# Aberdeenshire Council

Aberdeenshire Council is the local authority for Aberdeenshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since its creation in 1996. It is based at Woodhill House, which is outside its own territory in the neighbouring Aberdeen City council area.

## History

The Aberdeenshire council area 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 single-tier council areas. Aberdeenshire covered the area of the abolished Banff and Buchan, Gordon and Kincardine and Deeside districts, all of which had been part of the Grampian region. It is named after the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but covers a larger area, also including most of the historic county of Kincardineshire and eastern parts of the historic county of Banffshire.

## Governance

The council is the fifth largest Scottish council by number of councillors, having 70 members.
The council has devolved power to six area committees: Banff and Buchan; Buchan; Formartine; Garioch; Marr; and Kincardine and Mearns. Each area committee takes decisions on local issues such as planning applications, and the split is meant to reflect the diverse circumstances of each area.

### Political control

The first election to the council 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. Aberdeenshire Council has been under no overall control since its creation:
| Party in control | Party in control | Years |
| | No overall control | 1996–present |

### Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1996 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | Notes |
| Audrey Findlay | Liberal Democrats | 1 Apr 1996 | 3 May 2007 | |
| Anne Robertson | Liberal Democrats | 17 May 2007 | 2 May 2012 | |
| Jim Gifford | Conservative | 17 May 2012 | 8 Jun 2015 | |
| Richard Thomson | SNP | 8 Jun 2015 | 31 Aug 2016 | Co-leaders |
| Martin Kitts-Hayes | Independent | 8 Jun 2015 | 31 Aug 2016 | Co-leaders |
| Richard Thomson | SNP | 29 Sep 2016 | 18 May 2017 | Co-leaders |
| Alison Evison | Labour | 29 Sep 2016 | 18 May 2017 | Co-leaders |
| Jim Gifford | Conservative | 18 May 2017 | May 2020 | |
| Jim Gifford | Independent | May 2020 | 19 Nov 2020 | |
| Andy Kille | Conservative | 19 Nov 2020 | 5 May 2022 | |
| Mark Findlatter | Conservative | 19 May 2022 | 28 Jun 2023 | |
| Gillian Owen | Conservative | 29 Jun 2023 | | |

### Composition

Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to November 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Conservative | 24 |
| | SNP | 20 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 14 |
| | Independent | 12 |
| | Reform UK | 2 |
| Total | Total | 70 |
Of the independent councillors, seven form the 'Administration Independents' group, which forms part of the council's administration in coalition with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. One sits in the SNP group, and another two form the 'Democratic Independent Group'; together these comprise the 'Opposition Coalition'. The remaining two independent councillors do not belong to any group. The next election is due in 2027. The two Conservative councillors who defected to Reform UK in October 2024 became the party's first representatives in Scotland.

## Premises

The council is based at Woodhill House in Aberdeen, outside the council's own territory. The building was completed in 1977 for the former Grampian Regional Council.

## Elections

Since 2007 elections have been held every five years under the single transferable vote system, introduced by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. Election results since 1995 have been as follows:
| Year | Seats | Conservative | SNP | Liberal Democrats | Labour | Green | Independent / Other | Notes |
| 1995 | 47 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| 1999 | 68 | 7 | 23 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 10 | New ward boundaries. |
| 2003 | 68 | 11 | 18 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 11 | |
| 2007 | 68 | 14 | 22 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2012 | 68 | 14 | 28 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |
| 2017 | 70 | 23 | 21 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 2022 | 70 | 26 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |

## Wards

The council has 70 councillors, elected by single transferable vote in 19 multi-member wards:
| Ward number | Ward | Members |
| 1 | Banff and District | 3 |
| 2 | Troup | 3 |
| 3 | Fraserburgh and District | 4 |
| 4 | Central Buchan | 4 |
| 5 | Peterhead North and Rattray | 4 |
| 6 | Peterhead South and Cruden | 3 |
| 7 | Turriff and District | 4 |
| 8 | Mid Formartine | 4 |
| 9 | Ellon and District | 4 |
| 10 | West Garioch | 3 |
| 11 | Inverurie and District | 4 |
| 12 | East Garioch | 4 |
| 13 | Westhill and District | 4 |
| 14 | Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford | 4 |
| 15 | Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside | 3 |
| 16 | Banchory and Mid Deeside | 3 |
| 17 | North Kincardine | 4 |
| 18 | Stonehaven and Lower Deeside | 4 |
| 19 | Mearns | 4 |