Ards and North Down

Ards and North Down is a local government district in Northern Ireland. It was created on 1 April 2015 by merging the Borough of Ards and the Borough of North Down. The local authority is Ards and North Down Borough Council. Geography The new district is in the East of Northern Ireland, covering the Ards Peninsula, most of Strangford Lough and the southern shore of Belfast Lough. It has an estimated population of . The original name of the new district was recommended on 17 September 2008. Council Ards and North Down Borough Council replaces Ards Borough Council and North Down Borough Council. The first election for the new district council was originally 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 2011. The first elections took place on 22 May 2014 and the council acted as a shadow authority until 1 April 2015.