| Antrim Borough | |
| Geography | |
| Area - Total |
Ranked 11th (of 26) of 26 577 km² |
|---|---|
| Admin HQ | Antrim |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-ANT |
| ONS code | 95T |
| Demographics | |
| Population - Total (2010) - Density |
Ranked 16th 54,100 94 / km² |
| Community | Catholic: 38.6% Protestant: 56.7% |
| Politics | |
| Control | No overall control |
| MLAs | DUP: 3 Alliance Party: 1 Sinn Féin: 1 UUP: 1 |
| MPs | William McCrea (DUP) |
| Meeting place | |
| Antrim Civic Centre | |
| Website | |
| http://www.antrim.gov.uk | |
Antrim (named after the town of Antrim) is a local government district in Northern Ireland. It is one of twenty-six districts created in 1973, and was granted borough status on 9 May 1977.[1] The borough covers an area of some 220 square miles (570 km2) with a population of nearly 50,000. It is situated about 19 miles (31 km) north-west of Belfast. It borders the north and east shores of Lough Neagh, the largest fresh water lake in the United Kingdom, and includes the towns of Antrim, Toomebridge, Crumlin, Randalstown, Parkgate and Templepatrick. The council headquarters are located on the outskirts of Antrim town. Although the borough is not within the Belfast Metropolitan Area, it houses the city's international airport and many commuter villages.
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The borough is sub-divided into three electoral areas: Antrim South-East, Antrim North-West and Antrim Town, from which 19 members were elected. As of February 2011, the following political parties are represented: 5 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 5 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 3 Sinn Féin, 3 Alliance Party, 2 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)and 1 Traditional Unionist Voice.[2] An election is held every four years using the proportional representation system.[2] The next election was due to take place in May 2009, but on April 25, 2008, Shaun Woodward, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that the scheduled 2009 district council elections were to be postponed until the introduction of the eleven new councils in 2011.[3] The proposed reforms were abandoned in 2010, and the next district council elections will take place in 2011[4]
A mayor and deputy mayor are elected from among the councillors at the borough council's annual meeting in June. For the civic year 2010/11 the Mayor of Antrim is Pam Lewis (DUP) and the Deputy Mayor is Alan Lawther (Alliance).[5]
The economy of the area revolves around construction, distribution, transport and hospitality. It has a well-developed transport infrastructure that provides easy access to all the main external gateways for Northern Ireland and all parts of the region. Antrim Town lies on two of the main transport corridors, the Belfast – Derry corridor and the Southern corridor. Belfast International Airport is located within the borough, only 4 miles (6.4 km) from Antrim town.
Together with part of the district of Newtownabbey, it forms the South Antrim constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.
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