North Down Borough Council was a Local Council in
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
in
Northern Ireland. It merged with
Ards Borough Council
Ards Borough Council was the local authority of Ards in Northern Ireland. It merged with North Down Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become North Down and Ards District Council
North i ...
in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become
North Down and Ards District Council.
Its main town was
Bangor, 12 miles east of
Belfast with a population of approximately 68,000. 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 area of the former 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 former 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
Bangor ( ; ) is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is lin ...
and
Groomsport, Bangor West and Holywood. In the
2011 election, 25 members were elected from the following political parties: 11
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
, 6
Alliance, 4
Ulster Unionists, 1
Green, and 2 Independents.
North Down along with
Carrickfergus Borough Council were 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
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' i ...
and part of
Castlereagh Rural District Castlereagh may refer to:
People
* Marquess of Londonderry, subsidiary title Viscount Castlereagh, used as courtesy title for the Marquess's eldest son; in particular
** Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh (1769–1822), later 2nd Marquess of Lon ...
.
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
† 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, Jimmy White 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. He is tallied as Independent Unionist above for all elections.
2011 Election results
Mayor
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. The next election was due to take place in May 2009, but on 25 April 2008,
Shaun Woodward,
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
announced that the scheduled 2009 district council elections were to be postponed until the introduction of the eleven new councils in 2011. 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.
References
External links
Bangor, County Down
{{Authority control
Politics of County Down
Bangor, County Down
District councils of Northern Ireland, 1973–2015
Boroughs of Northern Ireland