Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that the Local Government Boundaries Commissioner had, on 18th September, released his recommendations on the proposed new 11 Local Government Districts in Northern Ireland.  The number of wards, and therefore Councillors, in each District would be 40, with the exception of Belfast which would have 60.  The total number of Councillors would be 460, which represented a reduction of 122.

            The Commissioner had recommended that the boundary of the Belfast City Council Local Government District should reflect the City’s natural setting within the surrounding hills, a number of landscape features and several major roads.  He had proposed that:

·         9 localities – Gilnahirk, Tullycarnet, Braniel, Castlereagh, Merok, Cregagh, Wynchurch, Glencregagh and Belvoir – be transferred from the current Castlereagh Borough Council area into Belfast;

·         6 localities – Colin Glen, Poleglass, Lagmore, Twinbrook, Kilwee and Dunmurray – be transferred from the existing Lisburn City Council area into Belfast; and

·         1 small area of housing at Knocknagoney be transferred from the existing North Down Borough Council area to Belfast.

            Those changes would increase the population of the City to 318,000, with the eligible electorate rising by 32,000 to 190,000.

            The Commissioner was seeking views on all aspects of his provisional recommendations, including the boundaries and the names of the new Local Government Districts and the number, boundaries and names of the wards making up each District.  Written comments were being sought by 12th November.  Following that there would be a series of public hearings in each of the new Local Government Districts, with the Belfast hearings scheduled for 20th and 21st November in Malone House commencing at 10.00 a.m.  Thereafter the Commissioner would submit his final recommendations to the Department of the Environment by June, 2009.  Those would then be laid before the Assembly for approval.

            In addition to the obvious political issues relating to the revised Local Government Boundaries, there were other issues which would have to be considered:

·         the resource implications for services such as refuse collection and street cleansing;

·         the potential significant increase in the Council’s demographic profile in terms of Targeting Social Needs areas; and

·         the impact on leisure provision.

            Whilst it was certain that there would be significant financial implications arising from the expansion of the boundary of the City in terms of potential impact on its rate base, both domestic and commercial, that impact had not as yet been quantified.  Any consideration of the impact of the proposed changes to the City’s boundary would need to be set within the context of the expansion of Council services into the merging areas and the potential requirement for new facilities.  Furthermore, the reconfiguration of the Local Government Boundaries might result in the Council taking ownership of additional areas of open space and/or facilities, for example, community and leisure.  Again, an assessment would need to be undertaken to identify such facilities, examine fitness for purpose and to quantify the potential capital/revenue implications for the Council.  Such consideration would be taken forward within the context of the Council’s ongoing work in regard to the rates and the continued engagement within the wider Review of Public Administration process.  Further reports would be submitted for the consideration of the Committee in due course.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided and agreed that responses to the Commissioner’s provisional recommendations be left to the individual Political Parties.