Badenoch and Strathspey facts for kids
Badenoch and Strathspey was once a special area in the Highland region of Scotland. Think of it like a local government area or a district. It helped manage things like local services for the people living there.
Contents
What Was Badenoch and Strathspey?
Badenoch and Strathspey was a "district." This means it was a specific area used for local government. It was part of the larger Highland region in Scotland.
How the District Was Created
This district was made back in 1975. This happened because of a new law called the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. This law changed how local areas in Scotland were managed. Before this, Scotland used "counties" and "burghs" (which were like towns with their own governments).
Badenoch and Strathspey was formed by joining a few smaller areas:
- The town of Kingussie (from the county of Inverness).
- The area of Badenoch (also from Inverness).
- The town of Grantown-on-Spey (from the county of Moray).
- The area of Cromdale (also from Moray).
So, it brought together different parts to create one new district.
Changes to the District Over Time
In 1996, another big change happened. A new law, the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, changed things again. The Highland Region became the Highland Council Area. This meant the old districts, like Badenoch and Strathspey, were no longer separate.
The Highland Council then took over managing these areas. They created "management areas" and "area committees" to help make decisions for different parts of the region. Badenoch and Strathspey became one of these management areas.
How Local Decisions Were Made
At first, the Badenoch and Strathspey area had five "wards." A ward is like a small voting area. Each ward elected one person, called a councillor, to represent them. This was done using a system called "first past the post," where the person with the most votes wins.
In 1999, the ward boundaries changed. This meant the areas that councillors represented were different. However, the management area boundaries stayed the same. This made things a bit confusing because the committees were named for areas they didn't exactly match anymore.
The Latest Changes in 2007
More changes came in 2007 with the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. New wards were created, and the way the Highland Council was organized changed again. The old Badenoch and Strathspey management area and its committee were removed.
Now, Badenoch and Strathspey is a single, larger ward. It elects four councillors to the Highland Council. These councillors are chosen using a system called "single transferable vote," which helps make sure more people's votes count. This ward is part of a bigger area called the Inverness, Nairn and Badenoch and Strathspey corporate management area.
See also
- Badenoch
- Strathspey, Scotland
- Politics of the Highland council area
- Regions and districts of Scotland, 1975 to 1996
- Council areas of Scotland, 1996 to present (2007)
- Aviemore
- Kingussie
- Newtonmore
- Carrbridge
