Banbridge District Council was the local authority of
Banbridge
Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iv ...
in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. It was created in 1973 when the
Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971
The Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 was an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, passed in 1971 to replace the previous system of local authorities established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. The system ...
came into force. In May 2015, it merged with
Armagh City and District Council
Armagh City and District Council was a district council in County Armagh in Northern Ireland. It merged with Banbridge District Council and Craigavon Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to beco ...
and
Craigavon Borough Council
Craigavon Borough Council was a local council in counties Armagh, Down and Antrim, in Northern Ireland. It merged with Armagh City and District Council and Banbridge District Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Nort ...
to form one of 11
new local government units. The new council area was named
Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Armagh City and District Council, Banbridge District Council and Craigavon Borough Council. The first elections to the a ...
.
District council
![Avonmore House, Banbridge, County Down, Ireland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Avonmore_House%2C_Banbridge%2C_County_Down%2C_Ireland.JPG)
The district was divided into three electoral areas: Banbridge, Knockiveagh and Dromore, which between them returned 17 members. Elections of the whole council were usually held every four years and were conducted under the
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate ...
system. Notably, Banbridge District Council was the only council controlled by one party (the
UUP) from its creation in 1973 until the year 2000 when the
DUP gained a seat in a by-election in Dromore. Following the May
2011 local-government elections, the UUP retook its position from the DUP as the largest party on the council, winning seven of the 17 seats available. This was one of the few gains made by the
UUP in either the local or
Assembly elections of that year. Six of the 17 councillors elected in 2011 were women. At 56 percent, turnout in the
2011 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2011.
* Local electoral calendar 2011
* National electoral calendar 2011
* 2011 United Nations Security Council election
Africa
* 2011 Beninese presidential election
* 2011 Beninese parliamentary ...
was the lowest it had been since Banbridge Council was formed in 1973.
In the civic year 2011–2012
UUP councillors Joan Baird and Carol Black served as the head and deputy head of the council. This was the first time in the history of Banbridge Council that the positions of chairman and vice-chairman had been held by women.
District Electoral Areas
1972/3
When it was created, the Council was divided into the following
District Electoral Area
The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and distr ...
s unde
the Local Government (District Electoral Areas) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1973 -
1. A - 7 seats - wards of Gilford, Edenderry, Lawrencetown, Central, Loughbrickland, Ballydown and Seapatrick.
2. B - 8 seats - wards of Annaclone, Balloolymore, Drumadonnell, Quilly, Garran, Skeagh, Croob and Dromore.
The names and boundaries of those wards (mainly made up of townlands) had been set b
the Local Government (Boundaries) Order (Northern Ireland) 1972(page 593).
1984/5
Prior to the 1985 local election, the Council was divided into the following DEAs unde
the District Electoral Areas (Northern Ireland) Order 1985(page 359)
1. Banbridge Town - 5 seats - wards of Ballydown, Banbridge West, Edenderry, Fort and Seapatrick.
2. Dromore - 5 seats - wards of Croob, Dromore North, Dromore South, Garran and Quilly.
3. Knockiveagh - 5 seats - wards of Bannside, Gilford, Katesbridge, Lawrencetown and Loughbrickland.
The names of those wards had been set b
the Local Government (Boundaries) Order (Northern Ireland) 1984(page 885). Their boundaries were shown on maps deposited at the office of the Department of the Environment.
1992/3
Prior to the 1993 local election, the Council was divided into the following DEAs unde
the District Electoral Areas (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 -
1. Banbridge Town - 6 seats - wards of Ballydown, Banbridge West, Edenderry, Fort, Seapatrick and The Cut.
2. Dromore - 5 seats - wards of Ballyward, Dromore North, Dromore South, Gransha and Quilly.
3. Knockiveagh - 6 seats - wards of Bannside, Gilford, Katesbridge, Lawrencetown, Loughbrickland and Rathfriland.
The names of those wards had been set b
the Local Government (Boundaries) Order (Northern Ireland) 1992 Their boundaries were shown on maps deposited at the office of the Department of the Environment.
Election results
Elections of the entire council were held every four years. The number of seats won by each party is shown below. An election was due in 2009, but this was delayed until 2011 so as to accommodate the completion of a local-government reform programme aimed at reducing the number of council areas from 26 to 11.
[''Northern Ireland elections are postponed'', BBC News, April 25, 2008, accessed April 27, 2008]
/ref> The proposed amalgamation was abandoned in 2010, and so the 2011 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2011.
* Local electoral calendar 2011
* National electoral calendar 2011
* 2011 United Nations Security Council election
Africa
* 2011 Beninese presidential election
* 2011 Beninese parliamentary ...
returned members for the original 26 councils.
Dromore by-election, 2008
In late 2007 UUP Councillor Tyrone Howe
Tyrone Gyle Howe (born 2 April 1971, Newtownards, Northern Ireland) formerly played in rugby union on the wing for University of St Andrews RFC, Ulster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions.
Howe was brought up in Dromore and attended Banbr ...
resigned due to work commitments. The resulting by election was the first electoral test for Traditional Unionist Voice
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its sine qua non the preservation of Northern Ireland's place ...
. Against expectations, the UUP held the seat.UUP take Dromore council seat – Belfast Today
/ref>
References
{{Authority control
District councils of Northern Ireland, 1973–2015
District Council