Ballymoney Borough Council
Encyclopedia
Ballymoney is a local government district
with borough status
in Northern Ireland
. It is headquartered in Ballymoney
. Other towns in the borough include Dervock
, Dunloy
, Cloughmills
and Rasharkin
. The borough has a population of nearly 27,000.
.
single transferable vote
system, and elections of the whole council are normally held every four years. The last local government election was held on 5 May 2005: the election due to take place in May 2009 was postponed in anticipation of the creation of eleven new councils
in 2011. The proposed reforms were abandoned in 2010, and the next district council elections will take place in 2011
As of February 2011 the political composition of the council was: 7 Democratic Unionist Party
(DUP), 3 Sinn Féin
, 3 Ulster Unionist Party
(UUP), 2 Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP), and 1 Traditional Unionist Voice
.
In 1977 Ballymoney District Council successfully petitioned for a grant of a charter of incorporation
, constituting the district a borough.
, who is chosen for a one year term at the council's annual meeting.
Source: Freedom of Information
request to Ballymoney Borough Council
. Since 2001, the council has been a sister city of Benbrook in Texas
and building on its motorcycling history, is also linked to the borough of Douglas, Isle of Man
.
, it forms the North Antrim constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly
.
and one hour from Derry
. Another reason is as a result of high house prices in the Coleraine
/Portstewart
/Portrush
'Triangle' areas shifting first-time buyers to the less expensive Ballymoney area.
The borough has the highest life expectancy of any area in Northern Ireland, with the average male life expectancy at birth being 78.0 years and 82.6 years for females.
Local government in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is divided into 26 districts for local government purposes. In Northern Ireland local councils do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom, for example they have no responsibility for education, for road building or for housing...
with borough status
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. It is headquartered in Ballymoney
Ballymoney
Ballymoney is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,021 people in the 2001 Census. It is currently served by Ballymoney Borough Council....
. Other towns in the borough include Dervock
Dervock
Dervock is a small village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about 6km northeast of Ballymoney, on the banks of the Dervock River.-Features:...
, Dunloy
Dunloy
Dunloy is a village and townland in the Borough of Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is between Ballymena and Ballymoney . It had a population of 1,071 people in the 2001 Census, a gain of 21 % since 1991.Dunloy's most striking building is the modern Roman Catholic church...
, Cloughmills
Cloughmills
Cloughmills or Cloghmills is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Ballymoney is 15km to the north-west and Ballymena is 16km to the south...
and Rasharkin
Rasharkin
Rasharkin , is a small village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is south of Ballymoney, near Dunloy and Kilrea. It had a population of 864 people in the 2001 Census, after 30 years of gradual decline from a peak of 1,000 in 1971.-History:...
. The borough has a population of nearly 27,000.
Creation
Ballymoney is one of twenty-six districts created on 1 October 1973. It took over the areas Ballymoney Urban District Council and most of the surrounding Ballymoney Rural District in County AntrimCounty Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
.
Borough council
The borough is divided into three electoral areas which between them return 16 members. These are Ballymoney Town (5), Bann Valley (6) and Bushvale (5). Elections are conducted under the proportional representationProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
system, and elections of the whole council are normally held every four years. The last local government election was held on 5 May 2005: the election due to take place in May 2009 was postponed in anticipation of the creation of eleven new councils
Proposed reform of local government in Northern Ireland
The proposed reform of local government in Northern Ireland would have seen the replacement of the twenty-six districts created in 1973 with a smaller number of "super districts"...
in 2011. The proposed reforms were abandoned in 2010, and the next district council elections will take place in 2011
Northern Ireland local elections, 2011
The most recent Northern Ireland local government elections took place on Thursday 5 May 2011.European Union and Commonwealth citizens who were aged 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote...
As of February 2011 the political composition of the council was: 7 Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
(DUP), 3 Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
, 3 Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
(UUP), 2 Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
(SDLP), and 1 Traditional Unionist Voice
Traditional Unionist Voice
Traditional Unionist Voice is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland founded on 7 December 2007, as an anti-St Andrews Agreement splinter group from the Democratic Unionist Party . Its first and current leader is Jim Allister who, until 2009, sat as an independent Member of the European...
.
In 1977 Ballymoney District Council successfully petitioned for a grant of a charter of incorporation
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
, constituting the district a borough.
Mayor of Ballymoney
The charter also created the office of mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, who is chosen for a one year term at the council's annual meeting.
| Year | Name | Political affiliation | Deputy | Deputy's affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 - 81 | Mary J. Holmes | Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
Robert McComb |
|
| 1981 - 84 | Charles Steele |
|||
| 1985 - 86 | Charles Steele |
Joe Gaston Joe Gaston Joe Gaston is a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Gaston worked as a farmer and served part-time in the Ulster Defence Regiment. In 1973, he was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council as a non-party candidate... |
||
| 1986 - 87 | Joe Gaston Joe Gaston Joe Gaston is a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Gaston worked as a farmer and served part-time in the Ulster Defence Regiment. In 1973, he was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council as a non-party candidate... |
Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland... |
James Patterson |
|
| Robert Halliday |
||||
| 1988 - 89 | Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley is a politician in Northern Ireland.Cousley is a farmer living near Ballymoney, and is an elder at Drumreagh Presbyterian Church.Cousley was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council in 1981 for the Democratic Unionist Party... |
William Logan |
||
| 1990 - 93 | Joe Gaston Joe Gaston Joe Gaston is a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Gaston worked as a farmer and served part-time in the Ulster Defence Regiment. In 1973, he was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council as a non-party candidate... |
Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland... |
Samuel McConaghie |
|
| Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley is a politician in Northern Ireland.Cousley is a farmer living near Ballymoney, and is an elder at Drumreagh Presbyterian Church.Cousley was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council in 1981 for the Democratic Unionist Party... |
||||
| Malachy McCamphill |
||||
| 1994 - 95 | Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley is a politician in Northern Ireland.Cousley is a farmer living near Ballymoney, and is an elder at Drumreagh Presbyterian Church.Cousley was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council in 1981 for the Democratic Unionist Party... |
Robert Wilson |
||
| 1996 -97 | Joe Gaston Joe Gaston Joe Gaston is a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Gaston worked as a farmer and served part-time in the Ulster Defence Regiment. In 1973, he was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council as a non-party candidate... |
Samuel McConaghie |
||
| 1997 - 98 | Frank Campbell | Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the... |
William Logan |
|
| Samuel McConaghie |
||||
| 1999–2000 | William Logan |
Bill Kennedy |
||
| 2000–2001 | Bill Kennedy | Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the... |
Samuel McConaghie |
|
| John Finlay |
||||
| 2002–2003 | Frank Campbell |
Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley is a politician in Northern Ireland.Cousley is a farmer living near Ballymoney, and is an elder at Drumreagh Presbyterian Church.Cousley was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council in 1981 for the Democratic Unionist Party... |
||
| 2004–2005 | Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley is a politician in Northern Ireland.Cousley is a farmer living near Ballymoney, and is an elder at Drumreagh Presbyterian Church.Cousley was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council in 1981 for the Democratic Unionist Party... |
Ian Stevenson |
||
| 2006–2007 | John Finlay |
Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley is a politician in Northern Ireland.Cousley is a farmer living near Ballymoney, and is an elder at Drumreagh Presbyterian Church.Cousley was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council in 1981 for the Democratic Unionist Party... |
||
| 2007–2008 | John Finlay |
Harry Connolly |
||
| 2008–2009 | John Finlay |
Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley is a politician in Northern Ireland.Cousley is a farmer living near Ballymoney, and is an elder at Drumreagh Presbyterian Church.Cousley was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council in 1981 for the Democratic Unionist Party... |
||
| 2009–2010 | Frank Campbell |
Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley is a politician in Northern Ireland.Cousley is a farmer living near Ballymoney, and is an elder at Drumreagh Presbyterian Church.Cousley was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council in 1981 for the Democratic Unionist Party... |
||
| 2010–2011 | Bill Kennedy |
Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley Cecil Cousley is a politician in Northern Ireland.Cousley is a farmer living near Ballymoney, and is an elder at Drumreagh Presbyterian Church.Cousley was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council in 1981 for the Democratic Unionist Party... |
Source: Freedom of Information
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
request to Ballymoney Borough Council
Town twinning
In 2000, Ballymoney Borough Council twinned with the French town of VanvesVanves
Vanves is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France -History:...
. Since 2001, the council has been a sister city of Benbrook in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and building on its motorcycling history, is also linked to the borough of Douglas, Isle of Man
Douglas, Isle of Man
right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...
.
Parliamentary and assembly representation
Together with the neighbouring districts of Ballymena and MoyleMoyle District Council
Moyle District Council is a Local Council in County Antrim in the north-east corner of Northern Ireland. It covers a largely rural area of approximately 190 square miles and has a population of 15,000...
, it forms the North Antrim constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
.
Demographics
Ballymoney is Northern Ireland's fastest-growing town in terms of population. It is thought that this is because it is one of the most central places in Northern Ireland, being one hour from BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and one hour from Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
. Another reason is as a result of high house prices in the Coleraine
Coleraine
Coleraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...
/Portstewart
Portstewart
Portstewart is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 7,803 people in the 2001 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Of the two towns, Portstewart is decidedly quieter with more sedate attractions. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an...
/Portrush
Portrush
Portrush is a small seaside resort town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the County Londonderry border. The main part of the old town, including the railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars, is built on a mile–long peninsula, Ramore Head, pointing north-northwest....
'Triangle' areas shifting first-time buyers to the less expensive Ballymoney area.
The borough has the highest life expectancy of any area in Northern Ireland, with the average male life expectancy at birth being 78.0 years and 82.6 years for females.