Mid and East Antrim

Mid and East Antrim is a local government district in Northern Ireland. 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 Irish: Lár agus Oir-Aontroime
District and borough
Mid and East Antrim district shown within Northern Ireland
Coordinates: 54.828°N 6.078°W / 54.828; -6.078
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Northern Ireland
Incorporated	1 April 2015
Named after	County Antrim
Administrative HQ	Ballymena
Government [1]
• Type	District council
• Body	Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
• Executive	Committee system
• Control	No overall control
Area [2]
• Total	403 sq mi (1,045 km2)
• Rank	7th
Population  (2022)[2]
• Total	139,200
• Rank	10th
• Density	340/sq mi (133/km2)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas	BT
Dialling codes	028
ISO 3166 code	GB-MEA
GSS code	N09000008
Website	midandeastantrim.gov.uk

Geography

The district is wholly located in County Antrim, and stretches from the River Bann in the west to the Antrim Coast, taking in the southern part of the Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, as well as the major towns of Ballymena and Carrickfergus, and the important port of Larne. The district had a population of 139,200 in 2022.^[3] The name of the new district was announced on 17 September 2008.

History

Main article: Mid and East Antrim Borough Council

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council replaced Ballymena Borough Council, Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council. The first election for the new district council was originally due to take place in May 2009, but in April 2008, Shaun Woodward, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that the scheduled 2009 district council elections were to be postponed until 2011.^[4] 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^[5]
• Jonathan Rea: November 2020^[6]

Military units

• "B" Squadron Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry: 31 January 2016^[7]

See also

• Local government in Northern Ireland