South Lanarkshire Council is the unitary authority serving the South Lanarkshire council area in Scotland. The council has its headquarters in Hamilton, has 16,000 employees, and an annual budget of almost £1bn. The large and varied geographical territory takes in rural and upland areas, market towns such as Lanark, Strathaven and Carluke, the urban burghs of Rutherglen, Cambuslang, and East Kilbride which was Scotland's first new town. The area was formed in 1996 from the areas of Clydesdale, Hamilton and East Kilbride districts, and some outer areas of Glasgow district ; all were previously within the Strathclyde region from 1975 but in historic Lanarkshire prior to that.

Fernhill is a residential neighbourhood in the Scottish town of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire; it is situated south of the River Clyde and borders the Rutherglen neighbourhoods of High Burnside to the north and Cathkin to the east, the Glasgow district of Castlemilk to the west, and the open lands of Fernbrae Meadows to the south. Its location on a steep incline which is part of the Cathkin Braes range of hills offers panoramic views over the south and eastern parts of Greater Glasgow.