North Ayrshire Sìorrachd Àir a Tuath |
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Coordinates: 55°40′N 4°47′W / 55.667°N 4.783°WCoordinates: 55°40′N 4°47′W / 55.667°N 4.783°W | ||
Admin HQ | Irvine | |
Government | ||
• Body | North Ayrshire Council | |
• Control | Labour minority (council NOC) | |
• MPs | ||
• MSPs | ||
Area | ||
• Total | 341.9 sq mi (885.4 km2) | |
Area rank | Ranked 17th | |
Population (mid-2016 est.) | ||
• Total | 135,900 | |
• Rank | Ranked 15th | |
• Density | 400/sq mi (153/km2) | |
ONS code | S12000021 | |
ISO 3166 code | GB-NAY | |
Website | http://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/ |
North Ayrshire | |
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Structure | |
Seats | 33 councillors |
11 / 33
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11 / 33
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7 / 33
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0 / 33
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4 / 33
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Elections | |
Single transferable vote | |
Last election
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4 May 2017 |
Meeting place | |
Cunningham House, Irvine |
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Website | |
www |
North Ayrshire (Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, pronounced [ʃirˠəxk aːɾʲ ə t̪ʰuə]) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It has a population of roughly 135,900 people. It is located in the southwest of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the northeast and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and south respectively. North Ayrshire Council is a hung Council. North Ayrshire also forms part of the east coast of the Firth of Clyde.
The area was created in 1996 as a successor to the district of Cunninghame. The council headquarters are located in Irvine, which is the largest town. The area also contains the towns of Ardrossan, Beith, Dalry, Kilbirnie, Kilwinning, Largs, Saltcoats, Skelmorlie, Stevenston, West Kilbride, as well as the Isle of Arran and the Cumbrae Isles. The Isle of Arran covers nearly half of the council area's territory, but is home to less than 4% of the population.
Towns in the north (Fairlie, Largs and West Kilbride) are affluent commuter towns, while Ardrossan, Saltcoats, and Stevenston in the south, are rather more industrial. The inland Garnock Valley towns (Beith, Dalry and Kilbirnie) were once a centre of steel and textile production; however, this has long since gone. Tourism is the main industry on Arran and Cumbrae; however, the number of holiday homes on the latter has begun to squeeze locals out of the housing market. Regeneration is currently taking place at Ardrossan Harbour and Irvine town centre, and there has been a rapid increase in the construction of new housing in recent years.