New council areas unveiled

These initial recommendations are the outcome of work over the last few months by the Commissioner and his staff following the enactment of the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 which makes provision for the reduction in the number of councils from 26 to 11.

The Local Government Boundaries Commissioner Dick MacKenzie said: "The publication of my report is the first stage of a process which is designed to establish the district and ward boundaries for a completely new configuration of local government in Northern Ireland. The proposed boundaries of the districts are based on the amalgamation of the existing councils, with the exception of Belfast for which I am recommending a revised boundary to reflect the expansion of the city over the years."

There will be one councillor per ward. Belfast will have 60 wards and all other council areas will have 40. In general, where two councils are grouped together, such as Antrim and Newtownabbey, the names will be amalgamated. Where there are more than two, new district council names will appear like Causeway Coast, Mid-Antrim and Mid-Ulster.

Full list of councils:

• Belfast City Council
• Derry City and Strabane District Council
• Armagh City and Bann District Council
• Lisburn City and Castlereagh District Council
• Newry City and Down District Council
• Antrim and Newtownabbey District Council
• Ards and North Down District Council
• Causeway Coast District Council
• Fermanagh and Omagh District council
• Mid-Antrim District Council
• Mid-Ulster District Council

Consultation

The period for submission of written comments has begun and will run for eight weeks until 12 November 2008. This will be followed by a programme of eleven public hearings, one in each of the new local government districts, which will be held from 20 November 2008 until 28 November 2008.

More information on the Review of Public Administration and its implications for the voluntary and community sector can be found here.