Botanic (District Electoral Area)

Botanic is one of the ten district electoral areas (DEA) in Belfast, Northern Ireland.[1] The district elects five members to Belfast City Council and contains the wards of Blackstaff; Central; Ormeau; Stranmillis and Windsor.[2] Botanic, along with neighbouring Balmoral, forms the greater part of the Belfast South constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament. It covers large parts of the centre and southern parts of the city.

It was created for the 2014 local elections, largely replacing the Laganbank District Electoral Area, which had existed since 1985. The DEA is named after Belfast's Botanic Gardens.

Education

Botanic is the location for several of the city's most important education establishments, including Queen's University Belfast, Stranmillis University College and Union Theological College, as well as the College Square campus of Belfast Metropolitan College. The location of these institutions in close proximity saw the area's popularity among students increase, particularly in the Holyland area.

The area is also home to some of the most prominent schools, including Methodist College Belfast and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.

Culture
Botanic Gardens

The portion of Botanic to the west of the River Lagan based around Queen's University, forms the Queen's Quarter, and contains many of the key cultural facilities within the city. The Quarter is home to the Belfast Festival at Queen's, the largest annual arts festival in Ireland, as well as amenities such as the Botanic Gardens, the Brian Friel Theatre, the Crescent Arts Centre, the Elmwood Hall, the Lyric Theatre, the Naughton Gallery at Queen's, the Queen's Film Theatre and the Ulster Museum.

As well as the Queen's Quarter, there are a number of important cultural attractions within the wider DEA section of the city centre, including the Grand Opera House, the Linen Hall Library, the Ormeau Baths Gallery, the Ulster Hall, the Ulster Orchestra and the Waterfront Hall. This area is also sometimes referred to as the Golden Mile because of the large number of bars, clubs and restaurants located there.

Other amenities

Other noteworthy amenities in the Botanic district electoral area include:

Councillors
Election Councillor
(Party)		 Councillor
(Party)		 Councillor
(Party)		 Councillor
(Party)		 Councillor
(Party)
2020 Emmet McDonough-Brown
(Alliance)		 John Gormley
(Sinn Féin)		 Gary McKeown
(SDLP)		 Tracy Kelly
(DUP)		 Áine Groogan
(Green Party)
2019 Deirdre Hargey
(Sinn Féin)
2018 Declan Boyle
(Independent)		 Ruth Patterson
(Independent)		 Graham Craig
(DUP)
2016 Declan Boyle
(SDLP)
2015 Graham Craig
(UUP)
2014 Ruth Patterson
(DUP)

Election results

2019
2019 Belfast City Council Election: Botanic - 5 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count 1Count 2Count 3Count 4Count 5Count 6Count 7Count 8Count 9Count 10Count 11
Green (NI) Áine Groogan 14.39% 1,401 1,419 1,423 1,436 1,447 1,632
DUP Tracy Kelly 14.02% 1,365 1,389 1,498 1,498 1,579 1,582 1,665
Sinn Féin Deirdre Hargey 13.61% 1,325 1,332 1,332 1,510 1,512 1,556 1,558 1,639
Alliance Emmet McDonough-Brown 11.74% 1,143 1,155 1,158 1,167 1,170 1,232 1,1301 1,432 1,433.77 1,437.68 2,118.68
SDLP Gary McKeown 10.36% 1,009 1,020 1,021 1,039 1,042 1,091 1,119 1,363 1,363 1,372.2 1,500.12
DUP Graham Craig 6.32% 615 633 653 653 700 702 829 878 916.35 916.58 931.17
Alliance Micky Murray 7.74% 754 755 758 762 765 786 824 902 902.59 903.97
Independent Declan Boyle 6.25% 609 612 613 616 623 634 663
UUP Richard Kennedy 3.42% 333 341 363 363 437 445
People Before Profit Paul Loughran 3.93% 383 415 418 420 422
South Belfast Unionists Billy Dickson 2.39% 233 247 256 256
Sinn Féin Caitríona Mallaghan 2.35% 229 229 229
PUP Ian Shanks 1.75% 170 178
Workers' Party Paddy Lynn 0.89% 87
TUV John Andrew Hiddleston 0.84% 82
Electorate: 21,987   Valid: 9,738   Spoilt: 104   Quota: 1,624   Turnout: 9,842

    2014
    2014 Belfast City Council Election: Botanic - 5 seats
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count 1Count 2Count 3Count 4Count 5Count 6Count 7Count 8Count 9Count 10Count 11
    DUP Ruth Patterson* 14.10% 1,268 1,268 1,280 1,282 1,284 1,508          
    Alliance Emmet McDonough-Brown 9.37% 843 850 865 881 925 925 1,011 1,061 1,065 1,706  
    Sinn Féin Deirdre Hargey 14.74% 1,326 1,343 1,346 1,370 1,377 1,378 1,393 1,479 1,483 1,520  
    SDLP Declan Boyle 10.80% 971 978 983 992 1,007 1,009 1,034 1,344 1,347 1,405 1,473.40
    UUP Graham Craig 8.52% 766 767 795 798 808 858 897 900 1,333 1,357 1,380.60
    Green (NI) Clare Bailey 8.58% 772 792 806 860 876 879 973 994 1,010 1,141 1,253.80
    Alliance Duncan Morrow 8.55% 769 770 775 787 812 815 878 929 939
    TUV Billy Dickson 5.66% 509 509 516 519 521 579 588 593
    SDLP Patrick McCarthy* 5.89% 530 545 552 559 565 565 576
    NI21 Eileen Chan-Hu 2.90% 261 264 271 278 398 400
    PUP Ewan Suttie 3.90% 351 351 353 356 357
    NI21 Ben Matthews 2.59% 233 235 247 254
    Socialist Party Paddy Meehan 1.82% 164 172 173
    NI Conservatives Ben Manton 1.39% 125 127
    Workers' Party Paddy Lynn 1.18% 106
    Electorate: 19,462   Valid: 8,994 (46.21%)   Spoilt: 192   Quota: 1,500   Turnout: 9,186 (47.20%)
      gollark: Of course they do. Everyone is obviously like me apart from having had slightly different life experiences.
      gollark: As I said, though, it's not really a *maths* problem as much as a *basic problem-solving* problem.
      gollark: So you are, in fact, saying they're stupid?
      gollark: As opposed to immediately going "AAAAAAAAAAAAA TOO HARD MAFS MAFS MAFS".
      gollark: It isn't complicated maths. And it's more of a "can you actually think about this enough to look it up" question.

      References
      1. Final Northern Ireland super council recommendations, BBC News, 13 December 2013, accessed 24 May 2014
      2. Belfast City Council Elections, 2014, ARK, accessed 24 May 2014

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