'Clackmannanshire Council's biggest challenge is being the smallest mainland local authority'

Scottish Greens councillor Bryan Quinn has big things to say about the ‘wee county’. He has been a representative of the Clackmannanshire South ward since May 2022 and is his party's first ever member on the local authority.

Describe the area you represent in one sentence.  

It's the best wee place to live in Scotland. 

How long have you lived there? 

We love it here in Alloa. I'm 38 and have been living in and around Clackmannanshire almost my entire life. I spent two years in the south of England as a missionary for my church and a couple of years in Falkirk because my wife was studying there, but we moved right back. As a missionary I was teaching people, helping people out.  

Tell us something we won’t know about your local area. 

Alloa used to have a harbour that was one of the most significant inland ports in the 18th and 19th centuries, because we had a lot of exports, like coal, whisky and glass. We still have a glassworks, we still have Diageo making a lot of drinks in the area, but there's not any coal any more. 

Who is the best-known person from your area? 

There are a lot of famous people from Clackmannanshire. The former Scotland footballer Alan Hansen is one, so is Gregor Fisher, who played Rab C Nesbitt, and there's Duncan Scott, the most decorated Scottish Olympian. He's probably the most well-known person right now. 

What challenges are unique to your particular part of the country?  

The biggest challenge we have got is probably that we are the smallest mainland local authority. It can make things difficult. We are still required to provide all the same services as other councils but we don't have the same scale, so it can be a bit tricky. We have quite high levels of poverty in some areas, so that makes it difficult sometimes as well. 

What made you stand for election? 

I'm not somebody who can sit at the back. I love the area – I grew up and went to school here, I want to make it the best it can be, to make it a better place for my kids to grow up in, and hopefully they'll stay here forever. As a councillor, you can’t keep everyone happy all the time, but you are able to do positive things and help people out. It's really rewarding. There are difficult decisions as well, and we don't always have a lot of options. 

What’s the one thing Holyrood politicians could do that would be of greatest benefit to the area you represent? 

I really hate ring-fencing. A lot of money we receive is ring-fenced, with a lot of terms and conditions on it. It makes it very hard to maximise the benefit we can get out of it. If we trust the local politicians to do the best for the local area, we can do more with the money we receive. 

What’s the best bit about living where you do? 

We're a nice wee place – I don't like living in a big city. We're right in the middle of Scotland, so we are close to everything, and you can get a train to Edinburgh or Glasgow, you are next door to Falkirk and Stirling, you've got everything on your doorstep. 

Is there a particular word you love using that only people in your part of the country would recognise? 

No, but my wife is from West Lothian, and she says there is a Clack-ccent [Clackmannanshire accent]. I don't notice it myself, but that's maybe because I grew up here. 

If you could live anywhere else, where would it be?  

This is the best place to live, but if I had to live somewhere else, it would probably be Stirling because it's right next door, I went to uni there, and there's a lot to see and do there. I did a degree in psychology and a postgraduate in behavioural finance. I was one of only two in the year.