Victoria (District Electoral Area)

Victoria was one of the nine district electoral areas (DEA) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 1985 to 2014, when it was mostly replaced by the Ormiston district.[1]

Victoria
District Electoral Area

Map showing Victoria wards within Belfast
Area20.2 km2 (7.8 sq mi)
Population36,607 (2008 Estimate)
• Density1,812/km2 (4,690/sq mi)
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
UK Parliament
NI Assembly

Located in the east of the city, the district elected seven members to Belfast City Council and contained the wards of Ballyhackamore; Belmont; Cherryvalley; Island; Knock; Stormont; and Sydenham. Victoria, along with wards from the neighbouring Pottinger district and Castlereagh Borough Council, formed the Belfast East constituency for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament.

The district was bounded to the west by the Victoria Channel, to the north by Belfast Lough, to the northeast by North Down Borough Council, to the south and east by Castlereagh Borough Council and to the southwest by the Newtownards Road.

History

The DEA was created for the 1985 local elections as the successor to the former Area B, which all seven wards in the new Victoria had been part of. An eighth ward, Bloomfield, which had been in Area B, was placed in the new Pottinger electoral area. It was abolished in 2015, making way for the new DEAs that were used for the 2014 local elections. It was largely replaced by the new Ormiston District Electoral Area. Five of Victoria's wards joined Ormiston, with the Sydenham ward and the areas which had been part of the abolished Island ward becoming part of the new Titanic District Electoral Area.[2]

The district contained many key pieces of Belfast's transport infrastructure, including George Best Belfast City Airport and the eastern portion of Belfast Harbour. The area is served by the Bridge End and Sydenham railway stations and the A2 and A20 major road routes. The district is also home to Parliament Buildings, the meeting place of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Victoria was once the site of much of Belfast's heavy industrial manufacturing facilities, however these have suffered a significant decline since the mid-twentieth century, although companies such as Short Brothers and Harland and Wolff continue to have significant operations in the area.

Former BCDR mainline

The Belfast and County Down Railway had a mainline through Knock railway station which linked Belfast direct to Downpatrick railway station as well as to Newcastle, County Down, there was also the branch from Comber railway station to Newtownards and Donaghadee. The minline opened in 1850 was closed in 1950 by the Ulster Transport Authority.

Titanic-quarter

The Titanic Quarter is a major economic and cultural regeneration programme that is centred on Queen's Island and the former Harland and Wolff shipyard. The project has seen the construction of new hotels, apartment blocks and business facilities, with a number of high-profile relocations, including the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. The area has also become a centre for learning and research with the opening of the Catalyst Inc, in addition to Belfast Metropolitan College moving one of its key city centre campuses to the Quarter, while Queen's University Belfast have also located their Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) within the Science Park. The Quarter's name comes from the RMS Titanic which was constructed in the old shipyard, with a number of projects aimed at exploiting the tourism value of the Titanic's connection to Belfast, including the Samson and Goliath cranes used to construct the ship and the Paint Hall.

Other amenities
The RMS Titanic, built in Belfast by Harland and Wolff.

Other amenities in the Victoria district electoral area include:

Wards
Parliament Buildings, Stormont
MapWardPopulation
(2011 Census)		CatholicProtestantOtherNo ReligionAreaDensityNI AssemblyUK ParliamentRef
1Ballyhackamore5,93917.2%68.2%1.9%12.7%1.15 km25,164 /km2Belfast EastBelfast East[3]
2Belmont6,1658.6%80.6%1%9.8%1.79 km23,444 /km2Belfast EastBelfast East[4]
3Cherryvalley5,92014.5%75.3%0.8%9.4%1.99 km22,975 /km2Belfast EastBelfast East[5]
4Island5,01413.9%69.8%4.6%11.8%3.81 km21,316 /km2Belfast EastBelfast East[6]
5Knock4,8279.1%79.7%1.2%10%1.12 km24,310 /km2Belfast EastBelfast East[7]
6Stormont5,54812.9%75.6%1.3%10.2%7.04 km2788 /km2Belfast EastBelfast East[8]
7Sydenham4,8749.9%76%1.8%12.3%6.24 km2781 /km2Belfast EastBelfast East[9]
Victoria38,28712.4%75%1.7%10.8%23.14 km21,655 /km2

Councillors
Odyssey Arena, a major entertainment complex
Election Councillor
(Party)		 Councillor
(Party)		 Councillor
(Party)		 Councillor
(Party)		 Councillor
(Party)		 Councillor
(Party)		 Councillor
(Party)
2011 Mervyn Jones
(Alliance)		 Laura McNamee
(Alliance)		 Robin Newton
(DUP)		 John Hussey
(DUP)		 Andrew Webb
(Alliance)		 Jim Rodgers
(UUP)		 Tom Haire
(DUP)
2005 Naomi Long
(Alliance)		 Wallace Browne
(DUP)		 Ian Adamson
(UUP)		 David Rodway
(DUP)
2001 David Alderdice
(Alliance)		 Alan Crowe
(UUP)
1997 Danny Dow
(Alliance)		 Alan Crowe
(Independent Unionist)
1993 John Alderdice
(Alliance)		 Tommy Patton
(UUP)
1989 A F H Montgomery
(UUP)
1985 Oliver Napier
(Alliance)		 G P C Thompson
(Alliance)		 William Corry
(UUP)		 Dorothy Dunlop
(UUP)

2011 elections
Samson and Goliath gantry cranes
See also: Results of elections in 2011; 2005; 2001; 1997; 1993; 1989 and 1985.
Belfast City Council elections, 2011[10]
Party Candidate 1st Pref
DUP Robin Newton 2,338
Alliance Mervyn Jones 2,319
Alliance Laura McNamee 1,677
DUP Tom Haire 1,437
UUP Jim Rodgers 1,355
Alliance Andrew Webb 1,137
UUP Ian Adamson 942
PUP Robert McCartney 908
DUP John Hussey 812
Green (NI) Ross Campbell 315
UUP Stephen Warke 216
SDLP Magdalena Wolska 207
TUV Sammy Morrison 158
Independent Roy Hobson 142
NI Conservatives Garry Crosbie 103
Turnout 14,066
Alliance gain from Ulster Unionist
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See also

References
  1. Final Northern Ireland super council recommendations, BBC News, 13 December 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2014
  2. Map Archived 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine from the District Electoral Areas Commissioner Maps page Archived 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine. See District Electoral Areas Commissioner page Archived 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Ward Information for Ballyhackamore ward 95GG03". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  4. "Ward Information for Belmont ward 95GG09". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  5. "Ward Information for Cherryvalley ward 95GG15". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  6. "Ward Information for Island ward 95GG29". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  7. "Ward Information for Knock ward 95GG30". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  8. "Ward Information for Stormont ward 95GG41". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  9. "Ward Information for Sydenham ward 95GG43". NISRA. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  10. Elections 2011: Victoria, Belfast City Council

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