Ballymena (borough)
| Ballymena Borough | |
|---|---|
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| Area | 632 km2 (244 sq mi) Ranked 8th of 26 |
| District HQ | Ballymena |
| Catholic | 22.6% |
| Protestant | 71.4% |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| EU Parliament | Northern Ireland |
| Councillors |
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| Website | www |
Ballymena is a former local government district with borough status in Northern Ireland. It was one of twenty-six districts created on 1 October 1973 and covered the town of Ballymena and the surrounding area which includes small towns including Broughshane, Cullybackey, Galgorm, Ahoghill and Portglenone. The borough has an area of 200 square miles (520 km2) and a population of 64,044 according to the 2011 census. The borough had a central location within Northern Ireland and is served by the M2 motorway and with a station on the Belfast-Derry/Londonderry railway line. Belfast International Airport itself is only 18 miles (29 km) away and the Belfast City Airport is 30 miles (48 km) from Ballymena. It was also accessible to the seaports of Larne and Belfast, 20 and 27 miles (43 km) away respectively. As of 2015 it has been replaced by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.
The present borough of Ballymena was created in 1973 from the merging of the former municipal borough of Ballymena with most of the surrounding Ballymena Rural District. The new council inherited the 1937 charter of incorporation of the municipal borough, continuing the borough status and mayoralty.
The borough is divided into four electoral areas: Ballymena North, Ballymena South, Bannside, and Braid, from which 24 members are elected. The entire council is elected every four years by proportional representation. The last election was due to take place in May 2009, but on April 25, 2008, Shaun Woodward, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that the scheduled 2009 district council elections were to be postponed until the introduction of the eleven new councils in 2011. The proposed reforms were abandoned in 2010, and the most recent district council elections took place in 2011 As of February 2012, the political composition of the council was:
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