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Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council

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Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 2015
Preceded byAntrim Borough Council
Newtownabbey Borough Council
Leadership
Mayor
Neil Kelly, Alliance
Deputy Mayor
Structure
Seats40
Political groups
Executive (19)
  DUP (13)
  UUP (6)
Opposition (20)
  Sinn Féin (9)
  Alliance (8)
  Independent (3)
  SDLP (1)
Elections
Last election
18 May 2023
Meeting place
Mossley Mill and Antrim Civic Centre (alternately)
Website
antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk Edit this at Wikidata

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.

Transition committee

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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

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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

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Mayor

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From To Name Party
2015 2016 Thomas Hogg DUP
2016 2017 John Scott UUP
2017 2018 Paul Hamill DUP
2018 2019 Paul Michael UUP
2019 2020 John Smyth DUP
2020 2021 Jim Montgomery UUP
2021 2022 Billy Webb Alliance
2022 2023 Stephen Ross DUP
2023 2024 Mark Cooper DUP
2024 Present Neil Kelly Alliance

Deputy Mayor

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From To Name Party
2015 2016 John Blair Alliance
2016 2017 Noreen McClelland SDLP
2017 2018 Vera McWilliam UUP
2018 2019 John Smyth DUP
2019 2020 Anne Marie Logue Sinn Féin
2020 2021 Noreen McClelland SDLP
2021 2022 Stephen Ross DUP
2022 2023 Leah Smyth UUP
2023 2024 Rosie Kinnear Sinn Féin

Councillors

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For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas (DEAs).[4][5]

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

Seat summary

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Party Elected
2014 		Elected
2019 		Elected
2023 		Current
DUP 15 14 13 13
Sinn Féin 3 5 9 9
Alliance 4 7 8 8
UUP 12 9 7 6
SDLP 4 4 1 1
TUV 2 0 0 0
Independent 0 1 2 3

Councillors by electoral area

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Borders of the DEAs within Antrim and Newtownabbey

This list reflects the order in which councillors were elected at the 2023 Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council election.

Current council members
District electoral area Name Party
Airport Matthew Magill DUP
Anne-Marie Logue Sinn Féin
Maighréad Ní Chonghaile Sinn Féin
Paul Michael ‡ Independent
Andrew McAuley Alliance
Antrim Lucille O'Hagan Sinn Féin
Neil Kelly Alliance
Paul Dunlop DUP
John Smyth DUP
Roisin Lynch SDLP
Leah Smyth UUP
Ballyclare Jeannie Archibald DUP
Helen Magill DUP
Vera McWilliam UUP
Lewis Boyle Alliance
Michael Stewart Independent
Dunsilly Henry Cushnihan Sinn Féin
Annie O'Lone Sinn Féin
Linda Clarke DUP
Stewart Wilson UUP
Jay Burbank Alliance
Glengormley Urban Alison Bennington DUP
Eamonn McLaughlin Sinn Féin
Paula Bradley DUP
Mark Cosgrove UUP
Julian McGrath Alliance
Rosie Kinnear Sinn Féin
Michael Goodman Sinn Féin
Macedon Taylor McGrann Sinn Féin
Matthew Brady DUP
Robert Foster UUP
Billy Webb Alliance
Ben Mallon DUP
Stafford Ward Independent
Three Mile Water Mark Cooper DUP
Tom Campbell Alliance
Stephen Ross DUP
Julie Gilmour Alliance
Sam Flanagan DUP
Stephen Cosgrove UUP

Population

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The area covered by the new Council had a population of 138,567 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[6]

The population of Antrim and Newtownabbey was 145,661 at the time of the 2021 census.[7] An increase of 5.1% since the 2011 Census.

Christmas in the Borough

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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 £1 million rate reduction for Belfast International Airport, Aldergrove. 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.[8] 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.[9]

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.

Arms

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Coat of arms of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Notes
Granted 20 March 2017 by the College of Arms.
Crest
Upon a helm issuant from a mural crown Or an eagle displayed Gules holding in the beak Or a dexter hand couped Gules and supporting with the sinister foot a staff erect Or flying therefrom to the sinister a windsock Argent.
Supporters
Dexter a stag Sable attired and unguled Or supporting between the forelegs a representation of Antrim Round Tower Proper and sinister a griffin Sable beaked and supporting between the forelegs Or a representation of the Mossley Hill Chimney Proper.
Compartment
Grass Vert growing therefrom twelve stalks of barley Or.[10]
Motto
In Prosperitatem Communem

See also

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References

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  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. ^ a b "Statutory Transition Committee Corporate plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  4. ^ "The District Electoral Areas (Northern Ireland) Order 2014". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Antrim and Newtownabbey Results". UTV. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  6. ^ "NI Census 2011 - Key Statistics Summary Report, September 2014" (PDF). NI Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  7. ^ "Antrim and Newtownabbey Census Data". explore.nisra.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Council meeting Nov 2017 minutes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Armorial Bearings". WhatDoTheyKnow. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
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