Westhill is a suburban town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, located west of the city of Aberdeen. As of 2022, it has a population of 11,750, making it one of the largest towns in Aberdeenshire.

The town is a blend of villages and farms that were gradually incorporated during its expansion in the latter half of the 20th century, most notably Elrick. It has a swimming pool, shopping centre, library, golf club and nature reserve.

Origin

The creation of Westhill just outside Aberdeen was the idea of local solicitor Ronald Fraser Dean in 1963. With the backing of the former Aberdeen District Council (see Aberdeen City Council), the Secretary of State for Scotland and supported financially by Ashdale Land and Property Company Ltd., the new settlement of Westhill was created upon the old farming land. Since the construction of the first houses in 1968, Westhill has undergone a gradual expansion, much of which is tied to the North East's oil and gas economy. In 2007/8 a major expansion of the industrial estate brought several thousand workers to the area. Most of these are in specialist sub-sea engineering oil service companies, making Westhill a world centre in sub-sea engineering.

The name Westhill was created in 1859 when John Anderson from Strichen bought the adjoining small estates of Wester Kinmundy and Blackhills. Both of these names were very old, dating back to at least the 16th Century, but Anderson seems not to have liked them. He therefore created the name Westhill from the other two names. This is recorded in the Register of Sasines 2 December 1859.

Growth of the town

thumb|left|Swimming Pool, Westhill

Major housing expansions are under way at Elrick and to the west of Westhill. Many new housing estates are being built, primarily from well known companies such as Stewart Milne and Bett Homes.

The town of Westhill covers the area that was the Western Kinmundy and Blackhills Farming areas.

Westhill Business Park is also growing, with an increasing number of companies creating offices in the park. Due to the demand for offices, many planning permission applications for using the unused land to the South-West have been submitted. The growth has been such that the Postal Area formerly known as Skene has been renamed Westhill, so that for postal purposes, the once two-horse-hamlet of Westhill now covers many square miles.

thumb|View of the road leading to the Westhill Shopping Centre

During the 1980s the local authority boundaries were to be moved such that Westhill would fall within the City of Aberdeen. This was seen as a cost-cutting venture, however the community set up a "Don't Move Westhill" campaign, and successfully stopped the town's absorption into Aberdeen. No new attempt to move the boundaries to include Westhill have been made since.

Education

thumb|Westhill Primary School

Westhill has three primary schools:

  • Crombie Primary,
  • Elrick Primary,
  • Westhill Primary.
  • Skene School (Not in Westhill but feeds into Westhill Academy)

Westhill has a secondary school, Westhill Academy. The academy services Westhill, Skene and pupils in the surrounding area. It was opened in 1979, and since then many improvements and extensions have been made to increase the capacity of the academy.In 2025, the school ranked 23rd in Scotland's secondary school league tables, making it the highest-ranked school in Aberdeenshire.

All the schools in Westhill are run by Aberdeenshire Council.

thumb|left|[[Westhill Academy]]

Demographics

The population in 2006 was 10,392. As of 2022, the population has grown to 11,750 people, 58.1% being aged from 18 to 64. For a time, there were two gold postboxes on Westhill Drive. The first was painted to honour Baillie's achievement, but locals complained that its location was not central enough. As a result, another postbox, closer to the Shopping Centre, was also painted gold. However, during the Shopping Centre's renovation, the more central postbox was relocated inside the concourse, and the original postbox further up Westhill Drive was removed in 2024.

In part of the Grampian Regional Council Brotherfield Nursery, is the home of The Beechgrove Garden, a gardening based television programme broadcast since 1978 on BBC Scotland. Episodes have broadcast from the site since 1996. and the Roman Catholic Church. The Episcopal Church have moved to a new larger church to the west.

In addition, evangelical services are also held by the Westhill Baptist Church located at the Westdyke Leisure Centre. In 2016, a Buddhist centre established at Kinmundy, Varapunya Meditation Centre offering Buddhist practice and meditation.

References

  • Westhill and Elrick Community Council
  • Westhill Catholic Parish, Trinity Church, Westhill
  • Westhill Community Church, Westhill
  • Skene Heritage Society