Cheshire West and Chester

Cheshire West and Chester
Unitary authority area and borough
Chester, the county town of Cheshire and the largest settlement in Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester shown within Cheshire
Coordinates: 53°12′47″N 2°54′07″W / 53.213°N 2.902°W / 53.213; -2.902
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	North West
Ceremonial county	Cheshire
Incorporated	1 April 2009
Administrative HQ	The Portal, Ellesmere Port
Government [1]
• Type	Unitary authority
• Body	Cheshire West and Chester Council
• Executive	Leader and cabinet
• Control	Labour
• Leader	Louise Gittins (Lab)
• Chairman	Robert Bisset (Lab)
• MPs	Six MPs Mike Amesbury (Lab) Aphra Brandreth (Con) Andrew Cooper (Lab) Samantha Dixon (Lab) Justin Madders (Lab) Esther McVey (Con)
Area [2]
• Total	363 sq mi (941 km2)
• Land	360 sq mi (920 km2)
• Rank	31st
Population  (2022)[3]
• Total	361,694
• Rank	24th
• Density	1,020/sq mi (393/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [4]
• Ethnic groups	List 95.3% White 2.0% Asian 1.5% Mixed 0.6% Black 0.6% other
Religion (2021) [4]
• Religion	List 54.5% Christianity 37.8% no religion 1.0% Islam 0.4% Hinduism 0.3% Buddhism 0.1% Judaism 0.1% Sikhism 0.3% other 5.5% not stated
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas	CH1–4 CH33–34 CH64–66 CW6–10 SY14 WA4–6
Dialling codes	01244 01270 01477 0151 01565 01606 01829 01925 01928 01948
ISO 3166 code	GB-CHW
GSS code	E06000050
Website	cheshirewestandchester.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government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.^[5] It superseded the boroughs of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Vale Royal and the City of Chester. The remainder of the ceremonial county of Cheshire is composed of Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington. Cheshire West and Chester has three key urban areas: Chester, Ellesmere Port and Northwich/Winsford.^{[according to whom?]}

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.^[6]

The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. Full council meetings are held at Wyvern House in Winsford and the council has its main offices at The Portal in Ellesmere Port.^[7][8]

The borough is divided into forty-six wards,^[9][10] listed below in alphabetical order.

There are ninety-seven parish councils in the borough,^[11][12] despite there being a total of 166 civil parishes before a community governance review was undertaken by the borough council in 2014^[13] under section 82 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.^[14]

Notes

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

• 
  Chester North and Neston
  Samantha Dixon
    Labour
• 
  Chester South and Eddisbury
  Aphra Brandreth
    Conservative
• 
  Ellesmere Port and Bromborough
  Justin Madders
    Labour
• 
  Mid Cheshire
  Andrew Cooper
    Labour
• 
  Runcorn and Helsby
  Mike Amesbury
    Labour
• 
  Tatton
  Esther McVey
    Conservative

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.

The main religion in Cheshire West and Chester is Christianity, with a percentage figure above the average for England (46.3%, 2021).^[17] 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^[18] and racially aggravated disorder^[19] respectively in 2014.

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.^[20]

There are no passenger airports in the borough; only a grass airfield exists in Little Budworth, with the nearest being Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Manchester Airport.

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; it is a shared-use route between cyclists and pedestrians for a distance of 12.5 miles (20.1 km).

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.^[21] The total length of new signposted routes created by the project was 38 miles (61 km), bringing the overall total in the borough to 312.5 miles (502.9 km). The total funding received from the cycling town project, which ended in 2011 when Cycling England was disbanded, was £4.4 million.^[22] A similar network of over 30 miles (48 km) of cycle routes branded the Ellesmere Port Grenway has been proposed by the town's development board.^[23]

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; they run on two lines which intersect at Chester Bus Interchange. A fifth site is proposed near Hoole Village.

Hooton station is designated as a park and ride facility for railway services on the Wirral Line; it contains a 418-space car park.^[24]

Chester railway station is the hub of the railway network in the borough, with around 4.7 million passengers annually.^[25] Passenger numbers doubled to this figure in the ten years to 2015, making the station the eighth-busiest in North West England.^[26]

Railway lines, and their associated train operating companies in the borough, include:

• Borderlands line: Services between Bidston and Wrexham Central are provided by Transport for Wales Rail and call at Neston.
• Chester–Warrington line: Includes stops at Frodsham and Helsby, with services provided by Northern Trains and Transport for Wales Rail.
• Ellesmere Port to Warrington Line (Northern): includes stops at Stanlow & Thornton and Ince & Elton before meeting the Chester-Manchester Line near Helsby; it is operated by Northern Trains according to a Department for Transport-set minimum service pattern.
• Mid-Cheshire line: Leaves the Chester–Warrington line near Mickle Trafford and includes stops at Cuddington, Delamere, Greenbank, Lostock Gralam, Mouldsworth and Northwich, with services between Chester and Manchester Piccadilly provided by Northern Trains. A single-track railway exists between Northwich and Sandbach, but it is only used for freight.
• North Wales Main Line: Services between Crewe and Holyhead are provided by Avanti West Coast and Transport for Wales Rail, and call at Chester.
• 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.

Chester

Neston

Helsby

Frodsham

Stanlow and Thornton

Ince and Elton

Mouldsworth

Delamere

Cuddington

Greenbank

Northwich

Lostock Gralam

Winsford

Hartford

Acton Bridge

Bache

Capenhurst

Hooton

Little Sutton

Overpool

Ellesmere Port

class=notpageimage|

Location of railway stations in Cheshire West and Chester.
Turquoise: Transport for Wales stations
Green: West Midlands Trains stations
Yellow: Merseyrail stations
Blue: Northern stations

The sections of railway between Chester–Stockport and Chester–Warrington Bank Quay are proposed for electrification during the period 2019–2024.^[27]

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 originate 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.^[28]

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 160 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.^[29][30]

Navigable waterways in the borough include the Manchester Ship Canal, Shropshire Union Canal, Trent and Mersey Canal and the Weaver Navigation. The latter two are connected together by the Anderton Boat Lift, near Northwich; this is the only caisson lift lock in the United Kingdom.

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

The area is served by BBC North West and ITV Granada with television signals received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter.^[31]

Radio stations for the area are:^[32]

• BBC Radio Merseyside
• Heart North West
• Smooth North West
• Capital North West & Wales
• Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West
• Hits Radio Liverpool
• Dee Radio, a community based station that broadcast from Chester.

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.

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Whilst the borough per se does not have any twinning agreements, several of its settlements have agreements predating its creation in 2009, listed below:

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