Aberdeenshire Council

Aberdeenshire Council
Logo
Council logo
Leadership
Judy Whyte,
Independent
since 19 May 2022[1]
Gillian Owen,
Conservative
since 29 June 2023[2]
Jim Savege
since February 2015[3]
Structure
Seats70 councillors
Political groups
Administration (46)
  Conservative (24)
  Liberal Democrats (14)
  Independent (8)
Other parties (24)
  SNP (21)
  Independent (3)
Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
2027
Meeting place
Woodhill House, Westburn Road, Aberdeen, AB16 5GB
Website
www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Aberdeenshire Council is the elected local authority for the Aberdeenshire council area. The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 1 April 1996. The council is the fifth largest Scottish council having 70 members.[4]

The council has devolved power to six area committees: Banff and Buchan; Buchan; Formartine; Garioch; Marr; and Kincardine and Mearns. Each area committee takes decisions on local issues such as planning applications, and the split is meant to reflect the diverse circumstances of each area.[5]

In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, 60.36% of voters in Aberdeenshire voted for the Union, while 39.64% opted for independence.[6]

  1. ^ "Council minutes, 19 May 2022" (PDF). Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  2. ^ Renton, Dawn (29 June 2023). "Change in leadership at Aberdeenshire Council". The Scotsman. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Jim Savege named new Aberdeenshire Council chief executive". BBC News. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Aberdeenshire Council, Elections and voting, Who represents you". Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Aberdeenshire Council - Statistics by Area". 2007-06-07. Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  6. ^ "Scottish independence referendum - Results - BBC News". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 June 2021.