Tayside

Broughty Castle, Tayside

Tayside was one of the 12 regions into which Scotland was divided from 1975 to 1996. During that period the Tayside Regional Council provided a range of local government services across a large part of Scotland extending from the North Sea to the highlands.

Tayside Region, 1975-1996 Note About Image Copyright

Tayside was formed in 1975 by bringing together the traditional county areas of Kinross-shire, Angus and most of Perthshire. A large part of the west side of the traditional county of Perthshire was transferred to Stirling District in Central Region. This extended from Killin in the north east to Tyndrum in the north west, and south past Crianlarich to take in Callander, Aberfoyle, Doune and Dunblane.

Tayside was bordered by the regions of Fife, Central, Strathclyde and Highland. As a region, Tayside was the upper of two tiers of local government. The lower tier comprised three district councils: Perth & Kinross, Angus and the City of Dundee. Perth & Kinross was formed by the merger of Kinross-shire with those parts of Perthshire not lost to Stirling. The new district of City of Dundee was carved out of the south west corner of Angus.

In 1996, a further major reorganisation swept away Scotland's regions and districts and replaced them with 32 unitary councils. Tayside's three district council areas were all translated into unitary council areas: and the area is now divided among the unitary councils of Perth & Kinross, Angus and City of Dundee.

Although Tayside disappeared in 1996 as a local government unit, its name and coverage live on in bodies such as NHS Tayside, Tayside Police and Tayside Fire and Rescue.