| Castlereagh Borough | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Area | 85 km2 (33 sq mi) Ranked 24th of 26 |
| Population | 67,272 (2011 census) |
| • Density | 791/km2 (2,050/sq mi) |
| District HQ | Upper Galwally,Newtownbreda |
| Catholic | 22.2% |
| Protestant | 67.9% |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Councillors |
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| Website | www |
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Castlereagh (/ˈkɑːsəlreɪ/KAH-səl-ray) was alocal government district with thestatus of borough inNorthern Ireland. It merged withLisburn City Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to becomeLisburn and Castlereagh City Council, with a small amount being transferred to Belfast City Council.
It was a mainly urban borough consisting mostly of suburbs ofBelfast in the Castlereagh Hills (to the south-east of the city) with a small rural area in the south of the borough. Unusually, it had no natural borough centre. The main centres of population areCarryduff, 6 miles (9.6 km) south of Belfast city centre andDundonald, 5 miles (8 km) east of it.
Castlereagh was named after thebarony ofCastlereagh, which in turn was named after thetownland of same name (from the IrishAn Caisleán Riabhach, or Grey Castle, a reference to a stronghold of theClandeboyeO'Neils which stood on a site near what is now anOrange hall on Church Road).[1]
The district was one of twenty-six created on 1 October 1973. It was formed by the amalgamation of the following areas ofCounty Down: most of Castlereagh Rural District, theCarryduff andNewtownbreda areas of Hillsborough Rural District and theMoneyreagh area of North Down Rural District.[2][3]
The borough was divided into four electoral areas: Castlereagh Central, South, East and West. In the 2011 elections, 23 members were elected. As of February 2012 the political composition of the council was: 11Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 6Alliance Party, 3Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 2Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and 1Green Party councillor.[4] The last election was due to take place in May 2009, but on 25 April 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.[5] The proposed reforms were abandoned in 2010, and themost recent district council elections took place in 2011[6]
In 1977 Castlereagh District Council was granted acharter of incorporation constituting the district as a borough, and creating the office of mayor.[7]
The mayor for the civic year 2013–2014 was councillor David Drysdale (DUP) and the Deputy Mayor was councillor Ann-Marie Beattie (DUP).[8]
The borough was divided between theEast Belfast constituency (thewards of Ballyhanwood, Carrowreagh, Cregagh, Downshire, Dundonald, Enler, Gilnahirk, Graham's Bridge, Lisnasharragh, Lower Braniel, Tullycarnet and Upper Braniel), theSouth Belfast constituency (Beechill, Cairnshill, Carryduff East, Carryduff West, Galwally, Hillfoot, Knockbracken, Minnowburn, Newtownbreda and Wynchurch wards) and theStrangford constituency (Moneyreagh ward) for elections to theWestminster Parliament andNorthern Ireland Assembly.[9]
These elections saw the political landscape at Castlereagh change dramatically. The DUP lost overall control of the council due to the loss of two council seats, one in Central and one in the East.[10] The UUP also lost their sole representative in East. The Alliance Party gained one in East and Central, while the Green Party also gained in East. There were no changes in the West or South areas. There had been much speculation[who?] that demographic change would deliver Sinn Féin a seat in South. However, this turned out to be unfounded, with the SDLP being the sixth placed runner up, being narrowly beaten by the UUP for the fifth seat.
The area covered by the former Castlereagh Borough Council had a population of 67,272 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[11]
The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Borough of Castlereagh.
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Bow, John. 2011. Castlereagh, Enlightenment War and Tyranny. Quercus.ISBN 978-0-85738-186-6