Cheshire East
Encyclopedia
Cheshire East is a unitary authority
area with borough status
in the ceremonial county of Cheshire
, England
.
The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England
, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
. It was an amalgamation of the boroughs of Macclesfield
, Congleton
and Crewe and Nantwich
, together with a disaggregated share of the former Cheshire County Council
. The residual part of the disaggregated former County Council, together with the other three former Cheshire borough councils (Chester City, Ellesmere Port & Neston and Vale Royal) were, similarly, amalgamated to create the new unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester
. The decision to create the two unitary authorities was announced on 25 July 2007 following a consultation period, in which a proposal to create a single Cheshire unitary authority was rejected.
The electoral wards for the new unitary authority currently use the same boundaries as the outgoing Cheshire County Council's electoral divisions, with each ward electing 3 councillor
s and representing between 8,800 and 12,000 people. At the last Cheshire County Council election in 2005 there were 15 Conservative
controlled wards, 6 Labour
controlled wards, 5 Liberal Democrat
controlled wards and 1 ward controlled by an independent
within the unitary authority boundaries.
The first elections for the new council
took place on 1 May 2008, with the Conservative Party
taking overall control. The Conservatives took 59 of the 81 seats with the others being held by the Liberal Democrats (12), Labour (6), 3 members of Middlewich First
and one Independent. The leader of the new authority is Wesley Fitzgerald who was elected at Cheshire East's inaugural meeting on Tuesday 13 May 2008. Wesley Fitzgerald is a Councillor for the Wilmslow South ward. The next elections for Cheshire East will be in 2011 when it is anticipated that the current three Councillors per ward system will be replaced by mixed sized wards, each represented by between one and three Councillors.
The administrative centre for the new council is at Westfields in Sandbach
, the former Headquarters of Congleton Borough Council. The site could be expanded if needed as there is space around the newly built centre.
Eckernförde
, Germany.
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
area with borough status
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
in the ceremonial county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England
2009 structural changes to local government in England
Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a 'two-tier' system of counties and districts...
, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The Act allows for the implementation of many provisions outlined in the Government white paper Strong and Prosperous Communities including changes to local government in England...
. It was an amalgamation of the boroughs of Macclesfield
Macclesfield (borough)
Macclesfield was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It included the towns of Bollington, Knutsford, Macclesfield and Wilmslow and within its wider area the villages and hamlets of Adlington, Disley, Gawsworth, Kerridge, Pott Shrigley, Poynton,...
, Congleton
Congleton (borough)
Congleton was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It included the towns of Congleton, Alsager, Holmes Chapel, Middlewich and Sandbach...
and Crewe and Nantwich
Crewe and Nantwich
Crewe and Nantwich was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district with borough status in Cheshire, England. It had a population of 111,007...
, together with a disaggregated share of the former Cheshire County Council
Cheshire County Council
Cheshire County Council was a County Council, of the second highest level of United Kingdom Government for the residents of Cheshire. Founded in 1889, it ceased to exist on 1 April 2009, when it and the district councils in Cheshire were replaced by two unitary authorities; Cheshire West and...
. The residual part of the disaggregated former County Council, together with the other three former Cheshire borough councils (Chester City, Ellesmere Port & Neston and Vale Royal) were, similarly, amalgamated to create the new unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health...
. The decision to create the two unitary authorities was announced on 25 July 2007 following a consultation period, in which a proposal to create a single Cheshire unitary authority was rejected.
Politics and administration
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s and representing between 8,800 and 12,000 people. At the last Cheshire County Council election in 2005 there were 15 Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
controlled wards, 6 Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
controlled wards, 5 Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
controlled wards and 1 ward controlled by an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
within the unitary authority boundaries.
The first elections for the new council
Cheshire East Council election, 2008
Elections to the newly created Cheshire East Council took place on 1 May 2008. Elections occurred in all 27 wards, with each ward returning three councillors to the council...
took place on 1 May 2008, with the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
taking overall control. The Conservatives took 59 of the 81 seats with the others being held by the Liberal Democrats (12), Labour (6), 3 members of Middlewich First
Middlewich First
Middlewich First is a minor British political party based in the town of Middlewich, Cheshire. It holds three seats on the unitary Cheshire East Council....
and one Independent. The leader of the new authority is Wesley Fitzgerald who was elected at Cheshire East's inaugural meeting on Tuesday 13 May 2008. Wesley Fitzgerald is a Councillor for the Wilmslow South ward. The next elections for Cheshire East will be in 2011 when it is anticipated that the current three Councillors per ward system will be replaced by mixed sized wards, each represented by between one and three Councillors.
The administrative centre for the new council is at Westfields in Sandbach
Sandbach
Sandbach is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements; Sandbach itself, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock....
, the former Headquarters of Congleton Borough Council. The site could be expanded if needed as there is space around the newly built centre.
Local sites of interest
The area is home to a large number of sites of public interest:- Tatton ParkTatton ParkTatton Park is a historic estate in Cheshire, England, to the north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a manor house dating from medieval times, Tatton Old Hall, gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attraction and hosts over 100 events annually...
is the venue for a variety of events: classical concerts; fireworks displays; classic car shows; open air theatre and the Country Show (massed pipes and drums, sheepdog trials, competitions, crafts fair, and dancing).
- Gawsworth HallGawsworth HallGawsworth Old Hall is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Gawsworth, Cheshire, England. It is a timber-framed house in the Cheshire black-and-white style. The present house was built between 1480 and 1600, replacing an earlier Norman house...
is a half-timbered hall, and possibly once home to Shakespeare's 'Dark Lady'. Concerts are held in the grounds, and each summer there is an open air theatre season, featuring Shakespearean classics and light opera, comedy, jazz, and drama.
- Cuckooland MuseumCuckooland MuseumThe Cuckooland Museum, previously known as the Cuckoo Clock Museum, is a museum that exhibits mainly cuckoo clocks, located in Tabley, co. Cheshire, England...
is a reputed museum which exhibits the world's largest and finest collection of antique cuckoo clocks.
- Arley HallArley HallArley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about south of Lymm and north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adjacent chapel. Formal gardens to the southwest of the hall...
is a Victorian-Jacobean hall.
- Quarry Bank MillQuarry Bank MillQuarry Bank Mill in Cheshire, England, is one of the best preserved textile mills of the Industrial Revolution and is now a museum of the cotton industry. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.-Water mill:...
is set in the village of StyalStyalStyal is a village in Cheshire East, England. It is on the River Bollin, near to the town of Wilmslow.Styal is a commuter village, with access to Manchester. The village is dominated by Quarry Bank Mill and much of its housing is the mill's estate. The mill and the surrounding country park are...
and is a working water-mill and living museum.
- Capesthorne HallCapesthorne HallCapesthorne Hall is a country house in Cheshire, England. The house and its surrounding wall have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building....
is a Jacobean-style stately home which plays host to a variety of events.
- Alderley Edge is a great sandstone escarpment that overlooks the Cheshire plain. The Edge itself has been mined for copper since at least the time of the Roman invasion, and is the centre of the legend of the Wizard of Alderley, made famous by local author Alan GarnerAlan GarnerWith his first book published, Garner abandoned his work as a labourer and gained a job as a freelance television reporter, living a "hand to mouth" lifestyle on a "shoestring" budget...
's books The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath. Nowadays it is said that the Wizard was MerlinMerlinMerlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
, but this is an addition that only appeared over the past thirty years. Tours of the mines are available, but should not be attempted without an experienced guide - the Edge is riddled with mineshafts.
- St James' and St Paul's Church, MartonSt James' and St Paul's Church, MartonThe Church of St James and St Paul, Marton is situated to the south of the village of Marton, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the...
is a 14th century house of worship which lies on an artificial mound or earthwork.
- KnutsfordKnutsfordKnutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...
is best known as the site where King Canute forded the Lily Stream, and as the home of Victorian author Elizabeth GaskellElizabeth GaskellElizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson , often referred to simply as Mrs Gaskell, was a British novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era...
, and the town puts on a May Day parade and festival every year.
- Lyme ParkLyme ParkLyme Park is a large estate located south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens, in a deer park in the Peak District National Park...
is an estate and park located near DisleyDisleyDisley is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located on the very edge of the Peak District, in the Goyt Valley, very close to the county boundary with Derbyshire at New Mills, and south of Stockport, Greater...
. Lyme Hall is the principal feature of the park.
- Little Moreton HallLittle Moreton HallLittle Moreton Hall is a moated 15th and 16th-century half-timbered manor house southwest of Congleton, Cheshire. It is one of the finest examples of timber-framed domestic architecture in England. The house is today owned by the National Trust. It has been designated by English Heritage as a...
is one of the country's best-preserved half-timbered and moated manor houses.
- Sandbach CrossesSandbach CrossesThe Sandbach Crosses are two 9th-century Anglo-Saxon stone crosses now erected in the market place in the town of Sandbach, Cheshire, England. They are unusually large and elaborate examples of the type and have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and are a...
are two Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxon artAnglo-Saxon art covers art produced within the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, beginning with the Migration period style that the Anglo-Saxons brought with them from the continent in the 5th century, and ending in 1066 with the Norman Conquest of a large Anglo-Saxon nation-state whose...
stone crosses now erected in the market place in the town of SandbachSandbachSandbach is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements; Sandbach itself, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock....
, CheshireCheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England . They are recognised as a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.
- Old Hall HotelOld Hall Hotel, SandbachThe Old Hall Hotel, Sandbach is in the High Street in the centre of Sandbach, Cheshire, England . It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.-Early history:...
is a Grade I listed building. The Hall is on English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk Register as priority A, this is the highest grading.
- Jodrell Bank Observatory is home to a number of significant radio telescopes including the Lovell TelescopeLovell TelescopeThe Lovell Telescope is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When it was constructed in 1955, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m in diameter;it is now the third largest, after the...
; and is involved in a range of international research projects such as MERLINMERLINThe Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of STFC as a National Facility.The array consists of up to seven radio...
.
Twin town
The former borough of Macclesfield was twinned with EckernfördeEckernförde
Eckernförde is a German city in Schleswig-Holstein, Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde at the Baltic Sea near Kiel. The population is about 23,000.All German submarines are stationed in Eckernförde....
, Germany.