Metropolitan Borough of St Helens

Coordinates: 53°27′14″N 2°44′46″W / 53.454°N 2.746°W / 53.454; -2.746

Borough of St Helens
St Helens Town Hall, the seat of the Borough Council
St Helens Town Hall, the seat of the Borough Council
Official logo of Borough of St Helens
Motto: 
Ex Terra Lucem ( formerly 'Prosperitas in Excelsis')
St Helens shown within Merseyside and England
St Helens shown within Merseyside and England
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionNorth West England
Ceremonial countyMerseyside
Historic countyLancashire
Admin HQSt Helens (Town Hall)
Founded1 April 1974
Government
 • TypeMetropolitan borough
 • Governing bodySt Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
 • Leadership:Leader & Cabinet
 • Executive:Labour
 • Leader of the CouncilCllr David Baines (Lab)
 • MPs:Conor McGinn (Lab),
Marie Rimmer CBE (Lab)
Population
(mid-2019 est.)
 • Total180,585 (Ranked 104th)
 • Ethnicity98.8% White
DemonymSaint Helenian
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
Postcodes
WA, WN & L
Area code01744 / 01942 / 01925 / 0151
Websitehttp://www.sthelens.gov.uk/

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, Rainford and Newton-le-Willows.

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 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.

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:-

Party Councillors
Labour Party 34
Liberal Democrats 4
Conservative Party 3
Independents 4
Green Party 3

Parliamentary constituencies

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

'Billinge Lump' is the highest point in St Helens and Merseyside

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.

Demography

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

Ethnicity

Ethnic Group 2001 2011
Number % Number %
White: British 172,853 97.74% 169,346 96.59%
White: Irish 1,054 0.60% 887 0.50%
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller 69 0.04%
White: Other 880 0.50% 1,575 0.90%
White: Total 174,787 98.84% 171,887 98.05%
Asian or Asian British: Indian 409 0.23% 504 0.29%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani 109 0.06% 133 0.08%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi 79 0.04% 122 0.07%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese 398 0.23% 512 0.29%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian 85 0.05% 493 0.28%
Asian or Asian British: Total 1,080 0.61% 1,764 1.01%
Black or Black British: African 73 0.04% 152 0.09%
Black or Black British: Caribbean 59 0.03% 60 0.03%
Black or Black British: Other Black 37 0.02% 36 0.02%
Black or Black British: Total 169 0.10% 248 0.14%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean 228 0.13% 445 0.25%
Mixed: White and Black African 77 0.04% 167 0.10%
Mixed: White and Asian 200 0.11% 271 0.15%
Mixed: Other Mixed 169 0.10% 296 0.17%
Mixed: Total 674 0.38% 1,179 0.67%
Other: Arab 117 0.07%
Other: Any other ethnic group 123 0.07%
Other: Total 133 0.08% 240 0.14%
Black, Asian, and minority ethnic: Total 2,056 1.16% 3,431 1.96%
Total 176,843 100.00% 175,308 100.00%


Education

Coat of arms

Coat of Arms of St Helens Council
Coat of arms of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council.png
ArmigerCollege of Heralds
Adopted1974
CrestA rams head with fleur-de-lys mounted on a helmet, representing Lord Newton
BlazonQuarterly: 1 red saltire representing Ashton and Seneley Green, 2 Black griffin representing Rainhill, 3 Pilkingtons Cross representing Windle], 4 Red crosslet representing Billinge summounted by the Black Cross of Haydock & Eccleston and the Blue Bars of Parr.
SupportersA golden lion and a black griffin
MottoLatin: Ex Terr Lucem English: From the Earth Light, (formerly Prosperitas in Excelsis English: "Flourishing Well")
UseOn all council documents

Twin Town

St Helens is twinned with:

Freedom of the Borough

The following people, military units and Organisations and Groups have received the Freedom of the Borough of St Helens.

Individuals

Military Units

Organisations and Groups


This page was last updated at 2022-10-20 11:43 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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