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West Dunbartonshire

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West Dunbartonshire
Council area
Coat of arms of West Dunbartonshire
Coat of arms
West Dunbartonshire shown within Scotland
West Dunbartonshire shown within Scotland
Coordinates: 55°59′24″N 4°30′54″W / 55.99000°N 4.51500°W / 55.99000; -4.51500
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryScotland
Lieutenancy areaDunbartonshire
Unitary authority1 April 1996
Administrative HQDumbarton Burgh Hall
Government
[1]
 • TypeCouncil
 • BodyWest Dunbartonshire Council
 • ControlLabour
 • MPsDouglas McAllister (L)
 • MSPs
2 MSPs
Area
[2]
 • Total
61 sq mi (159 km2)
 • Rank31st
Population
 (2024)[2]
 • Total
89,120
 • Rank26th
 • Density1,450/sq mi (561/km2)
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ISO 3166 codeGB-WDU
GSS codeS12000039
Websitewest-dunbarton.gov.uk

West Dunbartonshire (Scots: Wast Dunbairtonshire; Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, pronounced [ˈʃirˠəxk ɣum ˈpɾʲɛht̪ən̪ˠ əɲ ˈiəɾ]) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the north-west of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. West Dunbartonshire also borders Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Stirling.

The council area was formed in 1996 from the former Clydebank district and the eastern part of Dumbarton district, which had both been part of Strathclyde Region. The districts covered the historic County of Dumbarton, which was abolished in 1975.[3]

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.

History

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West Dunbartonshire was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, which abolished the regions and districts which had been created in 1975, replacing them with unitary council areas. West Dunbartonshire covered the area of the abolished Clydebank district and the eastern part of Dumbarton district. In a referendum in 1994 the largely rural western part of the old Dumbarton district, including the town of Helensburgh, had voted to join Argyll and Bute rather than stay with Dumbarton.[4][5]

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.[6][7]

Demography

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Languages

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The 2022 Scottish Census reported that out of 86,078 residents aged three and over, 28,045 (32.6%) considered themselves able to speak or read the Scots language.[8]

The 2022 Scottish Census reported that out of 86,068 residents aged three and over, 835 (1%) considered themselves able to speak or read Gaelic.[9]

Governance

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The council is based in Dumbarton at the former Burgh Hall. The council has been under no overall control since 2024.[10]

Wider politics

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Constituencies

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West Dunbartonshire is represented by two constituency members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) elected in the Dunbarton constituency and in the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency along with one member of the United Kingdom parliament (MP) elected in the West Dunbartonshire constituency area.

Independence referendum

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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 54.0% with an 87.9% turnout rate.[11]. The other council areas voting "Yes" were Dundee (57.3%), Glasgow (53.5%) and North Lanarkshire (51.1%).

Communities

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The area is divided into 17 community council areas, 10 of which have community councils as at 2023 (being those with asterisks in the list below):[12]

Settlements

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Largest settlements by population:

Settlement Population (2020)[13]
Clydebank

25,620

Dumbarton

20,480

Bonhill

9,060

Alexandria

6,710

Duntocher

6,680

Balloch

6,010

Faifley

4,740

Old Kilpatrick

4,470

Renton

2,350

Bowling

560

Main sights

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Your Council". West Dunbartonshire Council. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Mid-Year Population Estimates, United Kingdom, June 2024". Office for National Statistics. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  3. ↑ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1973 c. 65, retrieved 18 February 2023
  4. ↑ "Was Argyll and Bute move right decision?". Helensburgh Advertiser. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 39, retrieved 21 February 2023
  6. ↑ "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 39, retrieved 17 February 2023
  7. ↑ "Historical information on changes to electoral arrangements of Local authorities, Parliamentary areas and European Parliamentary boundaries". Boundary-Line Downloads. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 25 August 2025. (See downloadable boundary-legislation-changes-from-1973.xls spreadsheet.)
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ [https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/webapi/opentable?id=019a2022-ecdd-77ea-96ad-569f0c5b3786
  10. ↑ Elliards, Xander (29 August 2024). "Listen to bizarre moment Labour lose control of Scottish council". The National. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Indyref". BBC. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "Active Community Councils". West Dunbartonshire Council. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  13. ↑ "Population estimates for settlements and localities in Scotland: mid-2020". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
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