For the municipality in Canada, see Lochaber, Quebec. Lochaber is a township in the Canadian province of Quebec, located within the Papineau Regional County Municipality.

District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996

Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of Scotland

Lochaber (Scottish Gaelic Loch Abar) is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region. The Highland Council area ( Sgìre Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd in Gaelic, s̪g̊ʲiːɾʲə kɔ For local government purposes Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Highland Council Management areas 1996 to 2007 For lists of wards see Highland Council wards 1995 to 1999 and Highland Council Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Local government in Scotland is organised through 32 unitary authorities consisting of Councillors elected every four years by registered voters in each of the The Highland Council area ( Sgìre Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd in Gaelic, s̪g̊ʲiːɾʲə kɔ The regions and districts of Scotland were established under the Local Government (Scotland Act 1973 as a two-tier system of Local government in Scotland. There are also earlier senses of Lochaber as a district within the county of Inverness (Inverness-shire),^[1] as a district within the county of Argyll^[2] and as simply a district of Scotland. Inverness-shire also known as the county of Inverness or Siorrachd Inbhir Nis in Gaelic, was a general purpose county of Scotland, Argyll, Archaically Argyle ( Earra-Ghàidheal in modern Gaelic) is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part ^[3] All senses of Lochaber refer to an area in the west of the Scottish Highlands. The Scottish Highlands ( Scottish Gaelic: A' Ghàidhealtachd, Scots: Hielans) include the rugged and Mountainous

The ward management area is one of five comprising the Highland Council's Ross, Skye and Lochaber corporate management area, which is one of three Highland Council corporate management areas. Highland Council Management areas 1996 to 2007 For lists of wards see Highland Council wards 1995 to 1999 and Highland Council The Ross, Skye and Lochaber area consists of six out of the 22 wards of the council area and the Lochaber area consists of two wards, the Caol and Mallaig ward, which elects three councillors, and the Fort William and Ardnamurchan ward, which elects four councillors. Lists of wards created in 2007 Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross wards The Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross corporate management area consists of seven wards Lists of wards created in 2007 Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross wards The Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross corporate management area consists of seven wards ^[4] Each of the other wards of the corporate area is a separate ward management area.

There is also a Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Westminster), but its boundaries are not exactly those of the council corporate management area. Ross Skye and Lochaber is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom ( Westminster) The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories The constituency was created in 2005 with boundaries based on those of wards in use during the period 1999 to 2007.

History of local government

As statutory local government areas, the Highland region and its districts were created in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and abolished in 1996. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. The Local Government (Scotland Act 1973 (1973 c 65 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland The 1973 legislation abolished local government counties and burghs throughout Scotland and created a new system of nine two-tier regions and three islands council areas. The counties of Scotland were the principal divisions of Scotland until 1975 A Burgh (ˈbʌʀə is an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland, usually a Town. There were three islands council areas of Scotland: Orkney Shetland Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles Each region consisted of a number of districts and the islands areas were created as unitary council areas.

The Lochaber district of the Highland region was created by merging the Ardnamurchan district and the Ballachulish and Kinlochleven electoral divisions of the former county of Argyll with the burgh of Fort William and the district of Lochaber of the former county of Inverness. Ardnamurchan ( Scottish Gaelic: Àird nam Murchan: land of the great seas is a 50 Square mile Peninsula in Lochaber, The village of Ballachulish ( from the Gaelic Baile Chaolais) in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, is centred around former Slate Kinlochleven ( Ceann Loch Lìobhann in Gaelic) is a village in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland and lies at the eastern end of Loch Argyll, Archaically Argyle ( Earra-Ghàidheal in modern Gaelic) is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part Fort William ( Scottish Gaelic: An Gearasdan, "The Garrison" is the largest town in the highlands of Scotland, now that Inverness Therefore the boundaries of the district included North Lorne, Glen Coe, Nether Lochaber, the western part of the Rannoch Moor, the Road to the Isles, Moidart, Ardgour, Morvern, Sunart, Ardnamurchan, and the Small Isles (Rùm, Eigg, Muck and Canna). Glencoe ( Gleann Comhann in Gaelic) is a Glen in the Highlands of Scotland. Nether Lochaber in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, is the modern (1950s name for the Parish of 'Ballachulish and Onich ' Rannoch Moor is a large expanse of around 50 square miles (130 km² of boggy Moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch, in Perth and Kinross The A830, sometimes known as the Road to the Isles (although in reality it forms only a part of that historic route is a road in Lochaber, in the Highlands Moidart is a district in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland to the west of Fort William; the area is very remote and Loch Shiel cuts off Ardgour (Ard Ghobhar meaning Height of the goats) is a village on the western shore of Loch Linnhe, on the Ardnamurchan peninisula Lochaber Not to be confused with Morven Morvern is a peninsula in south west Lochaber, on the west coast of Scotland. Sunart is a rural district and Parish in south west Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, on the north shore of Loch Sunart. Ardnamurchan ( Scottish Gaelic: Àird nam Murchan: land of the great seas is a 50 Square mile Peninsula in Lochaber, Please note there is also a group called "Small Isles" off south east Jura Scotland The Small Isles ( Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan Rùm (rˠuːm a Scottish Gaelic name often Anglicised to Rum) is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Eigg ( Scottish Gaelic: Eige) is one of the Small Isles, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. Muck ( Gaelic: Eilean nam Muc) is the smallest of the Small Isles, part of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Canna ( Gaelic Eilean Channaidh) is the westernmost of the Small Isles archipelago in the Scottish Inner Hebrides.

The 1994 legislation abolished regions and districts and established a system of 32 unitary council areas covering the whole of Scotland, and all of the Highland districts were merged into the new unitary Highland council area.

In 1996 the new Highland Council adopted the areas of the former districts as council management areas, and created area committees to represent them. Highland Council Management areas 1996 to 2007 For lists of wards see Highland Council wards 1995 to 1999 and Highland Council Many large Local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees, with responsibility for services in a particular part of the The Lochaber management area then consisted of eight out of the 72 wards of the council area, each electing one councillor by the first past the post system of election. In Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, a ward is an Electoral district A councillor or councilor ( Cllr, Coun, Clr or Cr for short is a member of a Local government council such as a In 1999 ward boundaries were redrawn to create 80 new wards. Management area boundaries were not redrawn, however, and therefore area committees ceased to represent exactly the areas for which they were named and made decisions. The Lochaber committee continued to have eight members. The area manager throughout this period (1996 - 2007) was John Hutchison.

Ward boundaries were redrawn again this year, 2007, under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, and the council abolished its eight management areas in favour of three new corporate management areas and 16 new ward management areas. The Local Governance (Scotland Act 2004 (2004 asp 9 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which provided inter alia, for the election of Councillors Each of the 22 new wards elects three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, a system designed to produce a form of proportional representation, and the total number of councillors remains the same. Single transferable vote (STV is a preferential Voting system designed to minimize Wasted votes and provide Proportional representation Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation or PR is a category of electoral formula aiming at a close match between the percentage of votes Various ward management areas, including the Locahaber area, cover more than one ward.

Lochaber used to be known as Abria.

Map of Scotland showing the historic district of Lochaber

Hydroelectric scheme

The Lochaber hydroelectric scheme was a power generation project constructed in the western Scottish Highlands after the First World War. Hydroelectricity is electricity generated by Hydropower, ie the production of power through use of the gravitational force of falling water The Scottish Highlands ( Scottish Gaelic: A' Ghàidhealtachd, Scots: Hielans) include the rugged and Mountainous World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Like its predecessor at Kinlochleven, it was intended to provide electricity for aluminium production, this time at Fort William, a little further north. Kinlochleven ( Ceann Loch Lìobhann in Gaelic) is a village in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland and lies at the eastern end of Loch WikipediaNaming Fort William ( Scottish Gaelic: An Gearasdan, "The Garrison" is the largest town in the highlands of Scotland, now that Inverness The scheme was initially designed by engineer Charles Meik but after his death in 1923, the scheme’s realisation was left to William Halcrow, by then a partner in the firm originally founded by Meik’s father Thomas Meik. An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of Engineering. Charles Meik (born? - 1923 was an English Engineer and part of a minor engineering dynasty Sir William Halcrow (July 1883 - 1958 was one of the most notable English Civil engineers of the 20th century particularly renowned for his expertise in Thomas Meik ( -) was a British Engineer, born in Duddingston, Midlothian.

The project was finally sanctioned by Parliament in 1921, but construction did not start until 1924; the aluminium smelter was established in 1929 and took about 95% of the 82,000 kW of power generated.

The scheme harnessed the headwaters of the Rivers Treig and Spean and the floodwaters of the River Spey (plus a further eleven burns along the way). The River Spey ( Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a River in the northeast of Scotland, the second longest and the fastest flowing river in In Scotland, Northern England and some parts of Ireland, burn is a name for watercourses from large Streams to small Rivers The The Laggan Dam (213 m long and 55 m high) contained the flow of the Spean in a reservoir (Loch Laggan). Laggan Dam is a Dam located on the River Spean south west of Loch Laggan in the Scottish Highlands. A reservoir is most broadly a place or hollow vessel where Fluid is kept in Reserve, for later use Loch Laggan is a freshwater Loch situated east of Fort William, in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. A 4 km tunnel then linked this body of water with another reservoir (Loch Treig) contained by the Treig dam. A tunnel is an underground passageway The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon Loch Treig ( Scottish Gaelic: Loch Trèig) is a 9 km freshwater Loch situated in a steep-sided Glen 20 km east of Fort William From here, the main tunnel, until 1970 the longest water-carrying tunnel in the world, an enormous 24 km (15 miles) long and 5 m in diameter, was driven around the Ben Nevis massif. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ben Nevis ( Gaelic: Beinn Nibheis, peˈɲivəʃ is the highest mountain in the British Isles. From the western mountainside, down five massive steel pipes, the water rushed towards the turbines in the power house at the smelting plant. Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 A turbine is a rotary Engine that extracts Energy from a Fluid flow Chemical reduction, or smelting, is a form of Extractive metallurgy.

Notes and references

Further reading

Howat, Patrick, The Lochaber Narrow Gauge Railway, Northern Books from Famedram, ISBN 0-905489-43-8, now out of print

See also

• Lochaber axe
• Lochaber Narrow Gauge Railway