THE COUNCIL

Ards Borough Council - making the Borough a better place to live, work and relax

Ards, situated on the shores of Strangford Lough and the Irish Sea with a landscape characterised by drumlins and dramatic views, is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Special Scientific Interest, comprising 140 square miles and bounded by 90 miles of coastline. The population of the Borough has grown steadily and now stands at over 78,500, representing around 4% of the population of Northern Ireland. Ards remains one of the fastest growing Boroughs and the population is expected to rise to over 80,000 by 2012.

The main centre of population is Newtownards, the Borough's capital town, with Comber, Donaghadee and Portaferry the next largest settlements. The rest of the Borough is largely rural with small towns and villages including Ballygowan, Ballywalter, Carrowdore, Cloughey, Greyabbey, Killinchy, Kircubbin, Portavogie, Millisle and Ballyhalbert.

The Council is responsible for administering the Ards area and is committed to ensuring its services meet the needs of local residents, businesses and visitors. However, its role extends beyond the services for which it is directly responsible. The Council works with other public, voluntary, community and private sector bodies for the betterment of the Ards area and also has an input into the decisions which other organisations make, from planning and roads to health provision and environmental issues. This is a leadership, advocacy and lobbying role which has become increasingly important and which is reflected in the Council's mission statement:

Ards Borough Council provides dynamic leadership to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of its residents and to promote the best interests of the Borough

as well as in the strategic thrust of the current Corporate Plan (2009-2011) and associated strategies.

In this section, you will find information on the:

• Councillors elected to represent the Ards Borough
• Council and Committee meeting system through which the Council makes it decisions, including minutes of meetings
• Plans and performance , including the financial performance, of the Council
• Departments through which the Council delivers its services .