Strabane District Council
Strabane District Council (Irish: Comhairle Ceantair an tSratha Báin; Ulster-Scots: Stràbane Destrìck Cooncil)[1] is a local council in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is set to merge with Derry City Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Derry and Strabane District Council.
The headquarters of the council is in the town of Strabane. Apart from Strabane the other smaller towns in the area include Plumbridge, Newtownstewart, Donemana, Sion Mills and Castlederg. Also included in the Strabane District Council area are the following rural areas: Glenmornan, Evish, Glebe, Artigarvan, and Ballymagorry.
The Strabane District Council area consists of three electoral areas, Derg, Glenelly and Mourne, from which 16 members are elected. At the last elections in 2011 members were elected from the following political parties: 8 Sinn Féin, 4 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 1 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 1 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and 2 Independent Nationalist. The current council chairperson is Councillor Dan Kelly (SF) and the vice chairperson is Councillor Allan Bresland (DUP)
2011 election results
| Party | seats | change +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|
| style="background-color: Template:Sinn Féin/meta/color" |• | Sinn Féin | 8 | +1 |
| style="background-color: Template:Democratic Unionist Party/meta/color" |• | Democratic Unionist Party | 4 | = |
| style="background-color: Template:Ulster Unionist Party/meta/color" |• | Ulster Unionist Party | 1 | = |
| style="background-color: Template:Social Democratic and Labour Party/meta/color" |• | Social Democratic and Labour Party | 1 | -1 |
| style="background-color: Template:Independent/meta/color" |• | Independent | 1 | +1 |
Rates
On 12 February 2008, Strabane District Council stuck the district rate for 2008-09. The new domestic district rate became £3.1274 per thousand capital value, an increase of 6.47%. The new non-domestic district rate became 21.282p in the pound, an increase of 6.47%.[2]
Review of Public Administration
Under the Review of Public Administration (RPA) the Council is due to merge with Derry City Council in 2011 to form a single council for the enlarged area totalling 1303 km² and a population of 143,314.[3] The next 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.[4] These were then further postponed. Strabane Council will now merge with Derry City council to form the new Derry City and Strabane District Council on 1st April 2015. The first elections for the new council took place in May, 2014.
Population
The area covered by Strabane District Council has a population of 39,843 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[5]
Twinning
Strabane is twinned with Zeulenroda in Thuringia in Germany.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Snapshot: The magazine of Strabane District Council
- ^ "Rates". Strabane District Council. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
- ^ "Minister Foster announces decisions on Local Government Reform". DoE. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
- ^ Northern Ireland elections are postponed, BBC News, April 25, 2008, accessed April 27, 2008
- ^ "NI Census 2011 - Key Statistics Summary Report, September 2014" (PDF). NI Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- ^ "Town Twinning". Strabane District Council. Retrieved 2008-05-31.