Ballymena Borough Council

NI_district
district_name = Ballymena Borough
alt_name = Comhairle Baile an Bhaile Meánaigh
district_

area_rank = 8th
district_area = 632
district_HQ = Ballymena
district_iso = GB-BLA
district_ons = 95G
protestant_pc = 76.3%
catholic_pc = 21.0%
web_address = http://www.ballymena.gov.uk
district_MPs = Ian Paisley

Ballymena Borough Council is a Local Council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It covers the town of Ballymena and the surrounding area which includes small towns including Broughshane, Cullybackey, Galgorm, Ahoghill and Portglenone. The area covers 200 square miles and has a population of nearly 78,000. The Borough has a central location within Northern Ireland and is served by the M2 motorway and with a station on the Belfast to Derry railway-line. Belfast International Airport itself is only 18 miles away and the Belfast City Airport is 30 miles from Ballymena. It is also accessible to the seaports of Larne and Belfast, 20 and 27 miles away respectively.

The Ballymena Borough Council area consists of four electoral areas: Ballymena North, Braid, Bannside and Ballymena South, from which 24 members were elected in the 2005 election. The current political composition of the council is: 9 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 6 United Unionist Coalition (UUC), 4 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 2 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 1 Sinn Féin and 2 Independents. The Mayor of Ballymena for 2004-05 is Councillor Hubert Nicholl (DUP) and the Deputy Mayor is Councillor TGA Scott (UUP).

The present Borough of Ballymena was created in 1973 from the merging of the former Borough with the former Ballymena Rural District.

Together with the neighbouring districts of Ballymoney and Moyle, it forms the North Antrim constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.

Review of Public Administration

Under the Review of Public Administration (RPA) the Council is due to merge with Larne Borough Council and Carrickfergus Borough Council in 2011 to form a single council for the enlarged area totalling 1047 km² and a population of 127,101. [cite web | title=Minister Foster announces decisions on Local Government Reform | work=DoE | url=http://www.doeni.gov.uk/index/local_government/minister_foster_announces_decisions_on_local_government_reform.htm | accessdate=2008-05-31] The next election was due to take place in May 2009, but on April 25, 2008, Shaun Woodward, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that the scheduled 2009 district council elections were to be postponed until the introduction of the eleven new councils in 2011. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7367253.stm "Northern Ireland elections are postponed", BBC News, April 25, 2008, accessed April 27, 2008] ]

ee also

*Local Councils in Northern Ireland

References

External links

* [http://www.ballymena.gov.uk/ Ballymena Borough Council]