Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972


The Local Government Act 1972 was an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland that constituted district councils to administer the twenty-six local government districts created by the Local Government Act 1971, and abolished the existing local authorities in Northern Ireland.

District councils

Each Local Government District was to have a district council consisting of elected councillors of whom one would be chairman and another could be vice-chairman.
Provision for the continuation of city and borough status was included in the Act, which provided that the charter of each county borough should apply to the new district containing it, and that the council for a district which includes the whole or the major part of a borough other than a county borough may... resolve that the charter of the corporation of the borough shall have effect in relation to the district. In addition a district council could apply for a new charter making it a borough. In the original Act, the council could petition the Governor of Northern Ireland for a royal charter. By the time the Act came into effect, however, the office of governor had been abolished, and petitions were addressed to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Where a district was designated a city or borough, the chairman and vice-chairman became the mayor and deputy-mayor. In the case of Belfast, the chairman's title continued to be lord mayor.
Name of DistrictStatus of Council
AntrimDistrict council. Granted borough status 9 May 1977.
ArdsBorough council.
ArmaghDistrict council. Following grant of city status in 1994, renamed Armagh City and District Council 1 October 1995.
BallymenaBorough council.
BallymoneyDistrict council. Granted borough status 18 February 1977.
BanbridgeDistrict council.
BelfastCity council under charter of 1619 and letters patent of 1888.
CarrickfergusBorough council.
CastlereaghDistrict council. Granted borough status 22 March 1977.
ColeraineBorough council.
CookstownDistrict council.
CraigavonBorough council.
DownDistrict council.
Dungannon -
renamed Dungannon and South Tyrone 25 November 1999		District council. Granted borough status 1999.
FermanaghDistrict council.
LarneBorough council.
LimavadyDistrict council. Granted borough status 1 March 1989.
LisburnBorough council. Granted city status 2002.
Londonderry -
renamed Derry 7 May 1984.		City council.
MagherafeltDistrict council.
MoyleDistrict council.
Newry and MourneDistrict council.
NewtownabbeyDistrict council. Granted borough status 18 February 1977.
North DownBorough council.
OmaghDistrict council.
StrabaneDistrict council.

Abolition of existing local authorities

Section 131 of the Act stated that every county and every county borough shall cease to be an administrative area for local government purposes, and that every borough, every urban district and every rural district shall be abolished.
Also abolished were any joint boards established under the Public Health Act 1878 or Water Supplies and Sewerage Act 1945 and the Belfast City and District Water Commissioners.
Exempted from abolition were the corporations of the county boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, and of any municipal borough whose charter had been adopted by the new district council. In these cases the district council was to become the corporation from 1 October 1973.
The Act also provided for the dissolution of new town commissions established under the New Towns Acts 1965 to 1968.
The composition of the new districts was as follows:
New local authority Former local authorities
Antrim Antrim Rural District, Ballymena Rural District
Ards Donaghadee Urban District, East Down Rural District, Newtownards Borough, North Downs Rural District
Armagh Armagh Rural District, Armagh Urban District, Keady Urban District, Newry No. 2 Rural District, Tandragee Rural District, Tandragee Urban District
Ballymena Antrim Rural District, Ballymena Borough, Ballymena Rural District
Ballymoney Ballymoney Rural District, Ballymoney Urban District, Ballymena Rural District
Belfast from County Antrim: Antrim Rural District, Lisburn Rural District, Newtownabbey Urban District ;
from County Down: Castlereagh Rural District, Hillsborough Rural District ;
from both counties: Belfast County Borough
Carrickfergus Carrickfergus Borough, Larne Rural District, Whitehead Urban District
Castlereagh Castlereagh Rural District, Hillsborough Rural District, North Down Rural District
Coleraine from County Londonderry: Coleraine Borough, Coleraine Rural District, Portstewart Urban District;
from County Antrim: Ballymoney Rural District, Portrush Urban District
Cookstown from County Tyrone: Cookstown Rural District, Cookstown Urban District;
from County Londonderry: Magherafelt Rural District
Craigavon from County Armagh: Armagh Rural District, Lurgan Borough, Lurgan Rural District, Portadown Borough, Tandragee Rural District ;
from County Down: Moira Rural District ;
from County Antrim: Lisburn Rural District
Derry Limavady Rural District, Londonderry County Borough†, Londonderry Rural District†
Down Downpatrick Urban District, East Down Rural District, Hillsborough Rural District, Newcastle Urban District, North Down Rural District, South Down Rural District
Dungannon and South Tyrone from County Tyrone: Clogher Rural District, Dungannon Rural District, Dungannon Urban District;
from County Armagh: Armagh Rural District
Fermanagh from County Fermanagh: whole county‡ ;
from County Tyrone: Omagh Rural District
Larne Larne Borough, Larne Rural District
Limavady Limavady Rural District, Limavady Urban District, Londonderry Rural District†
Lisburn from County Antrim: Antrim Rural District, Lisburn Rural District ;
from County Down: Hillsborough Rural District, Moira Rural District ;
from both counties: Lisburn Borough
Magherafelt Coleraine Rural District, Magherafelt Rural District
Moyle Ballycastle Rural District, Ballycastle Borough, Ballymoney Rural District, Larne Rural District
Newry and Mourne from County Down: Kilkeel Urban District, Newry No. 1 Rural District, South Down Rural District, Warrenpoint Urban District;
from County Armagh: Newry No. 2 Rural District ;
from both counties: Newry Urban District
Newtownabbey Antrim Rural District, Ballyclare Urban District, Larne Rural District, Newtownabbey Urban District
North Down Bangor Borough, Castlereagh Rural District, Holywood Urban District, North Down Rural District
Omagh Castlederg Rural District, Clogher Rural District, Omagh Rural District, Omagh Urban District
Strabane Castlederg Rural District, Omagh Rural District, Strabane Urban District, Strabane Urban District

† In 1969, both Londonderry Corporation and Londonderry Rural District Council were abolished. Their functions were transferred to the Londonderry Development Commission, established to provide new housing and infrastructure in and around Derry.
‡ All district councils in Fermanagh were abolished in 1968, creating a unitary county council.

Staff commission

Section 40 of the Act established the Staff Commission of Northern Ireland to oversee the recruitment, training and terms and conditions of employment of council officers, and those of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
The commission was to: