Ards and North Down Borough Council
| Ards and North Down Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 2015 |
| Preceded by |
Ards Borough Council North Down Borough Council |
| Leadership | |
Mayor |
Councillor Robert H. Adair., Democratic Unionist Party |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 40 |
 | |
Political groups |
DUP (18) UUP (9) Alliance (7) Green (NI) (2) SDLP (1) TUV (1) Independents (2) |
| Elections | |
Last election | 22 May 2014 |
| Meeting place | |
 Town Hall, Bangor Castle | |
| Website | |
| http://ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk | |
Ards and North Down Borough Council is a local authority in Northern Ireland that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Ards Borough Council and North Down Borough Council. The first elections to the authority were on 22 May 2014 and it acted as a shadow authority, prior to the creation of the Ards and North Down district on 1 April 2015.
The district was originally called "North Down and Ards"[1] but the council was known as "Ards and North Down District Council".[2] Councillors on the transitional shadow authority (prior to the council's official creation) voted on 15 December 2014 to submit an application to the Department of the Environment to change the name to East Coast Borough Council with effect from 1 April 2015.[2] Negative public reaction to the proposed name prompted a rethink.[3] The district name "Ards and North Down" was not finalised until 2016.[4] The transfer of the borough charter from North Down Borough Council was delayed until after the district naming.[1]
Mayoralty
Mayor
| From | To | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | Alan Graham | DUP | |
| 2016 | 2017 | Deborah Girvan | Alliance | |
| 2017 | 2018 | Robert Adair | DUP |
Deputy Mayor
| From | To | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | Carl McClean | UUP | |
| 2016 | 2017 | William Keery | DUP | |
| 2017 | 2018 | Gavin Walker | Alliance |
Councillors
For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas (DEA):[5]
| Area | Seats |
|---|---|
| Ards Peninsula | 6 |
| Bangor Central | 6 |
| Bangor East and Donaghadee | 6 |
| Bangor West | 5 |
| Comber | 5 |
| Holywood and Clandeboye | 5 |
| Newtownards | 7 |
2014 seats summary
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| DUP | 18 | |
| UUP | 9 | |
| Alliance | 7 | |
| Green (NI) | 2 | |
| SDLP | 1 | |
| TUV | 1 | |
| Independents | 2 | |
Councillors by electoral area
| Council members from 2014 election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District electoral area | Name | Party | |
| Ards Peninsula | Robert Adair | DUP | |
| Joe Boyle | SDLP | ||
| Angus Carson | UUP | ||
| Nigel Edmund | DUP | ||
| Lorna McAlpine[6] | Alliance | ||
| Edward Thompson | DUP | ||
| Bangor Central | Wesley Graham Irvine | DUP | |
| Karen Douglas[7] | Alliance | ||
| Noelle Robinson | Independent | ||
| Ian Henry | UUP | ||
| Carl McClean | UUP | ||
| Alistair Cathcart | DUP | ||
| Bangor East and Donaghadee | Alan Chambers | UUP | |
| Mark Brooks | UUP | ||
| Gavin Walker | Alliance | ||
| Peter Martin | DUP | ||
| William Keery | DUP | ||
| Thomas Smith | DUP | ||
| Bangor West | Marion Smith | UUP | |
| Alan Graham | DUP | ||
| Alan Leslie | DUP | ||
| Scott Wilson | Alliance | ||
| Paul Roberts | Green (NI) | ||
| Comber | Robert Gibson | DUP | |
| James Fletcher | UUP | ||
| Deborah Girvan | Alliance | ||
| Trevor Cummings | DUP | ||
| Stephen Cooper | TUV | ||
| Holywood and Clandeboye | Stephen Dunne | DUP | |
| Andrew Muir | Alliance | ||
| Prof. John Barry | Green (NI) | ||
| Daniel Allen | DUP | ||
| Jennifer Gilmour | DUP | ||
| Newtownards | James Menagh | Independent | |
| Naomi Armstrong Cotter | DUP | ||
| Stephen McIlveen | DUP | ||
| Colin Kennedy | DUP | ||
| Alan McDowell | Alliance | ||
| Richard Smart | UUP | ||
| Katherine Ferguson | UUP | ||
Changes
- Alan Chambers changed affiliation from Independent to Ulster Unionist.[8]
- Daniel Allen resigned from the UUP to become DUP after a failure to become a party Assembly candidate.[9]
Population
The area covered by the new Council has a population of 156,672 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[10]
References
- 1 2 "Ards and North Down Borough Council". The Belfast Gazette (7794): 33, notice ID 2462059. 15 January 2016.
- 1 2 "New name signifies a new beginning for local Council". Ards and North Down Borough Council. 17 December 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
In the New Year the Council will formally apply for Borough status and will submit an application to the DoE to change the name to East Coast Borough Council with effect from 1 April 2015; until then the Council will be known as North Down and Ards District Council
- ↑ Glynn, Niall (15 January 2015). "Northern Ireland super council names spark controversy". BBC News NI. BBC. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ↑ "Change of District Name (North Down and Ards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2016". STATUTORY RULES OF NORTHERN IRELAND 2016 No.10. Legislation.gov.uk. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
- ↑
- ↑ Co Opted to replace Kellie Armstrong who became MLA for Strangford In May 2016
- ↑ Co opted to replace Stuart Anderson in 2016
- ↑ Ferguson, Amanda (2015-12-11). "Veteran independent councillor Alan Chambers joins UUP". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
- ↑ Hello (2016-04-11). "UUP councillor quits party". Belfast Newsletter. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
- ↑ "NI Census 2011 - Key Statistics Summary Report, September 2014" (PDF). NI Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 28 September 2014.