Ards and North Down Borough Council
Ards and North Down Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | District council of Ards and North Down |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 2015 |
| Preceded by | Ards Borough Council North Down Borough Council |
| Leadership | |
Mayor | Alderman Bill Keery, Democratic Unionist Party |
Deputy Mayor | Councillor Karen Douglas, Alliance |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 40 |
 | |
Political groups | DUP (14) Alliance (10) UUP (8) Green (3) Independent (3) SDLP (1) TUV (1) |
| Elections | |
Last election | 2 May 2019 |
| 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 | |
| 2018 | 2019 | Richard Smart | UUP | |
| 2019 | 2020 | Bill Keery | DUP |
Deputy Mayor[]
| From | To | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | Carl McClean | UUP | |
| 2016 | 2017 | William Keery | DUP | |
| 2017 | 2018 | Gavin Walker | Alliance | |
| 2018 | 2019 | Eddie Thompson | DUP | |
| 2019 | 2020 | Karen Douglas | 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 |
Party strengths[]
| Party | Elected 2014 |
Elected 2019 |
Current | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUP | 17 | 14 | 12 | |
| Alliance | 7 | 10 | 10 | |
| UUP | 9 | 8 | 8 | |
| Green (NI) | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| SDLP | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| TUV | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independents | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
Councillors by electoral area[]
| Current council members | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District electoral area | Name | Party | |
| Ards Peninsula | Robert Adair | DUP | |
| Joe Boyle | SDLP | ||
| Nigel Edmund | DUP | ||
| Edward Thompson | DUP | ||
| Angus Carson | UUP | ||
| Lorna McAlpine | Alliance | ||
| Bangor Central | Karen Douglas | Alliance | |
| Stephen Dunlop | Green (NI) | ||
| Alistair Cathcart | DUP | ||
| Craig Blaney | UUP | ||
| Wesley Irvine ‡ | Independent | ||
| Ray McKimm | Independent | ||
| Bangor East and Donaghadee | Mark Brooks | UUP | |
| Gavin Walker | Alliance | ||
| David Chambers | UUP | ||
| Janice MacArthur † | DUP | ||
| Bill Keery ‡ | Independent | ||
| Thomas Smith | Independent | ||
| Bangor West | Connie Egan | Alliance | |
| Jennifer Gilmour | DUP | ||
| Marion Smith | UUP | ||
| Barry McKee | Green (NI) | ||
| Scott Wilson | Alliance | ||
| Comber | Deborah Girvan | Alliance | |
| Philip Smith | UUP | ||
| Robert Gibson | DUP | ||
| Trevor Cummings | DUP | ||
| Stephen Cooper | TUV | ||
| Holywood and Clandeboye | Martin McRandal † | Alliance | |
| Lauren Kendall †† | Green (NI) | ||
| Gillian Greer | Alliance | ||
| Peter Johnson † | DUP | ||
| Carl McClean | UUP | ||
| Newtownards | Jimmy Menagh | Independent | |
| Naomi Armstrong | DUP | ||
| Nick Mathison | Alliance | ||
| Stephen McIlveen | DUP | ||
| Colin Kennedy | DUP | ||
| Richard Smart | UUP | ||
| Alan McDowell | Alliance | ||
† Co-opted to fill a vacancy since the election.
‡ Changed party affiliation since the election.
Last updated 2 March 2022.
For further details see 2019 Ards and North Down Borough Council election.
Population[]
The area covered by the new borough has 156,672 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[6]
References[]
- ^ a b "Ards and North Down Borough Council". The Belfast Gazette (7794): 33, notice ID 2462059. 15 January 2016.
- ^ a b "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. 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.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Current review of district electoral areas" (PDF). webarchive.proni.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ "NI Census 2011 - Key Statistics Summary Report, September 2014" (PDF). NI Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- District councils of Northern Ireland
- Politics of County Down
- 2015 establishments in Northern Ireland