Who Speaks for East Kilbride? Time for Real Representation in Every Community — Not Just the Few
East Kilbride is Scotland’s sixth-largest town. It’s diverse, it’s growing, and it’s home to tens of thousands of people from all walks of life. But if you look at who actually has a formal say in local decisions — via Community Councils — the picture becomes very one-sided.
At present, only a small number of areas have active community councils, and they tend to represent more affluent neighbourhoods like Stewartfield, West Mains, and of course, Jackton. The vast majority of the town—places like Greenhills, Whitehills, The Murray, East Mains, St Leonards, Westwood, and Lindsayfield—remain unrepresented or inactive.
Why Does This Matter?
Community Councils are designed to give residents a voice on everything from planning and housing to roads, safety, and local services. They are recognised by South Lanarkshire Council, consulted on decisions, and have the power to challenge, support or influence what happens in their area.
If your community doesn’t have one, you’re effectively locked out of local democracy. You don’t get a seat at the table. You don’t get a say.
Why Should Only One Group Have a Voice?
The current imbalance doesn’t reflect the real East Kilbride. And it’s not right that some communities have the structures to shape their future while others are left behind.
Let’s be honest: many of the areas currently represented tend to have higher incomes, greater digital access, and more existing influence. That shouldn’t determine whose voice gets heard.
And to those still debating it — yes, Jackton is in East Kilbride. It might have a “new” development, genetically engineered Labradoodles, and bins that write poetry, but it still shares roads, buses, services, and voting boundaries with the rest of us. Whether Jackton will formally declare itself a city-state or full independent sovereign country remains to be seen — but for now, it’s still part of the town, and so are we.
For the record: our organisation supports all of East Kilbride. Unfortunately, we were recently removed from the Jackton Facebook group — this is all in tongue and cheek — but we’re still committed to ensuring every community has a voice. Thank you for leading the way!
Let’s Build Real Representation
We’re looking to support residents in every area of East Kilbride to form or revive their local community councils. This includes the areas that are underrepresented and long overdue for a voice at the table.
If you want better lighting, safer streets, investment in parks, youth services, or housing repairs — it starts here.
We’ll support you with:
- Gathering signatures
- Forming a constitution
- Connecting with the council
- Promoting and hosting your first meetings
- Building something that belongs to your neighbourhood, not us
Interested?
📩 Email us at EK@thecommunityimpact.co.uk
📱 Or message us on social media
📍 We’ll come to your community — from Greenhills to Lindsayfield, from The Murray to Westwood — and help you get started.
Let’s make ALL of East Kilbride fair, equal and represented — not just by postcode, but by people.
Contact us by email at EK@thecommunityimpact.co.uk or via social media if you wish to confidentially discuss this article. You can always comment below.
Leave a Reply