North Down Borough Council

Coordinates: 54°37′34″N 5°40′23″W / 54.626°N 5.673°W / 54.626; -5.673

North Down Borough

North Down Borough Council logo
Area 81 km2 (31 sq mi) 
Ranked 26th of 26
District HQ Bangor
Catholic 13.5%
Protestant 73.2%
Country Northern Ireland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
Councillors

North Down Borough Council was a Local Council in County Down in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ards Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become North Down and Ards District Council.

Its main town was Bangor, 20 km east of Belfast with a population of approximately 55,000. The Council was headquartered in Bangor. Its secondary centre was the former Urban District of Holywood, 8 km northeast of Belfast with a population of approximately 10,000. Most of the remainder of a total population was in suburban villages along the southern shore of Belfast Lough. The Borough is heavily suburbanised, railway links with Belfast are good and the area has been the domain of Belfast commuters since the mid-19th century. The Borough is often held to be the wealthiest area in Northern Ireland, although there are pockets of deprivation in a string of overspill public housing estates along the Bangor Ring Road.

The borough consisted of 4 electoral areas: Abbey, Ballyholme and Groomsport, Bangor West and Holywood. In the 2011 election 25 members were elected from the following political parties: 11 Democratic Unionist Party, 6 Alliance, 4 Ulster Unionists, 1 Green, and 2 Independents. North Down along with Carrickfergus Borough Council are the only councils in Northern Ireland without Nationalist political party representation.

The Borough of North Down was formed in 1973 in the local government reorganisation from the old Bangor Urban District, Holywood Urban District, North Down Rural District and part of Castlereagh Rural District.

In elections for the Westminster Parliament it was part of the slightly larger North Down constituency

See Also: Districts of Northern Ireland

Summary of seats won 1973–2011

1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011
Ulster Unionist (UUP) 9 7 4 8 5 6 6 8 8 4
Alliance (APNI) 7 7 6 7 4 5 6 5 6 6
Vanguard (VUPP) 2 2
Loyalist (Loy) 2
Unionist Party of NI (UPNI) 1 1
United Unionist (UUUP) 1
Independent Unionist (IU) 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1
Democratic Unionist (DUP) 5 6 4 3 2 5 8 11
Popular Unionist (UPUP) 3 2 2 2
NI Conservatives (Con) 6 4 2
UK Unionist Party (UKUP) 3 2
Progressive Unionist (PUP) 2
Women's Coalition (NIWC) 1
Green Party (GP) 1 1
Independent/Other 2 3 3 3 1 2

Others include Ann Marie Hillen, who stood under the label Better Bangor Campaign in 1989, having been elected earlier that year in a by-election. Of the candidates elected in 1993, one was elected as a Holywood Pool Campaigner and another as Action '93. Alan Chambers, elected at every election from 1993 to 2011, has usually been described on the ballot paper as an Independent, but describes himself on the council website as an Independent Unionist and stood under that label in 1997.[1] He is tallied as Independent Unionist above for all elections.

2011 Election results

Party seats change +/-
Democratic Unionist Party 11 +3
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland 6
Ulster Unionist Party 4 -4
Green Party in Northern Ireland 1
Independent 3 +1

Mayor

Year Name Political affiliation
1981–82 Mary O'Fee Ulster Popular Unionist
1985–86 Hazel Bradford UUP
1990–92 Denny Vitty DUP
1992–93 Leslie Cree UUP
1993–94 Brian Wilson Alliance
1994–95 Roy Bradford UUP
1995–96 Susan O'Brien Alliance
1996–97 Irene Cree UUP
1997–98 Ruby Cooling DUP
1998–99 Marsden Fitzsimons Alliance
1999–00 Marion Smith UUP
2000–01 Alan Chambers Independent
2001–02 Ian Henry UUP
2002–03 Alan Graham DUP
2003–04 Anne Wilson Alliance
2004–05 Valerie Kinghan UK Unionist
2005–06 Roberta Dunlop UUP
2006–07 Alan Leslie DUP
2007–08 Stephen Farry Alliance
2008–09 Leslie Cree UUP
2009–10 Tony Hill Alliance
2010–11 John Montgomery DUP
2011–12 James McKerrow UUP
2012–13 Wesley Irvine DUP
2013–14 Andrew Muir Alliance
2014–15 Peter Martin DUP

Review of Public Administration

Under the Review of Public Administration (RPA) the Council was due to merge with Ards in 2011 to form a single council for the enlarged area totalling 451 km² and a population of 149,567.[2] 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.[3] It took place in 2015.

Population

The area covered by North Down Borough Council had a population of 78,937 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[4]

References

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