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Highland (council area)

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This article is about the council area covering part of the Scottish Highlands. Not to be confused with the larger geographic area of the Scottish Highlands themselves.

Highland (Scottish Gaelic: Gàidhealtachd, pronounced [ˈkɛːəl̪ˠt̪əxk];[a] Scots: Hieland) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It has land borders with the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perth and Kinross. The wider upland area of the Scottish Highlands after which the council area is named extends beyond the Highland council area into all the neighbouring council areas plus Angus and Stirling.

Highland
Council area
Coat of arms of Highland
Coat of arms
Highland shown within Scotland
Highland shown within Scotland
Coordinates: 57°30′N 5°00′W / 57.500°N 5.000°W / 57.500; -5.000
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryScotland
Lieutenancy areas
Unitary authority1 April 1996
Administrative HQThe Highland Council Headquarters, Inverness
Government
[1]
 • TypeCouncil
 • BodyThe Highland Council
 • ControlNo overall control
 • MPs
3 MPs
 • MSPs
4 MSPs
+7 regional members
Area
[2]
 • Total9,905 sq mi (25,653 km2)
 • Rank1st
Population
 (2022)[2]
 • Total235,710
 • Rank7th
 • Density20/sq mi (9/km2)
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ISO 3166 codeGB-HLD
GSS codeS12000017
Websitehighland.gov.uk

The Highland Region was created covering the area in 1975 as part of a two-tier local government structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. The Highland Region had eight districts. Local government was reorganised again in 1996 into single-tier council areas, with the former region becoming one of the new council areas.

The Highland Council is based in Inverness, the area's largest settlement. The area is generally sparsely populated, with much of the inland area being mountainous with numerous lochs. The area includes Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. Most of the area's towns lie close to the eastern coasts. Off the west coast of the mainland the council area includes some of the Inner Hebrides, notably the Isle of Skye.

The Highland area covers the historic counties of Caithness, Inverness-shire, Nairnshire, Ross and Cromarty and Sutherland, with the exception of the parts of Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty in the Outer Hebrides. The area also includes an area around Ardnamurchan from the historic county of Argyll and the Grantown-on-Spey area from Moray, which were both transferred to the Highland region as part of the 1975 reforms.

Name

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Unlike the other council areas of Scotland, the name Highland is often not used as a proper noun. The council's website only sometimes refers to the area as being Highland, and other times as being the Highland Council Area or the Highlands.[3][4] Road signs on the boundary of the council area say "Welcome to the Highlands" rather than "Welcome to Highland".

 
Road sign on the A9 where it enters the Highland council area south of Kingussie

Although named after it, the Highland council area does not cover the whole of the uplands and cultural region known as the Scottish Highlands. There is no official definition for the wider area, but it is often described to also include parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling or West Dunbartonshire.

History

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The Highland Region was created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which reformed local government across Scotland, replacing the counties, burghs and landward districts with a two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Highland was one of the regions, and it was divided into eight districts: Badenoch and Strathspey, Caithness, Inverness, Lochaber, Nairn, Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh and Sutherland.[5][6]

Further local government reforms in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 saw the regions and districts created in 1975 abolished and replaced with single-tier council areas. The former Highland region became one of the new council areas, run by the Highland Council.[7] The Highland Council has run various area committees since its creation. These were initially based on the abolished districts, but have been reviewed a number of times since.[8]

Geography

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Topographic map of the Highland council area.

The council area covers a land area of 25,653 square kilometres (9,905 sq mi)[2] – which is 11.4% of the land area of Great Britain, 32.9% of the land area of Scotland and an area 20% larger than Wales.[9] The Highland and Islands division of Police Scotland also includes the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland (the former area of the Northern Constabulary) and therefore covers an area of 30,659 square kilometres (11,838 sq mi), which is larger than that of the state of Belgium.[10]

Though relatively populous for a Scottish council area, it is also sparsely populated. At 9 per km2 in 2022,[2] the population density is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole,[11] and comparable with that of Bolivia, Chad and Russia.[12][13] Historically, the area was home to a much higher percentage of Scotland's population. The rural population of the Highlands (both within and outwith the council area) declined in the late 19th century even as Scotland's grew substantially. For example, the population of Skye declined from 23,082 in 1841 to 15,705 in 1891 and a low point of 7,183 in 1971, before growing in more recent decades.

The city of Inverness is by far the largest settlement, with its urban area having a population of 59,910 in 2012.[14]

The highest point in the Highland council area is Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. Its northernmost point is the Island of Stroma, in the Pentland Firth. Its southernmost point is on the Morvern peninsula. Highland contains the northernmost and westernmost points of the island of Great Britain, respectively at Dunnet Head and Corrachadh Mòr. Despite the name, not all of Highland is mountainous. The areas east of Inverness, as well as the Black Isle, eastern Sutherland, and all of Caithness are, in fact, low-lying.

Gaelic language

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According to the 2011 UK census, there are nearly 12,000 Scottish Gaelic speakers in the Highland area.[15]

Politics

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Main articles: Politics of the Highland council area and Highland Council
 
Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness

The local authority is the Highland Council, based at the Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness (formerly the main offices of Inverness-shire County Council).[16][17] The council also has numerous local offices across the area.[18]

Members of the Scottish Parliament

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For elections to the Scottish Parliament the Highland area is within the Highlands and Islands electoral area, which elects eight first past the post constituency Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and seven additional member MSPs. Three of the region's constituencies, each electing one MSP, are within the Highland area: Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Inverness and Nairn and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.

Members of Parliament

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In the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom the Highland area is represented by Members of Parliament (MPs) elected from four constituencies: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire; Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey; and Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber. The latter two straddle the borders with neighbouring council areas.[19] Each constituency elects one MP by the first past the post system of election.

Settlements

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class=notpageimage|
The largest settlements in the Highland council area.

The largest settlements by population are:

Settlement Population (2022)[14]
Inverness

47,790

Nairn

10,190

Thurso

7,390

Wick

6,870

Alness

5,950

Fort William

5,600

Westhill

5,470

Dingwall

5,360

Invergordon

3,930

Culloden

3,830

Historical Highland population
YearPop.±%
1801164,294—    
1811173,235+5.4%
1821196,364+13.4%
1831211,947+7.9%
1841213,969+1.0%
1851220,004+2.8%
1911226,144+2.8%
1921176,396−22.0%
1931167,604−5.0%
1941166,602−0.6%
1951165,600−0.6%
1961169,133+2.1%
1971172,666+2.1%
1981186,916+8.3%
1991203,790+9.0%
2001208,914+2.5%
2011232,132+11.1%
2022235,710+1.5%
Source:
[20][21]

Other settlements include:

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Gàidhealtachd is used to translate Highland; in other contexts it is used to translate Scottish Highlands and Gaeldom.

References

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  1. ^ "Council and government". The Highland Council. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Council Wards". The Highland Council.
  4. ^ "Our vision for housing in the Highlands". The Highland Council.
  5. ^ "Highland". BBC. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1973 c. 65, retrieved 17 April 2023
  7. ^ "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 39, retrieved 17 April 2023
  8. ^ "Meetings and minutes". Highland Council. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Breaking up Highland Council into smaller areas debated". BBC News. 14 May 2015.
  10. ^ "Record police numbers on streets". BBC News. 28 August 2009.
  11. ^ "Highland profile – key facts and figures". The Highland Council. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  12. ^ List of sovereign states and dependent territories by population density
  13. ^ "Global Health Facts : Demography & Population : Population Density (Population Per Square Kilometer)". The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Mid-2012 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records Scotland (NRS). Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Gaelic data from Census 2011". The Highland Council. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Location of our headquarters". Highland Council. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Older County Buildings, Inverness, 1964". Ambaile. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Visit an office". The Highland Council. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Highland District through time – Population Statistics – Total Population". www.visionofbritain.org.uk.
  21. ^ "Vision of Britain – 1911 Census: County Report – Table 1". www.visionofbritain.org.uk.
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