| Administrative History | Special Districts were bodies set up to enable the adoption of certain public health powers, namely water supply, drainage, lighting and scavenging.
Special districts for drainage and water supply were allowed under the 1867 Public Health (Scotland) Act, though few in Banffshire were established before the setting up of County Councils in 1890.
The Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889, section 81 (1), allowed that:
"Where a special drainage district or water supply district has been formed in any parish under the Public Health Acts, the district committee may...appoint a subcommittee for the management and maintenance of the drainage and water supply works, and such subcommittee shall in part consist of persons, whether members of the committee or not, who are resident within the special drainage or special water supply district."
In 1890, Aberdeen County Council remitted all powers of management and maintenance of drainage and water to the Public Health Committee, but retained powers to lend money to capital schemes (Aberdeen County Council minutes, 4 July 1890).
The Council considered scavenging in 1891, and remitted the decision to the Public Health Committee. They decided that it was a good idea to have a regular scheme, at least until some kind of Special District was requested by the inhabitants of a place.
In 1894 the Government intended to amend the Local Government (Scotland) Act in regard (among other things) to lighting and cleaning. They asked for suggestions from county councils - Aberdeen County agreed that the introduction of lighting and cleaning was sound, and suggested setting up further Special Districts to deal with it. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1894 allowed for the provision of public baths, and for special lighting and scavenging districts to be set up. Lighting districts could take over private lights already established in a district and regulate their lighting times: scavenging districts dealt with street sweeping, public conveniences, collection of refuse and cleaning of ashpits in the area.
The 1894 Act also allowed local ratepayers to requisition their own facilities, though they still had to be approved by the County Council:
Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1894, Section 44 (1)
"It shall be lawful in a county for a parish council or for any two or more parish councils … to make a requisition in writing to the district committee of the county council … calling upon them to form such parish or parishes … into a special district for the following purposes:
a) the lighting of the special district … and the adoption for such purpose … of the provisions contained in sections 99 - 105 inclusive of the Burgh Police (S) Act, 1892
b) the scavenging … in such special district, and the adoption for such purposes … of the provisions contained in sections 107 - 127, and 153 - 155 inclusive of the Burgh Police (S) Act, 1892
c) the provision and maintenance of public baths, wash-houses and drying grounds … in such special district, and the adoption for such purposes … of the provisions contained in sections 309 - 314 inclusive of the Burgh Police (S) Act, 1892."
District Councils, or their predecessors the District Committees, could also recommend the setting up or the extension of a Special District, as could Sanitary Inspectors or Medical Officers of Health. Only the County Council, however, had powers to set them up, extend them, or approve expenditure on capital schemes.
Special districts could adopt further parts of the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892 under the 1908 Local Government (Scotland) Act, including naming streets and numbering houses in their area. Some special water supply districts also took on some responsibility for fire-fighting. The public health measures adopted were funded by a special district rate imposed by the county council, but levied only in the special district. County councils were responsible for the formation, alteration of boundaries, appointment of a management committee, and dissolution of special districts. However, county councils could appoint district councils to oversee management of the special districts within their area.
Management of the huge number of special districts and the burial grounds became unwieldy, and was eventually simplified (at different times in different districts, and in some districts never) by appointing a sub-committee of management for special district areas. These committees wielded the powers awarded to the local water, scavenging, lighting and drainage districts as well as administering the burial grounds. The few management committee records which have survived all cease in summer 1948.
Following the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947, Aberdeen County Council resolved to appoint "Area Officers" with a wide remit over education, registration, burial grounds, rates and rent collection, national assistance and special districts. District Council clerks then had these duties removed. Such a management change is again borne out by the special district records, all of which re-start, or begin, in a different format in the autumn of 1948.
Also under the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1947, special districts could be amalgamated. The county chose to take over the duties, property, funds and assets of forty-one Special Scavenging Districts in 1949, following pressure from Deer District Council, which had centralised its scavenging services in 1944, and from Ellon and Garioch District Councils, which wanted to follow the same path. Ellon in particular was requesting the formation of a very large number of small scavenging districts, decisions on all of which were deferred until the Council had discussed the matter further.
Under the Water (Scotland) Act of 1949, all Special Water Supply Districts were dissolved with effect from 16 May 1949, and the County Council began to levy a domestic water rate centrally to help pay for a county supply. Drainage, scavenging, and lighting, however, remained localised, though there was pressure to use the powers of the 1947 Local Government Act to centralise those services, too. Under the terms of sections 147 and 149 of the Act, a County Special Lighting District was set up in 1967, taking over seventy-three existing special districts the following year, and with ambitions to control lighting in the whole landward area of the county from 1968. The same year, with effect from 16 May 1968, under the terms of section 154 of the Act, the County took over the responsibilities of sixty-four special drainage districts, and all special district powers effectively passed into the hands of the County Council. |