Balmoral (District Electoral Area)

Balmoral (from the ) is the most southern of ten district electoral areas (DEA) in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The district elects five members to Belfast City Council and contains the wards of Belvoir; Finaghy; Malone; Musgrave; Windsor; and Upper Malone. Balmoral, along with neighbouring Botanic, forms the greater part of the Belfast South constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament.

The district is bounded to the west and south west by the M1 Motorway, to east and south east by the River Lagan, to the east and north east by the Malone Road and to the north by Belfast City Hospital, Queen's University Belfast and Royal Victoria Hospital.

The Lisburn Road is the main arterial route through the centre of the district, which also contains a number of public facilities including: the King's Hall conference and exhibition centre, the Musgrave Park Hospital, Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park and Windsor Park, the home ground of the Northern Ireland national football team. It is served by the Adelaide, Balmoral and Finaghy railway stations.

History
The DEA was created for the 1985 local elections, where it contained five wards. Four of the wards came from the abolished Belfast Area C, which it effectively replaced, with the final ward, Blackstaff, coming from Belfast Area F. From the 1993 local elections to the 2011 elections, the area contained six wards, following the creation of the Musgrave ward. For the 2014 local elections, it lost the wards of Blackstaff and Windsor and gained the Belvoir ward, which had previously been part of the abolished Castlereagh Borough Council. This was as a result of the 2014 Local Government Reform.

Councillors


In May 2011, Councillors Tom Ekin, Ruth Patterson and Bob Stoker were appointed as Aldermen by Belfast City Council. Alderman Ruth Patterson also served as Deputy Lord Mayor, 2011–12, while Mairtin O'Muilleoir is serving as Lord Mayor for 2013–14.

2023 Election
2019: 2 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Sinn Fein

2023: 2 x Alliance, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin

2019–2023 Change: Alliance gain from DUP

2019 Election
2014: 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Sinn Fein, 1 x UUP

2019: 2 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Sinn Fein

2014-2019 Change: DUP gain from UUP

2014 Election
This election was carried out under new ward boundaries, as a result of local government reform.

2011: 2 x SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin

2014: 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP

2011-2014 Change: SDLP loss due to the reduction of one seat

2011 Election
2005: 2 x SDLP, 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP

2011: 2 x SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin

2005-2011 Change: Sinn Féin gain from DUP

2005 Election
2001: 2 x UUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP

2005: 2 x SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance

2001-2005 Change: DUP gain from UUP

2001 Election
1997: 2 x UUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP

2001: 2 x UUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP

1997-2001 Change: No change

1997 Election
1993: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance

1997: 2 x UUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP

1993-1997 Change: SDLP gain from DUP

1993 Election
1989: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance

1993: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance

1989-1993 Change: DUP gain due to the addition of one seat

1989 Election
1985: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance

1989: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP

1985-1989 Change: SDLP gain from DUP

1985 Election
1985: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance