Victoria was one of the nine district electoral areas (DEA) in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, from 1985 to 2014, when it was mostly replaced by the

Ormiston Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about . The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 173 ...

district. Located in the east of the city, the district elected seven members to

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...

and contained the wards of Ballyhackamore; Belmont; Cherryvalley; Island; Knock; Stormont; and Sydenham. Victoria, along with wards from the neighbouring Pottinger district and Castlereagh Borough Council, formed the Belfast East constituency for the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

and

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

. The district was bounded to the west by the Victoria Channel, to the north by

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough () is a large sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to the Irish ...

, to the northeast by

North Down Borough Council 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 ...

, to the south and east by Castlereagh Borough Council and to the southwest by the Newtownards Road. At each election throughout the district's existence, most of the councillors elected were Unionist.

History

The DEA was created for the 1985 local elections as the successor to the former Area B, which all seven wards in the new Victoria had been part of. An eighth ward, Bloomfield, which had been in Area B, was placed in the new Pottinger electoral area. It was abolished in 2015, making way for the new DEAs that were used for the 2014 local elections. It was largely replaced by the new Ormiston District Electoral Area. Five of Victoria's wards joined Ormiston, with the Sydenham ward and the areas which had been part of the abolished Island ward becoming part of the new Titanic District Electoral Area.Map
from th

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The district contained many key pieces of Belfast's transport infrastructure, including George Best Belfast City Airport and the eastern portion of

Belfast Harbour Belfast Harbour is a major maritime hub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, handling 67% of Northern Ireland's seaborne trade and about 25% of the maritime trade of the entire island of Ireland. It is a vital gateway for raw materials, exports and c ...

. The area is served by the Bridge End and

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...

railway stations and the A2 and A20 major road routes. The district is also home to Parliament Buildings, the meeting place of the

. Victoria was once the site of much of Belfast's heavy industrial manufacturing facilities, however these have suffered a significant decline since the mid-twentieth century, although companies such as

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

and

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

continue to have significant operations in the area.

Former BCDR mainline

The

Belfast and County Down Railway The Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland (later Northern Ireland) linking Belfast with County Down. It was built in the 19th century and absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority in 1948. All but the ...

had a mainline through

Knock railway station Knock railway station was on the Belfast and County Down Railway which ran from Belfast to Newcastle, County Down in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north- ...

which linked Belfast direct to Downpatrick railway station as well as to

Newcastle, County Down Newcastle is a small seaside resort town in County Down, Northern Ireland, which had a population of 8,298 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Census. It lies by the Irish Sea at the foot of Slieve Donard, the highest of the Mourne Mountain ...

, there was also the branch from Comber railway station to

Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...

and

Donaghadee Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor, County Down, Bangor. It is in the Civil paris ...

. The mainline opened in 1850 was closed in 1950 by the Ulster Transport Authority.

Titanic-quarter

The Titanic Quarter is a major economic and cultural regeneration programme that is centred on Queen's Island and the former

shipyard. The project has seen the construction of new hotels, apartment blocks and business facilities, with a number of high-profile relocations, including the

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a division within the Engaged Communities Group of the Department for Communities (DfC). The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland is dist ...

. The area has also become a centre for learning and research with the opening of the Catalyst Inc, in addition to

Belfast Metropolitan College Belfast Metropolitan College, also known as Belfast Met, is a further and higher education institution in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The college offers both vocational education and academic qualifications. With over 37,000 enrolments and an a ...

moving one of its key

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

campuses to the Quarter, while

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

have also located their Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) within the Science Park. The Quarter's name comes from the

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that Sinking of the Titanic, sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking Iceberg that struck the Titanic, an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York Ci ...

which was constructed in the old shipyard, with a number of projects aimed at exploiting the tourism value of the Titanic's connection to Belfast, including the Samson and Goliath cranes used to construct the ship and the Paint Hall.

Other amenities

Other amenities in the Victoria district electoral area include: *

Ashfield Boys' High School Ashfield Boys' High School is a secondary school in Belfast. Notable alumni * David McCreery - Professional footballer, played for Northern Ireland, QPR, Manchester United and Newcastle United. *Gary Moore - World-Class Guitarist - Skid Row, ...

Campbell College Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...

* The Comber Greenway, a traffic-free section of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

, along the old Belfast-Comber railway line * HMS Caroline * Holywood Exchange, a major retail development * Odyssey Arena, a major entertainment complex * Our Lady and St. Patrick's College, Knock * The Oval Stadium, home ground of Glentoran F.C. *

Stormont Estate The Stormont Estate is an Estate (land), estate in the east of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It is the site of Northern Ireland's main Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland), Parliament Buildings, which is surrounded by woods and parkland, and is ...

:* Dundonald House :*

Stormont Castle Stormont Castle is a manor house on the Stormont Estate in east Belfast which is home to the Northern Ireland Executive and the Executive Office. It is a Grade A listed building. History Stormont Castle was completed c.1830 and was reworked ...

Stormont House Stormont House (also called Speaker's House) is a Grade B1 listed building situated in the Stormont Estate in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was designed by Ralph Knott, although Sir Edwin Lutyens has been credited with some involvement. It se ...

* Strandtown Primary School * Strathearn School * Wilgar Park, the home ground of

Dundela F.C. Dundela Football Club, nicknamed "The Duns" is a semi-professional, Northern Ireland, Northern Irish Association football, football club from Belfast, currently playing in the NIFL Championship, and plays its home matches at Wilgar Park. The clu ...

Wards

Councillors

2011 Election

2005: 3 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 2 x Alliance 2011: 3 x Alliance, 3 x DUP, 1 x UUP 2005-2011 Change: Alliance gain from UUP

2005 Election

2001: 3 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 2 x Alliance 2005: 3 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 2 x Alliance 2001-2005 Change: DUP gain from UUP

2001 Election

1997: 2 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP, 1 x Independent Unionist 2001: 3 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 2 x Alliance 1997-2001 Change: Independent Unionist joins UUP

1997 Election

1993: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP 1997: 2 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP, 1 x Independent Unionist 1993-1997 Change: Independent Unionist gain from UUP

1993 Election

1989: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP 1993: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP 1989-1993 Change: No change

1989 Election

1985: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP 1989: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP 1985-1989 Change: No change

1985 Election

1985: 3 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 2 x Alliance

References

{{coord missing, County Antrim Former District Electoral Areas of Belfast 1985 establishments in Northern Ireland 2014 disestablishments in Northern Ireland