Derry City and Strabane is a local government district that was created on 1 April 2015 by merging the City of Derry District and Strabane District.[3] It covers most of the northwest of Northern Ireland. The local authority is Derry City and Strabane District Council.
It is located in the northwest of Northern Ireland and includes parts of counties Londonderry and Tyrone, and borders County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.[4] The district had a population of 152,383 in 2024.[2] The name of the new district was announced on 17 September 2008. Outside of Derry City the district is largely rural, containing a large swathe of the Sperrin Mountains which start at the market town of Strabane in County Tyrone.
Derry City and Strabane district is made up of the following district electoral areas (2014),[5] each comprising some local areas for the purposes of the district's local community planning:
Derry City and Strabane District Council replaced Derry City Council and Strabane District Council. The first election for the new district was originally due to take place in May 2009, but in April 2008, Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward announced that the scheduled 2009 district council elections were to be postponed until 2011.[14] The first elections took place on 22 May 2014 and the council acted as a shadow authority until 1 April 2015.
The district is served by Derry~Londonderry railway station, operated by NI Railways. Its area was also formerly served by Eglinton railway station (closed in 1973), along the Belfast-Derry line.
