Ellesmere Port and Neston

53.276°N 2.969°W / 53.276; -2.969

Borough of
Ellesmere Port and Neston
Ellesmere Port and Neston
Shown within Cheshire
History
 • OriginEllesmere Port Municipal Borough
Neston Urban District
 • Created1 April 1974
 • Abolished31 March 2009
 • Succeeded byCheshire West and Chester
StatusNon-metropolitan district
ONS code13UE
 • HQEllesmere Port
For the parliamentary constituency, see Ellesmere Port and Neston (UK Parliament constituency).

Ellesmere Port and Neston was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It covered the southern part of the Wirral Peninsula, namely that part which is not included in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral.

The district had a population of about 81,800 (2006 estimate).[1] The main towns were Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the village of Parkgate. It also included a number of villages such as Great Sutton and Willaston.

History

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 by the merger of the borough of Ellesmere Port and the urban district of Neston.[2] The district was originally called just Ellesmere Port, with the council changing the name in 1976.[3][4][5] The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor.[6]

In 2006 the Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising Cheshire's administrative structure as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. The decision to merge Ellesmere Port and Neston with the districts of Chester and Vale Royal to create a single 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.[7]

Ellesmere Port and Neston was abolished on 31 March 2009, with the area becoming part of the new unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester from 1 April 2009.[8]

Civil parishes

The entire borough was initially unparished. A civil parish of Ince was created in 1987,[9] and a Neston parish was created in 2008.[10]

Political control

The town of Ellesmere Port had been a municipal borough from 1955 to 1974 with a borough council.[11] The first elections to the new Ellesmere Port Borough Council created under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control the council from 1974 until its abolition in 2009 was always held by the Labour Party:[12]

Party in controlYears
Labour1974–2009

Leadership

The first leader of the council, Fred Venables, had been the leader of the old Ellesmere Port Borough Council since 1970.[13] The leaders of Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council were:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Fred Venables[13] Labour1 Apr 1974Oct 2005
Reg Chrimes[14][15] Labour25 Oct 20056 May 2007
Justin Madders LabourMay 200731 Mar 2009

Composition

The political composition of the council at its abolition in 2009 was:

Party Councillors
Labour 23
Conservative 17
Liberal Democrat 2

Premises
Council Offices (centre and left) with 1955 Civic Hall to right

The council was based at the Council Offices at 4 Civic Way, Ellesmere Port, which had been built for the old borough council in 1969.[16] Council meetings were held at nearby Whitby Hall until 1992 when an extension containing a council chamber was opened at the Municipal Buildings.[17] Following the abolition of the council the Council Offices were used by its successor, Cheshire West and Chester Council, until 2022 when they were replaced by a new building called "The Portal" on Wellington Road.[18]

Council elections

By-election results
Longview By-Election 22 June 2000
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative 1,315 58.0 +2.0
Labour 543 24.0 +3.4
Liberal Democrats 401 17.8 +17.8
Majority 772 34.0
Turnout 2,259
Conservative hold Swing
Central By-Election 17 July 2003
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Elizabeth Sherlock 319 44.3 -33.3
Liberal Democrats Maurice Brookes 262 36.4 +36.4
BNP David Jones 77 10.7 +10.7
Conservative Janice Farquharson 49 6.8 -15.6
UKIP Geoffrey Gregory 13 1.8 +1.8
Majority 57 7.9
Turnout 720 26.1
Labour hold Swing
Stanlow & Wolverham By-Election 11 November 2004
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Wilson 450 60.8 -14.5
Liberal Democrats Hilary Chrusciezl 117 15.8 +15.8
Conservative Nicholas Hebson 92 12.4 -12.3
BNP David Joines 81 10.9 +10.9
Majority 333 45.0
Turnout 740 26.1
Labour hold Swing
Little Neston By-Election 5 October 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Michael Clarkson 420 47.4 -2.1
Conservative William Mealor 386 43.5 +5.4
Liberal Democrats Graham Handley 81 9.1 +9.1
Majority 34 3.9
Turnout 887 32.5
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
Rossmore By-Election 18 October 2007
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Susan Pugh 504 54.4 -4.0
Conservative Michael English 325 35.1 -6.5
English Democrat Maurice Brookes 60 6.5 +6.5
Liberal Democrats Graham Handley 38 4.1 +4.1
Majority 179 19.3
Turnout 927 20.0
Labour hold Swing
Westminster By-Election 28 February 2008
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mike McCusker 227 57.5 -11.0
Conservative Thomas Hughes 123 31.1 -0.4
Liberal Democrats Hilary Chrusciezi 45 11.4 +11.4
Majority 104 26.4
Turnout 395 15
Labour hold Swing

References
  1. Ellesmere Port & Neston population estimate (mid 2006), Office for National Statistics, retrieved 24 May 2008
  2. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 6 September 2022
  3. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 6 September 2022
  4. "Name change move". Liverpool Echo. 18 March 1976. p. 7. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  5. "Database of Local Government Orders". Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  6. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  7. "County split into two authorities", BBC News, 25 July 2007, retrieved 27 July 2007
  8. Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008, Office of Public Sector Information, archived from the original on 17 May 2009, retrieved 4 April 2009
  9. "The Ellesmere Port and Neston (Parishes) Order 1987 (S.I. 1987/195)" (PDF). Database of Local Government Orders. Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  10. "The Ellesmere Port and Neston (Parish) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/3578)" (PDF). Database of Local Government Orders. Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  11. "Ellesmere Port Urban District / Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  12. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  13. "End of an era as Fred steps down". Cheshire Live. 5 October 2005. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  14. Porter, Gary (14 September 2021). "Tributes to former Ellesmere Port and Neston councillor Reg Chrimes". Chester Standard. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  15. "Leader to retire with name in record book". North Wales Live. 25 April 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  16. "Borough of Ellesmere Port". Cheshire Observer. Chester. 12 December 1969. p. 11. Retrieved 6 September 2022. ...at the new Municipal Offices, 4 Civic Way, Ellesmere Port...
  17. "So that's what it looks like inside..." Ellesmere Port Pioneer. 29 January 1992. p. 18. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  18. Porter, Gary (5 April 2022). "New Cheshire West and Chester Council HQ in Ellesmere Port to open in May". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  19. legislation.gov.uk - The Borough of Ellesmere Port (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976. Retrieved on 19 November 2015.
  20. legislation.gov.uk - The Cheshire and Merseyside (County Boundaries) Order 1992. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  21. legislation.gov.uk - The Borough of Ellesmere Port and Neston (Electoral Changes) Order 1998. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
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