Balmoral (District Electoral Area)

Balmoral District Electoral Area
Map showing Balmoral wards within Belfast
Area	13.71 km^2 (5.29 sq mi)
Population	29,681 (2008 Estimate)
– density	2,165/km^2 (5,610/sq mi)
District	Belfast City Council
County	County Antrim
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
EU Parliament	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	Belfast South
NI Assembly	Belfast South
List of places UK Northern Ireland Antrim

Balmoral 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 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 Area C, which it effectively replaced, with the final ward, Blackstaff, coming from 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.

Wards

Map	Ward	Population (2011 Census)	Catholic	Protestant	Other	No Religion	Area	Density	NI Assembly	UK Parliament	Ref
1	Blackstaff	3,998	15%	71.5%	1.8%	11.7%	1.92 km^2	2,082/km^2	Belfast South	Belfast South	[1]
2	Finaghy	4,555	49.2%	42.6%	2.6%	5.6%	2.59 km^2	1,759/km^2	Belfast South	Belfast South	[2]
3	Malone	5,555	61.2%	30.3%	2.3%	6.3%	2.18 km^2	2,548/km^2	Belfast South	Belfast South	[3]
4	Musgrave	4,927	60.6%	32.9%	1.7%	4.8%	1.78 km^2	2,768/km^2	Belfast South	Belfast South	[4]
5	Upper Malone	4,841	29.4%	60.1%	2.5%	8.1%	4.32 km^2	1,121/km^2	Belfast South	Belfast South	[5]
6	Windsor	8,141	41.6%	40.7%	5.8%	11.8%	0.92 km^2	8,849/km^2	Belfast South	Belfast South	[6]
Balmoral		32,017	43.8%	44.8%	3.1%	8.3%	13.71 km^2	2,335/km^2

Councillors

The King's Hall is a multi-purpose venue located in Balmoral.

Election	Councillor (Party)		Councillor (Party)		Councillor (Party)		Councillor (Party)		Councillor (Party)		Councillor (Party)
2014		Paula Bradshaw (Alliance Party)		Claire Hanna (SDLP)	Five seats from 2014			Máirtín Ó Muilleoir (Sinn Féin)		Christopher Stalford (DUP)		Jeff Dudgeon (UUP)
2011		Tom Ekin (Alliance Party)				Bernie Kelly (SDLP)				Ruth Patterson (DUP)		Bob Stoker (UUP)
2005				Carmel Hanna (SDLP)				Jim Kirkpatrick (DUP)
2001						Catherine Molloy (SDLP)		Margaret Crooks (UUP)
1997										Harry Smith (DUP)
1993		Philip McGarry (Alliance Party)		Dorita Field (SDLP)		Harry Smith (DUP)				Joan Parkes (DUP)		Jim Kirkpatrick (UUP)
1989		Mark Long (Alliance Party)			Additional seat from 1993
1985		John Montgomery (Alliance Party)		Billy Dickson (DUP)

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.

2011 Elections

Windsor Park is the home of the Northern Ireland football team.

See also: Results of elections in 2011; 2005; 2001; 1997; 1993; 1989 and 1985.

Belfast City Council elections, 2011[7]
Party		Candidate	1st Pref
	Alliance	Tom Ekin	1,762
	DUP	Ruth Patterson	1,553
	Sinn Féin	Máirtín Ó Muilleoir	1,465
	SDLP	Claire Hanna	1,443
	UUP	Bob Stoker	922
	SDLP	Niall Kelly	743
	SDLP	Bernie Kelly	706
	UUP	Jim Kirkpatrick	578
	DUP	Sharon Simpson	396
	Green (NI)	Mark Simpson	282
	People Before Profit	Andrew King	107
Turnout			9,957
	Sinn Féin gain from Democratic Unionist

See also

• Belfast City Council
• Electoral wards of Belfast
• Local government in Northern Ireland
• Members of Belfast City Council

References

1. "Ward Information for Blackstaff ward 95GG10". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
2. "Ward Information for Finaghy ward 95GG23". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
3. "Ward Information for Malone ward 95GG33". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
4. "Ward Information for Musgrave ward 95GG34". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
5. "Ward Information for Upper Malone ward 95GG45". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
6. "Ward Information for Windsor ward 95GG49". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
7. Elections 2011: Balmoral, Belfast City Council

Coordinates: 54°34′01″N 5°58′01″W / 54.567°N 5.967°W