Coordinates: 53°27′14″N 2°44′46″W / 53.454°N 2.746°W
| Metropolitan Borough of St Helens | |||
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| — Borough — | |||
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| Sovereign state | United Kingdom | ||
| Constituent country | England | ||
| Region | North West England | ||
| Ceremonial county | Merseyside | ||
| Admin HQ | St Helens (Town Hall) | ||
| Founded | 1 April 1974 | ||
| Borough status | |||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Metropolitan borough | ||
| Population (2008 est.) | |||
| - Total | 177,500 (Ranked 95th) | ||
| - Ethnicity |
98.8% White | ||
| Time zone | Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0) | ||
| Postcodes | WA & WN | ||
| Area code(s) | 01744 | ||
| Website | www.sthelens.gov.uk | ||
The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It is named after its largest town, St Helens, though covers a much wider area which includes the settlements of Newton-le-Willows, Earlestown, Haydock, Rainhill, Eccleston, Clock Face, Billinge and Rainford.
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Creation
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 the borough council shared functions with Merseyside County Council. The functions of this body were in part devolved to the boroughs and in part transferred to ad hoc agencies.
Neighbouring districts
The borough borders the borough of Knowsley, within Merseyside, in the south-west, the West Lancashire district of Lancashire in the north, the Greater Manchester borough of Wigan in the north-east, and to the south the boroughs of Warrington and Halton in Cheshire.
Representation
On 17 May 2006, following local elections held on 4 May, the political control of the Council changed from the Labour Party to a coalition formed by the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party. Labour had been in power since 1 April 1974 following the first elections to the shadow council in 1973.
As of 2008 St Helens is a hung council with no party having overall control, governance of the council has yet to be decided. Labour are the largest party represented followed by the Liberal Democrats then the Conservatives.
| Year | Labour | Liberal Democrats | Conservatives |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 23 | 19 | 6 |
Parliamentary constituencies
External links
- St Helens Now - Local community site
- St. Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
- Earlestown Historical Website
- Newton-le-Willows Historical Website
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