Cheshire West and Chester

53°12′47″N 2°54′07″W / 53.213°N 2.902°W / 53.213; -2.902Sovereign stateUnited KingdomCountryEnglandRegionNorth WestCeremonial countyCheshireIncorporated1 April 2009Government • TypeUnitary authority with leader and cabinet • BodyCheshire West and Chester Council • ControlLabour • LeaderLouise Gittins (L) • ChairmanRobert Bisset • Chief ExecutiveDelyth Curtis • House of CommonsArea • Total363.4 sq mi (941.2 km²) • Land360 sq mi (920 km²) • Rank31stPopulation • Total357,699 • Rank24th • Density1,010/sq mi (389/km²)Ethnicity (2021) • Ethnic groupsReligion (2021) • ReligionTime zoneUTC+0 (GMT) • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)Postcode areasDialling codesISO 3166 codeGB-CHWGSS codeE06000050ITL codeTLD63GVA2021 estimate^[5] • Total£11.7 billion • Per capita£32,846GDP (nominal)2021 estimate^[5] • Total£13.1 billion • Per capita£36,518Websitecheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

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government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.^[6] It superseded the boroughs of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Vale Royal and the City of Chester; its council assumed the functions and responsibilities of the former Cheshire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.

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

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

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

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]

Subdivisions in Cheshire West and Chester

Ward	Civil parishes[Note 3]	House of Commons constituency	Population (ward)	Area (ward, km2)	Density (ward, /km2)	Population (civil parish)	Area (civil parish, km2)	Density (civil parish, /km2)	Parish council website	Postcode(s)	Dialling code
Blacon (E05012209)	Unparished areas (E43000272)	City of Chester	13,719	4.532	3,027	129,607	81.13	1,598		CH1	01244
Central and Grange (E05012210)		Ellesmere Port and Neston	11,038	3.146	3,509					CH65, CH66	0151
Chester City and the Garden Quarter (E05012211)		City of Chester	18,164	4.307	4,217					CH1, CH2, CH3	01244
	Chester Castle (E04011062)					0	0.0433	0		CH1
Christleton and Huntington (E05012212)	Christleton (E04012578)		11,103	55.46	200.2	2,454	6.154	398.8	Christleton Parish Council	CH3
	Eaton and Eccleston (E04012584)					246	10.72	22.95	Eaton and Eccleston Parish Council	CH4
	Huntington (E04011117)					4,134	5.855	706	Huntington Parish Council	CH3
	Littleton (E04012550)					672	1.111	604.6	Littleton Parish Council
	Poulton and Pulford (E04012585)					607	10.46	58.06	Poulton and Pulford Parish Council	CH4
	Rowton (E04012557)					460	2.389	192.5	Rowton Parish Council	CH3
	Waverton (E04012580)	Eddisbury				1,497	5.973	250.6	Waverton Parish Council
Davenham, Moulton and Kingsmead (E05012213)	Bostock (E04011049)		10,752	16.37	656.9	201	4.526	44.41	Bostock Parish Council	CW10	01606
	Davenham (E04012536)					2,897	8.224	352.3	Davenham Parish Council	CW9
	Kingsmead (E04012165)	Weaver Vale				4,935	1.357	3,638	Kingsmead Parish Council
	Moulton (E04011144)	Eddisbury				2,719	2.262	1,202	Moulton Parish Council
Farndon (E05012214)	Aldersey (E04011034)		4,576	72.98	62.7	118	9.001	13.11	Coddington and District Parish Council	CH3	01829
	Aldford and Saighton (E04012566)	City of Chester/Eddisbury				469	19.05	24.62	Aldford and Saighton Parish Council		01244
	Barton (E04011046)	Eddisbury				211	5.92	35.64	Coddington and District Parish Council	SY14	01829
	Carden (E04012532)					No data	3.667	No data		CH3
	Churton (E04012579)					351	8.609	40.77	Churton Parish Council
	Clutton (E04012533)					357	5.91	60.39	Coddington and District Parish Council
	Coddington (E04011075)					No data	5.763	No data
	Farndon (E04012581)					2,096	4.324	484.7	Farndon Parish Council
	Shocklach Oviatt and District (E04012576)					298	15.33	19.44	Shocklach Oviatt and District Parish Council	SY14
	Stretton (E04011171)					No data	3.788	No data	Coddington and District Parish Council
	Tilston (E04012587)					662	4.835	136.9	Tilston Parish Council
Frodsham (E05012215)	Frodsham (E04012539)	Weaver Vale	9,231	21.26	434.3	9,231	21.26	434.3	Frodsham Town Council	WA6	01928
Gowy Rural (E05012216)	Barrow (E04011045)	Eddisbury	9,213	49.06	187.8	943	12.33	76.49	Barrow Parish Council	CH3	01829
	Croughton					No data	1.140	No data		CH2	01244
	Elton	Ellesmere Port and Neston				3,513	4.614	761.3			01928
	Guilden Sutton	City of Chester				1,484	3.963	374.5		CH3	01244
	Ince
	Mickle Trafford and District
	Stoak
	Thornton-le-Moors
Grange	Ellesmere Port	Ellesmere Port and Neston
Great Boughton	Great Boughton	City of Chester
Handbridge Park	Chester
Hartford and Greenbank	Hartford	Weaver Vale
	Northwich
Helsby	Helsby
Hoole	Chester	City of Chester
Kingsley	Aston	Weaver Vale
	Crowton
	Kingsley
	Norley
	Sutton
Lache	Chester	City of Chester
Ledsham and Manor	Ellesmere Port	Ellesmere Port and Neston
Little Neston and Burton	Neston
	Puddington	City of Chester
Malpas	Agden	Eddisbury
	Chidlow
	Chorlton
	Cuddington
	Malpas
	No Man's Heath and District
	Threapwood
	Tushingham-cum-Grindley, Macefen and Bradley
	Wigland
Marbury	Anderton with Marbury	Tatton
	Antrobus
	Barnton
	Comberbach
	Great Budworth
	Little Leigh
	Marston
	Whitley
	Wincham
Neston	Neston	Ellesmere Port and Neston
Netherpool	Ellesmere Port
Newton	Chester	City of Chester
Parkgate	Neston	Ellesmere Port and Neston
Rossmore	Ellesmere Port
Saughall and Mollington	Backford	City of Chester
	Capenhurst
	Lea-by-Backford
	Ledsham
	Mollington
	Saughall and Shotwick Park
Shakerley	Allostock	Tatton
	Byley
	Lach Dennis
	Lostock Gralam
	Sproston
St Paul's	Ellesmere Port	Ellesmere Port and Neston
Strawberry	Ellesmere Port
Sutton	Ellesmere Port
Tarporley	Little Budworth	Eddisbury
	Rushton
	Tarporley
	Utkinton
Tarvin and Kelsall	Clotton Hoofield
	Delamere and Oakmere
	Duddon and Burton
	Kelsall
	Tarvin
	Willington
Tattenhall	Beeston
	Broxton
	Burwardsley
	Chowley
	Duckington
	Golborne David
	Handley
	Hargrave and Huxley
	Harthill
	Tattenhall and District
	Tiverton and Tilstone Fearnall
Upton	Bache	City of Chester
	Moston
	Upton-by-Chester
Weaver and Cuddington	Acton Bridge	Weaver Vale
	Cuddington	Eddisbury
	Dutton	Weaver Vale
	Weaverham
Whitby	Ellesmere Port	Ellesmere Port and Neston
Willaston and Thornton	Ellesmere Port
Winnington and Castle	Northwich	Weaver Vale
Winsford Over and Verdin	Whitegate and Marton
	Winsford	Eddisbury
Winsford Swanlow and Dene	Darnhall
	Winsford
Winsford Wharton	Stanthorne and Wimboldsley
	Winsford
Witton and Rudheath	Northwich	Weaver Vale
	Rudheath	Tatton
Footnotes: Geographic codes,[17] area and population statistics[18]

Notes

• 
  Blacon
• 
  Boughton
• 
  Chester City
• 
  Chester Villages
• 
  Davenham and Moulton
• 
  Dodleston and Huntington
• 
  Willaston and Thornton
• 
  Winnington and Castle
• 
  Witton and Rudheath

Members of Parliament

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

Last election	By-elections	Next election
2019		2024 (or earlier)

Demography

Ethnicity

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

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

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

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

Air

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

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:

• Birkenhead Railway: Contains sections of NCR56 and the Wirral Circular Trail and is now called Wirral Way.
• Chester & Connah's Quay Railway: Contains a section of NCR5 and is now called Chester Millennium Greenway.
• Winsford and Over Branch Line: Contains a section of regional route 71 and is now called Whitegate Way.

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

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

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:

• Borderlands Line (Wales & Borders): Connects Bidston in Wirral with Wrexham in Wales and includes a stop at Neston. Services are provided by Transport for Wales.
• Chester-Manchester Line (Wales & Borders): Includes stops at Helsby and Frodsham and is operated by Transport for Wales.
• Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line (Northern): Includes stops at Stanlow & Thornton and Ince & Elton before meeting the Chester-Manchester Line near Helsby and is operated by Northern according to a Department for Transport-set minimum service pattern.
• Halton Curve (Wales and Borders): Connects Chester - Liverpool includes stops at Chester, Helsby, Frodsham, Runcorn, Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Line Street and is operated by Transport for Wales.
• Mid-Cheshire Line (Northern): Leaves the Chester-Manchester Line near Mickle Trafford and includes stops at Mouldsworth, Delamere, Cuddington, Greenbank, Northwich and Lostock Gralam, with services provided by Northern. A single-track railway exists between Northwich and Sandbach, but it is only used for freight.
• North Wales Coast Line (InterCity West Coast and Wales & Borders): Originates at Crewe and passes through Chester, with services provided by Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast.
• Shrewsbury to Chester Line (InterCity West Coast and Wales & Borders): The section between Wrexham and Chester is currently in the process of being reinstated as a two-track railway under the direction of the Welsh Government. Services are provided by Transport for Wales and Avanti West Coast.
• West Coast Main Line (InterCity West Coast): Aside from stops at Winsford, Hartford and Acton Bridge, the branch line to Liverpool Lime Street diverges at Weaver Junction - the oldest of its type in Great Britain. It is currently operated by Avanti West Coast, however High Speed 2 services to Liverpool using "classic compatible" trains are proposed to run along this section of the line.
• Wirral Line (Merseyrail): Chester is one of the terminus stations of the line which loops clockwise around Liverpool city centre in a tunnel. The line includes stops at Bache, Capenhurst and Hooton, with a branch line from the latter running to another terminus at Ellesmere Port, with stops at Little Sutton and Overpool. The line is operated by Merseyrail with this line and the WCML being the only two electrified railways in the borough.

Current and proposed improvements

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

Motorways and numbered roads in Cheshire West and Chester

Motorways	A roads	B roads
	(Route) (Route) (Route) (Route) (Route) (Route) (Route) (Route) (Route) (Route) (Route) (Route)	B5069 B5074 B5075 B5081 B5082 B5130 B5132 B5133 B5134 B5135 B5136 B5142 B5144 B5151 B5152 B5153 B5309 B5355 B5391 B5393 B5394 B5395 B5445 B5463

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

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

Tourist attractions

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

Football

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

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

• Cheshire County Council
• Cheshire East Council
• Chester City Council

References