Welcome to the Causeway Coast District Council
Thursday, 25 September 2008
The proposed boundaries and names of the new Causeway Coast District Council supercouncil which was unveiled last week.
MOYLE District Council is to merge with Coleraine, Ballymoney and Limavady council areas to become the new Causeway Coast District Council.
It is one of 11 new supercouncil names and boundaries proposed by Northern Ireland's boundary commissioner, Dick MacKenzie, last week after being given the task of reducing the number of councils from 26 to 11.
There was little discussion about the proposed changes at a meeting of Moyle District on Monday, September 22, but some councillors expressed reservations about the council area name.
Independent councillor Seamus Blaney said he thought it would be better to call the area 'Dalriada' and he said that Ballymoney was not in the Causeway area.
SDLP councillor Orla Black reminded members that they had suggested the new council area should be called the Causeway Coast and Glens.
Sinn Fein councillor Oliver McMullan said a special meeting should be held to allow members to discuss their thoughts on the issue.
There are no proposed changes to the boundaries of the existing four councils, with the new district being made up of 40 new wards, with each allocated one councillor.
The new structure means that Moyle will have five wards - Ballycastle, Giant's Causeway, Kinbane, Torr Head and Rathlin, and Lurigethan or Cushendall - compared to its current three of Giant's Causeway, Ballycastle and the Glens. But while the number of wards might be increasing the number of councillors covering the Moyle District Council area as it is now will be reduced to five from 15.
Ballycastle ward will cover the immediate town area, however, the Broombeg area and the upper part of Ballycastle heading towards Coleraine, will be in the newly formed Kinbane ward. The Giant's Causeway ward begins between Portballintrae and Bushmills around Bushfoot Strand area and covers Liscolman, Bushmills, Dunseverick, Lisnagunogue, Templastragh and Whitepark Bay. Mosside, along with Moycraig Wood, is split between the Giant's Causeway ward and the proposed Kinbane ward.
Kinbane, which begins on the Ballintoy side of Whitepark Bay, includes Ballintoy and the townlands of Carnduff, Carneatly and Glentaisie and comes in towards Ballycastle and the upper Clare Road.
Torr Head and Rathlin will be the biggest ward and will take in Broombeg at Ballycastle, Rathlin Island, Armoy, Ballyvoy and Torr Head, covering the areas of Glenshesk, Glendun and Glencorp. Cushendun has also been included in this ward.
