Cheshire West and Chester

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Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status in Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.[6] It superseded the boroughs of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Vale Royal and the City of Chester; its council assumed the functions and responsibilities of the former Cheshire County Council within its area. The remainder of ceremonial Cheshire is composed of Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington. Cheshire West and Chester has three key urban areas: Chester, Ellesmere Port and Northwich/Winsford.

Cheshire West and Chester
Chester, the county town of Cheshire and the largest settlement in Cheshire West and Chester
Chester, the county town of Cheshire and the largest settlement in Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester shown within Cheshire
Cheshire West and Chester shown within Cheshire
Coordinates: 53°12′47″N 2°54′07″W / 53.213°N 2.902°W / 53.213; -2.902
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
RegionNorth West
Ceremonial countyCheshire
Incorporated1 April 2009
Government
 • TypeUnitary authority with leader and cabinet
 • BodyCheshire West and Chester Council
 • ControlLabour
 • LeaderLouise Gittins (L)
 • ChairmanRobert Bisset
 • Chief ExecutiveDelyth Curtis
 • House of Commons
Area
 • Total363.4 sq mi (941.2 km2)
 • Land360 sq mi (920 km2)
 • Rank31st
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total357,699
 • Rank24th
 • Density1,010/sq mi (389/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
 • Religion
List
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas
  • CH1–4
  • CH33–34
  • CH64–66
  • CW6–10
  • SY14
  • WA4–6
Dialling codes
  • 01244
  • 01270
  • 01477
  • 0151
  • 01565
  • 01606
  • 01829
  • 01925
  • 01928
  • 01948
ISO 3166 codeGB-CHW
GSS codeE06000050
ITL codeTLD63
GVA2021 estimate[5]
 • Total£11.7 billion
 • Per capita£32,846
GDP (nominal)2021 estimate[5]
 • Total£13.1 billion
 • Per capita£36,518
Websitecheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

The decision to create the Cheshire West and Chester unitary authority was announced on 25 July 2007 following a consultation period, in which a proposal to create a single Cheshire unitary authority was rejected.[7]

Governance edit

Political composition of Cheshire West and Chester Council (2023)
Political party Seats
Conservative 23
Green 2
Independent 2
Labour 38
Liberal Democrats 1
Unaffiliated 1
Winsford Salt of the Earth 3
Total 70

In line with every other district in Cheshire, the cabinet (formerly 'the executive' between 2009 and 2015)[8] is composed of elected councillors. From its establishment in 2009, Cheshire West and Chester was governed by the Conservative Party, with Mike Jones as leader. Since the 2015 elections it has been governed by the Labour Party, with Samantha Dixon becoming the first female leader of the council upon taking office.

The leader presently oversees a cabinet of eight, with each member holding a specific portfolio. Opposition parties can also elect to appoint shadow cabinet members, though they have no executive power.

All councillors vote to appoint a chairman for the following municipal year (May) at the council AGM. Traditionally, this role was combined with that of the apolitical and ceremonial Lord Mayor of Chester, but in 2015 these roles were separated and the role of chairman was politicised.[9]

The cabinet is scrutinised by one general committee and four district committees made up of councillors, which replaced six dedicated scrutiny committees for different topics in May 2015.[9]

Elections edit

The first elections to the authority took place on 1 May 2008, with the electoral wards being the same as those used in the former Cheshire County Council elections, each ward electing three councillors. There were twenty-four wards in total, meaning that seventy-two councillors were elected.

An electoral review by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England was put into effect prior to the 2011 elections, meaning that three additional councillors were created, making a total of seventy-five in the borough. The ward boundaries were also comprehensively re-drawn, with their number being increased by twenty-two to forty-six. The new wards were mostly single-member wards, with two and three-member wards for the more populous areas.[10][11]

The 2015 election took place on 7 May, producing the first change of executive in the council's history.[12]

Last election By-elections Next election
2019 (all-out) 2023 (all-out)

Subdivisions edit

The borough is divided into forty-six wards,[10][11] listed below in alphabetical order.

There are ninety-seven parish councils in the borough,[13][14] despite there being a total of 166 civil parishes before a community governance review was undertaken by the borough council in 2014[15] under section 82 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.[16]

Notes
  1. ^
    3: Civil parishes highlighted in bold have unilaterally declared town status under section 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

Members of Parliament edit

Constituency Member of Parliament Political party Year first elected Notes Website Parliamentary profile
City of Chester Chris Matheson Labour Party 2015 Shadow Minister (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) Website Profile  
Eddisbury Edward Timpson Conservative Party 2019
[Note 4]
Website Profile  
Ellesmere Port and Neston Justin Madders Labour Party 2015 Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care) Website Profile  
Tatton Esther McVey Conservative Party 2017
[Note 5]
Website Profile  
Weaver Vale Mike Amesbury Labour Party 2017 Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government) Website Profile  
MPs in Cheshire West and Chester, 2005 onwards[Note 6]
Election year → 2005 2010[Note 7] 2015 2017 2019
City of Chester Christine Russell Stephen Mosley Chris Matheson
Eddisbury Stephen O'Brien Antoinette Sandbach Edward Timpson
Ellesmere Port and Neston Andrew Miller Justin Madders
Tatton George Osborne Esther McVey
Weaver Vale Mike Hall Graham Evans Mike Amesbury

Current MPs are highlighted in bold.

Notes
  1. ^
    4: Previously elected to parliament in 2008 for the Crewe and Nantwich constituency.
  2. ^
    5: Previously elected to parliament in 2010 for the Wirral West constituency.
  3. ^
    6: From the last election before the borough of Cheshire West and Chester was established.
  4. ^
    7: From the first election following the most recent periodic review of Westminster constituencies, where boundary changes affected the constituencies.
Last election By-elections Next election
2019 2024 (or earlier)

Demography edit

Ethnicity edit

Ethnicity in Cheshire West and Chester (2021)[4]
Ethnicity Percent(%)
White
95.3%
Asian
2.0%
Mixed
1.5%
Black
0.6%
Other
0.6%

In line with nearly every local government district in England and Wales, the majority of the population describe themselves as 'white'. The exact figure - 95.3% - is comparable with metropolitan counties such as Merseyside, non-metropolitan counties such as Cumbria and principal areas throughout Wales. This would suggest that the figure is not a significant outlier nationwide.

The next largest ethnic group in the borough is Asian, who along with other ethnic minorities are supported by the Cheshire Asian & Minority Communities Council, a registered charity headquartered in Chester.

Religion edit

Religion in Cheshire West and Chester (2021)[4]
Religion Percent(%)
Christian
54.5%
No religion
37.8%
Undeclared
5.5%
Muslim
1.0%
Hindu
0.4%
Other
0.3%
Buddhist
0.3%
Jewish
0.1%
Sikh
0.1%

The main religion in Cheshire West and Chester is Christianity, with a percentage figure above the average for England (46.3%, 2021).[19] The single largest church is the Church of England, with the borough being served by the Chester Archdeaconry, with six deaneries and an average of twenty parish churches in each deanery. Roman Catholicism also has a significant presence across the borough, with all its churches located in the Diocese of Shrewsbury.

Methodist churches in the borough form groups averaging ten, known as 'circuits' (the four in Cheshire West and Chester are all part of the Chester and Stoke-on-Trent District). More marginal churches include Assemblies of God, Baptist Union, Elim Pentecostal, United Reformed and the English Presbyterian Church of Wales in Chester.

Aside from churches, there are two mosques in Cheshire West and Chester - one each in Chester and Ellesmere Port - which were subjected to property theft[20] and racially aggravated disorder[21] respectively in 2014.

Geography edit

Neighbouring council areas
Local authority In relation to the district
City of Liverpool North (over the river)
Halton North
Warrington North east
Cheshire East East
Newcastle-under-Lyme South
Wrexham South west
Flintshire West
Wirral North west

Local nature reserves edit

Cheshire West and Chester Council maintains six Local Nature Reserves: Burton Mill Wood, Helsby Quarry, Marshall's Arm, Rivacre Valley, Stanney Wood, and Whitby Park.[22]

Transport edit

Air edit

There are no passenger airports in the borough (a grass airfield exists in Little Budworth), with the nearest being Liverpool and Manchester which licensed vehicles provide transport to. Airbus' fleet of A300-600ST Beluga transporter aircraft are based at Hawarden Airport in neighbouring Flintshire, adjacent to their wing manufacturing facility.

Cycling edit

National routes which pass through the borough include NCR5, NCR45 (Mercian Way), NCR56, NCR562, NCR563, NCR568 and NCR573. Regional routes include 70 (Cheshire Cycleway) and 71.

Three disused railways in the borough have been converted to off-road cycleways, including:

The Shropshire Union Canal towpath between Waverton and the National Waterways Museum is paved with asphalt and is a shared-use route between cyclists and pedestrians, for a distance of 12.5 miles. Between Tarvin Bridge and Blacon Avenue, it is also lit.

In 2009, Chester was awarded the status of 'Cycling Town' by Cycling England. To reflect this, a series of colour-coded signposted routes around the city were devised in 2012.[23] The total length of new signposted routes created by the project was thirty-eight miles, bringing the overall total in the borough to 312.5. The total funding received from the cycling town project, which ended in 2011 when Cycling England was disbanded, was £4.4 million.[24] A similar network of over thirty miles of cycle routes branded the Ellesmere Port Grenway has been proposed by the town's development board.[25]

Park and Ride edit

Chester has four park and ride sites located adjacent to radial routes on the city's outskirts (Boughton Heath, Sealand Road, Upton and Wrexham Road) running on two lines which intersect at Chester Bus Interchange. A fifth site is proposed near Hoole Village.

Chester Park and Ride services
Route Terminus Intermediate stop Chester city centre Intermediate stop Terminus
Blue (PR1) Upton (Zoo) Countess of Chester Hospital Delamere Street Chester Bus Interchange Foregate Street Pepper Street Grosvenor Road Wrexham Road
Green (PR2) Sealand Road Sealand Road (Greyhound Park) Canal Street Boughton Boughton Heath

Hooton station is designated as a park and ride facility for railway services on the Wirral Line, it contains a 418-space car park.[26]

Rail edit

 
Chester railway station

Chester is the hub of the railway network in the borough, with around 4.7 million passengers annually.[27] Passenger numbers doubled to this figure in the ten years to 2015, making the station the eighth-busiest in North West England.[28] Railway lines (and their associated franchise(s)) in the borough - not necessarily connecting to Chester - include:

Current and proposed improvements edit

The sections of railway between Chester - Stockport and Chester - Warrington Bank Quay are proposed for electrification during the period 2019–2024.[29]

The Crewe North Rolling Stock Depot serving High Speed Two is proposed to be built in the civil parish of Stanthorne and Wimboldsley. The line itself enters the borough in that location and leaves it again near the A556/A559 junction at Lostock Gralam.[30]

Road edit

 
A556 west of Northwich looking towards Sandiway.

Motorways and primary routes in the borough which are maintained by National Highways (trunk roads de jure) include the M6, M53, M56, A55, A483, A494, A550 and a short section of the A41 in Hooton. Other primary routes which are maintained by the council (principal roads de jure) include the A41, A49, A51, A54, A56, A483, A530, A533, A534, A556, A5115, A5116, A5117 and A5268.

Chester and Ellesmere Port - both primary route destinations - form the hub of the road network in Cheshire West and Chester, with routes of national importance carrying traffic in all directions to locations including Flintshire, Halton, Wirral and Wrexham.

European Route E05 is routed via the M6, carrying international traffic between Scotland, North West England, the West Midlands and France via Southampton. European route E22 is routed via the A494 and M56, carrying international traffic between Ireland (the route in fact begins at the Port of Holyhead), North Wales, North West England, Yorkshire and the Netherlands. Both routes meet at Lymm Interchange, which lies in neighbouring Cheshire East.

Three Roman roads exist in Cheshire West and Chester, Two originating in Chester (Deva Victrix) and running to Northwich (Condate) and Whitchurch (Mediolanum) respectively. The Roman road of kings street in Northwich which runs from Middlewich to Warrington.

The section of the A51 between its western terminus and the B5132 was named as one of the most congested roads in the United Kingdom by INRIX in August 2015.[31]

Three local MPs - Graham Evans, Justin Madders and Chris Matheson - raised safety concerns about the M56 between J12 and J14 in parliament after more than one hundred-and-sixty incidents were recorded since 2011. In response, Andrew Jones, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, confirmed that an upgrade to smart motorway will only take place after 2020.[32][33]

Water edit

Navigable waterways in the borough include the Manchester Ship Canal, Shropshire Union Canal, Trent and Mersey Canal and the Weaver Navigation, the latter two being connected together by the Anderton Boat Lift near Northwich, the only caisson lift lock in the United Kingdom.

Places of interest edit

Tourist attractions edit

Key
  Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
  Accessible open space
  Amusement/Theme Park
  Castle
  Country Park
  English Heritage
Forestry Commission
  Heritage railway
  Historic House
  Places of Worship
 
 
Museum (free/not free)
  National Trust
  Theatre
  Zoo

Sport edit

Football edit

 
Deva Stadium

Chester FC are the highest ranked club in the area and compete in the National League North (the sixth tier of English football. Northwich has four semi-professional teams - Barnton, Northwich Victoria, Witton Albion and 1874 Northwich - all of whom play in regional leagues. Winsford is also represented in the non-league pyramid by Winsford United, and Ellesmere Port by Vauxhall Motors FC – the former works team of the Vauxhall Ellesmere Port assembly plant.

Below level ten of the English pyramid are county-wide amateur leagues, with two covering the geographic area of the borough - the Cheshire Association Football League and West Cheshire Association Football League. Although several clubs are members of the former, many more compete in the latter. Below that is the Chester & Wirral Football League, and also the Mid-Cheshire district leagues who cater for the areas of knutsford, Northwich, Middlewich and Winsford where teams representing neighbourhoods/villages and/or pubs/social clubs ('pub teams') compete.

The largest football stadium in Cheshire West and Chester is the Deva Stadium, home to Chester FC, although the ground famously straddles the England-Wales border.

Twin towns edit

Whilst the borough per se does not have any twinning agreements, several of its settlements have agreements predating its creation in 2009, listed below:

Settlement(s) Twin town(s)
Barrow
Littleton
  Aubignan
Chester   Sens
  Lörrach
  Senigallia
Ellesmere Port   Reutlingen
Malpas   Questembert
Northwich   Dole
  Carlow
Tarporley   Bohars
Upton-by-Chester   Arradon
Winsford   Deuil-la-Barre

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Councillors and committees". Cheshire West and Chester Council. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2021". Office for National Statistics. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2021". Office for National Statistics. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Cheshire West and Chester Local Authority (E06000050)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b Fenton, Trevor (25 April 2023). "Regional gross domestic product: local authorities". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  6. ^ "The Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008 - Article 4". www.legislation.gov.uk. Legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 3 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
  7. ^ "County split into two authorities". BBC News. 25 July 2007. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  8. ^ "Committee structure". www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk. Cheshire West and Chester Council. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  9. ^ a b Holmes, David (26 May 2015). "Cheshire West and Chester Council have bad-tempered first meeting under Labour control". Chester Chronicle. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 31 July 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Election 2011 Live Results". www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk. Cheshire West and Chester Council. 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  11. ^ a b "Your Councillors by Ward". www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk. Cheshire West and Chester Council. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  12. ^ "Labour take control of Cheshire West and Chester Council". Northwich Guardian. Newsquest. 9 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Town and parish councils". www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk. Cheshire West and Chester Council. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Parish and Town Councils in Cheshire" (PDF). www.chalc.org.uk. Cheshire Association of Local Councils. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Community governance arrangements". www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk. Cheshire West and Chester Council. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  16. ^ "Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 - Section 82". www.legislation.gov.uk. Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Register of Geographic Codes (November 2020) for the United Kingdom". www.geoportal.statistics.gov.uk. Office for National Statistics. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  18. ^ "Cheshire West and Chester unitary district". www.citypopulation.de. City Population. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  19. ^ UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – England Country (E92000001)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  20. ^ Flint, Rachel (28 July 2014). "Heartless thieves steal plants from mosque during Ramadan". Chester Chronicle. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  21. ^ Flint, Rachel (23 October 2014). "Ellesmere Port man arrested after pig's head placed outside Islamic centre". Chester Chronicle. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  22. ^ "Statutory Sites". Cheshire West and Chester council. Archived from the original on 3 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  23. ^ "Complete Library of Free Chester Cycle Route Maps". www.chestercyclecity.org. Chester Cycling Campaign. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  24. ^ "Cheshire West and Chester Council Cycling Strategy" (PDF). www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk. Cheshire West and Chester Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  25. ^ "Ellesmere Port Greenway". www.ellesmereportdevelopment.co.uk. Invest in Ellesmere Port. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  26. ^ "Hooton". www.merseyrail.org. Merseyrail. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  27. ^ "Estimates of station usage | Office of Rail and Road". orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  28. ^ "Chester Railway Station sees passenger numbers double in 10 years". www.chesterchronicle.co.uk. Chester Chronicle. 29 January 2016. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  29. ^ "Electrification Task Force Final Report Revealed". www.railnorth.org. Rail North. 5 March 2015. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  30. ^ "High Speed Two property schemes, July 2017, phase 2B: Crewe to Manchester, Volume 1: Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester key plan" (PDF). www.gov.uk. High Speed Two (HS2) Limited. 17 July 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  31. ^ "Chester Road one of most congested outside London". www.chesterstandard.co.uk. The Standard. 25 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  32. ^ "Weaver Vale MP raises M56 issues in House of Commons". www.chesterchronicle.co.uk. Chester Chronicle. 18 November 2015. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  33. ^ "M56 Smart Motorway won't happen". www.chesterchronicle.co.uk. Chester Chronicle. 21 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.