Electoral wards of Belfast

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The electoral wards of Belfast are subdivisions of the city, used primarily for statistics and elections. Belfast had 51 wards from May 1973, which were revised in May 1985 and again in May 1993. The number of wards was increased to 60 with the 2014 changes in local government. Wards are the smallest administrative unit in Northern Ireland and are set by the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner and reviewed every 8–12 years.[1]

Wards are used to create constituencies for local government authorities, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. In elections to Belfast City Council, the 60 wards are split into ten District Electoral Areas, each of which contains between five and seven wards, with the number of councillors it elects equal to the number of wards it contains. The constituencies for elections to the House of Commons and the Assembly are coterminous and are created by amalgamating wards into larger areas, with the city's wards split between the four 'Belfast' constituencies, although these also contain wards from bordering local authorities.

The use of wards for statistical purposes by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) has changed since the creation of 'Census Output Areas' (5022 in total) and 'Super Output Areas' (890 in total), which were created to address the variance in size of the 582 wards across Northern Ireland.[2] Each ward contains several Super Output Area, which in turn are made up of a number of Census Output Areas.

Current wards[edit]

The wards were redrawn for the 2014 elections.[3]

Map showing seats currently held by each party in each DEA, in order elected.

History[edit]

From 1928 until May 1973, Belfast was divided into 15 wards, each represented by a total of four aldermen or councillors. The 15 wards were Duncairn, Dock, Clifton, Shankill, Court, Woodvale, Smithfield, Falls, Saint Anne's, Saint George's, Windsor, Cromac, Ormeau, Pottinger and Victoria.

By the early 1970s, population shifts had resulted in significant differences in the electorates of the wards. Although the wards continued to have four representatives on Belfast City Council, electorates varied from less than 5,000 in the smallest ward, Smithfield, to almost 40,000 in the largest ward, Victoria. The review of local government which took place in the early 1970s expanded Belfast to take in some of the newer housing estates on the fringes of the city and attempted to equalise electorates. Initially, Belfast was to have been divided into 52 wards. Following a public review, one ward, Tullycarnet, was excluded from Belfast and became instead the Castlereagh wards of Tullycarnet and Gilnahirk. The remaining 51 wards were intended to elect one member each using the first past the post electoral system. The reintroduction of the single transferable vote method of election meant that a different system was required. The 51 wards were therefore grouped into 8 electoral areas, distinguished by letters, with each electoral area returning either 6 or 7 councillors.

By the early 1980s, population shifts, demolition of some the older housing estates and residential flight caused by the Troubles had again led to substantial disparities in the electorates of the wards. Some wards in inner city Belfast such as Crumlin had lost over 70% of their population. The review of local government which took place from 1982 to 1984 created 51 new wards, many new or substantially different from their namesakes. The initial proposals, published in 1983, survived unchanged with a few exceptions. The proposed Peter's Hill ward was renamed Saint Anne's. The Donegall ward, one of the few unchanged wards, was renamed Blackstaff. In inner south Belfast, the Saint George's, university and Cromac wards were to have been replaced with an eastern ward, to be called Linenhall, and a western ward, to be called College. Following public inquiries, the wards were replaced with a southern ward, Botanic, and a northern ward, Shaftesbury, which merged the former Cromac and Saint George's wards. As in 1973, these wards were grouped into electoral areas electing between 5 and 7 councillors.

A further review took place in 1991–1992 and compared to the review of the 1980s, saw minor changes. In the Court electoral area, the existing Shankill ward was split between three other wards. One of these three wards which gained territory, Saint Anne's, having lost its eponymous area to the Duncairn ward, assumed the Shankill name. Initially the number of wards was to have been cut to 50, however after a public inquiry, a new 51st ward was created. Most of the existing Finaghy ward was renamed Musgrave, while a new Finaghy ward was created from the southern parts of the older Finaghy ward and the Upper Malone ward, which compensated by gaining territory from Malone and Stranmillis wards.

1993–2013[edit]

The table below shows the divisions from 1993 to 2013.

Map District Electoral Area Councillors/
Wards
Population
(2008 Estimate)
Population
(2001 Census)
Catholic Protestant Other Area Density NI Assembly UK Parliament
Balmoral 6 29,681 31,942 40.8% 53.0% 6.2% 13.71 km2 2,330/km2 Belfast South Belfast South
Castle 6 28,290 29,016 44.3% 51.6% 4.1% 19 km2 1,527/km2 Belfast North Belfast North
Court 5 21,777 22,088 5.1% 92.7% 2.2% 9.12 km2 2,422/km2 Belfast North (2)
Belfast West (3)
Belfast North (2)
Belfast West (3)
Laganbank 5 32,316 33,358 54.8% 37.7% 7.5% 8.37 km2 3,985/km2 Belfast South Belfast South
Lower Falls 5 25,500 26,290 96.2% 2.4% 1.4% 5.93 km2 4,433/km2 Belfast West Belfast West
Oldpark 6 33,798 35,100 66.1% 31.5% 2.4% 13.68 km2 2,566 /km2 Belfast North Belfast North
Pottinger 6 31,272 30,687 15.7% 78.2% 6.1% 6.17 km2 4,974 /km2 Belfast East (4)
Belfast South (2)
Belfast East (4)
Belfast South (2)
Upper Falls 5 29,082 31,039 95.5% 3.8% 0.7% 15.83 km2 1,961/km2 Belfast West Belfast West
Victoria 7 36,607 37,691 6.7% 87.0% 6.3% 20.2 km2 1,896 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East
Belfast City Council 51 268,323 277,391 47.2% 48.6% 4.2% 114.85 km2 2,415 /km2
Note: data for DEAs in the above table is based on aggregating the referenced figures for the relevant wards in the table below.
Ward District Electoral Area Population
(2008 Estimate)
Population
(2001 Census)
Catholic Protestant Other Area Density NI Assembly UK Parliament Ref
Andersonstown Upper Falls 5,238 5,764 98.5% 1.0% 0.5% 1.08 km2 5,337/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [4]
Ardoyne Oldpark 6,106 6,602 96.4% 3.2% 0.4% 0.58 km2 11,383 /km2 Belfast North Belfast North [5]
Ballyhackamore Victoria 5,479 5,693 11.6% 80.3% 8.1% 1.15 km2 4,950 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [6]
Ballymacarrett Pottinger 4,797 4,942 50.7% 46.8% 2.8% 0.78 km2 6,336 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [7]
Ballynafeigh Laganbank 5,060 5,251 59.0% 33.2% 7.8% 0.67 km2 7,837/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [8]
Ballysillan Oldpark 5,854 6,020 4.4% 90.7% 4.9% 1.11 km2 5,423 /km2 Belfast North Belfast North [9]
Beechmount Lower Falls 5,530 5,504 92.2% 3.7% 4.1% 0.84 km2 6,552/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [10]
Bellevue Castle 4,750 4,942 60.7% 35.2% 4.1% 2.96 km2 1,670/km2 Belfast North Belfast North [11]
Belmont Victoria 5,980 6,025 3.9% 89.6% 6.5% 1.79 km2 3,366 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [12]
Blackstaff Balmoral 3,673 3,964 4.2% 91.4% 4.4% 1.92 km2 2,065/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [13]
Bloomfield Pottinger 5,483 5,537 5.1% 87.6% 7.3% 0.74 km2 7,482 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [14]
Botanic Laganbank 8,334 9,572 66.9% 23.0% 10.1% 1.3 km2 7,363/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [15]
Castleview Castle 4,769 4,878 31.2% 64.3% 4.5% 1.41 km2 3,460/km2 Belfast North Belfast North [16]
Cavehill Castle 4,965 5,282 51.3% 45.1% 3.6% 3.41 km2 1,549/km2 Belfast North Belfast North [17]
Cherryvalley Victoria 5,731 5,933 8.9% 85.1% 6.0% 1.99 km2 2,981 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [18]
Chichester Park Castle 5,077 5,109 74.9% 20.2% 4.9% 0.95 km2 5,378/km2 Belfast North Belfast North [19]
Cliftonville Oldpark 5,093 5,421 68.3% 29.2% 2.5% 1.18 km2 4,594 /km2 Belfast North Belfast North [20]
Clonard Lower Falls 4,380 4,421 96.1% 2.6% 1.3% 0.61 km2 7,248/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [21]
Crumlin Court 4,362 4,376 3.6% 93.9% 2.5% 0.83 km2 5,272/km2 Belfast North Belfast North [22]
Duncairn Castle 4,055 4,007 5.5% 90.2% 4.3% 9.24 km2 434/km2 Belfast North Belfast North [23]
Falls Lower Falls 4,924 5,046 96.9% 2.7% 0.4% 1.2 km2 4,205/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [24]
Falls Park Upper Falls 5,234 5,888 97.7% 1.8% 0.5% 2.35 km2 2,506/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [25]
Finaghy Balmoral 4,468 4,994 44.6% 49.8% 5.6% 2.59 km2 1,928/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [26]
Fortwilliam Castle 4,674 4,798 32.9% 64.1% 3.0% 1.03 km2 4,658/km2 Belfast North Belfast North [27]
Glen Road Upper Falls 5,406 5,872 97.2% 2.3% 0.5% 1.57 km2 3,740/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [28]
Glencairn Court 3,693 4,026 12.3% 85.2% 2.5% 4.1 km2 982/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [29]
Glencolin Upper Falls 6,892 7,129 98.1% 1.2% 0.7% 9.54 km2 747/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [30]
Highfield Court 5,579 5,310 4.2% 94.0% 1.8% 2.69 km2 1,974/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [31]
Island Victoria 4,564 4,280 5.3% 89.5% 5.2% 3.81 km2 1,123 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [32]
Knock Victoria 4,643 4,995 5.1% 90.5% 4.4% 1.12 km2 4,460 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [33]
Ladybrook Upper Falls 6,312 6,384 86.5% 12.3% 1.2% 1.29 km2 4,949/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [34]
Legoniel Oldpark 5,808 5,528 37.7% 59.2% 3.1% 8.82 km2 627 /km2 Belfast North Belfast North [35]
Malone Balmoral 5,249 5,694 55.9% 37.8% 6.3% 2.18 km2 2,612/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [36]
Musgrave Balmoral 4,795 5,277 59.7% 36.5% 3.8% 1.78 km2 2,965/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [37]
New Lodge Oldpark 4,988 5,224 97.3% 2.2% 0.5% 0.72 km2 7,256 /km2 Belfast North Belfast North [38]
Orangefield Pottinger 5,565 5,496 3.3% 91.0% 5.7% 1.46 km2 3,764 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [39]
Ravenhill Pottinger 5,610 5,500 25.5% 67.3% 7.2% 1.88 km2 2,926 /km2 Belfast South Belfast South [40]
Rosetta Laganbank 5,379 5,115 57.9% 37.1% 5.0% 1.6 km2 3,197/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [41]
Shaftesbury Laganbank 6,293 5,785 36.9% 58.5% 4.6% 2.23 km2 2,594/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [42]
Shankill Court 3,812 3,784 3.2% 94.3% 2.5% 0.93 km2 4,067/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [43]
Stormont Victoria 5,339 5,530 8.7% 85.2% 6.1% 7.04 km2 786 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [44]
Stranmillis Laganbank 7,250 7,635 48.3% 43.9% 7.8% 2.47 km2 3,091/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [45]
Sydenham Victoria 4,871 5,235 3.8% 90.3% 5.9% 6.24 km2 839 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [46]
The Mount Pottinger 4,893 4,259 4.0% 89.7% 6.3% 0.75 km2 5,679 /km2 Belfast East Belfast East [47]
Upper Malone Balmoral 4,567 4,926 24.7% 69.1% 6.2% 4.32 km2 1,140/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [48]
Upper Springfield Lower Falls 5,370 5,895 96.9% 2.5% 0.6% 2.5 km2 2,358/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [49]
Water Works Oldpark 5,949 6,305 90.7% 6.7% 2.6% 1.27 km2 4,965 /km2 Belfast North Belfast North [50]
Whiterock Lower Falls 5,296 5,424 99.0% 0.7% 0.3% 0.78 km2 6,954/km2 Belfast West Belfast West [51]
Windsor Balmoral 6,929 7,087 43.4% 47.4% 9.2% 0.92 km2 7,703/km2 Belfast South Belfast South [52]
Woodstock Pottinger 4,924 5,133 6.2% 86.7% 7.1% 0.56 km2 9,166 /km2 Belfast South Belfast South [53]
Woodvale Court 4,331 4,594 2.6% 95.1% 2.3% 0.57 km2 8,060/km2 Belfast North Belfast North [54]
Belfast City Council 268,323 277,391 47.2% 48.6% 4.2% 114.85 km2 2,415 /km2

1973 to 1985[edit]

Ward Electoral area Boundaries Population (1971)[55] Population (1981)[56] Westminster constituency(s)
Rosetta A Upper Ormeau Road and Rosetta areas 7,633 6,628
Ballynafeigh A Ballynafeigh 6,674 5,231
Ormeau A Areas around Ravenhill Road from Park Road to Albert Bridge Road 6,710 4,718
Willowfield A Areas bordering Woodstock and Cregagh Roads to city boundary 7,417 6,292
Orangefield A Orangefield 7,921 6,801
The Mount A Bordered by Ravenhill Rd, My Lady's Rd, Willowfield St, Clara St, Beersbridge Rd, Connswater and Albertbridge Rd 8,765 4,640
Ballymacarrett A Areas between Newtownards Rd and Albertbridge Rd 8,743 4,472
Island B Areas north of Newtownards Rd and between rivers Connswater and Lagan 8,665 4,100
Sydenham B Bordered by Connswater, Newtownards Rd, Holywood Rd and Belfast Rd 7,931 6,606
Belmont B Bordered by Holywood Rd, Belmont Rd and city boundary 8,948 7,825
Bloomfield B Bordered by Bloomfield walkway, Connswater, Abetta Parade, Dunraven Gardens, North Rd and Grand Parade 6,455 5,510
Ballyhackamore B Bordered by Bloomfield walkway, Belmont Road, Belmont Church Rd, Knock Parkand area north of Orangefield Rd and Sandhill Gardens 7,493 6,434
Shandon B Knock, Shandon and Cherryvalley areas 8,715 7,985
Stormont B Areas north of Upper Newtownards Rd, east of Belmont Church Rd and south and east of Belmont Road 8,778 7,675
Finaghy C Finaghy 7,376 6,599
Upper Malone C Upper Malone and Taughmonagh areas 7,920 7,038
Malone C areas around Malone Road 6,775 6,462
Windsor C Windsor 9,925 6,600
Stranmillis C Stranmillis 7939 6541
University C Areas around Queen's University and Lower Ormeau Road 7,830 4,609
Saint James D Beechmount and Saint James areas 9,202 8,043
Whiterock D 10,861 6,847
Milltown D areas around Milltown Cemetery and Falls Park 9,864 7,291
Andersonstown D Andersonstown and Glen Road areas 8,433 6,406
Suffolk D Glencolin and Suffolk areas 11,031 9,396
Ladybrook D 11,044 10,085
Legoniel E 7,218 5,504
Ballysillan E Ballysillan 8,181 5,967
Ardoyne E Ardoyne and Glenbryn areas 9,547 5,902
Ballygomartin E Ballygomartin and Glencairn areas 7,734 8,467
Highfield E Highfield 8,516 5,703
Woodvale E Woodvale 7,628 5,889
Falls F Lower Falls Road around Divis tower 5,655 2,645
Clonard F Clonard 8,491 5,463
Grosvenor F Areas around Grosvenor Road 7,385 2,239
Donegall F Areas currently between Westlink and Railway line, southern boundary Stockman's Lane 7,789 6,227
Saint Georges F Sandy Row and The Village 7,690 2,931
Cromac F Donegall Pass and The Markets 6,991 2,446
New Lodge G Bordered by Antrim Road, Duncairn Gardens, North Queen Street and Clifton Street 8,090 5,097
Central G Barrack St and John St, Brown Square, City Centre, Docks including all areas between Motorway and Belfast Lough, Henry St and Lancaster St areas, Smithfield, Unity Flats 7,085 2,132
Shankill G Areas between Shankill and Crumlin Roads, east of Cambrai St as far as western half of Crimea St 8,337 5,811
Crumlin G Bounded by Flax St, Ardoyne Ave, Oldpark Ave, Cliftonville Rd, Antrim Rd and Crumlin Rd 12,414 3,250
Court G From Carlisle Circus, down the Westlink, up Divis Street, along Northumberland Street, the Shankill Road, Crimea Street and then down the Crumlin Road to Carlisle Circus 7,345 3,325
North Howard G Starting from the Falls Rd, along North Howard St, Cupar Way and Lanark Way, down the Shankill Rd and along Northumberland St and the Falls Rd 6,957 1,883
Bellevue H Bellevue 7,530 6,256
Castleview H Innisfayle, Downview and Parkmount areas 7,653 6,766
Grove H Areas from Skegoniell Avenue to Mountcollyer Street and Lower Cavehill Road to Kansas Avenue 6,230 4,635
Duncairn H Tiger's Bay and Newington 8,408 4,196
Fortwilliam H Fortwilliam 6,690 5,879
Cavehill H Cavehill Road and areas to Kansas Avenue 8,430 8,239
Cliftonville H Cliftonville, Torrens and Brookvale areas 9,637 7,537

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008". National Archives. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Geography". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  3. ^ Map Archived 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine from the District Electoral Areas Commissioner Maps page Archived 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine. See District Electoral Areas Commissioner page Archived 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Ward Information for Andersonstown ward 95GG01". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Ward Information for Ardoyne ward 95GG02". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Ward Information for Ballyhackamore ward 95GG03". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  7. ^ "Ward Information for Ballymacarrett ward 95GG04". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Ward Information for Ballynafeigh ward 95GG05". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Ward Information for Ballysillan ward 95GG06". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  10. ^ "Ward Information for Beechmount ward 95GG07". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Ward Information for Bellevue ward 95GG08". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Ward Information for Belmont ward 95GG09". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  13. ^ "Ward Information for Blackstaff ward 95GG10". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  14. ^ "Ward Information for Bloomfield (Belfast) ward 95GG11". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  15. ^ "Ward Information for Botanic ward 95GG12". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Ward Information for Castleview ward 95GG13". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Ward Information for Cavehill ward 95GG14". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  18. ^ "Ward Information for Cherryvalley ward 95GG15". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  19. ^ "Ward Information for Chichester Park ward 95GG16". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  20. ^ "Ward Information for Cliftonville ward 95GG17". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  21. ^ "Ward Information for Clonard ward 95GG18". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  22. ^ "Ward Information for Crumlin (Belfast) ward 95GG19". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  23. ^ "Ward Information for Duncairn ward 95GG20". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  24. ^ "Ward Information for Falls ward 95GG21". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  25. ^ "Ward Information for Falls Park ward 95GG22". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  26. ^ "Ward Information for Finaghy ward 95GG23". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  27. ^ "Ward Information for Fortwilliam ward 95GG24". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  28. ^ "Ward Information for Glen Road ward 95GG25". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  29. ^ "Ward Information for Glencairn ward 95GG26". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  30. ^ "Ward Information for Glencolin ward 95GG27". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  31. ^ "Ward Information for Highfield ward 95GG28". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  32. ^ "Ward Information for Island ward 95GG29". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  33. ^ "Ward Information for Knock ward 95GG30". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  34. ^ "Ward Information for Ladybrook ward 95GG31". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  35. ^ "Ward Information for Legoniel ward 95GG32". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  36. ^ "Ward Information for Malone ward 95GG33". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  37. ^ "Ward Information for Musgrave ward 95GG34". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  38. ^ "Ward Information for New Lodge ward 95GG35". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  39. ^ "Ward Information for Orangefield ward 95GG36". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  40. ^ "Ward Information for Ravenhill ward 95GG37". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  41. ^ "Ward Information for Rosetta ward 95GG38". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  42. ^ "Ward Information for Shaftesbury ward 95GG39". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  43. ^ "Ward Information for Shankill ward 95GG40". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  44. ^ "Ward Information for Stormont ward 95GG41". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  45. ^ "Ward Information for Stranmillis ward 95GG42". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  46. ^ "Ward Information for Sydenham ward 95GG43". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  47. ^ "Ward Information for The Mount ward 95GG44". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  48. ^ "Ward Information for Upper Malone ward 95GG45". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  49. ^ "Ward Information for Upper Springfield ward 95GG46". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  50. ^ "Ward Information for Water Works ward 95GG47". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  51. ^ "Ward Information for Whiterock ward 95GG48". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  52. ^ "Ward Information for Windsor ward 95GG49". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  53. ^ "Ward Information for Woodstock ward 95GG50". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  54. ^ "Ward Information for Woodvale ward 95GG51". NISRA. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  55. ^ Northern Ireland Census, 1971 summary tables, Table 4
  56. ^ Northern Ireland Census, 1981 summary tables, Table 4