Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaces Antrim Borough Council and Newtownabbey Borough Council.[1] A statutory transition committee was established in 2013 to prepare for the merger. The first elections to the authority were on 22 May 2014 with 73 candidates standing for 40 seats. The authority acted in shadow form until the formal creation of the Antrim and Newtownabbey district on 1 April 2015.

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 2015
Preceded byAntrim Borough Council
Newtownabbey Borough Council
Leadership
Mayor
Councillor Jim Montgomery, Ulster Unionist Party
Deputy Mayor
Councillor Noreen McClelland, Social Democratic and Labour Party
Structure
Seats40
Political groups
  DUP (14)
  UUP (9)
  Alliance (7)
  Sinn Féin (5)
  SDLP (4)
  Independent (1)
Elections
Last election
2 May 2019
Meeting place
Mossley Mill and Antrim Civic Centre (alternately)
Website
antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk

Transition committee

The statutory transition committee was established in 2013 with a membership of eight councillors each from Antrim Borough Council and Newtownabbey Borough Council.[2] The purpose of the committee was to ensure that the new council would be ready to operate from 1 April 2015; to plan for the period up to and after the election of the shadow council; to arrange the first meeting of the shadow council; and to appoint a chief executive.[3]

Borough status

A new local government district was created on 1 April 2015 and is formally called the Antrim and Newtownabbey District, while the council is the Antrim and Newtownabbey District Council. Both of the previous authorities merged into it had borough status, which entitled them to be known as borough councils and the districts to be known as boroughs. The 2013 corporate plan of the statutory transition committee indicated that the new council was expected to retain this status.[3]

Mayoralty

Mayor
From To Name Party
2016 2017 John Scott[4] UUP
2017 2018 Paul Hamill[5] DUP
2018 2019 Paul Michael[6] UUP
2019 2020 John Smyth DUP

Deputy Mayor
From To Name Party
2016 2017 Noreen McClelland[7] SDLP
2017 2018 Vera McWilliam[8] UUP
2018 2019 John Smyth[9] DUP
2019 2020 Anne Marie Logue Sinn Féin

Councillors

For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas (DEAs).[10][11]

Area Seats
Airport 5
Antrim 6
Ballyclare 5
Dunsilly 5
Glengormley Urban 7
Macedon 6
Threemilewater 6

Seat summary
Party Elected
2014		 Elected
2019
DUP 15 14
UUP 12 9
Alliance 4 7
Sinn Féin 3 5
SDLP 4 4
TUV 2 0
Independent 0 1

Councillors by electoral area

This list reflects the order in which councillors were elected on 2 May 2019.[12]

Current council members
District electoral area Name Party
Airport Vikki McAuley Alliance
Matthew Magill DUP
Paul Michael UUP
Anne-Marie Logue Sinn Féin
Thomas Burns SDLP
Antrim Neil Kelly Alliance
Roisin Lynch SDLP
John Smyth DUP
Paul Dunlop DUP
Leah Smyth UUP
Jim Montgomery UUP
Ballyclare Norman Ramsay † UUP
Michael Stewart Independent
Vera McWilliam UUP
Jeannie Archibald DUP
Mandy Girvan DUP
Dunsilly Henry Cushnihan Sinn Féin
Glenn Finlay Alliance
Ryan Wilson SDLP
Roderick Swann UUP
Linda Clarke DUP
Glengormley Urban Julian McGrath Alliance
Philip Brett DUP
Noreen McClelland SDLP
Mark Cosgrove UUP
Alison Bennington DUP
Michael Goodman Sinn Féin
Rosie Kinnear Sinn Féin
Macedon Billy Webb Alliance
Paul Hamill DUP
Victor Robinson † DUP
Robert Foster UUP
Linda Irwin † DUP
Taylor McGrann Sinn Féin
Threemilewater Mark Cooper DUP
Stephen Ross DUP
Fraser Agnew UUP
Tom Campbell Alliance
Sam Flanagan DUP
Julie Gilmour Alliance

† Co-opted to fill a vacancy since the election.
‡ New party affiliation since the election.
Last updated 5 September 2020.

For further details see 2019 Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council election.

Population

The area covered by new Council has a population of 138,567 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[13]

Christmas in the Borough

IN September 2018 the council cancelled the Christmas tree and lights switch on for the town of Crumlin. The move, to reduce the budget allocation for Christmas across the borough, was the result of a rate reduction for Belfast International Airport, Aldergrove, to the tune of £1,000,000. Crumlin was to be the only town in the borough without a Christmas tree or lights in 2018, and the only town in Northern Ireland without council funding for Christmas.[14] The initial proposals on Christmas funding came before the council in November 2017, when an amendment to the motion was moved to include Crumlin, but the vote was tied at 18-18, and the Mayor used his casting vote against it.[15]

However, a number of Christmas events took place across the Borough in 2018. Community groups received funding from the council to organise Christmas switch on events, and there were street markets at the switch on events at Antrim, Ballyclare, Glengormley, and Randalstown.

The Enchanted Winter Garden returned to Antrim Castle's Gardens from 7 to 17 December. An Evening of Inclusive Enchantment was planned for 18 December, with reduced numbers, lighting, and sound levels, a sensory and quiet room, ideal for children and adults with additional needs.

See also

References
  1. "Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Councils are merging in 2015" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  2. "STATUTORY TRANSITION COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP 2013" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  3. "Statutory Transition Committee Corporate plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  4. "Mayor". Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  5. "Mayor". Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  6. "Mayor". Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  7. "Deputy Mayor". Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  8. "Deputy Mayor". Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  9. "Deputy Mayor". Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  10. "The District Electoral Areas (Northern Ireland) Order 2014". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  11. "Antrim and Newtownabbey Results". UTV. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  12. "Antrim and Newtownabbey District Council: Election Results May 2014". Antrim Borough Council. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  13. "NI Census 2011 - Key Statistics Summary Report, September 2014" (PDF). NI Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  14. "Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council - Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council". www.antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  15. "Council meeting Nov 2017 minutes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
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