Ards and North Down Borough Council

Last updated

Ards and North Down Borough Council
Ards and North Down Borough Council logo.svg
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 2015
Preceded by Ards Borough Council
North Down Borough Council
Leadership
Mayor
Cllr Gillian McCollum, Alliance
Deputy Mayor
Cllr Vicky Moore, Alliance
Structure
Seats40
Ards and North Down Borough Council 2023.svg
Political groups
  DUP (14)
  Alliance (12)
  UUP (8)
  Green (2)
  SDLP (1)
  Independent (3)
Elections
Last election
 18 May 2023
Meeting place
BangorCastle2.jpg
City 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 took place on 22 May 2014 and, prior to the official creation of the Ards and North Down district on 1 April 2015, it acted as a shadow authority.

Contents

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

FromToNameParty
20152016Alan Graham DUP
20162017Deborah Girvan Alliance
20172018Robert Adair DUP
20182019Richard Smart UUP
20192020Bill Keery DUP
20202021Trevor Cummings DUP
20212022Mark Brooks UUP
20222023Karen Douglas Alliance
20232024Jennifer Gilmour DUP
20242025Alistair Cathcart DUP
2025PresentGillian McCollum [5] Alliance

Deputy Mayor

FromToNameParty
20152016Carl McClean UUP
20162017William Keery DUP
20172018Gavin Walker Alliance
20182019Eddie Thompson DUP
20192020Karen Douglas Alliance
20202021Nigel Edmund DUP
20212022Robert Adair DUP
20222023Craig Blaney UUP
20232024Hannah Irwin Alliance
20242025David Chambers UUP
2025PresentVicky Moore Alliance

Councillors

For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas (DEA): [6]

AreaSeats
Ards Peninsula6
Bangor Central6
Bangor East and Donaghadee6
Bangor West5
Comber5
Holywood and Clandeboye5
Newtownards7

Party strengths

PartyElected
2014		Elected
2019		Elected
2023
DUP 171414
Alliance 71012
UUP 988
Green (NI) 332
SDLP 111
TUV 110
Independent 233

Councillors by electoral area

Borders of the DEAs within Ards and North Down Ards and North Down blank.svg
Borders of the DEAs within Ards and North Down

For further details see 2023 Ards and North Down Borough Council election.

Current council members
District electoral areaNameParty
Ards Peninsula Robert Adair DUP
Lorna McAlpine Alliance
Joe Boyle SDLP
Nigel Edmund DUP
David Kerr DUP
Pete Wray UUP
Bangor Central Alex Harbinson † Alliance
Wesley Irvine Independent
Alistair Cathcart DUP
Craig Blaney UUP
Chris McCraken Alliance
Ray McKimm Independent
Bangor East and Donaghadee Mark Brooks UUP
Hannah Irwin Alliance
James Cochrane DUP
David Chambers UUP
John Hennessy † Alliance
Eddie Thompson † DUP
Bangor West Naomi McBurney † Alliance
Jennifer Gilmour DUP
Stephen Hollywood UUP
Carl McClean † DUP
Barry McKee Green (NI)
Comber Libby Douglas [7] DUP
Philip Smith UUP
Trevor Cummings DUP
Patricia Morgan Alliance
Rachel Ashe Alliance
Holywood and Clandeboye Alan Graham DUP
Linzi McLaren UUP
Martin McRandal Alliance
Lauren Kendall † Green (NI)
Gillian McCollum † Alliance
Newtownards Steven Irvine Independent
Naomi Armstrong DUP
Richard Smart UUP
Alan McDowell Alliance
Stephen McIllveen DUP
Vicky Moore Alliance
Colin Kennedy DUP

Population

The area covered by the new borough has 163,659 residents according to the 2021 Northern Ireland census. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ards and North Down Borough Council". The Belfast Gazette (7794): 33, notice ID 2462059. 15 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 "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
  3. ↑ Glynn, Niall (15 January 2015). "Northern Ireland super council names spark controversy". BBC News NI . BBC. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "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 ]
  5. ↑ https://nielects.com/news/2025/06/03/councils-across-northern-ireland-appoint-new-mayors-for-2025-26/
  6. ↑ "[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.
  7. ↑ "Councillor Libby Douglas". Ards and North Down Borough Council.
  8. ↑ "Northern Ireland Census". nisra.gov.uk. 2021.
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