| Orkney Islands Council | |
| Coa Pic: | 2007 Flag of Orkney.svg |
| Coa Caption: | Flag |
| Coa Res: | 80px |
| Logo Pic: | Orkney Islands Council.svg |
| Logo Res: | 120px |
| Leader1 Type: | Convener |
| Leader1: | Graham Bevan |
| Party1: | Independent |
| Election1: | 17 May 2022 |
| Leader2 Type: | Leader |
| Leader2: | Heather Woodbridge |
| Party2: | Independent |
| Election2: | 20 February 2024[1] |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Executive |
| Leader3: | Oliver Reid |
| Election3: | January 2023 |
| Seats: | 21 councillors |
| Structure1 Alt: | Orkney Islands Council composition |
| Voting System1: | Single transferable vote |
| Last Election1: | 5 May 2022 |
| Next Election1: | 2027 |
| Term Length: | Full council elected every 5 years |
| Meeting Place: | Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, KW151NY |
| Session Room: | OIC Reception - geograph.org.uk - 3619685.jpg |
| Motto: | Boreas domus mare amicus (Latin: "The north our home, the sea our friend") |
The Orkney Islands Council, is the local authority for the Orkney Islands, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of 1996.
It provides services in the areas of environmental health, roads, social work, community development, organisational development, economic development, building standards, trading standards, housing, waste, education, burial grounds, port and harbours and others.[2] The council collects Council Tax.
The council is also the harbour authority for Orkney and its marine services division manages the operation of the islands' 29 piers and harbours.[3]
Orkney had been administered by Commissioners of Supply from 1667 and then by Orkney County Council from 1890 to 1975. The county council was abolished in 1975 and replaced by the Orkney Islands Council, which also took over the functions previously exercised by Orkney's lower-tier authorities, being the town councils of the two burghs of Kirkwall and Stromness, and the councils of the area's landward districts. The new council created in 1975 was an islands council of an area legally called Orkney.[4]
Further local government reform in 1996 introduced single-tier council areas across all of Scotland. The councils of the three island areas created in 1975, including Orkney, continued to provide the same services after 1996, but their areas were re-designated as council areas. The geographic area's legal name was changed from Orkney to 'Orkney Islands' as part of the 1996 reforms, allowing the council to retain the name 'Orkney Islands Council'.[5] The council has been a member of the Islands Forum since 2022.
The first election was held in 1974, with the council initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 16 May 1975. A majority of the seats on the council have been held by independent councillors since 1975.[6]
| 1 | James Stockan[7] | Independent | 2017–2024 | 2017 2022 | |
| 2 | Heather Woodbridge | Independent | 2024–present | 2024 | |
| 1 | George Marwick | Independent | 1974–1978 | 1974 | |
| 2 | Edwin Eunson | Independent | 1978–1990 | 1978 1982 1986 | |
| 3 | Jackie Tait | Independent | 1990–1994 | 1994 | |
| 4 | Hugh Halcro-Johnston | Independent | 1994–2003 | 1994 1999 | |
| 5 | Stephen Hagan | Independent | 2003–2012 | 2003 2007 | |
| 6 | Steven Heddle | Independent | 2012–2017 | 2012 | |
| 7 | Harvey Johnston | Independent | 2017–2022 | 2017 | |
| 8 | Graham Bevan | Independent | 2022–present | 2022 | |
Following the 2022 election, the composition of the council was:[9]
| Party | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | |||
| 2 | |||
| Total | 21 | ||
The next election is due in 2027.[10]
Since the last boundary changes in 2022, the council has comprised 21 councillors representing 6 wards, with each ward electing three or four councillors. Elections are held every five years.[11]
The council is based at the Council Offices on School Place in Kirkwall. The building comprises the former Kirkwall Grammar School and the neighbouring former Paterson Church, with modern extensions linking the older buildings. The former Grammar School was built and converted to become the council's offices in 1978.[12] The Paterson Church, or East Church, was built in 1847 and converted and incorporated into the council offices in the early 2000s.