St Helens (borough)
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The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a local government district with borough status in Merseyside,
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, 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 recogni ...
,
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. Haydoc ...
, Billinge,
Rainford Rainford is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England, north of St Helens. At the 2011 Census, the population was 7,779. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the earlies ...
and
Newton-le-Willows Newton-le-Willows is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the 2011 census was 22,114. Newton-le-Willows is on the eastern edge of St Helens, south of Wigan and north of Warrington. The ...
. 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 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) (hist ...
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. Haydoc ...
,
Newton-le-Willows Newton-le-Willows is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the 2011 census was 22,114. Newton-le-Willows is on the eastern edge of St Helens, south of Wigan and north of Warrington. The ...
and
Rainford Rainford is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England, north of St Helens. At the 2011 Census, the population was 7,779. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the earlies ...
, and parts of Billinge-and-Winstanley and Ashton-in-Makerfield urban districts, along with part of Whiston Rural District, all from the administrative county of Lancashire. Between 1974 and 1986 (when it was abolished), the borough council shared functions with
Merseyside County Council Merseyside County Council (MCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Merseyside, a metropolitan county in North West England. MCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1974 by the Local ...
. 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 councillors:-


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 combined authority 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 in the north, the Borough of Wigan in the north-east, and to the south the boroughs of Warrington 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 Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
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 and Liverpool are visible on a clear day as well as the towns of Bolton and Warrington. 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 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 ...
, Germany


Freedom of the Borough

The following people, military units and Organisations and Groups have received the
Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...
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 Council

Earlestown Historical Website

Newton-le-Willows Historical Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:St Helens, Metropolitan Borough Of Metropolitan boroughs of Merseyside *