Laganbank was one of the nine district electoral areas 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 which existed from 1985 to 2014. Located in the south of the city, the district elected five 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 Ballynafeigh, Botanic, Shaftesbury, Stranmillis, and Rosetta. Laganbank, along with neighbouring Balmoral, formed the greater part of the Belfast South constituencies 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 bound to the west by the Malone Road and the

M1 Motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

, to the south by the

River Lagan The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The ...

and the southern section of the Annadale Embankment, to the east by the Ormeau Park and the

Ormeau Road Ormeau Road is a road in south Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Ormeau Park is adjacent to it. It forms part of the A24. History The road, as currently laid out, dates from the first decades of the 19th century when a bridge was buil ...

and to the north by College Square North and the Cathedral Quarter. The River Lagan, which gave the district its name, flowed through the centre of the district dividing it in two, with Botanic, Shaftesbury and Stranmillis on the western bank and Ballynafeigh and Rosetta on the eastern bank. Laganbank also contained most of the

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 ...

, including

Donegall Square Donegall Square is a square in the centre of Belfast, Northern Ireland. At its centre is Belfast City Hall, the headquarters of Belfast City Council. Name Each side of the square is named according to its geographical location, i.e. Donegal ...

. The south of the district contained some of the most exclusive addresses in Northern Ireland, particularly along the Malone Road. However, the north of the district has areas that suffer economic deprivation, including

Donegall Road The Donegall Road () is a residential area and road traffic thoroughfare that runs from Shaftesbury Square on what was once called the " Golden Mile" to the Falls Road in west Belfast. The road is bisected by the Westlink – M1 motorway. Th ...

Sandy Row Sandy Row () is an inner city area of south Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is predominantly Protestant working-class. In 2018, the population was estimated to be around 4,000. It is a staunchly loyalist area and heartland of the paramilitary U ...

and 'the Markets'.

History

Laganbank was created for the 1985 local elections. The Shaftesbury ward had previously been in Area F, Stranmillis and Botanic wards in

Area C Area C (; ) is the fully Israeli-controlled territory in the West Bank, defined as the whole area outside the Palestinian enclaves (Areas A and B). Area C constitutes about 61 percent of the West Bank territory, containing most Israeli settle ...

and Rosetta and Ballynafeigh wards in Area A. For the 2014 local elections, the district was abolished. With the exception of the Rosetta ward, which joined a new Lisnasharragh District Electoral Area, the district's redrawn wards formed part of a new Botanic District Electoral Area, together with the wards of Blackstaff and Windsor, which had previously been part of Balmoral District Electoral Area

Education

Laganbank was the location for several of the city's most important education establishments, including

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 ...

(which gives its name to the Queen's Quarter),

Stranmillis University College Stranmillis University College is a university college of Queen's University Belfast. The institution is located on the Stranmillis Road in Belfast. It had students in . The school offers the BEd, PGCE and TESOL, as well as other courses. ...

and

Union Theological College Union Theological College is the theological college for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Council for Training in Ministry. It has been responsible for training people for m ...

, as well as the College Square campus of

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 ...

. The location of these institutions in close proximity saw the area's popularity among students increase, particularly in the Holyland area. The area was also home to some of the most prominent schools, including Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School,

Methodist College Belfast Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of e ...

('Methody') and the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today ...

Culture

The portion of Laganbank to the west of the River Lagan-based around Queen's University, forms the Queen's Quarter, and contains many of the key cultural facilities within the city. The Quarter is home to the Belfast Festival at Queen's, the largest annual arts festival in Ireland, as well as amenities such as the Botanic Gardens, the Brian Friel Theatre, the Crescent Arts Centre, the Elmwood Hall, the Lyric Theatre, the Naughton Gallery at Queen's, the

Queen's Film Theatre The Queen's Film Theatre or QFT is an independent cinema at Queen's University Belfast, 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 ...

and the

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures ...

. As well as the Queen's Quarter, there are a number of important cultural attractions within the Laganbank section of the city centre, including the Grand Opera House, the

Linen Hall Library The Linen Hall Library is located at 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest library in Belfast and the last subscribing library in Northern Ireland. The Library is physically in the centre of Belfast, and more g ...

, the Ormeau Baths Gallery, the

Ulster Hall The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade A listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated at 34 Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, European classical music, classical Concert#Recital, recitals, craft fai ...

, the

Ulster Orchestra The Ulster Orchestra is a full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. Based in Belfast, the orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United Kingdom ...

and the

Waterfront Hall Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Corp ...

. This area is also sometimes referred to as the Golden Mile because of the large number of bars, clubs and restaurants located there. Rosemary Jenkinson wrote the play ''The Dealer of Ballynafeigh'', about a 42-year-old UDF resident of Ballynafeigh and his mother who deal drugs to pay off debts. It was performed at the Keegan Theatre on Church St. in Washington, DC, USA from 17 October to 14 November 2015. The play came in third in the BBC Tony Doyle Awards. Laganbank has a low White population compared to Belfast and is one of the most ethnically diverse electoral areas in Northern Ireland. Note: There is no ethnic group in the Northern Irish census named White British; instead, there is only an ethnic group named White. This covers people from many different areas including Britain, Mainland Europe, Australia and the US.

Other amenities

Other noteworthy amenities in the Laganbank district electoral area include: *

Belfast City Hall Belfast City Hall (; Ulster-Scots: ) is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city centre. It is a Grad ...

Belfast City Hospital The Belfast City Hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a 900-bed modern university teaching hospital providing local acute services and key regional specialities. Its distinctive orange tower block dominates the Belfast skyline being the th ...

* Belfast Grand Central, Botanic, Lanyon Place and City Hospital railway stations *

Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...

(

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...

) * Crown Liquor Saloon * Europa Hotel * Havelock House ( UTV) *

Queen's University Belfast Students' Union Queen's Students' Union (QSU) is the official representative body for students at Queen's University Belfast. Membership of the union is automatic and currently totals 24,560, making it one of the largest unions on the island of Ireland and in ...

Royal Courts of Justice The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by Ge ...

St George's Market St George's Market is the last surviving Victorian architecture, Victorian covered Marketplace, market in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is located on May Street, close to the River Lagan and the Waterfront Hall. Belfast Corporation (now Belfast ...

* St Malachy's Church * Victoria Square Shopping Centre * Windsor House

Wards

Councillors

* In May 2011, Christopher Stalford (

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

) was appointed as an Alderman of Belfast City Council.

2011 election

2005: 2 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x DUP, 1 x UUP 2011: 2 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance 2005-2011 change: Alliance gain from UUP

2005 election

2001: 2 x SDLP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 2005: 2 x SDLP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x DUP 2001-2005 change: DUP gain from UUP

2001 election

1997: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x Alliance 2001: 2 x SDLP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin 1997-2001 change: SDLP gain from Alliance

1997 election

1993: 2 x UUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance 1997: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x Alliance 1993-1997 change: Sinn Féin gain from SDLP

1993 election

1989: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP 1993: 2 x UUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance 1989-1993 change: SDLP gain from DUP

1989 election

1985: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP 1989: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP 1985-1989 change: No change

1985 election

1985: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance

References

{{coord , 54.5832, -5.9338, dim:4000, display=title 1985 establishments in Northern Ireland 2014 disestablishments in Northern Ireland Former District Electoral Areas of Belfast