Badenoch and Strathspey

Badenoch and Strathspey was created in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, as a one of the eight districts of the Highland local government region of Scotland. It was formed by merging the Badenoch and Kingussie areas of the county of Inverness-shire with the Grantown-on-Spey and Cromdale areas of the county of Moray.

The traditional area of Strathspey was thus divided between the Highland region and the Grampian region.

Badenoch and Strathspey had its own district district council until 1996, when the Highland region became a unitary council area.

The Badenoch and Strathspey committee area of the Highland Council is based on the area of the former district. It consists of five out of the 80 Highland Council wards, and each ward elects one councilor by the first past the post system of election. It is represented, currently, by four independent councillors and one Liberal Democrat councillor.

For the next general election to the council, polling on Thursday 5 May 2007, there will be one Badenoch and Strathspey ward, electing four councillors by the single transferable vote system of election. The Badenoch and Strathspey ward will be one of 22 new multi-member wards covering the Highland council area, and the new system of election is designed to produce a form of proportional representation.

See also