Belfast City Council is to expand under new Boundary Commission plans for the reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland.
Local Government Boundaries Commissioner Dick Mackenzie confirmed that, under the new seven-council model for Northern Ireland, Belfast would swallow up areas currently covered by Castlereagh, Lisburn and North Down.
Under his plans, which are going out for public consultation, the only other major council boundary change from what was proposed by the British government last year will be the transfer of part of Magilligan Strand in Co Derry to a new council in the north west, incorporating Derry from Coleraine Borough Council.
Northern Ireland will slash the number of councils in 2009 from 26 to seven under plans announced a year ago by the government.
Mr Mackenzie today confirmed that under his plans Belfast would get 60 councillors. While it is proposed that the six other council areas could have 60 councillors each, the Boundaries Commissioner said he was prepared to look at suggestions during the public consultation that the number of councillors could vary in each area from 55 to 65.
The public will be invited to submit written responses to the new local government boundaries over the eight weeks until January 5th. Mr Mackenzie also announced plans for seven public hearings in each of the new council areas.
The Boundary Commission will revise its recommendations on March 31st next year, with a final report going to the Department of the Environment on May 31st.
Ultimately, though, the Northern Ireland Assembly would decide if the new local government areas are to be implemented in July next year if devolution returns. In the event of there being no return to power-sharing at Stormont, MPs at Westminster will have the final say on legislation.
Mr Mackenzie said he had approached the drawing up of the boundaries purely on the basis of geography and not on the grounds of their electoral consequences.
Sinn Féin was the only party to welcome the seven-council plan, with the Democratic Unionists, the Ulster Unionists, nationalist SDLP and cross community Alliance Party favouring between 11 and 15.
The names of the seven new councils will 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.