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CITY REGION BOUNDARIES STUDY

5.8 It can be seen that the 10% contour for the Glasgow TTWA has now moved beyond the boundary set by the 5% contour in 1991. The greatest changes have been to the north and the south to include more of Stirling and Ayrshire.

Figure 6 - Change in 5% and 10% TTWA boundaries for Edinburgh between 1991 Census and 1999-2001 SHS.

5.9 The changes for Edinburgh are even more marked than for Glasgow with the 5% boundary extending to the border with England, and even the 10% boundary encompassing large parts of the Scottish Borders. Parts of Stirling, Clackmannanshire, Perth and Kinross, and North Lanarkshire are now included at the 5% level and there have been major changes for Fife with much of south Fife now included at the 10% level.

5.10 It must be emphasised that, although these boundaries are the best fit for the data plotted in Appendix C, the 5% and 10% thresholds are not robust at an individual postcode level. This means that the exact locations of the boundaries should be treated as approximate. However, in general, the boundaries have been drawn around clusters of postcode sectors so, with the exception of some fairly large rural sectors, the margin for error should be fairly small.

Figure 7 - Change in 5% and 10% TTWA boundaries for Dundee between 1991 Census and 1999-2001 SHS

5.11 For Dundee, the inclusion of part of Aberdeenshire is significant, but the extension of the boundary within North Fife and Perth and Kinross also has implications for cross boundary planning. The 10% boundary now reaches the outskirts of Glenrothes, and Perth and well beyond Arbroath.

5.12 Given these very substantial changes for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, the lack of change in Aberdeenshire is remarkable. The 40+ km commutes observed for Aberdeenshire in 1991 are now observed across central Scotland, but the outer boundary for Aberdeen has stayed static. This may suggest that the level of change in the boundaries across Scotland which can be expected over the next ten years will be very much less than the changes observed over the last 10 years.

Figure 8 - Change in 5% and 10% TTWA boundaries for Aberdeen between 1991 Census and 1999-2001 SHS

5.13 Table 4 summarises the Council areas wholly or partly included in the TTWAs for each city.

5.14 These observed travel to work patterns can also be used as a guide of where action is needed to encourage higher levels of economic activity, and possibly improvements in transport links. For example Falkirk and Stirling appear in both the Glasgow and Edinburgh catchments but nearby Clackmannanshire does not, even though it is closer to Edinburgh than Stirling. In interpreting the results it is important to consider the policy context for economic development and strategic planning.

Table 4 - Travel to Work Areas by Council

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