Metropolitan Borough of St Helens

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.

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 2014 election the council is composed of the following councillors:-^[2]

Party		Councillors
	Labour Party	42
	Liberal Democrats	3
	Conservative 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, within Merseyside, in the south-west, the Lancashire district of West 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.

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 2001 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	11,144	4,506
Parr	12,082	3,541
Rainford	8344	3,484
Rainhill	11,913	4,762
Sutton	12,622	5,075
Thatto Heath	9,393	3,852
Town Centre	10,795	4,958
West Park	11,558	4,947
Windle	8,621	3,607
Total	176,843	72,697

Education

Main article: Education services in St Helens, Merseyside

Coat of arms

Coat of Arms of St Helens Council

Details
Armiger	College of Heralds
Adopted	1974
Crest	A rams head with fleur-de-lys mounted on a helmet, representing Lord Newton
Escutcheon	Quarterly: 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.
Supporters	A golden lion and a black griffin
Motto	Latin: Ex Terr Lucem English: From the Earth Light, (formerly Prosperitas In Excelsis English: "Flourishing Well") ^[3]
Use	On all council documents

References

↑ "Find your councillor". St Helens Council. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
↑ Hughes, Lorna (24 May 2014). "Labour increases majority as UKIP fails to make major inroads - St Helens". Liverpool Echo (NewsBank). |access-date= requires |url= (help)
↑ http://sthelens.gov.uk/newsroom/2013/04/18/town-reverts-back-to-old-motto/. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

Areas and suburbs of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens

Billinge Collins Green Crank Earlestown Eccleston Garswood Laffak Haydock Newton-le-Willows Blackbrook Rainford Rainhill Seneley Green St Helens

Ceremonial county of Merseyside

North West England Portal

Metropolitan districts	City of Liverpool Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley Metropolitan Borough of Sefton Metropolitan Borough of St Helens Metropolitan Borough of Wirral

Major settlements	Ashton-in-Makerfield (part) Bebington Birkenhead Bootle Crosby Formby Halewood Heswall Hoylake Huyton Kirkby Liverpool Maghull Moreton New Ferry Newton-le-Willows Prescot Southport St Helens Wallasey West Kirby See also: List of civil parishes in Merseyside

Rivers	Alt Mersey Dee

Topics	People Parliamentary constituencies Places Schools SSSIs Country houses Grade I listed buildings Grade II* listed buildings History Museums Lord Lieutenants High Sheriffs Football clubs

Districts of North West England

Cheshire	Cheshire East Cheshire West and Chester Halton Warrington

Cumbria	Allerdale Barrow-in-Furness Carlisle Copeland Eden South Lakeland

Greater Manchester	Bolton Bury Manchester Oldham Rochdale Salford Stockport Tameside Trafford Wigan

Lancashire	Blackburn with Darwen Blackpool Burnley Chorley Fylde Hyndburn Lancaster Pendle Preston Ribble Valley Rossendale South Ribble West Lancashire Wyre

Merseyside	Knowsley Liverpool St Helens Sefton Wirral

Metropolitan districts of England

Districts	Barnsley Birmingham Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton

Councils	Barnsley Birmingham Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton

Local elections	Barnsley Birmingham Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton

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