Borough of St Helens | |
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Motto(s): | |
Coordinates: 53°27′14″N2°44′46″W / 53.454°N 2.746°W | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | England |
Region | North West |
Ceremonial county | Merseyside |
City region | Liverpool |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Named for | St Helens |
Administrative HQ | St Helens Town Hall |
Government | |
• Type | Metropolitan borough |
• Body | St Helens Council |
• Executive | Leader and cabinet |
• Control | Labour |
• Leader | David Baines (L) |
• Mayor | Lynn Clarke |
• MPs |
|
Area | |
• Total | 52.7 sq mi (136.4 km2) |
• Rank | 174th |
Population (2021) [4] | |
• Total | 183,391 |
• Rank | 109th |
• Density | 3,480/sq mi (1,345/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
Postcode areas | |
Dialling codes |
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ISO 3166 code | GB-SHN |
GSS code | E08000013 |
GDP (nominal) | 2021 estimate [6] |
•Total | £3.4 billion |
•Per capita | £18,803 |
Website | sthelens |
The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a local government district with borough status in Merseyside, North West England. The borough is named after its largest settlement, St Helens, but also includes neighbouring towns and villages such as Earlestown, Rainhill, Eccleston, Clock Face, Haydock, Billinge, Garswood, Rainford and Newton-le-Willows.
The Metropolitan Borough Council is made up of 48 councillors, three representing each of the 16 wards. [7]
The Metropolitan Borough was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the former County Borough of St Helens, along with the urban districts of Haydock, Newton-le-Willows 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 of Lancashire.
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.
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 2022 election the council is composed of the following councillors: [8]
Party | Councillors | |
Labour Party | 29 | |
Liberal Democrats | 4 | |
Conservative Party | 2 | |
Independents | 7 | |
Green Party | 6 |
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, takes strategic decisions over economic development, transport, employment and skills, tourism, culture, housing and physical infrastructure.
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 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.
St Helens Population using 2011 Data, 2008 Wards | |||
---|---|---|---|
2001 UK Census | Population | Households | |
Billinge and Seneley Green | 12,717 | 4985 | |
Blackbrook | 9,128 | 3,604 | |
Bold | 9,040 | 3,586 | |
Earlestown | 10,274 | 4,420 | |
Eccleston | 10,528 | 4,218 | |
Haydock | 11,962 | 4,817 | |
Moss Bank | 10,276 | 4,337 | |
Newton | 22,144 | 4,506 | |
Parr | 18,082 | 3,541 | |
Rainford | 2,344 | 3,484 | |
Rainhill | 11,913 | 4,762 | |
Sutton | 12,622 | 5,075 | |
Thatto Heath | 9,393 | 3,852 | |
Town Centre | 13,795 | 4,958 | |
West Park | 4,558 | 4,947 | |
Windle | 6,621 | 3,607 | |
Total | 176,843 | 72,697 |
Ethnic Group | 2001 [9] | 2011 [10] | 2021 [11] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
White: British | 172,853 | 97.74% | 169,346 | 96.59% | 171,546 | 93.61% |
White: Irish | 1,054 | 0.60% | 887 | 0.50% | 945 | 0.52% |
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 69 | 0.04% | 145 | 0.08% | ||
White: Roma | 67 | 0.04% | ||||
White: Other | 880 | 0.50% | 1,575 | 0.90% | 4,185 | 2.28% |
White: Total | 174,787 | 98.84% | 171,887 | 98.05% | 176,888 | 96.53% |
Asian or Asian British: Indian | 409 | 0.23% | 504 | 0.29% | 557 | 0.30% |
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | 109 | 0.06% | 133 | 0.08% | 238 | 0.13% |
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | 79 | 0.04% | 122 | 0.07% | 172 | 0.09% |
Asian or Asian British: Chinese | 398 | 0.23% | 512 | 0.29% | 660 | 0.36% |
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | 85 | 0.05% | 493 | 0.28% | 952 | 0.52% |
Asian or Asian British: Total | 1,080 | 0.61% | 1,764 | 1.01% | 2,579 | 1.41% |
Black or Black British: African | 73 | 0.04% | 152 | 0.09% | 558 | 0.30% |
Black or Black British: Caribbean | 59 | 0.03% | 60 | 0.03% | 103 | 0.06% |
Black or Black British: Other Black | 37 | 0.02% | 36 | 0.02% | 115 | 0.06% |
Black or Black British: Total | 169 | 0.10% | 248 | 0.14% | 776 | 0.42% |
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | 228 | 0.13% | 445 | 0.25% | 466 | 0.25% |
Mixed: White and Black African | 77 | 0.04% | 167 | 0.10% | 417 | 0.23% |
Mixed: White and Asian | 200 | 0.11% | 271 | 0.15% | 597 | 0.33% |
Mixed: Other Mixed | 169 | 0.10% | 296 | 0.17% | 491 | 0.27% |
Mixed: Total | 674 | 0.38% | 1,179 | 0.67% | 1,971 | 1.08% |
Other: Arab | 117 | 0.07% | 377 | 0.21% | ||
Other: Any other ethnic group | 123 | 0.07% | 657 | 0.36% | ||
Other: Total | 133 | 0.08% | 240 | 0.14% | 1,034 | 0.56% |
Black, Asian, and minority ethnic: Total | 2,056 | 1.16% | 3,431 | 1.96% | 6,360 | 3.47% |
Total | 176,843 | 100.00% | 175,308 | 100.00% | 183,248 | 100.00% |
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The coat of arms of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council was adopted in 1974. The crest above the helmet is that of Lord Newton representing Newton U.D.C. and Haydock U.D.C. The crest is suitably differenced by the inclusion of two red (gules) fleur-de-lys on the body of the ram. [13]
The escutcheon is split into quarters by the Black (sable) Cross of Haydock & Eccleston and the Blue (azure) Bars of Parr. Each quarter contains a different charge:
Beneath the escutcheon is a scroll bearing the motto ' Ex Terra Lucem ' meaning 'From the Earth, Light'. [1]
St Helens is twinned with: [14]
The following people, military units and Organisations and Groups have received the Freedom of the Borough of St Helens.
The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough in Merseyside, North West England. It covers several towns and villages, including Kirkby, Prescot, Huyton, Whiston, Halewood, Cronton and Stockbridge Village; Kirkby, Huyton, and Prescot being the major commercial centres. It takes its name from the village of Knowsley, though its headquarters are in Huyton. It forms part of the wider Liverpool City Region.
St Helens is a town in Merseyside, England, with a population of 102,629. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, which had a population of 183,200 at the 2021 Census.
Whiston Rural District was a rural district of the administrative county of Lancashire, England. It was created in 1895 by renaming the Prescot Rural District when the parish of Prescot was removed from that rural district and created a separate urban district. Later the parish of Speke was incorporated into the City of Liverpool and Ditton into the Municipal Borough of Widnes. In 1922 the parish of Kirkby was added from the disbanded Sefton Rural District and removed again in 1958 when it was created a separate urban district. It was named after and administered from Whiston. In 1934 and 1954 parts of Windle and Eccleston were removed and placed in St Helens CB
St. Helens North is a constituency created in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by the Labour Party's Conor McGinn, Shadow Minister without Portfolio from 4 December 2021. Between 1997 and 2015 the MP was Labour's David Watts.
Eccleston is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 10,433.
The 2000 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2002 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2003 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.
Thatto Heath is an area of St Helens, in Merseyside, England.
Newton was a parliamentary borough in the county of Lancashire, in England. It was represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1559 to 1706 then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until its abolition in 1832.
The 2008 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.
St Helens is a large town and the administrative seat of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside, England. The town was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1868, responsible for the administration of the four townships and manors of Eccleston, Parr, Sutton and Windle. In 1887 this role was expanded to a county borough, which was superseded in 1974 by the larger metropolitan borough.
The 2010 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.
The 2012 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the LabourPparty stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2016 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2016 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.
The 2019 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. With one third of the seats on the council up for election Labour lost control of four seats although Labour retained overall control of the council. The losses were Bold and Haydock to the Green Party, Newton-Le-Willows to the Liberal Democrats and Rainhill to an Independent candidate.