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
Area	20.2 km^2 (7.8 sq mi)
Population	36,607 (2008 Estimate)
• Density	1,812/km^2 (4,690/sq mi)
District	Belfast City Council
County	County Down
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
UK Parliament	Belfast East
NI Assembly	Belfast East
List of places UK Northern Ireland Down

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 mainline opened in 1850 was closed in 1950 by the Ulster Transport Authority.

Titanic-quarter

Main article: Titanic Quarter, Belfast

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:

• Ashfield Boys' High School
• Campbell College
• The Comber Greenway, a 7-mile (11 km) traffic-free section of the National Cycle Network, along the old Belfast-Comber railway line
• HMS Caroline
• Holywood Exchange, a major retail development
• Odyssey Arena, a major entertainment complex
• Our Lady and St. Patrick's College, Knock
• The Oval Stadium, home ground of Glentoran F.C.
• Stormont Estate

• Dundonald House
• Stormont Castle
• Stormont House

• Strandtown Primary School
• Strathearn School
• Wilgar Park, the home ground of Dundela F.C.

Wards

 

Parliament Buildings, Stormont

Map	Ward	Population (2011 Census)	Catholic	Protestant	Other	No Religion	Area	Density	NI Assembly	UK Parliament	Ref
1	Ballyhackamore	5,939	17.2%	68.2%	1.9%	12.7%	1.15 km^2	5,164 /km^2	Belfast East	Belfast East	^[3]
2	Belmont	6,165	8.6%	80.6%	1%	9.8%	1.79 km^2	3,444 /km^2	Belfast East	Belfast East	^[4]
3	Cherryvalley	5,920	14.5%	75.3%	0.8%	9.4%	1.99 km^2	2,975 /km^2	Belfast East	Belfast East	^[5]
4	Island	5,014	13.9%	69.8%	4.6%	11.8%	3.81 km^2	1,316 /km^2	Belfast East	Belfast East	^[6]
5	Knock	4,827	9.1%	79.7%	1.2%	10%	1.12 km^2	4,310 /km^2	Belfast East	Belfast East	^[7]
6	Stormont	5,548	12.9%	75.6%	1.3%	10.2%	7.04 km^2	788 /km^2	Belfast East	Belfast East	^[8]
7	Sydenham	4,874	9.9%	76%	1.8%	12.3%	6.24 km^2	781 /km^2	Belfast East	Belfast East	^[9]
Victoria		38,287	12.4%	75%	1.7%	10.8%	23.14 km^2	1,655 /km^2

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)		Andrew Webb (Alliance)		Jim Rodgers (UUP)		Tom Haire (DUP)		John Hussey (DUP)		Robin Newton (DUP)
2005				Naomi Long (Alliance)		Ian Adamson (UUP)				David Rodway (DUP)		Wallace Browne (DUP)
2001		David Alderdice (Alliance)								Alan Crowe (UUP)/ (Independent Unionist)
1997				Danny Dow (Alliance)
1993		John Alderdice (Alliance)								Tommy Patton (UUP)
1989								Alan Montgomery (UUP)
1985		Oliver Napier (Alliance)		George Thompson (Alliance)		William Corry (UUP)		Dorothy Dunlop (UUP)

2011 Election

2005: 3 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 2 x Alliance

2011: 3 x Alliance, 3 x DUP, 1 x UUP

2005-2011 Change: Alliance gain from UUP

Victoria - 7 seats^[10]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	DUP	Robin Newton*	16.62%	2,338
	Alliance	Mervyn Jones*	16.49%	2,319
	Alliance	Laura McNamee	11.92%	1,677	1,686.5	2,049.14
	Alliance	Andrew Webb	8.08%	1,137	1,143	1,293.48	1,541.24	1,552.24	1,592.1	1,604.1	1,895.1
	Ulster Unionist	Jim Rodgers*	9.63%	1,355	1,401.5	1,407.98	1,418.81	1,437.81	1,451.62	1,488.87	1,639.24	1,657.24	1,816.24
	DUP	Tom Haire	10.22%	1,437	1,555.5	1,558.62	1,562.04	1,565.04	1,568.53	1,584.97	1,617.21	1,622.21	1,759.21
	DUP	John Hussey	5.77%	812	1,149	1,151.64	1,154.11	1,158.11	1,166.36	1,184.86	1,210.54	1,217.54	1,476.12
	Ulster Unionist	Ian Adamson*	6.70%	942	955.25	962.69	967.25	989.5	1,003.69	1,028.19	1,112.99	1,131.9	1,228.49
	PUP	Robert McCartney	6.46%	908	926.75	930.59	932.68	938.68	946.87	963.37	1,005.54	1,028.54
	Green (NI)	Ross Campbell	2.24%	315	317.25	322.53	325.95	334.14	353.14	359.14
	Ulster Unionist	Stephen Warke	1.54%	216	222.5	224.42	226.32	232.51	237.51	246.51
	SDLP	Magdalena Wolska	1.47%	207	207.5	211.58	215.76	217.76	222	223
	TUV	Sammy Morrison	1.12%	158	160.25	160.25	161.01	162.01	175.01
	Independent	Roy Hobson	1.01%	142	143.75	145.43	147.14	158.39
	NI Conservatives	Garry Crosbie	0.73%	103	103.5	103.5	104.07
Electorate: 25,814   Valid: 14,066 (54.49%)   Spoilt: 280   Quota: 1,759   Turnout: 14,346 (55.57%)

2005 Election

2001: 3 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 2 x Alliance

2005: 3 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 2 x Alliance

2001-2005 Change: DUP gain from UUP

Victoria - 7 seats^[11]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	DUP	Wallace Browne*	18.60%	2,689
	Alliance	Naomi Long*	17.74%	2,565
	Ulster Unionist	Jim Rodgers*	16.88%	2,441
	DUP	Robin Newton*	13.86%	2,004
	Ulster Unionist	Ian Adamson*	12.98%	1,877
	DUP	David Rodway	5.01%	725	1,527.4	1,549.72	1,635.12	1,810.52
	Alliance	Mervyn Jones	5.61%	811	815.42	1,421.47	1,456.75	1,458.85	1,461.82	1,838.82
	Ulster Unionist	Alan Crowe*	3.17%	459	508.98	582.76	1,041.76	1,050.86	1,099.16	1,366.16
	SDLP	John Ó Doherty	2.35%	340	343.4	374.09	379.69	379.99	380.14
	PUP	John McQuillan	2.10%	303	310.82	321.36	337.88	340.38	340.89
	NI Conservatives	Peter Gray	1.68%	243	252.52	265.23	287.35	288.45	289.53
Electorate: 25,058   Valid: 14,457 (57.69%)   Spoilt: 349   Quota: 1,808   Turnout: 14,806 (59.09%)

2001 Election

1997: 2 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP, 1 x Independent Unionist

2001: 3 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 2 x Alliance

1997-2001 Change: Independent Unionist joins UUP

Victoria - 7 seats^[12]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Ulster Unionist	Ian Adamson*	19.43%	3,286
	Alliance	David Alderdice*	18.45%	3,119
	DUP	Wallace Browne*	14.74%	2,492
	Ulster Unionist	Jim Rodgers*	13.73%	2,322
	Ulster Unionist	Alan Crowe*	3.44%	582	1,569.16	1,716.04	1,727.89	1,858.75	1,881.65	2,011.63	2,194.63
	Alliance	Naomi Long	4.31%	729	776.36	1,399.58	1,401.23	1,407.62	1,416.83	1,702.74	1,792.2	2,017.89
	DUP	Robin Newton*	8.69%	1,469	1,492.31	1,516.45	1,636	1,658.41	1,678.71	1,702.85	1,810.58	1,955.77
	DUP	Margaret McKenzie	4.63%	783	811.12	826.76	1,045.16	1,059.29	1,076.49	1,111.65	1,226.47	1,426.49
	Independent	Danny Dow*	4.41%	746	758.58	816.04	823.39	830.77	857.54	890.67	996.7
	PUP	Robert Moorhead	4.12%	697	715.87	736.27	739.87	745.72	761.15	795.85
	SDLP	Ciara Farren	1.80%	305	310.18	383.62	383.77	384.76	390.78
	NI Conservatives	Peter Gray	1.41%	239	261.57	284.35	286.45	291.76	301.92
	Independent	Sammy Walker	0.67%	114	123.25	130.39	130.39	133.36
	Independent	Billy Hands	0.09%	15	16.48	17.84	17.84	18.02
	Independent	Lawrence John	0.06%	11	12.11	14.15	14.15	14.24
Electorate: 28,160   Valid: 17,468 (62.03%)   Spoilt: 559   Quota: 2,114   Turnout: 16,909 (60.05%)

1997 Election

1993: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP

1997: 2 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP, 1 x Independent Unionist

1993-1997 Change: Independent Unionist gain from UUP

Victoria - 7 seats^[13]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Alliance	David Alderdice	18.87%	2,419
	Ulster Unionist	Ian Adamson*	18.46%	2,367
	Alliance	Danny Dow*	7.99%	1,024	1,609.14
	Ulster Unionist	Jim Rodgers*	11.76%	1,508	1,532.14	1,921.58
	DUP	Wallace Browne*	11.58%	1,485	1,498.94	1,564.54	1,569.22	1,590.52	1,747.52
	DUP	Robin Newton*	8.08%	1,036	1,044.5	1,052.82	1,055.94	1,070.52	1,336.04	1,477.94	1,522.22	1,658.22
	Ind. Unionist	Alan Crowe	4.05%	519	544.16	710.24	736.5	803.68	831.18	1,023.4	1,237.5	1,242.5
	PUP	John McQuillan	7.14%	915	924.86	937.98	940.32	956.96	1,001.88	1,040.16	1,149.92	1,151.92
	Alliance	Glyn Roberts	4.31%	553	675.74	698.78	702.94	761.48	771.26	842.62
	Ulster Unionist	Peter Weir	1.50%	192	196.76	245.72	509.88	569.64	582.76
	DUP	Margaret McKenzie	4.08%	523	524.36	533	535.08	558.74
	NI Conservatives	Lesley Donaldson	2.00%	256	270.96	293.04	295.9
	Natural Law	Thomas Mullins	0.19%	25	27.38	27.7	27.96
Electorate: 28,936   Valid: 12,822 (44.31%)   Spoilt: 351   Quota: 1,603   Turnout: 13,173 (45.52%)

1993 Election

1989: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP

1993: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP

1989-1993 Change: No change

Victoria - 7 seats^[14]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Alliance	John Alderdice*	24.67%	3,337
	DUP	Wallace Browne*	15.92%	2,153
	Ulster Unionist	Thomas Patton*	13.31%	1,801
	DUP	Robin Newton*	12.78%	1,729
	Ulster Unionist	Ian Adamson*	9.73%	1,316	1,395.56	1,547.81	1,564.23	1,686.5	1,880.5
	Alliance	Danny Dow*	4.08%	552	1,543.44	1,564.9	1,642.89	1,661.29	1,761.29
	Ulster Unionist	Jim Rodgers	4.44%	600	631.62	749.07	757.18	1,091.36	1,274.11	1,408.11	1,560.65	1,510.25
	Alliance	Maureen McConnell	5.68%	768	1,159.68	1,169.54	1,220.19	1,226.21	1,368.9	1,387.9	1,393.92	1,454.4
	NI Conservatives	Jim McCormick	5.06%	684	759.99	784.93	807.3	828.13
	Ulster Unionist	John Norris	3.01%	407	435.56	554.17	561.97
	Green (NI)	Michael Bell	1.33%	180	218.76	225.72
Electorate: 29,632   Valid: 13,527 (45.65%)   Spoilt: 360   Quota: 1,691   Turnout: 13,887 (46.86%)

1989 Election

1985: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP

1989: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP

1985-1989 Change: No change

Victoria - 7 seats^[15]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Alliance	John Alderdice	21.67%	2,933
	Ulster Unionist	Thomas Patton*	21.02%	2,845
	Ulster Unionist	Ian Adamson	12.78%	1,730
	DUP	Wallace Browne*	10.15%	1,374	1,407.97	1,512.97	1,523.34	1,585.51	1,890.51
	DUP	Robin Newton*	8.65%	1,171	1,177.88	1,274.06	1,287.33	1,346.33	1,644.33
	Alliance	Danny Dow	5.41%	732	1,405.38	1,475.94	1,617.36	1,685.17	1,696.17
	Ulster Unionist	Alan Montgomery	5.67%	767	821.61	1,496.55	1,521.91	1,641.98	1,692.98
	Alliance	George Thompson*	3.94%	533	937.2	963.66	1,041.39	1,110.23	1,117.23
	DUP	Irene Lewis	4.93%	667	685.49	776.63	786.05	846.22
	Ind. Unionist	Samuel Walker	3.32%	449	469.64	520.46	555.74
	Workers' Party	Hugh Jordan	2.46%	333	359.23	378.97
Electorate: 30,508   Valid: 13,534 (44.36%)   Spoilt: 367   Quota: 1,692   Turnout: 13,901 (45.57%)

1985 Election

1985: 3 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 2 x Alliance

Victoria - 7 seats^[16]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	DUP	Wallace Browne	22.22%	3,447
	Ulster Unionist	Thomas Patton*	15.41%	2,390
	Alliance	Oliver Napier*	14.89%	2,309
	Ulster Unionist	William Corry*	11.85%	1,838	1,985.4
	Ulster Unionist	Dorothy Dunlop	8.80%	1,365	1,425.28	1,595.14	1,596.58	1,619.62	2,282.62
	Alliance	George Thompson	8.23%	1,278	1,289.88	1,312.68	1,457.68	1,775.92	1,844.14	1,918.01
	DUP	Robin Newton	3.64%	564	1,611.64	1,636.15	1,640.03	1,644.03	1,772.26	1,910.87
	DUP	Samuel Walker	7.29%	1,131	1,330.76	1,400.49	1,401.68	1,408.72	1,579.34	1,708.82
	Ulster Unionist	John McCrea	6.46%	1,002	1,033.68	1,175.61	1,176.61	1,186.53
	SDLP	Barry Gilheany	1.21%	188	189.76	190.33
Electorate: 30,776   Valid: 15,512 (50.40%)   Spoilt: 427   Quota: 1,940   Turnout: 15,939 (51.79%)

See also

• Belfast City Council
• Electoral wards of Belfast
• Local government in Northern Ireland
• Members of Belfast City Council
• Belfast Victoria (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)
• Belfast Victoria (UK Parliament constituency)

References

1. Final Northern Ireland super council recommendations, BBC News, 13 December 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2014
2. Map 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine from the District Electoral Areas Commissioner Maps page 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine. See District Electoral Areas Commissioner page 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. "Victoria Result Sheet" (PDF). EONI. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
11. "Local Government Results 2005". EONI. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
12. "Local Government Results 2001". EONI. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
13. "Local Government Results 1997". EONI. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
14. "Local Government Results 1993". EONI. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
15. "Local Government Results 1989". EONI. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
16. "Local Government Results 1985". EONI. Retrieved 8 July 2021.