South Lanarkshire, SCT - Postcode - ML3 7GL

South Lanarkshire 

It is one of Scotland's 32 unitary authorities. It is located to the south-east of Glasgow proper and contains several suburbs as well as many rural hamlets. Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders, and West Lothian are all neighboring counties. The majority of the original county of Lanarkshire is included.

South Lanarkshire Council

The Scottish administrative region of South Lanarkshire is governed by the South Lanarkshire Council (Scottish Gaelic: Comhairle Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas), a unitary authority. The council's headquarters are located in Hamilton, and it has 16,000 employees and an annual budget of nearly £1 billion. There are urban burghs like Rutherglen and Cambuslang, as well as the historic cities of East Kilbride and Carluke, as well as market towns like Lanark, Strathaven, and Carluke. In 1996, the districts of Clydesdale, Hamilton, and East Kilbride, as well as some outer areas of Glasgow district (Rutherglen/Fernhill, Cambuslang/Halfway, and a portion of King's Park/Toryglen) were merged to form the area, which had previously been part of the Strathclyde region from 1975 but had historically been part of Lanarkshire.

Leadership

Key decisions in South Lanarkshire are made by the Executive Committee, led by the Council Leader, and approved by the council, headed by the provost.

Tom McCabe was the first leader of South Lanarkshire Council and was chosen from among the current council members. McCabe had previously served as the leader of Hamilton District Council. Eddie McAvoy, the brother of one of the region's MPs Tommy McAvoy, served as McCabe's deputy for 18 years before retiring ahead of the 2017 election after McCabe was elected as an MSP in 1999. John Ross took over as leader in 2017. 

One of the current council members also acts as provost, a diplomatic position.

People currently holding these positions are:

• Former Hamilton district provost Sam Casserly served in that role from 1995 to 1999.
• Alan Dick (1999-2003)
• Mushtaq Ahmad (2003–2007)
• Russell Clearie (2007-2012)
• Former Clydesdale district provost, Eileen Logan, served from 2012 to 2017.
• The position of Ian McAllan (2017-2022)
• Maggie Cooper (2022–present)

Wards

During the first 12 years of the council's existence, each of the 73 wards (reduced to 67 in 1999 and 2003) elected one council member using the First Past the Post voting system.

Each of the 20 council wards in South Lanarkshire has a population between 13,000 and 20,000, and its councillors are elected by single transferable vote; in 2007 and 2012, this resulted in a total of 67 available seats, which was reduced to 64 in 2017 along with boundary adjustments, despite maintaining the same number of wards overall.

Headquarters

The current Council Headquarters building, located at Almada Street, Hamilton, was formerly known as the Hamilton Townhouse and was designed by Lanark council architect D G Bannerman in 1963. The 17-story, 200-foot (61 m) tower is a prominent landmark in this section of the Clyde Valley and is listed as a Category A building because of its architectural significance. New York's iconic United Nations building served as inspiration for the building's sleek, contemporary style. The council chamber is a circular room at the front of the building, adjacent to a plaza with water features.