West Dunbartonshire has three main urban areas: Clydebank, Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven. The area also includes the intervening rural areas, including the Kilpatrick Hills and the south-eastern bank of Loch Lomond. The council is based at 16 Church Street in Dumbarton, although Clydebank is the largest town.
The 1994 act originally named the new district "Dumbarton and Clydebank", but the shadow authority elected in 1995 requested a change of name to "West Dunbartonshire", which was agreed by the government before the new council area came into force.[3][4]
The council comprises 22 councillors elected from 6 wards.[8]
Political control
The first election was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control of West Dunbartonshire Council since 1996 has been as follows:[9]
The council is based at the former Burgh Hall at 16 Church Street in Dumbarton. It also has an area office in the main shopping centre in Clydebank.[11]
The council gradually consolidated its offices, with Crosslet House being demolished in 2015,[12] the Rosebery Place offices being demolished in 2017,[13] and the County Buildings being demolished in 2019.[14]
In 2018 the council consolidated most of its offices to Burgh Hall, which had been vacant for some years. The front part of the 1866 building was retained and a modern office complex built to the rear.[15] The Municipal Buildings in Dumbarton are still used by the council as a register office, whilst Clydebank Town Hall is now primarily an events venue.
Since the 2022 election, one Labour councillor was suspended from the party in November 2022, meaning Labour lost its majority on the council which is therefore now under no overall control.[20] One SNP councillor resigned from the party in January 2023.[21] Both now sit as independents.
Wards
Map of the area's wards (2017 configuration)
Six multi-member wards were created for the 2007 election, replacing 22 single-member wards which had been in place since the creation of the council in 1995:[22]
On 18 September 2014, West Dunbartonshire was one of the four council areas which had a majority "Yes" vote in the Scottish Independence Referendum at 54% with an 87.9% turnout rate.[23]