Banbridge District | Louth County

Banbridge District

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Area
The Banbridge District covers approximately 180 miles². The principal town within the District is Banbridge, followed by Dromore, Rathfriland and Gilford. The District also has 19 settlements.

Location
The Banbridge District lies within close proximity to the Belfast Metropolitan Area and sits on the main strategic ‘Eastern Sea Board Corridor’ route from Belfast to Dublin. It is within easy reach of Ireland’s main transportation access points in terms of sea and airports.

Crozier Monument

Economy
The Banbridge District has over 1,770 businesses and 93% of these are small enterprises employing up to 10 employees. Only one large enterprise employs over 200 employees.

Deprivation
According to the new multiple deprivation measure (2005), commissioned by NISRA, Banbridge rates 23rd out of 26 districts (based on rank of average scores) with 1 being the most deprived and has no areas within the 30% most deprived in Northern Ireland.

Employment and Unemployment
The Banbridge District has the lowest level of unemployment in Northern Ireland (1.8%). The highest level of employment is found in the service sector (63%), the manufacturing sector (16%), the construction sector (12%), agriculture (5%) and other sectors (4%).

Environment
Environmental awareness and management are becoming increasingly important to the people of the Banbridge District. Between 2002 and 2003, some 28% of the District’s annual 24,261 tonnes of domestic waste was recycled.

Agriculture
Agriculture, forestry and fishing play an important part in the District’s economy and a total of 38,094 hectares are used for farming purposes. Its 1,249 farms account for 4% of the total number of farms in Northern Ireland.

Housing
The Banbridge District Council area has an estimated total current housing stock of 15,188 and a housing growth indicator of 4,000 units has been allocated to the District for the period 1998 to 2015.

Tourism
The Banbridge District falls within the Mournes and Slieve Croob Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The District is characterised by picturesque towns and villages and beautiful drumlin landscape and has much to offer tourists in terms of visitor attractions and amenities.

Newry Canal

Health
The Banbridge District has a very vibrant and healthy community because health promotion is a primary concern. Lying within the Southern Health Board area, the Craigavon and Banbridge Health and Social Services Trust provides primary, secondary and community care in the District.

Crime
A total of 2,187 offences were recorded by Banbridge District Command Unit (DCU) between April 2004 and March 2005, a decrease of 11.3% on the previous year. During the same period, Banbridge DCU was ranked 7th out of 26 DCUs across Northern Ireland in the performance league table for detections across all crime categories where the 1st had the highest detection rate.

Sports
The Banbridge District has a vibrant sporting culture that offers a wide range of sports facilities and activities. From the new state of the art leisure centre to well equipped community centres, football pitches, outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts and bowling facilities, there is something for all sports enthusiasts.

Community Development
The community sector in Banbridge District has become increasingly vibrant and diverse in recent years. There are over 200 community and voluntary organisations working in all areas of activity.

Politics
Banbridge District Council has 17 seats distributed throughout the electoral areas of Banbridge, Knockiveagh and Dromore.

* Statistics compiled from “Our Future in Focus, Banbridge District Integrated Local Strategy” (2001-2006)

Website: http://www.banbridge.gov.uk

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