Councils Combined

Belfast is to join parts of Lisburn - including Twinbrook and Poleglass - as well as sectors of Castlereagh to become one of a series of new electoral areas.

The move is part of a widely anticipated shake-up of the boundaries and names of Northern Ireland's local government districts.

Details, though fairly well known already, have now officially been unveiled for public comment and scrutiny.

Belfast will have 60 sub-divisions - or wards - and all other council areas will have 40, with a figure set at a nominal one councillor per ward.

In general, where two councils are grouped together, such as Antrim and Newtownabbey, the names will be amalgamated as such, (Antrim and Newtownabbey District Council).

Where there are more than two, new district council names will appear as all the previous names (like Causeway Coast, Mid-Antrim and Mid-Ulster).

Afterwards, the number of councils will have dropped from 26 to 11.

The Local Government Boundaries Commissioner Dick MacKenzie said he had not taken political considerations into account and had not spoken to any politicians.

"The publication of my report is the first stage of a process which is designed to establish the district and ward boundaries for a completely new configuration of local government in Northern Ireland," he said.

"The proposed boundaries of the districts are based on the amalgamation of the existing councils, with the exception of Belfast for which I am recommending a revised boundary to reflect the expansion of the city over the years."

There will now be an eight week period for the submission of written comments followed by 11 public hearings until the end of November.

Council status is being reduced as NI moves further into self-government at Stormont, with the Northern Ireland Assembly needing to give its final approval to the proposals.

The change will have wide-ranging implications, for such organisations as Local Strategy Partnerships, which are based around individual council areas.

It will also have a huge impact on the existing 26 District Policing Partnerships (DPPs), a part of the NI Policing Board's remit, which will also have to fall in line with the new arrangements.

These expected changes to electoral boundaries and their impact on the way that DPPs and the associated Community Policing Fora will operate are already set to be the subject of discussions taking place.

A question has already been framed for a meeting 'in public' of Newtownabbey District Policing partnership next week on that subject.

The full list of proposed new councils are:

• Belfast City Council
• Derry City and Strabane District Council
• Armagh City and Bann District Council
• Lisburn City and Castlereagh District Council
• Newry City and Down District Council
• Antrim and Newtownabbey District Council
• Ards and North Down District Council
• Causeway Coast District Council
• Fermanagh and Omagh District council
• Mid-Antrim District Council
• Mid-Ulster District Council

(BMcC)