Working for the people of Lagan Valley
The Lagan Valley constituency takes its name from the river that flows all the way from Slieve Croob in the Dromara Hills to the capital city of Northern Ireland where it enters Belfast Lough. Overshadowed by the hills of Counties Down and Antrim, the Lagan weaves it's way through Dromara, Dromore, Moira, Maze, Lisburn, Lambeg, Ballyskeagh and Drumbeg before leaving the constituency. Along the way, it's tributaries help to irrigate some of the most fertile agricultural land on the island of Ireland.
It is the people that inhabit these places that make Lagan Valley a very special constituency.
I count it a great honour to represent all of them in the mother of parliaments.
United Kingdom Parliamentary Constituencies for Northern Ireland 2010
Lisburn, at the heart of the Lagan Valley
At the heart of the Lagan Valley is the City of Lisburn steeped in 400 years of history with its Cathedral, Irish Linen Centre, Castle Gardens and Wallace Park. To the east is Lambeg, home of the famous drum and Seymour Hill, one of the largest urban housing developments in Northern Ireland. Dunmurry marks the boundary with Belfast as does the former mill village of Edenderry perched on the banks of the Lagan.
To the west lies the village of Moira
To the west lies the rural villages of Moira with its demesne and long forgotten battlefield, Maghaberry, Aghalee, Ballinderry Upper and Lower, sweeping down towards the shores of Lough Neagh. The constituency is served by the M1 Motorway and the A1 Dual carriageway, intersecting at Sprucefield, the ideal location for Northern Ireland’s only regional shopping centre.
The beautiful Georgian village of Hillsborough
The beautiful Georgian village of Hillsborough with its historic Castle, Fort and Court House is home to the official residence of Her Majesty the Queen when she is visiting this part of the United Kingdom. Closely linked to the village are the settlements of Culcavey and Halftown and nearby is Maze, now hosting the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society and the new Balmoral Park.
The south is dominated by the Cathedral town of Dromore
The south of the constituency is dominated by the cathedral town of Dromore, one of the oldest surviving settlements in Northern Ireland, with its Norman Motte and Bailey and Victorian Town Hall.
Nestled among the rolling drumlins of County Down are many other villages and small settlements
including Kinallen, Waringsford, Drumlough, Magheraconluce, Anahilt, Bailiesmills, Boardmills, The Temple, Ravarnet, Legacurry, Hillhall, Drumbo, Ballylesson and Purdysburn.
Above all, it is the people that inhabit these places that make Lagan Valley a very special constituency. I count it a great honour to represent all of them in the mother of parliaments.