Renfrew (district) facts for kids

Renfrew District (Scottish Gaelic: Sgìre Rinn Friù) was a local government area in Scotland. It existed for about 21 years, from 1975 to 1996. It was one of 19 districts in a larger region called Strathclyde. These districts helped manage local services for people.

History of Renfrew District

How Renfrew District Started

Renfrew District was created in 1975. This happened because of a new law called the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. This law changed how local areas were governed in Scotland. It set up a two-level system. There were larger "regions" and smaller "districts" within them. Renfrew was one of these districts in the Strathclyde region.

The new district took over from several older areas. These older areas were part of the historic county of Renfrewshire. They included:

• Barrhead Burgh
• Johnstone Burgh
• Paisley Burgh
• Renfrew Burgh
• Parts of Paisley and Neilston parishes (countryside areas)
• Parts of Erskine, Inchinnan, and Houston parishes
• Parts of Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch parishes

Other parts of the old Renfrewshire county went to different districts. These were the Eastwood and Inverclyde districts. All three of these districts together formed a single "lieutenancy area." This is a special area for royal representatives.

Naming and Headquarters

The district was named after the town of Renfrew. This town was a "royal burgh," which is an old type of town with special rights. The town of Renfrew had also given its name to the larger county. However, the biggest town in Renfrew District was Paisley. Paisley was also where the district's main offices were located.

When Renfrew District Ended

Renfrew District was closed down in 1996. This was due to another new law, the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. This law changed Scotland's local government again. It replaced the regions and districts with new "unitary council areas." These new areas had only one level of local government.

Most of the old Renfrew District became the new Renfrewshire council area. But one part, the Barrhead area, went to East Renfrewshire. This Barrhead area included the old town of Barrhead and the parish of Neilston.

Political Control of the Council

The first election for the Renfrew District Council happened in 1974. At first, this new council worked alongside the old councils. It officially started its duties on May 16, 1975. Here's how different political parties were in charge:

When a party is "in control," it means they had the most elected members. This allowed them to make most of the decisions. "No overall control" means that no single party had enough members to make decisions on their own. They would have had to work with other parties.

Council Buildings

Municipal Buildings, Cotton Street, Paisley (now Renfrewshire House)

The Renfrew District Council was based in the Municipal Buildings. These buildings are on Cotton Street in Paisley. They were built between 1969 and 1973. They were originally called the "County and Municipal Buildings." This was because they were used by both the old Renfrewshire County Council and Paisley Town Council.

The Renfrew District Council shared the building with the larger Strathclyde Regional Council. Strathclyde used it as their local office for the Renfrewshire area. After Renfrew District and Strathclyde were closed in 1996, the building became the main office for the new Renfrewshire Council. It was later renamed Renfrewshire House.

See also

• 1992 Renfrew District Council election