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Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971
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Local Government (Boundaries) Act
(Northern Ireland) 1971
1971. Chapter 9
An Act to provide that Northern Ireland shall be divided into
twenty-six local government districts and that each of those districts
shall be divided into wards; to appoint a Commissioner to make
recommendations regarding the boundaries and names of those districts
and wards and the number of wards in each district; and for purposes
connected therewith.
[23rd March 1971]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, and
the Senate and the House of Commons of Northern Ireland in this
present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same,
as follows:-
| 1. | (1) Northern Ireland shall for the purposes of local government be divided into twenty-six districts to be known as local government districts and shall be so divided that each local government district incorporates the whole or the major part of one of the places specified in Schedule 1.
| Local government districts and wards.
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| (2) Each local government district shall be divided into district electoral divisions to be known as wards.
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| (3) The boundaries and names of the local government districts and the number, boundaries and names of the wards into which each of those districts is divided shall be such as are prescribed by an order made under section 4 (5).
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| (4) The foregoing provisions of this section and Schedule 1 shall, for the purposes of enabling the Commissioner appointed under section 2 and the Minister of Development (in this Act referred to as "the Minister") to perform their functions under this Act, come into force on the passing thereof and shall for all other purposes come into force on such day or days as the Minister may by order appoint.
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| 2. | (1) The Governor shall appoint a Local Government Boundaries Commissioner (in this Act referred to as "the Commissioner") whose function shall be to make recommendations regarding the boundaries and names of the local government districts and the number, boundaries and names of the wards into which each local government district is to be divided.
| Local Government Boundaries Commissioner.
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| (2) Section 18 (2) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to an appointment under subsection (1) with the omission of paragraph (b) (iii) of that section.
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| (3) The Commissioner shall be appointed on such terms and conditions as the Ministry of Development (in this Act referred to as "the Ministry"), with the approval of the Ministry of Finance, may determine before his appointment.
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| (4) The appointment of the Commissioner shall terminate on such date after he submits his recommendations under section 4 (I) as the Ministry may determine.
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| (5) The Commissioner shall regulate his procedure in accordance with Schedule 2 and shall make his recommendations in accordance with Schedule 3.
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| 3. | (1) The Ministry may, at the request of the Commissioner, appoint one or more Assistant Commissioners on such terms and conditions as the Ministry, with the approval of the Ministry of Finance, may determine before the appointment.
| Assistant Commissioners, assessors, staff and disqualification for Parliament.
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| (2) The Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages for Northern Ireland, the Commissioner of Valuation and the Chief Survey Officer of Ordnance Survey for Northern Ireland shall be assessors to the Commissioner.
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| (3) The Ministry shall appoint a secretary and such other officers to assist the Commissioner as it, with the approval of the Ministry of Finance, may determine and the terms and conditions of any such appointment shall be such as may be so determined.
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| (4) In the Part substituted by section 10 of and Schedule 3 to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1957, for Part III of Schedule 1 to that Act (which substituted Part lists offices the holders of which are disqualified for membership of the Senate and of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland) the following entry shall be inserted at the appropriate point in alphabetical order:-
Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner appointed under section 2 or 3 of the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971.
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| 4. | (1) The Commissioner shall on or before the 30th April 1972, or such later date as the Minister may determine but in any event not later than 30th June 1972, submit to the Minister the recommendations referred to in section 2 (1).
| Recommendation of the Commissioner and effect to be given thereto.
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| (2) The Commissioner may, if he thinks fit, submit interim reports to the Minister before making his final recommendations under subsection (1).
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| (3) As soon as may be after the Commissioner has submitted recommendations to the Minister under subsection (1), the Minister shall lay the recommendations before both Houses of Parliament together with the draft of an order to give effect, whether with or without modifications, to the recommendations.
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| (4) Where any such draft proposes to give effect to any such recommendations with modifications, the Minister shall lay before both Houses of Parliament, together with the draft order, a statement of the reasons for the modifications.
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| (5) On the approval of the draft order by a resolution of each House of Parliament, the Minister shall make an order in terms of the draft as so approved.
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| (6) The validity of any order purporting to be made under subsection (5) and reciting that a draft thereof has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament shall not be called in question in any legal proceedings whatever.
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| 5. | The remuneration and expenses of the Commissioner, Assistant Commissioners and the secretary and any staff appointed under section 3 (3) may be defrayed out of money provided by Parliament.
| Remuneration and expenses.
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| 6. | The Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 is hereby repealed.
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| 7. | This Act may be cited as the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 and shall be construed as one with the Local Government Acts (Northern Ireland) 1898 to 1968 and those Acts and this Act may be cited together as the Local Government Acts (Northern Ireland) 1898 to 1971.
| Short title, construction and citation.
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| SCHEDULES
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| SCHEDULE 1
PLACES THE WHOLE OR MAJOR PART OF ONE OF WHICH IS TO BE
INCLUDED IN EACH LOCAL GOVERNMENT DISTRICT
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| 1. | Antrim urban district electoral division
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| 2. | Armagh urban district.
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| 3. | Ballycastle urban district.
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| 4. | Ballymena borough.
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| 5. | Ballymoney urban district.
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| 6. | Banbridge urban district.
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| 7. | Bangor borough.
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| 8. | Belfast county borough.
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| 9. | Carrickfergus borough.
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| 10. | Castlereagh district electoral division.
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| 11. | Coleraine borough.
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| 12. | Cookstown urban district.
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| 13. | Craigavon urban district.
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| 14. | Downpatrick urban district.
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| 15. | Dungannon urban district.
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| 16. | Enniskillen borough.
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| 17. | Larne borough.
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| 18. | Limavady urban district.
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| 19. | Lisburn borough.
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| 20. | Londonderry county borough.
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| 21. | Magherafelt district electoral division.
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| 22. | Newry urban district.
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| 23. | Newtownabbey urban district.
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| 24. | Newtownards borough.
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| 25. | Omagh urban district.
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| 26. | Strabane urban district.
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| SCHEDULE 2
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| PROCEDURE
| Section 2 (5). |
| 1. | As soon as possible after his appointment the Commissioner shall make a public announcement to the effect that he has commenced his task and that he will in due course publish provisional recommendations and will cause a public hearing to be held in or in the vicinity of each of the places specified in Schedule 1.
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| 2. | Where the Commissioner makes provisional recommendations with respect to a local government district and the wards within that district he shall publish in at least two newspapers circulating in that district a notice-
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specifying places and times at which copies of the provisional recommendations may be inspected; and
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stating that representations in writing with respect to the provisional recommendations may within one month of the last publication of the notice be made to the Commissioner in the manner specified in the notice;
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| and the Commissioner shall take into consideration any representations made in accordance with that notice.
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| 3. | Where a notice under paragraph 2 has been published with respect to any local government district and the period specified in that notice for the receipt of representations has elapsed the Commissioner shall, after giving public notice thereof, cause to be held in or in the vicinity of the place specified in Schedule 1 in relation to that district a public hearing in respect of the boundary and name of the local government district and the number, boundaries and names of the wards within that district and may direct such hearing to be held before an Assistant Commissioner.
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| 4. | The Commissioner may, if he thinks fit, cause additional hearings to be held in such manner as he may direct.
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| 5. | The Commissioner, after taking into consideration the representations, if any, made in accordance with a notice published under paragraph 2 or made at a hearing under paragraph 3 or 4, may revise any provisional recommendations and where he does so he shall comply again with paragraph 2 but shall not be required to hold a public hearing following any representations he may receive with respect to those recommendations as revised.
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| 6. | Subject to the foregoing, the Commissioner shall have power to regulate his own procedure.
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| 7. | Every document purporting to be an instrument made or issued by the Commissioner and to be signed by the secretary or any person authorised by the Commissioner to act in that behalf shall be received in evidence and shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to be an instrument made or issued by the Commissioner.
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| SCHEDULE 3
RULES IN ACCORDANCE WITH WHICH RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
COMMISSIONER SHALL BE MADE
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| 1. | Regard shall be had to the desirability of determining local government district and ward boundaries which are readily identifiable.
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| 2. | The existing boundaries of counties, county boroughs, boroughs, urban districts, rural districts, district electoral divisions and wards may be disregarded but such boundaries or parts thereof may be used for the purpose of describing the boundary of a local government district or ward where in the opinion of the Commissioner it is convenient and desirable to do so.
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| 3. | A townland shall not, except where in the opinion of the Commissioner it is unavoidable, be included partly in one local government district or ward and partly in another.
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| 4. | As far as practicable a local government district shall not be wholly or substantially severed by the boundary of another local government district and shall not be wholly or substantially encompassed within the boundary of another local government district.
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| 5. | In determining the number and boundaries of wards within a local government district regard shall be had to-
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| (a)
| the size, population and physical diversity of the district; and
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| the desirability that there should be a proper representation of the rural and urban electorate within that district.
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| 6. | It shall be taken that each ward shall return one member to the council of the local government district in which it is situate.
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| 7. | (1) In each local government district, except the County Borough of Belfast, the number of wards shall be fifteen but-
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where having regard to either paragraph 5 (a) or 5 (b) the Commissioner considers it desirable that the number of wards in any district should be more than fifteen the number of wards in that district may be increased to not more than twenty-five;
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where having regard to both paragraphs 5 (a) and 5 (b) the Commissioner considers it desirable that the number of wards in any district should be more than twenty-five the number of wards in that district may be increased to not more than thirty.
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| (2) In the County Borough of Belfast the number of wards shall be not less than forty and not more than sixty.
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| (3) In this paragraph the expression "the County Borough of Belfast" means the local government district which includes the whole or the major part of the existing County Borough of Belfast.
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| 8. | (1) Within any one local government district there shall, as far as is reasonably practicable having regard to paragraph 5, be substantially the same number of electors in each ward.
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| (2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) it shall be taken that the electors in each ward are the persons registered as local government electors, by virtue of a qualifying address within that ward, in the register of electors published in the year 1971.
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