Community Council Elections 2023

21 August 2023 at 10:18:36

Elections for the next four-year term of Na h-Eileanan an Siar's 30 community councils will commence on 8 September 2023. Membership is open to those over 16 years of age who are registered electors within the boundary of the Community Council. The Notice of Election and details of how to obtain and return nomination forms will be available on the Comhairle website shortly.

  2023 is the 50th  anniversary of the legislation which brought Community Councils into existence, the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The Act defined the purpose of a Community Council as being:

"to ascertain, co-ordinate and express to the Local Authorities for its area and to public authorities the views of the community which it represents, in relation to matters for which those authorities are responsible."

During the last 50 years, Community Councils across Scotland have made important contributions to their communities, by engaging with local people on the issues which matter to them and working to change their area for the better.

While the role of the Community Councils has remained much the same since 1973, the introduction of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 provides new statutory rights for Community Councils, while the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 also strengthened Community Councils' engagement with the planning system.