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Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971

Field	Value
short_title	Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971
type	Act
parliament	Parliament of Northern Ireland
long_title	An Act to provide that Northern Ireland shall be divided into twenty-six local government districts and that each of those districts shall be divided into wards; to appoint a Commissioner to make recommendations regarding the boundaries and names of those districts and wards and the number of wards in each district; and for purposes connected therewith.
year	1971
statute_book_chapter	1971 c. 9 (N.I.)
royal_assent	23 March 1971
related_legislation
repealing_legislation	Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008
status	Repealed

|use_new_UK-LEG = The Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 (c. 9 (N.I.)) was an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, passed in 1971 to replace the previous system of local authorities established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. The system was based on the recommendations of the Macrory Report, of June 1970, which presupposed the continued existence of the Government of Northern Ireland to act as a regional-level authority.

Northern Ireland was to be divided into twenty-six local government districts, each consisting of a number of wards. The act did not define the Districts exactly, but provided a list of 26 existing local government areas which would form the basis of the pattern. It then gave the Governor of Northern Ireland the power to appoint a Local Government Boundaries Commissioner who was to report with proposed names and boundaries not later than 30 June 1972.

The Commissioner's proposals were put into effect by the Local Government (Boundaries) Order (Northern Ireland) 1972 (SI 1972/131), dated 17 July 1972.

The 1971 act created districts, but did not make provision for councils to govern them. This was done by the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 (c. 9 (N.I.)). The councils created by the latter act came into existence on 1 October 1973.

Local government districts and wards

The following list shows the original names of the twenty-six local government districts. A number later changed their name or gained borough or city status under the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. Also shown are the wards into which each local government district was divided. While the Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act 1972 stated, "It shall be taken that each ward shall return one member to the council of the district in which it is situated", by the time the first elections were held on 30 May 1973, a system of proportional representation using multi-member district electoral areas had been introduced. The electoral areas consisted of groupings of between four and eight wards, with a number of councillors being elected for each area equal to the number of wards. The wards were subsequently used as building blocks for other units such as constituencies, and census statistics have been compiled for them.

Map of Northern Ireland local government districts — Northern Ireland local government districts

Antrim
Ards
Armagh
Ballymena
Ballymoney
Banbridge
Belfast
Carrickfergus
Castlereagh
Coleraine
Cookstown
Craigavon
Londonderry
Down
Dungannon
Fermanagh
Larne
Limavady
Lisburn
Magherafelt
Moyle
Newry and Mourne
Newtownabbey
North Down
Omagh
Strabane

District Name	No. of Wards	Names of Wards
Antrim urban district electoral division	Antrim	15
Armagh urban district	Armagh	20
Ballycastle urban district	Moyle	16
Ballymena borough	Ballymena	21
Ballymoney urban district	Ballymoney	16
Banbridge urban district	Banbridge	15
Bangor borough	North Down	20
Belfast county borough	Belfast	51
Carrickfergus borough	Carrickfergus	15
Castlereagh district electoral division	Castlereagh	19
Coleraine borough	Coleraine	20
Cookstown urban district	Cookstown	15
Craigavon urban district	Craigavon	25
Downpatrick urban district	Down	20
Dungannon urban district	Dungannon	20
Enniskillen borough	Fermanagh	20
Larne borough	Larne	15
Limavady urban district	Limavady	15
Lisburn borough	Lisburn	23
Londonderry county borough	Londonderry	27
Magherafelt district electoral division	Magherafelt	15
Newry urban district	Newry and Mourne	30
Newtownabbey urban district	Newtownabbey	21
Newtownards borough	Ards	17
Omagh urban district	Omagh	20
Strabane urban district	Strabane	20

† Craigavon Urban District replaced Lurgan Rural District in 1967.

Changes and repeal

The areas established by the act were reviewed on a number of occasions: in 1985 the number of wards was increased from 524 to 562. In 1993 the number of wards was again increased to 582, and in 1993 the ward of Rathfriland was transferred from Newry and Mourne to Banbridge district. There were also minor boundary changes, such as the transfer of rural parts of Legoniel from Belfast to Antrim in 1985.

In 1984 the name of the local government district, as distinct from the city, was changed to Derry, and in 1999 Dungannon District was renamed Dungannon and South Tyrone.

The act was repealed by the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.

References

[[Belfast Gazette]], 28 July 1972 [http://www.belfast-gazette.co.uk/issues/2800/pages/288 No.2800 p. 288]
[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisro/1967/57/contents/made New Towns (Municipal Functions—Craigavon) Order (Northern Ireland) 1967 (S.R. & O. 1967, No. 57)]

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