Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972

Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act 1972

Citation 1972 c. 9
Dates
Royal Assent 25 March 1972
Commencement 25 March 1972
Other legislation
Relates to Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878, Water Supplies and Sewerage Act (Northern Ireland) 1945, New Towns Acts (Northern Ireland), Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971, Local Government (Boundaries) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006
Status: Current legislation

The Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act 1972 (1972 c. 9) was an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland that constituted district councils to administer the twenty-six local government districts created by the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971, and abolished the existing local authorities in Northern Ireland.

District councils

Each Local Government District was to have a district council consisting of elected councillors of whom one would be chairman and another could be vice-chairman.

Provision for the continuation of city and borough status was included in the Act, which provided that the charter of each county borough should apply to the new district containing it, and that the council for a district which includes the whole or the major part of a borough other than a county borough may... resolve that the charter of the corporation of the borough shall have effect in relation to the district. In addition a district council could apply for a new charter making it a borough. In the original Act, the council could petition the Governor of Northern Ireland for a royal charter. By the time the Act came into effect, however, the office of governor had been abolished, and petitions were addressed to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Where a district was designated a city or borough, the chairman and vice-chairman became the mayor and deputy-mayor. In the case of Belfast, the chairman's title continued to be lord mayor.

Name of District Status of Council
Antrim District council. Granted borough status 9 May 1977.[1]
Ards Borough council (under 1927 charter of Newtownards).[2]
Armagh District council. Following grant of city status in 1994, renamed Armagh City and District Council 1 October 1995.[3]
Ballymena Borough council (under 1937 charter).[4]
Ballymoney District council. Granted borough status 18 February 1977.[5]
Banbridge District council.
Belfast City council under charter of 1619 and letters patent of 1888.
Carrickfergus Borough council (under 1939 charter).[6]
Castlereagh District council. Granted borough status 22 March 1977.[7]
Coleraine Borough council (under 1928 charter).[8]
Cookstown District council.
Craigavon Borough council (under 1949 charter of Lurgan).[6]
Down District council.
Dungannon -
renamed Dungannon and South Tyrone 25 November 1999[9]		 District council. Granted borough status 1999.[10]
Fermanagh District council.
Larne Borough council (under 1938 charter).[4]
Limavady District council. Granted borough status 1 March 1989.
Lisburn Borough council (under 1964 charter).[6] Granted city status 2002.[11]
Londonderry -
renamed Derry 7 May 1984.[12]		 City council (under 1613 charter).
Magherafelt District council.
Moyle District council.
Newry and Mourne District council.
Newtownabbey District council. Granted borough status 18 February 1977.[5]
North Down Borough council (under 1927 charter of Bangor).[13]
Omagh District council.
Strabane District council.

Abolition of existing local authorities

Section 131 of the Act stated that every county and every county borough shall cease to be an administrative area for local government purposes, and that every borough (other than a county borough), every urban district and every rural district shall be abolished.

Also abolished were any joint boards established under the Public Health (Ireland) Act 1878 or Water Supplies and Sewerage Act (Northern Ireland) 1945 and the Belfast City and District Water Commissioners.

Exempted from abolition were the corporations of the county boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, and of any municipal borough whose charter had been adopted by the new district council. In these cases the district council was to become the corporation from 1 October 1973.

The Act also provided for the dissolution of new town commissions established under the New Towns Acts (Northern Ireland) 1965 to 1968.

Staff commission

Section 40 of the Act established the Staff Commission of Northern Ireland to oversee the recruitment, training and terms and conditions of employment of council officers, and those of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

The commission was to:

References

  1. ↑ "Letters Patent bearing date the 9th day of May, 1977, have passed the Great Seal of Northern Ireland, granting a Charter of Incorporation to the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Antrim." The Belfast Gazette: no. 3410. p. 359. 13 May 1977.
  2. ↑ the Charter of the Corporation of the Borough of Newtownards shall have effect in relation to the District of Ards... the name in the Charter shall be changed to Ards Borough Council.The Belfast Gazette: no. 2917. p. 529. 24 August 1973.
  3. ↑ Change of District Name (Armagh) Order (Northern Ireland) 1995. "This order changes the name of the local government district of Armagh... to Armagh City and District from 1st October 1995".The Belfast Gazette: no. 5656. p. 804. 15 September 1995.
  4. 1 2 "...the Charter of the Corporation of the Borough of Larne shall have effect in relation to the District of Larne subject to the provisions of the Local Government (Modification of Borough Charters) Order (N.I.) 1973; ...the Charter of the Corporation of the Borough of Ballymena shall have effect in relation to the District of Ballymena... the name in the Charter shall be Ballymena Borough Council." The Belfast Gazette: no. 3385. p. 179. 31 August 1973.
  5. 1 2 "Letters Patent bearing date the 18th day of February, 1977, have passed the Great Seal of Northern Ireland, granting a Charter of Incorporation to The Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Newtownabbey;... Letters Patent bearing date the 18th day of February, 1977, have passed the Great Seal of Northern Ireland, granting a Charter of Incorporation to the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Ballymoney." The Belfast Gazette: no. 2920. pp. 566–567. 4 March 1977.
  6. 1 2 3 "...the Charter of the Corporation of the Borough of Carrickfergus shall have effect in relation to the District of Carrickfergus; the Charter of the Borough of Lurgan shall, from the first day of October, 1973, have effect in relation to the local government district of Craigavon, which said district shall thereinafter become the Municipal Borough of Craigavon; the Charter of Incorporation of the Borough Council of Lisburn shall have effect in relation to the District of Lisburn."The Belfast Gazette: no. 2922. p. 578. 7 September 1973.
  7. ↑ "Letters Patent bearing date the 22nd day of March, 1977, have passed the Great Seal of Northern Ireland, granting a Charter of Incorporation to the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Castlereagh."The Belfast Gazette: no. 3393. p. 239. 25 March 1977.
  8. ↑ "...the existing Coleraine Borough Charter should continue subject to such modifications as may be necessary to bring the Charter into conformity with the provisions contained in or made under the Local Government Act (N.I.) 1972"The Belfast Gazette: no. 2925. p. 608. 14 September 1973.
  9. ↑ "The name of the district of Dungannon shall be changed to Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough." "Change of District Name (Dungannon) Order (Northern Ireland) 1999". legislation.gov.uk. National Archives. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  10. ↑ "Notice is hereby given that a petition has been presented to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland... by Dungannon District Council praying for the grant of a Charter designating the District of Dungannon a Borough"The Belfast Gazette: no. 5980. p. 1051. 6 November 1998.
  11. ↑ "The Statutory Rule will change the name of Lisburn Borough Council to Lisburn City Council following a special meeting of the Council on 23rd April 2002. This was initiated by the announcement by the Lord Chancellors Department that Lisburn is granted city status as part of the celebrations to commemorate the Queens Golden Jubilee." The Belfast Gazette: no. 6365. p. 763. 5 July 2002.
  12. ↑ Change of District Name (Londonderry) Order (Northern Ireland) 1984 (SR 1984 No. 121) "This Order comes into operation on 7th May 1984 and provides that the name of the district of Londonderry shall be changed to Derry." The Belfast Gazette: no. 4404. p. 298. 27 April 1984.
  13. ↑ "...the Charter of the Borough of Bangor shall have effect in relation to the District of North Down... the name in the Charter shall be North Down Borough Council."The Belfast Gazette: no. 2915. p. 516. 17 August 1973.

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