Orkney Islands Council
The Orkney Islands Council (Scottish Gaelic: Comhairle Eileanan Arcaibh), is the local authority for Orkney, Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of the mid-1990s.
Orkney Islands Council
since January 2023
21 councillors
Full council elected every 5 years
2027
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 is allowed to collect 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]
Premises[edit]
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 c. 1890 and converted to become the council's offices in 1978.[4][5] The Paterson Church, or East Church, was built in 1847 and converted and incorporated into the council offices in the early 2000s.[6]