Ards and North Down Borough Council

Ards and North Down Borough Council is a local authority in Northern Ireland that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Ards Borough Council and North Down Borough Council. The first elections to the authority took place on 22 May 2014 and, prior to the official creation of the Ards and North Down district on 1 April 2015, it acted as a shadow authority.
The district was originally called "North Down and Ards" but the council was known as "Ards and North Down District Council". Councillors on the transitional shadow authority voted on 15 December 2014 to submit an application to the Department of the Environment to change the name to East Coast Borough Council with effect from 1 April 2015. Negative public reaction to the proposed name prompted a rethink. The district name "Ards and North Down" was not finalised until 2016. The transfer of the borough charter from North Down Borough Council was delayed until after the district naming.

Mayoralty

For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas :

The area covered by the new borough has 163,659 residents according to the 2021 Northern Ireland census.