Mid and East Antrim is a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The district was created on 1 April 2015 by merging the Borough of Ballymena, the Borough of Larne and the Borough of Carrickfergus. The local authority is

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Ballymena Borough Council, Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council. History On 2 December 2021, the councils chief exec ...

Geography

The district is wholly located in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, and stretches from the

River Bann The River Bann (from , meaning "the goddess"; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is the longest rivers, river in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). The total length ...

in the west to the Antrim Coast, taking in the southern part of the Antrim Coast and Glens

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

, as well as the major towns of

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

and

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

, and the important port of

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

. The district had a population of in . The name of the new district was announced on 17 September 2008.

History

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council replaced

Ballymena Borough Council Ballymena Borough Council was the local authority of Ballymena (borough), Ballymena in Northern Ireland. It merged with Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Irelan ...

Carrickfergus Borough Council Carrickfergus Borough Council was a district council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymena Borough Council and Larne Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Mid a ...

and

Larne Borough Council Larne Borough Council was a Local Council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymena Borough Council and Carrickfergus Borough Council in May 2015 under the reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland to become Mid a ...

. The first election for the new district council was originally due to take place in May 2009, but in April 2008,

Shaun Woodward Shaun Anthony Woodward (born 26 October 1958) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2010. A former television researcher and producer, Woodward began his political career in the Conservativ ...

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...

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.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim.

Individuals

* Joan Christie: 21 April 2018 * Sir William Wright: 18 January 2019 *

Jonathan Rea Jonathan Rea (born 2 February 1987) is a People of Northern Ireland, Northern Irish professional Motorcycle sport, motorcycle racer. He competes in the Superbike World Championship and is a six-time champion in the series. He is the first to ha ...

: November 2020

Military units

* "B" Squadron Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry: 31 January 2016

References

External links

Official tourism website
{{NI districts Districts of Northern Ireland, 2015-present Ballymena Larne Carrickfergus