North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It has a population of roughly people. It is located in the southwest of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the northeast and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and south respectively. North Ayrshire Council is a hung Council. North Ayrshire also forms part of the east coast of the Firth of Clyde. North Ayrshire as a whole is a mainly affluent area.
History and formation
The area was created in 1996 as a successor to the district of Cunninghame. The council headquarters are located in Irvine, which is the largest town. The area also contains the towns of Ardrossan, Beith, Dalry, Kilbirnie, Kilwinning, Largs, Saltcoats, Skelmorlie, Stevenston, West Kilbride, as well as the Isle of Arran and the Cumbrae Isles. The Isle of Arran covers nearly half of the council area's territory, but is home to less than 4% of the population. North Ayrshire is known for its rural countryside, coastlines, beaches and landmarks. It is a mostly affluent area with the population being among the least deprived in Scotland. However a few parts of the area have some deprivation, this is mostly towards the south of the area in Saltcoats and Stevenston where there is some deprived areas. The towns in the north of the area, Skelmorelie, Largs, Fairle and West Kilbride are affluent commuting towns and with them being on the coast, are very popular with tourists during the summer months, towns in the south include the 3 towns Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston as well as the affluent town of Kilwinning. Towards the south of the area is Irvine which is also the main settlement and largest town in the area. The inland towns of Dalry, Kilbirnie and Beith were steel towns with the large steel mills however these are long gone. Tourism is the main industry on Arran and Cumbrae; however, the number of holiday homes on the latter has begun to squeeze locals out of the housing market. Regeneration is currently taking place at Ardrossan Harbour and Irvine town centre, and there has been a rapid increase in the construction of new housing in recent years. Kelburn Castle, Fairlie, is the home of the 10th Earl of Glasgow, Patrick Robin Archibald Boyle. The grounds have belonged to the Boyle family since the 1100s. In 2007, the castle was transformed by the Graffiti Project.
The main administration centre and largest settlement in North Ayrshire is Irvine, a new town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, with a population of 33,698. The second biggest settlement is Kilwinning which has a population of over 18,000. Other major population centres include Largs, and the 'Three Towns' - Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston. On the Isle of Arran, the largest village is Lamlash and there are numerous smaller villages. On Great Cumbrae, the only town on the island is Millport.
