Inverclyde

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Inverclyde Inbhir Chluaidh
Logo Coat of arms
Location
Geography
Area	Ranked 29th
- Total	160 km²
- % Water	?
Admin HQ	Greenock
ISO 3166-2	GB-IVC
ONS code	00QU
Demographics
Population	Ranked 27th
- Total (2007)	81,100
- Density	507 / km²
Politics
Inverclyde Council http://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/
Control	Labour (minority control)
MPs	David Cairns, Labour
MSPs	Duncan McNeil Trish Godman, Labour

Inverclyde (Gaelic: Inbhir Chluaidh, pronounced [iɲɪɾʲˈxɫ̪uəj]) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders onto Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire, and is otherwise surrounded by the Firth of Clyde. Inverclyde is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic Renfrewshire, the other two being East Renfrewshire and a Renfrewshire area with reduced boundaries. The older Renfrewshire still remains in the form of a registration county and lieutenancy area covering Inverclyde.

The area was a district in its own right, within Strathclyde Region, from 1975 until 1996. Prior to 1975 was in the former county of Renfrewshire, comprising the burghs of Greenock, Port Glasgow and Gourock, and the former fifth district of Renfrewshire. Its landward area is bordered by the Kelly, North and South Routen burns to the south west (separating Wemyss Bay and Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire), part of the River Gryfe and the Finlaystone Burn to the south-east.

It is one of the smallest in terms of area (29th) and population (27th) out of the 32 Scottish unitary authorities.

The name derives from the extinct barony of Inverclyde (1897) conferred upon Sir John Burns of Wemyss Bay and his heirs.

Contents 1 Life expectancy 2 Towns and villages 3 Council 3.1 Elections 3.2 Recent history 4 Places of interest 5 Photographs of Inverclyde 6 External links 7 Notes and references 8 See also

[edit] Life expectancy

According to research by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Inverclyde residents enjoy the second-lowest life expectancy in the UK, with only Glasgow City having a shorter projected lifespan per resident. The average Inverclyde male lives for 70.3 years, with females living 78.1 years.^[1]

[edit] Towns and villages

• Gourock
• Greenock
• Inverkip
• Kilmacolm
• Port Glasgow
• Wemyss Bay

[edit] Council

Until recently, Inverclyde was the only authority in the United Kingdom not have named electoral wards: whilst the local authority reserved its right to name wards, it failed to supply any to the Local Government Boundary Commission. This was rectified in the 2006 review.

[edit] Elections

Following the Council elections of 2007, the new composition of Inverclyde Council is:

• Labour - 9
• Scottish National Party - 5
• Liberal Democrats - 4
• Conservative - 1
• Other - 1

The provost is Michael McCormick.

[edit] Recent history

The council gained national notoriety in 2005 following harsh criticism from the Accounts Commission regarding poor leadership and accountability.^[2] In November 2005 the council was given a 6 month deadline to reorganise and improve further, following the resignation of the council chief in September and organisational changes in the wake of the original

report.^[3]

Following this criticism the Chief Executive of Inverclyde Council Robert Cleary stepped down and a new chief executive John Mundell was appointed. The Position of Chief Executive commands a salary of £112,000 Per Annum. There was criticism over the pension benefits the outgoing chief executive received once leaving, he was given six figure severence pay and his pension will be approximately £50,000 per annum.

As of June 2006, changes were still ongoing: Inverclyde Council altered its directorship structure by adding new corporate director positions and removing senior manager positions. It was expected that the £90,000 p/a posts will mostly be filled by new applicants, although existing Council workers were able to apply.^[4] There was some criticism with regards to the merging of council services; for instance, Education and Social Work merged and now share the same director. This was frowned upon as at the time the Director responsible for the two merged departments had an educational qualification, not a social work one.

The 2007 council elections took place at the same time as the Scottish Parliament elections. The Liberal Democrats lost nine seats; Labour gained two, but fell short of a majority. The SNP and Conservatives both entered the council with five and one seats respectively, while an independent candidate also won a place.

[edit] Places of interest

• Cornalees Bridge Centre [1]
• Custom House Quay and Museum [2]
• Gourock Outdoor Pool [3]
• Loch Thom
• Lunderston Bay [4]
• McLean Museum and Art Gallery [5]
• Newark Castle [6]
• Waterfront Leisure Complex [7]
• Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park

[edit] Photographs of Inverclyde

• Port Glasgow
• Greenock
• Gourock
• Inverclyde Waterfront (Port Glasgow

[edit] External links

• Inverclyde Council website
• Inverclyde Tourist Group

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] See also

• List of places in Inverclyde

v • d • e Council areas of Scotland Aberdeen · Aberdeenshire · Angus · Argyll and Bute · Clackmannanshire · Dumfries and Galloway · Dundee · East Ayrshire · East Dunbartonshire · East Lothian · East Renfrewshire · Edinburgh · Falkirk · Fife · Glasgow · Highland · Inverclyde · Midlothian · Moray · Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) · North Ayrshire · North Lanarkshire · Orkney · Perth and Kinross · Renfrewshire · Scottish Borders · Shetland · South Ayrshire · South Lanarkshire · Stirling · West Dunbartonshire · West Lothian

Coordinates: 55°54′N 4°45′W / 55.9, -4.75