The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a
local government district with borough status in
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...
,
North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
. The borough is named after its largest settlement,
St Helens but also includes neighbouring towns and villages such as
Earlestown,
Rainhill
Rainhill is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 10,853.
Historically part of Lancashire, Rainhill was formerly a tow ...
,
Eccleston,
Clock Face
A clock face is the part of an analog clock (or watch) that displays time through the use of a flat dial with reference marks, and revolving pointers turning on concentric shafts at the center, called hands. In its most basic, globally recogn ...
,
Haydock
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 11,416 Haydock's historic area covers the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook ward.
Haydo ...
,
Billinge,
Rainford and
Newton-le-Willows
Newton-le-Willows is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 22,114. Newton-le-Willows is on the eastern edge of St Helens, south of Wigan an ...
.
The Metropolitan Borough Council is made up of 48 councillors, three representing each of the 16 wards.
History
The Metropolitan Borough was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the former
County Borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...
of
St Helens, along with the
urban district
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...
s of
Haydock
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 11,416 Haydock's historic area covers the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook ward.
Haydo ...
,
Newton-le-Willows
Newton-le-Willows is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 22,114. Newton-le-Willows is on the eastern edge of St Helens, south of Wigan an ...
and
Rainford, and parts of
Billinge-and-Winstanley and
Ashton-in-Makerfield urban districts, along with part of
Whiston Rural District, all from the
administrative county
An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...
of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
.
Between 1974 and 1986 (when it was abolished), the borough council shared functions with
Merseyside County Council. After abolition, the functions of this body were in part devolved to the boroughs and in part transferred to ad hoc agencies.
Governance
St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council Composition
Elections to St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council are held in three out of every four years, with one-third of the 48 seats on the council being elected at each election.
The
Labour party has had a majority on the council since the first election in 1973, except for a period between the
2004 election and the
2010 election when no party had a majority. This allowed an alliance between the
Liberal Democrats and the
Conservatives to take control after the
2006 election until Labour regained control in 2010.
Since then Labour has strengthened its position on the council and as of the 2021 election the council is composed of the following
councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
s:-
Parliamentary constituencies
*
St Helens North
*
St Helens South and Whiston
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is one of the six constituent local government districts of the
Liverpool City Region. Since 1 April 2014, some of the borough's responsibilities have been pooled with neighbouring authorities and subsumed into the
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) is the combined authority of the Liverpool City Region. The Liverpool City Region includes the City of Liverpool local authority area plus the Metropolitan Boroughs of Knowsley, St Helens, ...
.
The
combined authority
A combined authority is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. Combined authorities are created voluntarily and allow a grou ...
has effectively become the top-tier administrative body for the local governance of the city region and the leader of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council, along with the five other leaders from neighbouring local government districts, take strategic decisions over economic development, transport, employment and skills, tourism, culture, housing and physical infrastructure.
Geography
The borough borders the borough of
Knowsley, in the south-west, the district of
West Lancashire
West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,68 ...
in the north, the
Borough of Wigan in the north-east, and to the south the boroughs of
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
and
Halton.
The St Helens Borough covers roughly 30 km² over an area of soft rolling hills used primarily for
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
purposes, mainly
arable. The highest point in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, and the whole of Merseyside, is
Billinge Hill, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north from St. Helens centre. The borough is landlocked with a stream running through, Mill Brook/Windle Brook running through Eccleston and connecting with the (disused) St. Helens Branch/Section of the
Sankey Canal in the town centre.
The centre of St Helens is around 160 feet (50 m) above sea level.
From the top of Billinge Hill the cities of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
are visible on a clear day as well as the towns of
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...
and
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
.
Carr Mill Dam is Merseyside's largest body of inland water, offering picturesque lakeside trails and walks as well as national competitive powerboating and angling events.
The Burgies are two
tailings
In mining, tailings are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction ( gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different to overburden, which is the waste rock or other material that ove ...
on the site of the old Rushy Park coal mine. They were created by the dumping of toxic chemical waste from the manufacture of glass, they have since been covered with tall grass and woodland.
Demography
Ethnicity
Education
Coat of arms
Twin Town
St Helens is twinned with:
*
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
, Germany
Freedom of the Borough
The following people, military units and Organisations and Groups have received the
Freedom of the Borough of St Helens.
Individuals
*
Rt Hon Lord Pilkington of St Helens : 1968.
*
Rt Hon Lord Evans of Parkside: 1997.
*
Rt Hon Lord Watts of Ravenhead: 13 May 2022.
Military Units
* The
Royal Military Police Association (Merseyside Branch): 29 February 2012.
Organisations and Groups
* The
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in 1991, and is based in Whiston, Merseyside.
It runs two hospitals:
* Whiston Hospital - the primary site and trust headquarters providing emergency and acute inpatient services, ...
: 13 May 2022.
References
External links
St. Helens Metropolitan Borough CouncilEarlestown Historical WebsiteNewton-le-Willows Historical Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:St Helens, Metropolitan Borough Of
Metropolitan boroughs of Merseyside
*