South Lanarkshire Sooth Lanrikshire Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas
Location
Geography
Area	Ranked 11th
- Total	1,772 km2 (684 sq mi)
Admin HQ	Hamilton
ISO 3166-2	GB-SLK
ONS code	00RF
Demographics
Population	Ranked 5th
- Total (2010 est.)	311,900
- Density	176 / km²
Politics
South Lanarkshire Council http://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/
Control
TBA (council NOC)
MPs	Jimmy Hood (Lanark and Hamilton East) Michael McCann (East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow) Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
MSPs	Aileen Campbell (Clydesdale) Linda Fabiani (East Kilbride) James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) Christina McKelvie (Hamilton South) 7 South of Scotland List MSP's (Clydesdale Only) 7 Central Scotland List MSP's (East Kilbride, Hamilton South and Hamilton North and Bellshill) 7 Glasgow List MSP's (Glasgow Rutherglen Only)

South Lanarkshire (Scots: Sooth Lanrikshire, Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages.

South Lanarkshire Council[link]

South Lanarkshire Council has its headquarters in Hamilton, has 16,000 employees, and a budget of almost £1bn. The council plan for 2007-2012 when the next council elections are due is Connect. The large and varied council area takes in rural and upland areas, market towns such as Lanark, Strathaven and Carluke, the urban burghs of Rutherglen, Cambuslang, and East Kilbride which was Scotland's first new town.

There are 20 council wards in South Lanarkshire, each represented on the council by 3 or 4 elected councillors using Single Transferable Vote. South Lanarkshire operates a cabinet style system, with key decisions being taken by the Executive Committee, under the leadership of the Council Leader, and approved by the council, led by the Provost.

South Lanarkshire shares borders with the unitary authorities of Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, City of Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, West Lothian and Scottish Borders.

The area was formed in 1996, from the areas of Clydesdale, Hamilton and East Kilbride districts, and some outer areas of Glasgow District (Rutherglen/Fernhill, Cambuslang/Halfway and part of King's Park/Toryglen).

Political composition[link]

Parts of this article (those related to the table) are outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (May 2012)

Since the 2012 local government election, there have been some changes and the current political composition is 2 Independents, 3 Conservative, 33 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat and 28 SNP ^[1]. The council remains in no overall control of any one individual political party.

Council Headquarters[link]

South Lanarkshire Council Headquarters

The Council Headquarters building, on Almada Street, Hamilton, was built as the Lanark County Buildings in 1963, and designed by Lanark council architect D G Bannerman. The 16 storey, 165 foot tower is the largest in Hamilton, and is a highly visible landmark across this part of the Clyde Valley. The modernist design was influenced by the United Nations building in New York. Glass curtain walls cover the north and south facades, with the narrow east and west sides being blank white walls. At the front of the building is the circular council chamber, and a plaza with water features. It is known by locals as the "County Buildings".

Towns and villages[link]

Principal settlements[link]

Other settlements[link]

Places of interest[link]

• Hamilton Mausoleum
• Bothwell Castle
• Strathaven Castle
• John Hastie Museum, Strathaven
• Low Parks Museum, Hamilton
• Chatelherault Country Park, near Hamilton, including Cadzow Castle
• Craignethan Castle
• David Livingstone Centre, in Blantyre
• Dollan Baths, East Kilbride
• Falls of Clyde
• Little Sparta, near Dunsyre near Lanark
• New Lanark, a World Heritage Site
• Clyde Valley
• Sites of the Battle of Drumclog and the Battle of Bothwell Bridge

Tertiary Education[link]

• South Lanarkshire College
• University of the West of Scotland (formally Bell College, University Of Paisley)

References[link]

External links[link]

• South Lanarkshire Council homepage
• South Lanarkshire at the Open Directory Project

v t e   Settlements in South Lanarkshire Headquarters Hamilton Towns Biggar · Blantyre · Bothwell · Cambuslang · Carluke · East Kilbride · Larkhall · Lanark · Lesmahagow · Rutherglen · Strathaven · Uddingston Villages and Hamlets Abington · Allanton · Ashgill · Auchengray · Auchenheath · Blackwood · Braidwood · Carnwath · Carstairs Junction  · Carstairs Village · Cartland · Chapelton · Coalburn · Cobbinshaw · Coulter · Crawford · Crawfordjohn · Crossford · Dalserf · Dolphinton · Douglas · Dunsyre · Elsrickle · Forth · Garrion Bridge · Glassford · Kilncadzow · Kirkfieldbank · Kirkmuirhill · Law · Leadhills · New Lanark · Newbigging · Nerston · Pettinain · Quothquan · Ravenstruther · Rigside · Roberton · Rosebank · Sandford · Stonehouse · Symington · Tarbrax · Thankerton  · Thorntonhall · Tillietudlem · Wiston · Woolfords · Yieldshields

Coordinates: 55°36′N 3°47′W / 55.6°N 3.783°W / 55.6; -3.783

Lanark
—  County (until circa 1890)  —
Country	Scotland
County town	Lanark (historic) Hamilton (modern)
Area
• Total	2,325 km2 (898 sq mi)
	Ranked 9th
Chapman code	LKS

Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically, Lanarkshire was the most populous county in Scotland and, in earlier times, had considerably greater boundaries, including neighbouring Renfrewshire until 1402. ^[1] In modern times, it was bounded to the north by Stirlingshire and a detached portion of Dunbartonshire, to the northeast by Stirlingshire, West Lothian, to the east by Peeblesshire, to the southeast and south by Dumfriesshire, to the southwest by Dumfriesshire and Ayrshire and to the west by Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire.

Lanarkshire was historically divided between two administrative areas then, in the mid-18th century, was divided again into three wards: the upper, middle and lower wards with their administrative centres at Lanark, Hamilton and Glasgow respectively and remained this way until the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. Other significant settlements include East Kilbride, Motherwell, Airdrie, Coatbridge, Blantyre, Cambuslang, Rutherglen and Wishaw.^[2]

Local government[link]

In 1975, the county council was abolished and the area absorbed into the larger Strathclyde region, which itself was divided into new Council Areas in 1996. The old area of Lanarkshire is now mainly occupied by the council areas of North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire.

North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire have a joint board for valuation and electoral registration. There is also a joint health board, which does not cover Rutherglen and the surrounding area in South Lanarkshire. Without the northern portion of North Lanarkshire, this is also a Lieutenancy area.

Geography[link]

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Events[link]

Lanarkshire hosted the International Children's Games in August 2011 ^[3]. A total of 1,300 competitors and coaches, along with administrators and delegates, representing 77 cities from 33 countries worldwide attended.

Rivers[link]

• North Medwin River
• South Medwin River
• River Clyde
• River Avon
• South Calder Water

References[link]

Coordinates: 55°35′N 3°50′W / 55.583°N 3.833°W / 55.583; -3.833