Metropolitan Borough of St Helens

Borough of St Helens
Metropolitan borough
St Helens Town Hall, the seat of the Borough Council
Motto: Ex Terra Lucem ( formerly 'Prosperitas in Excelsis')
St Helens shown within Merseyside and England St Helens shown within Merseyside and England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	North West England
City region	Liverpool
Ceremonial county	Merseyside
Historic county	Lancashire
Admin HQ	St Helens (Town Hall)
Founded	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Metropolitan borough
• Governing body	St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
• Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
• Executive:	Labour
• Leader of the Council	Cllr David Baines (Lab)
• MPs:	Conor McGinn (Lab), Marie Rimmer CBE (Lab)
Population (mid-2014 est.)
• Total	177,188 (Ranked 102nd)
• Ethnicity	98.8% White
Demonym(s)	Saint Helenian
Time zone	Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
Postcodes	WA, WN & L
Area code(s)	01744 / 01942 / 01925 / 0151
Website	http://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

Main article: St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council elections

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:

Party		Councillors
	Labour Party	29
	Liberal Democrats	4
	Conservative Party	2
	Independents	7
	Green Party	6

Parliamentary constituencies

See also: List of Parliamentary constituencies on Merseyside

• St Helens North
• St Helens South and Whiston

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, takes strategic decisions over economic development, transport, employment and skills, tourism, culture, housing and physical infrastructure.

Geography

File:Billinge Hill.jpg

'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		2021
	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%

Education

Main article: Education services in St Helens, Merseyside

See also: List of schools in St Helens

Coat of arms

Arms of Metropolitan Borough of St Helens

200px

Crest Issuing from an ancient crown Or a ram's head Argent armed Or charged on the neck with two fleur de lys Gules and holding in the mouth a slip of laurel Proper; mantled Azure doubled Argent. Escutcheon Argent two bars Azure overall a cross Sable in the first quarter a saltire couped Gules in the second quarter a griffin segreant Sable beaked and armed Or in the third quarter a cross flory Gules voided and in the fourth quarter a cross crosslet fitchy also Gules. Supporters On the dexter a lion guardant Or charged with seven fleur de lys Gules and on the sinister a griffin Sable armed Or the wings barry of seven Sable and Or. Motto 'Prosperitas In Excelsis'

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.

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:

• First Quarter: a saltire couped Gules - representing Ashton and Seneley Green,
• Second Quarter: a griffin Sable - representing Rainhill,
• Third Quarter: a cross flory - representing Windle,
• Fourth Quarter: a cross crosslet fitchy - representing Billinge.

Beneath the escutcheon is a scroll bearing the motto ' Prosperitas in Excelsis ' meaning 'Flourishing Well'.

Twin Town

St Helens is twinned with:

• Stuttgart, Germany

Freedom of the Borough

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

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Individuals

• Lord Pilkington of St Helens: 1968.
• John Evans, Baron Evans of Parkside: 1997.
• David Watts, Baron Watts: 13 May 2022.
• James Roby: 12 March 2023.

Military Units

• The Royal Military Police Association (Merseyside Branch): 29 February 2012.

Organisations and Groups

• The St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust: 13 May 2022.

External links

• St. Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
• Earlestown Historical Website
• Newton-le-Willows Historical Website