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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 associated processing and service activity.

Map of Scotland showing the present-day committee area of Banff and Buchan

Banff and Buchan was also the name of a district of Grampian Region between 1975 and 1996. The district covered a much larger area than the modern committee area. Its council was based in Banff.

History

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The area has a long history of human occupation. Prehistoric features include a large long barrow at Longman Hill south-east of Macduff, as well as Cairn Lee to the west of Longman Hill.[1]

Local government district

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Banff and Buchan
 
Banff Sheriff Court, Low Street, Banff: Council's meeting place
 
Banff and Buchan district within Scotland
History
 • Created16 May 1975
 • Abolished31 Mar 1996
 • Succeeded byAberdeenshire
StatusDistrict
 • HQBanff

The Banff and Buchan local government district was created on 16 May 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which established a two-tier structure of local government across Scotland comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Banff and Buchan was one of five districts created within the Grampian region. The new district covered parts of the historic counties of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire. It covered the whole area of twelve former districts and parts of another two, which were all abolished at the same time:[2]

From Aberdeenshire

From Banffshire

The rest of Banffshire became part of the Moray district of the Grampian region. The new district was named Banff and Buchan, combining the names of the former county and town of Banff and the ancient province of Buchan, which had covered the parts of the district from Aberdeenshire.[4]

The regions and districts created in 1975 were abolished in 1996, being replaced by council areas. The area of Banff and Buchan was merged with the Gordon and Kincardine and Deeside districts to become the new Aberdeenshire council area.[5]

Political control

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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. Throughout the council's existence, a majority of the seats were held by independent councillors:[6]

Party in control Years
Independent 1975–1996

Premises

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Banff Town House, 34 Low Street, Banff: One of the council's offices

The district council met at Banff Sheriff Court, the courthouse (built 1871) which had also served as the meeting place of the old Banffshire County Council.[7][8][9] The district council had its main offices at St Leonard's House on Sandyhill Road in Banff, which had also been the main offices of the former Banffshire County Council since 1934.[10][11][12] It also used other offices inherited from its predecessors, notably including Banff Town House at 34 Low Street, formerly offices of Banff Town Council, and Arbuthnot House on Broad Street in Peterhead, formerly offices of Peterhead Town Council.[13]

The offices passed to Aberdeenshire Council on local government reorganisation in 1996. St Leonard's House and Banff Town House continue to be used as area offices.[14][15]

Committee area

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The successor Aberdeenshire Council established a number of area committees to discuss local matters. One is called Banff and Buchan, but covers a smaller area than the pre-1996 district. The committee area just covers the wards of Banff and District, Fraserburgh and District and Troup.[16] Other parts of the pre-1996 district are included in the committee areas of Buchan (the area around Peterhead) and Formartine (the area around Turriff).[17]

Parliamentary constituencies

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Main articles: Banff and Buchan (Scottish Parliament constituency) and Banff and Buchan (UK Parliament constituency)

The name is also used for the Banff and Buchan constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Westminster). This seat has been held since 2017 by David Duiguid of the Conservative Party who gained it from Dr Eilidh Whiteford of the Scottish National Party. From 1999 to 2011 Banff and Buchan was also used as a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (at Holyrood). Despite sharing the same name, the boundaries of the two constituencies differed after 2005.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Fordyce electoral division covered the part of the parish of Fordyce outside the burgh of Portsoy.[3]
Specific
  1. ^ Hogan, C. Michael (13 August 2008). "Longman Hill Long Barrow". The Modern Antiquarian.
  2. ^ "Quarter-inch Administrative Areas Maps of Scotland, Sheet 5: Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, Kincardineshire, Morayshire and Nairnshire, 1969". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  3. ^ "No. 14570". The Edinburgh Gazette. 2 August 1929. p. 829.
  4. ^ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1973 c. 65, retrieved 22 November 2022
  5. ^ "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 39, retrieved 16 December 2022
  6. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Banff and Buchan District Council". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 29 January 1996. p. 14. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Set-back for Banff and Buchan - but the fight will go on". Fraserburgh Herald. 20 May 1994. p. 3. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  9. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Banff Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court, including boundary walls and railings, Low Street, Banff (LB22039)". Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  10. ^ Municipal Year Book. London: Municipal Journal. 1976. p. 1037.
  11. ^ "County Offices for Banffshire". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 13 November 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  12. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Banff, Sandyhill Road, St Leonard's House (172722)". Canmore. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  13. ^ "No. 22157". The Edinburgh Gazette. 5 June 1987. p. 848.
  14. ^ "Contact Roads team". Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Area manager teams". Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Banff and Buchan Area Committee". Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Minutes of Buchan Area Committee". Aberdeenshire Council. 23 April 1996. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
General
  • McKean, Charles (1990). Banff & Buchan: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publications Ltd. ISBN 185158-231-2.

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