Banbridge (district)

Banbridge District
Area	453 km2 (175 sq mi)  Ranked 15th of 26
District HQ	Banbridge
Catholic	32%
Protestant	62.0%
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
EU Parliament	Northern Ireland
Councillors	MLAs Lagan Valley, South Down & Upper Bann DUP: 7 UUP: 2 Sinn Féin: 3 SDLP: 3 NI21: 2 Alliance Party: 1 MPs Jeffrey Donaldson (DUP) Margaret Ritchie (SDLP) David Simpson (DUP)
Website	www.banbridgedc.gov.uk
List of places UK Northern Ireland

Coordinates: 54°21′04″N 6°16′01″W / 54.351°N 6.267°W / 54.351; -6.267

Banbridge was a local government district in Northern Ireland. The district is one of 26 council areas formed on 1 October 1973, following the implementation of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. The headquarters of the council were in the town of Banbridge. In April 2015, most of the Banbridge district was included in the merged Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon district.

The district is in the west of County Down and covers an area of 175 square miles (450 km²) of countryside – from Slieve Croob (1,775 ft) in the east to the River Bann valley in the west. It is also the main gateway to the Mourne Mountains, which lie to the south and is bisected by the A1 route between Belfast and Dublin.

The district was formed by the merger of Banbridge Urban District, Dromore Urban District and Banbridge Rural District. In 1993 there was a boundary change, and the Rathfriland area was transferred from the neighbouring district of Newry and Mourne. The other main small towns in the area include Gilford, Loughbrickland and Scarva. According to the 2001 census, the population of the district was just over 42,000 and according to the 2011 census this had grown to 48,339.

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