paisley South (4 councillors)
Ward 6 - Paisley South West (4 councillors)
Ward 7 - Johnstone South, Elderslie & Howwood (4 councillors)
Ward 8 - Johnstone North, Kilbarchan & Lochwinnoch (3 councillors)
Ward 9 - Houston, Crosslee & Linwood (4 councillors)
Ward 10 - Bishopton, Bridge of Weir & Langbank (3 councillors)
Ward 11 - Erskine & Inchinnan (4 councillors)
Transport
Renfrewshire is home to Scotland's second busiest airport, Glasgow International Airport, at Abbotsinch between Paisley and Renfrew. It is served by the M8 motorway, which terminates in the area, just east of Langbank, and is a major artery between northwest and southwest Scotland, via the Erskine Bridge. The presence of the airport and the proximity to Glasgow means that Renfrewshire supports one of the busiest transport infrastructures in Scotland, and is frequently congested. Developments to ease traffic flow have included a lifting of tolls on the Erskine Bridge, plans to extend the rail network to connect to the airport, and the M74 extension — which will handle traffic from Renfrewshire heading south, diverting it away from Glasgow city centre.[1]
Places of interest and events
Places of interest include the historic Castle Semple Loch at Lochwinnoch which is part of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, Coats Observatory in Paisley, the Erskine Bridge, the country park at Gleniffer Braes, south of Paisley, Love Street, Paisley (home of St. Mirren FC), Muirshiel Country Park, Paisley Abbey and the Weaver's Cottage at Kilbarchan, in the care of the National Trust for Scotland.
The Braehead Arena in Renfrewshire close to the boundary with Glasgow is home to leading professional basketball team, the Scottish Rocks, who compete in the British Basketball League. The arena was also host to the 2000 Ford World Curling Championships.
Towns and villages
- Bishopton
- Bridge of Weir
- Brookfield
- Crosslee
- Elderslie
- Erskine
- Houston
- Howwood
- Inchinnan
- Johnstone
- Kilbarchan
- Langbank
- Linwood
- Lochwinnoch
- Paisley
- Ralston
- Ranfurly
- Renfrew