Looking back... Electoral office opens

The office on Portland Avenue was busy supervising the preparation of registers for both the South and East Antrim constituencies. The staff moved there the previous month after being previously located at a site on the Mill Road in Newtownabbey for a temporary period. The need for the office arose from the increased number of constituencies in Northern Ireland as a result of the boundary commissions review. Deputy Electoral Officer, Cecil McKeag said: “Newtownabbey is one of the biggest local government districts in NI and although this office is based here, my area actually covers four district council regions.”