Magherafelt District Council
Coordinates: 54°45′07″N 6°36′04″W / 54.752°N 6.601°W
| Magherafelt District | |
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| Area | 573 km2 (221 sq mi) Ranked 12th of 26 |
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| District HQ | Magherafelt |
| Catholic | 66% |
| Protestant | 31.5% |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| EU Parliament | Northern Ireland |
| Councillors | MLAs Mid Ulster Sinn Féin: 3 DUP: 1 SDLP: 1 UUP: 1 |
| MPs Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) | |
| Website | www |
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Magherafelt District Council is a district council in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It is set to merge with Cookstown District Council and Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council on th 1st of April 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Mid-Ulster District Council.
The council headquarters are in Magherafelt. The Council area stretches from Lough Neagh and the River Bann in the east and into the Sperrin Mountains in the west and is divided by the Moyola River. It covers an area of 214 square miles (550 km2) and has a current population of over 45,000. Local towns in the area include Bellaghy, birthplace of poet Seamus Heaney in 1939.
The Council is composed of 16 elected representatives. Local elections are held every four years on a proportional representation system. At the most recent election, in May 2011, those elected were from the following political parties: 9 Sinn Féin, 3 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 2 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and 2 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). The chairman and vice-chairman are elected on an annual basis at the annual general meeting in May or June. The current (2013/14) chairman is Councillor Catherine Elattar (SF), who represents the Magherafelt Town electoral area, and the vice-chair is Councillor Anne Forde (DUP), who represents the Sperrin electoral area. This is the second occasion on which Magherafelt District Council has elected two women to the top two positions.
For elections to the Westminster Parliament it is part of the Mid Ulster constituency.
2011 election results
| Party | seats | change +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • | Sinn Féin | 9 | +1 |
| • | Democratic Unionist Party | 3 | -1 |
| • | Social Democratic and Labour Party | 2 | = |
| • | Ulster Unionist Party | 2 | = |
Electoral regions
Magherafelt District Council is divided into three electoral regions; Magherafelt Town, Moyola, and Sperrin, each of which is further divided into electoral wards; six in Magherafelt Town and five in both Moyola and Sperrin.
Review of Public Administration
Under the Review of Public Administration (RPA) the council is due to merge with Cookstown District Council and Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council in 2011 to form a single council, named Mid-Ulster District Council, for the enlarged area totalling 1714 km² and a population of 120, 096.[1] The next election was due to take place in May 2009, but on 25 April 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.[2] This super-council however has been postponed for at least five years as of 2010.[3]
Population
The area covered by Magherafelt District Council has a population of 45,038 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ "Minister Foster announces decisions on Local Government Reform". DoE. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
- ↑ Northern Ireland elections are postponed, BBC News, 25 April 2008, accessed 27 April 2008
- ↑ News Letter - Super Councils Postponed for at least five years, published Wednesday 12 May 2010
- ↑ "NI Census 2011 - Key Statistics Summary Report, September 2014" (PDF). NI Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
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