The Whitewell Road is an interface area in north

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and

Newtownabbey Newtownabbey ( ) is a large settlement north of Belfast city centre in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course, but it still forms part of the Belfast metropolitan area ...

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, and historically the site of occasional clashes between nationalists and loyalists. The Whitewell Road and the surrounding area is a residential community in the Greencastle parish. The Whitewell area is considered a working class area. For much of its length the Whitewell Road runs parallel to the M2 and also provides a direct link between the A2 ( Shore Road) and the A6 ( Antrim Road). The beginning of the White City residential estate on the upper Whitewell Road marks the boundary between the Nationalist and Loyalist communities there. A peace line runs the length of Serpentine Gardens. The road generally had a high level of community integration until 1997 when the Drumcree conflict polarised the two communities in the area and led to increased tension, violence and segregation. In 2012, as part of an effort to tackle sectarian divisions, the Catholic-run Greencastle CEP and the Protestant-run Whitecity Community Development Association merged to form the Greater Whitewell Community Surgery as single community organisation for all residents of the road and its surrounding districts. Hazelwood Comprehensive College is located on the Whitewell Road. It is an integrated comprehensive secondary school, drawing students from various religious and community backgrounds throughout the greater Belfast area. Half way up the road is the Throne Centre, a mixed-use business premises that has had a number of uses over the years. Taking its name from the Giant's Chair, a large stone on nearby Cavehill used as the throne of the O'Neill Clan, it was initially a private residence before becoming a hospital and convalescent home. Whilst used as a hospital Throne became noted for its pioneering work in the area of plastic surgery.David Harvey, ''Belfast Trolleybuses'', Amberley Publishing, 2010, p. 78

Politics

Most of the Whitewell Road lies within the Castle District Electoral Area of

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...

. The current representatives are Lydia Patterson and Guy Spence of the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

, Mary Campbell and Tierna Cunningham of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

and Pat Convery of the

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...

. The road is in Belfast North for parliamentary election and the same constituency for the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

. The Member of Parliament (MP) is the John Finucane of

, and the MLAs are Paula Bradley, William Humphrey and

Nelson McCausland Nelson McCausland (born 15 August 1951) is a Northern Irish columnist and former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who was Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (2009–2011) and subsequently Minister for Social Development (2011– ...

of the DUP, Carál Ní Chuilín and Gerry Kelly of Sinn Féin and Alban Maginness of the SDLP.

References

{{Reflist Streets in Belfast