Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area's largest town. The main towns are generally in the north of the area on the coastal plain. The south of the area is more sparsely populated and mountainous, including part of the Cairngorms National Park.
The council area is named after the historic county of Moray, which was in turn named after the medieval Province of Moray, each of which covered different areas to the modern council area. The modern area of Moray was created in 1975 as a lower-tier district within the Grampian Region. The Moray district became a single-tier council area in 1996.
History
The name, first attested around 970 as Moreb, and in Latinised form by 1124 as Moravia, derives from the earlier Celtic forms *mori 'sea' and *treb 'settlement'.During the Middle Ages, the Province of Moray was much larger than the modern council area, also covering much of what is now Highland. During this period Moray's status fluctuated; it was sometimes an independent kingdom, and at other times a vassal of Alba to the south. In the early 12th century, Moray's last independent ruler, Óengus of Moray, was defeated by David I of Scotland, and the area was then absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland. It was divided into the shires of Elginshire, Nairnshire and the mainland parts of Inverness-shire. Elginshire was seen as the core of the old Moray territory and so was often informally called Moray. In 1919 Elginshire County Council renamed the county Moray.
The modern territory called Moray was created in 1975 under the Local Government Act 1973, which abolished Scotland's counties, burghs and landward districts and replaced them with a two-tier system of regions and districts. The new Moray district covered ten of the twelve previous districts of the county of Moray plus over half of the area of the neighbouring county of Banffshire to the east:
From the county of Moray
- Burghead burgh
- Duffus and Drainie district
- Elgin burgh
- Elgin district
- Fochabers district
- Forres burgh
- Forres district
- Lossiemouth and Branderburgh burgh
- Rothes burgh
- Rothes and Knockando burgh
- Aberlour burgh
- Buckie burgh
- Buckie district
- Cullen burgh
- Cullen district
- Dufftown burgh
- Dufftown district
- Findochty burgh
- Keith burgh
- Keith district
- Portknockie burgh
The districts and regions created in 1975 were abolished in 1996, under the Local Government etc. Act 1994 and replaced with single-tier council areas. The Moray district became one of the new council areas.
The boundaries of the pre-1975 county of Moray are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being a registration county. The Moray lieutenancy area covers the parts of the pre-1975 county that are within the modern council area. The Banffshire lieutenancy area covers the pre-1975 county, which therefore straddles the modern Moray and Aberdeenshire council areas.
Politics
is based at the Council Offices in Elgin, formerly the offices of the old Moray and Nairn Joint County Council.Moray is represented in large part by the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency, and in small part by the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency. The MP for the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency is Graham Leadbitter of the SNP, and the MP for the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency is Seamus Logan of the SNP.
For the Scottish Parliament, the majority of Moray is in the Moray constituency and the Highlands and Islands electoral region. The eastern corner of Moray is instead in the Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency and the North-East Scotland electoral region.
In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Moray voted 'No' by an above-average percentage of 57.6%. In the 2016 European Union membership referendum, Moray voted 'Remain' by a 50.1% margin. It had the biggest percentage for 'Leave' out of all the Scottish council areas and the narrowest margin of victory for either side anywhere in the UK.
Settlements
The large majority of Moray's population live in the northern part of the district; only one of its eight wards covers the glens to the south. Elgin is by far the largest town, being home to 25% of the population at the 2011 census.Largest settlements by population:
| Settlement | Population |
| Elgin | |
| Forres | |
| Buckie | |
| Lossiemouth | |
| Keith | |
| Burghead | |
| Lhanbryde | |
| Fochabers | |
| Hopeman | |
| Dufftown |
Education
There are 45 primary and eight secondary schools in Moray and the council currently has responsibility for educating more than 13,000 pupils. The council's community learning and development team is also involved in arranging a wide range of classes and courses for adult learners. The council also currently operates 15 public libraries, all with free internet and e-mail access, and two mobile libraries, which service users in more remote areas.Moray is also home to the University of the Highlands and Islands affiliated Moray College, and to Gordonstoun independent boarding school and its accompanying preparatory school, Aberlour House.
Infrastructure
Moray Council is also responsible for the maintenance of 1,000 miles of roads, 450 miles of footpaths, 468 bridges, 16,000 street lights and 10,500 road signs.As a housing authority, Moray Council manages nearly 6,000 council properties and operates a council house waiting list. It also provides housing which has been specially designed, built, or adapted to meet the requirements of certain groups, such as the elderly and those with special needs. The council's development control section, which is part of the environmental services department, deals with thousands of planning applications every year from individuals and organisations seeking permission to erect buildings or adapt existing ones.
Drug issues
In 2020, Scotland had the highest number of drug-related deaths in Europe, almost 3.5 times higher than the rest of the UK.Figures from the National Records of Scotland show there were 17 drug deaths in the Moray area in 2018 compared to 7 the year before. That compares to 10 in both 2016 and 2015, 2 in 2014 and 5 in 2013. The 2018 figures for the Moray area were the highest since records began in 1996, mirroring the national picture.
In 2019, 12 drug-related deaths were reported - 5 fewer than the record high of the previous year. This represents a drug-related death rate per 1,000 people of 0.12. By comparison, the death rate in neighbouring Aberdeenshire per 1,000 people was 0.08; in Dundee it was 0.36 ; in Glasgow it was 0.35 ; the lowest in Scotland was Orkney with a rate of 0.06.
Environment
Approximately 50,000 tonnes of waste is collected from homes and commercial properties in Moray. Households in many communities benefit from a kerbside recycling service. There are over 60 recycling points located throughout Moray in addition to eight larger recycling centres.Economy
Employment
The working population of Moray in 2003 was nearly 40,000: of whom around 34,000 were employees and 6000 self-employed. Of these 34,000, 31% were employed in the public sector, compared with 27% for Scotland and 25% for the UK. Only 18% of jobs are managerial or professional, compared to 25% for Scotland.Economic performance and development
The gross value added in Moray was £1.26 billion in 2003. This corresponds to an output of £14,500 per resident and was 6% below the average for Scotland and 12% below that of the UK.The diagrams show the strong reliance on the food and drink industry, i.e. the distilling, canned food and biscuit manufacturing industries. The public sector is also very prominent. Of the total GVA of £1.26 billion, food and drink is responsible for 19% while 3% is the Scottish figure and 2% for the UK. Moray is responsible for 9% of the entire food and drink GVA of Scotland. Significant areas where Moray has a larger than average share of national markets are in tourism, forest products, textiles and specialised metal working. In contrast, however, Moray is significantly underrepresented in the business services area at 15% of GVA, while it is 19% for Scotland and 25% for the UK.
In March 2014 a tourism strategy was launched by the Moray Economic Partnership aimed at doubling the £95m industry over the next decade. In June 2014 a website was launched under the auspices of the Moray Chamber of Commerce to support the strategy and provide a one-stop shop for visitors.