| Newtownabbey is
situated on the shore of Belfast Lough reaching north from
the City of Belfast and stretching up towards the Glens of
Antrim. The main University of Ulster campus is situated within
the Borough at Jordanstown. With just over 31,300 households,
the Borough covers an area of 54 square miles. The Borough
is a prime business location with large international manufacturing
companies sitting comfortably alongside small and medium sized
businesses. There is a clear physical distinction between
the developed urban area stretching out from Glengormley to
include Whiteabbey, Mossley, Monkstown and Mallusk. and the
rural hinterland extending towards Ballynure, Doagh and Ballyclare.
Facts and Figures
Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey Borough Council has a population of 79,995, the fifth highest Borough population within Northern Ireland.
Agriculture
The total number of farms in Newtownabbey is 315 (5.5% of Northern Ireland farms)
suggesting that agriculture is not a predominant sector in the Borough.
The average size of farms in Newtownabbey is 31.2 hectares [compared to 28 hectares for NI]. The majority of farms in the Borough are:
- 'Cattle and sheep - LFA' (40.0%); with the remainder being mainly either
- 'Diary' (18.1%); or
- 'Cattle and sheep lowland' (18.1%)
A total of 59% of farms in Newtownabbey hold less favoured area status. Of these, 23% were designated as "severely disadvantaged" and 36% as disadvantaged in 1998.
Tourism
The Northern Ireland tourist industry earned £322m in 1999 (£280m in 1998), of which £265m came from staying visitors in Northern Ireland and £57m from domestic holiday spending. 1.65 million trips to Northern Ireland in 1999 Figures for 1999 give the total number of trips to Newtownabbey as 60,500 or 2.6% of the NI total with an estimated spend of £7.6 million or 2.4% of the NI total.This ranks fifth in number of visits and is the fourth highest spend of all the Borough Council Areas which make up the Causeway Coast and Antrim Glens (Ballymena, Ballymoney, Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Larne, Limavady, Moyle and Newtownabbey). In 1999 402 people were employed in tourism within the Borough.
Earnings
According to the Northern Ireland New Earnings Survey (April 2002) by the Department of Enterprise,Trade and Investment the average gross weekly earnings in the Newtownabbey Borough was £387.2,compared to a NI average of £390.10. In terms of length of working hours the average total weekly hours is 40.0 compared to the Northern Ireland average of 39.6.
Education
There are 23 controlled and 5 maintained primary schools in the Borough with a capacity of 9240. Currently enrolment stands at 7048. There are 4 controlled secondary schools, 1 controlled grammar school and a maintained secondary school.
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