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29-534: Laganbank was one of the nine district electoral areas in Belfast , Northern Ireland which existed from 1985 to 2014. Located in the south of the city, the district elected five members to Belfast City Council and contained the wards of Ballynafeigh, Botanic, Shaftesbury, Stranmillis , and Rosetta. Laganbank, along with neighbouring Balmoral , formed the greater part of the Belfast South constituencies for

58-514: A Gala event on 21 October 2006. In 2020 the Grand Opera House closed for restoration and development. The project saw the auditorium's paintings and decorative and ornate plasterwork painstakingly restored and conserved, as well as new seating, carpets, curtains and drapes installed. The design of the foyer and public spaces was reimagined, with a new bar installed in the restored 1980 glass extension overhanging Great Victoria Street, and

87-922: A number of important cultural attractions within the Laganbank section of the city centre, including the Grand Opera House , the Linen Hall Library , the Ormeau Baths Gallery , the Ulster Hall , the Ulster Orchestra and the Waterfront Hall . This area is also sometimes referred to as the Golden Mile because of the large number of bars, clubs and restaurants located there. Rosemary Jenkinson wrote

116-590: A £12.2 million project in 2020/2021, generously supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The venue hosts musicals, drama, ballet, opera and comedy performances as well as educational events and tours. The theatre's annual pantomime, which has been performed since its opening in 1895, remains the most popular show each year. The theatre's capacity is 1,058. Originally called the New Grand Opera House and Cirque, it

145-584: Is a theatre in Belfast , Northern Ireland , designed by the most prolific theatre architect of the period, Frank Matcham . It opened on 23 December 1895. According to the Theatres Trust , the "magnificent auditorium is probably the best surviving example in the United Kingdom of the oriental style applied to theatre architecture". The auditorium was restored to its former glory, and the foyer spaces and bars were reimagined and developed as part of

174-1568: Is no ethnic group in the Northern Irish census named White British, instead there is only an ethnic group named White. This covers people from many different areas including Britain, Mainland Europe, Australia and the US. Other noteworthy amenities in the Laganbank district electoral area include: 2005: 2 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x DUP, 1 x UUP 2011: 2 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance 2005-2011 Change: Alliance gain from UUP 2001: 2 x SDLP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 2005: 2 x SDLP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x DUP 2001-2005 Change: DUP gain from UUP 1997: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x Alliance 2001: 2 x SDLP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin 1997-2001 Change: SDLP gain from Alliance 1993: 2 x UUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance 1997: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x Alliance 1993-1997 Change: Sinn Féin gain from SDLP 1989: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP 1993: 2 x UUP, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance 1989-1993 Change: SDLP gain from DUP 1985: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP 1989: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP 1985-1989 Change: No change 1985: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance 54°35′00″N 5°56′02″W  /  54.5832°N 5.9338°W  / 54.5832; -5.9338 Electoral wards of Belfast Wards are used to create constituencies for local government authorities ,

203-529: The Department of Education , Arthur Brooke, lent his support to the project and his department provided the funding for extensive renovatation of the theatre. The Grand Opera House reopened in 1980, and in the years that followed many leading performers appeared on its stage, including Liam Neeson, Rowan Atkinson, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Ian McKellen, Darcey Bussell and Lesley Garrett.The building has been damaged by bombs on several occasions, usually when

232-922: The Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament . The district was bound to the west by the Malone Road and the M1 Motorway , to the south by the River Lagan and the southern section of the Annadale Embankment, to the east by the Ormeau Park and the Ormeau Road and to the north by College Square North and the Cathedral Quarter . The River Lagan, which gave the district its name, flowed through

261-628: The Northern Ireland Assembly and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom . In elections to Belfast City Council , the 60 wards are split into ten District Electoral Areas, each of which contains between five and seven wards, with the number of councillors it elects equal to the number of wards it contains. The constituencies for elections to the House of Commons and the Assembly are coterminous and are created by amalgamating wards into larger areas, with

290-475: The single transferable vote method of election meant that a different system was required. The 51 wards were therefore grouped into 8 electoral areas, distinguished by letters, with each electoral area returning either 6 or 7 councillors. By the early 1980s, population shifts, demolition of some the older housing estates and residential flight caused by the Troubles had again led to substantial disparities in

319-558: The 582 wards across Northern Ireland. Each ward contains several Super Output Area, which in turn are made up of a number of Census Output Areas. The wards were redrawn for the 2014 elections. The table below shows the divisions from 2014 to present. From 1928 until May 1973, Belfast was divided into 15 wards, each represented by a total of four aldermen or councillors . The 15 wards were Duncairn, Dock, Clifton, Shankill, Court, Woodvale, Smithfield, Falls, Saint Anne's, Saint George's, Windsor, Cromac, Ormeau, Pottinger and Victoria. By

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348-559: The National Theatre brought its production of Love for Love to the Grand Opera House with a cast boasting Laurence Olivier, Lyn Redgrave, Albert Finney, Geraldine McEwan and a young Anthony Hopkins. The Grand Opera House was acquired by the Rank Organisation , which led to its use as a cinema between 1961 and 1972. As business slowed in the early 1970s with the onset of the Troubles , Rank initiated plans to sell

377-687: The area's popularity among students increase, particularly in the Holyland area. The area was also home to some of the most prominent schools, including Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School , Methodist College Belfast ('Methody') and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution . The portion of Laganbank to the west of the River Lagan-based around Queen's University, forms the Queen's Quarter , and contains many of

406-704: The centre of the district dividing it in two, with Botanic, Shaftesbury and Stranmillis on the western bank and Ballynafeigh and Rosetta on the eastern bank. Laganbank also contained most of the city centre , including Donegall Square . The south of the district contained some of the most exclusive addresses in Northern Ireland, particularly along the Malone Road. However, the north of the district has areas that suffer economic deprivation, including Donegall Road , Sandy Row and 'the Markets' . Laganbank

435-489: The city's wards split between the four 'Belfast' constituencies, although these also contain wards from bordering local authorities. The use of wards for statistical purposes by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) has changed since the creation of 'Census Output Areas' (5022 in total) and 'Super Output Areas' (890 in total), which were created to address the variance in size of

464-415: The early 1970s, population shifts had resulted in significant differences in the electorates of the wards. Although the wards continued to have four representatives on Belfast City Council, electorates varied from less than 5,000 in the smallest ward, Smithfield, to almost 40,000 in the largest ward, Victoria. The review of local government which took place in the early 1970s expanded Belfast to take in some of

493-426: The electorates of the wards. Some wards in inner city Belfast such as Crumlin had lost over 70% of their population. The review of local government which took place from 1982 to 1984 created 51 wards, many new or substantially different from their namesakes. The initial proposals, published in 1983, survived unchanged with a few exceptions. The proposed Peter's Hill ward was renamed Saint Anne's. The Donegall ward, one of

522-400: The end of the war, Eisenhower , Montgomery and Alanbrooke attended gala performances at the theatre. Lena Horne performed here in the 1940s on her way to and from her travels to France. After the war, stars of stage and screen returned to the theatre, with notably highlights including performances by Laurel and Hardy, Vera Lynn, Orson Welles, and Luciano Pavarotti in his UK debut. In 1965

551-491: The existing Finaghy ward was renamed Musgrave, while a new Finaghy ward was created from the southern parts of the older Finaghy ward and the Upper Malone ward, which compensated by gaining territory from Malone and Stranmillis wards. The table below shows the divisions from 1993 to 2013. religious community background (%) religious community background (%) Grand Opera House, Belfast The Grand Opera House

580-625: The few unchanged wards, was renamed Blackstaff. In inner south Belfast, the Saint George's, university and Cromac wards were to have been replaced with an eastern ward, to be called Linenhall, and a western ward, to be called College. Following public inquiries, the wards were replaced with a southern ward, Botanic, and a northern ward, Shaftesbury, which merged the former Cromac and Saint George's wards. As in 1973, these wards were grouped into electoral areas electing between 5 and 7 councillors. A further review took place in 1991–1992 and compared to

609-1054: The key cultural facilities within the city. The Quarter is home to the Belfast Festival at Queen's , the largest annual arts festival in Ireland, as well as amenities such as the Botanic Gardens , the Brian Friel Theatre , the Crescent Arts Centre , the Elmwood Hall , the Lyric Theatre , the Naughton Gallery at Queen's , the Queen's Film Theatre and the Ulster Museum . As well as the Queen's Quarter, there are

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638-523: The nearby Europa Hotel had been targeted. It was badly damaged by bomb blasts in 1991 and 1993. The theatre continued, however, to host musicals , plays , pantomimes and live music . In 1995 the running of the theatre was taken over by the Grand Opera House Trust. In 2006 an extension was added which included a studio theatre space, extended foyers, dressings rooms and access for customers with disabilities. The theatre reopened with

667-492: The newer housing estates on the fringes of the city and attempted to equalise electorates. Initially, Belfast was to have been divided into 52 wards. Following a public review, one ward, Tullycarnet, was excluded from Belfast and became instead the Castlereagh wards of Tullycarnet and Gilnahirk. The remaining 51 wards were intended to elect one member each using the first past the post electoral system. The reintroduction of

696-654: The play, "The Dealer of Ballynafeigh," about a 42-year-old UDF resident of Ballynafeigh and his mother who deal drugs to pay off debts. It was performed at the Keegan Theatre on Church St. in Washington, DC, USA from 17 October to 14 November 2015. The play came in third in the BBC Tony Doyle Awards. Laganbank has a low White population compared to Belfast and is one of the most ethnically diverse electoral areas in Northern Ireland. Note: There

725-571: The review of the 1980s, saw minor changes. In the Court electoral area, the existing Shankill ward was split between three other wards. One of these three wards which gained territory, Saint Anne's, having lost its eponymous area to the Duncairn ward, assumed the Shankill name. Initially, the number of wards was to have been cut to 50, however after a public inquiry, a new 51st ward was created. Most of

754-654: The theatre to a property developer, who proposed that the building be pulled down and replaced with an office block. However, following the action of Kenneth Jamison (director of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland ) and Charles Brett (founder member of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society and ACNI board member), the building was bought by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and listed in 1974. The Permanent Secretary of

783-547: The wards of Blackstaff and Windsor, which had previously been part of Balmoral District Electoral Area Laganbank was the location for several of the city's most important education establishments, including Queen's University Belfast (which gives its name to the Queen's Quarter), Stranmillis University College and Union Theological College , as well as the College Square campus of Belfast Metropolitan College . The location of these institutions in close proximity saw

812-547: Was created for the 1985 local elections. The Shaftesbury ward had previously been in Area F , Stranmillis and Botanic wards in Area C and Rosetta and Ballynafeigh wards in Area A . For the 2014 local elections, the district was abolished. With the exception of the Rosetta ward, which joined a new Lisnasharragh District Electoral Area , the district's redrawn wards formed part of a new Botanic District Electoral Area , together with

841-463: Was renamed the Palace of Varieties in 1904, changing its name to the Grand Opera House in 1909. Charlie Chaplin performed there in 1908, and although Variety programmes dominated the pre-war years, entertainers as diverse as Nellie Melba, Sarah Bernhardt, Ralph Richardson and   Gracie Fields performed there regularly. It became a repertory theatre during World War II and at the celebrations to mark

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