Cheshire East Council is the local authority of the Borough of

Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council. Towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Congleton, Sandbach, Wilmslow, H ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. The council was first elected on 1 May 2008, a year before coming into its powers on 1 April 2009. After an election in May 2019, no party holds overall control. The civil parish of

Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is the name of a historic market town and a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach itself as the largest, Elworth, Ettiley Heath a ...

hosts the administrative headquarters for the council.

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, Cheshire East is within a non-metropolitan area of England. As a

, Cheshire East Council has the powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether ...

, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal.

Political control

Until May 2019 the council was controlled by the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

. At the 2019 elections the council was left under no overall control. On 22 May 2019, the newly elected councillors met for the first time and elected Labour's Sam Corcoran as leader, after the party came to an agreement with independent councillors.

Premises

The council's main administrative offices are at Westfields on Middlewich Road in

. The building was opened in 2008 as the headquarters of the former

Congleton Borough Council Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Topo ...

, one of Cheshire East's predecessors. Council and committee meetings are held at various venues across the borough, including Crewe Municipal Buildings,

Macclesfield Town Hall Macclesfield Town Hall is a Georgian municipal building in the Market Place of Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Dating originally from 1823–24, it was designed by Francis Goodwin in the Greek Revival style, and extended in 1869–71 by Jame ...

, and

Sandbach Town Hall Sandbach Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Sandbach, Cheshire, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of Sandbach Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first town hall in Sandbach was a med ...

Police investigations

Cheshire East Council has been the subject of a number of police investigations. At one point there were seven investigations, four of which are outlined below: * Investigation into (former) Leader of the Council (Michael Jones) illegally awarding a contract to a friend (Amanda Moris of Core Fit) – launched 2015, dropped 2020 because of lack of evidence * Investigation into a grant to Berkeley Academy in Wistaston for £70,000 awarded outside of contract rules – dropped because of insufficient evidence * An investigation into allegations of manipulation of air pollution data – dropped * Land transfer for the ANSA Waste Management Facility in Middlewich – dropped.

References

{{Authority control Leader and cabinet executives Unitary authority councils of England Local education authorities in England Local authorities in Cheshire Billing authorities in England 2009 establishments in England Borough of Cheshire East