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New councils are to be announced New super-council names announced
(about 3 hours later)
The names of Northern Ireland's seven new "super-councils" will be unveiled later along with the proposed council boundaries. Belfast City Council is to incorporate areas currently covered by Castlereagh, Lisburn and North Down, the Boundary Commission has revealed.
The local government boundaries commissioner, Dick McKenzie, will give a news conference in Belfast. The number of NI councils is being cut from 26 down to seven in 2009, under government plans announced last year.
The 26 district councils are being transformed into seven - Belfast and six others - and Mr McKenzie has been asked to propose new boundaries. The new amalgamated council areas will be called Inner East; East; South; West; North West; North East and Belfast Local Government Districts.
Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain announced the changes in November 2005. Part of Magilligan Strand will go from Coleraine to Derry-based North West.
Each of the seven councils - three in the west, three in the east, and Belfast - will have a maximum of 50 councillors each. This is the only significant boundary change from ones announced by the government last year.
The dual mandate which allows people to serve both as Assembly members and councillors is also being removed, affecting 69 out of the 108 MLAs currently elected. Public consultation
Local Government Boundaries Commissioner Dick Mackenzie's proposals will now go out for public consultation.
Mr Mackenzie said confirmed that Belfast would get 60 councillors under his plans.
It is proposed that the six other council areas could have 60 councillors each.
However, the boundaries commissioner said he was prepared to look at suggestions during the consultation period this number could vary between 55 and 65.
He said the names of the seven new councils would be:
  • Belfast Local Government District, incorporating the current Belfast City Council, parts of Lisburn, North Down and Castlereagh;
  • Inner East Local Government District, incorporating Antrim, Carrickfergus, Newtownabbey Councils and the remainder of Lisburn City Council;
  • East Local Government District, comprising Ards, Down, parts of North Down and Castlereagh Councils;
  • South Local Government District, made up of Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon and Newry and Mourne;
  • West Local Government District, incorporating Cookstown, Dungannon and South Tyrone, Fermanagh and Omagh;
  • North West Local Government District, comprising Derry, Limavady, Magherafelt and Strabane and part of Coleraine;
  • North East Local Government District, made up of Ballymena, Ballymoney, Larne, Moyle and a major part of Coleraine.
Mr Mackenzie said he had chosen the names of the seven new councils to reflect the geography of Northern Ireland.
He had consulted historians to see if they could be given more imaginative names around which people could unite but to no avail.
People are being invited to submit written responses to the new boundaries over the eight weeks until 5 January, and public hearings will be held in each new council area.
Mr Mackenzie said the boundaries were purely based on their geography rather than any consideration of electoral consequences.
"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 more natural boundary for the population living within the city area and which reflects the expansion of the city over the years," he said.
Under plans announced last November by Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, the dual mandate which allows people to serve both as Assembly members and councillors is being removed, affecting 69 out of the 108 MLAs currently elected.
Key decisions will be taken on a cross-community basis and in future councils will also have responsibility for a number of major functions like planning and local roads.Key decisions will be taken on a cross-community basis and in future councils will also have responsibility for a number of major functions like planning and local roads.