Banbridge was a local government district in Northern Ireland. The district was one of 26 council areas formed on 1 October 1973, following the implementation of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. The headquarters of the council were in the town of Banbridge. In April 2015, most of the Banbridge district was included in the merged Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon district. Location and geography The area of the former district is in the west of County Down and covered an area of of countryside – from Slieve Croob (1,775 ft) in the east to the River Bann valley in the west. It is also the main gateway to the Mourne Mountains, which lie to the south and is bisected by the A1 route between Belfast and Dublin. The district was formed by the merger of Banbridge Urban District, Dromore Urban District and Banbridge Rural District. In 1993 there was a boundary change, and the Rathfriland area was transferred from the neighbouring district of Newry and Mourne. The other main small towns in the area included Gilford, Loughbrickland and Scarva. According to the 2001 census, the population of the district was just over 42,000 and according to the 2011 census this had grown to 48,339. Economic profile Historically, Banbridge District’s economy had its roots in manufacturing (textile/linen and shoe production), agriculture and the retailing/service sector. Ferguson’s, one of the oldest names in the Irish linen industry, still operates in Banbridge, and a shoe factory first opened in 1947 and closed in the early 2000s. It employed 600 workers at its height. According to council statistics the district was home to over 1,770 businesses, the vast majority of which had fewer than 10 employees. One of the most important recent large-scale economic developments to occur in the district was the opening of a discount fashion outlet on the outskirts of Banbridge, which currently has 59 different stores. The outlet forms part of the Bridgewater Park development project, for which Tesco currently has planning permission to open one of its largest stores in Ireland. In late 2010 Asda also submitted plans for a store in Banbridge, with the possibility of creating jobs for up to 250 district residents. Health profile In 2006–2008 the life of expectancy of females living in the district was 82.6 years (Northern Ireland average was 81.3), compared with a life expectancy of 78.1 for males (Northern Ireland average