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Halton (borough)

Halton
Borough and Unitary authority
Halton shown within Cheshire
Halton shown within Cheshire
Sovereign state  United Kingdom
Constituent country  England
Region North West England
City region Liverpool
Ceremonial county  Cheshire
Settled 12th century
Incorporated 1974 (borough)
  1998 (Unitary authority)
Administrative HQ Widnes
Government
 • Type Unitary authority
 • Body Halton Borough Council
 • Leadership Leader and cabinet
 • Executive Labour
 • Leader Rob Polhill
 • Mayor Ellen Cargill
 • Chief Executive David Parr
Area
 • Borough 30.53 sq mi (79.08 km2)
Area rank 242nd
Population (mid-2015 est.)
 • Borough 126,500
 • Rank 173rd
 • Density 4,000/sq mi (1,600/km2)
 • Urban 128,000
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) British Summer Time (UTC+1)
Postcode area WA (4, 7, 8)
Dialling code 01928
ISO 3166 code GB-HAL
GSS code E06000006
NUTS 3 code UKD71
ONS code 00ET
Motorways M56
Major railway stations Runcorn (C1)
MPs Derek Twigg (L)
Graham Evans (C)
European Parliament North West England
Police area Cheshire
Fire service Cheshire
Ambulance service North West
Website www.halton.gov.uk

Halton is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Cheshire in North West England, with borough status and administered by a unitary authority. It was created in 1974 as a district of the non-metropolitan county of Cheshire, and became a unitary authority area on 1 April 1998. Since 2014 it has been a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. The borough consists of the towns of Runcorn and Widnes and the civil parishes of Hale, Daresbury, Moore, Preston Brook, Halebank and Sandymoor. The district borders Merseyside, Warrington and Cheshire West and Chester. The borough straddles the River Mersey – the area to the north (including Widnes) is historically part of Lancashire, that to the south (including Runcorn) part of Cheshire.

Although Halton town dates back to the 12th century (and beyond) when land on both sides of the river belonged to the Barony of Halton, the origin of the District Council was the outcome of the local government commission's suggested reforms of England, in 1969, the Redcliffe-Maud Report. This proposed to create metropolitan counties constituted of metropolitan district councils in the most urbanised parts of England. The model was that of the London Boroughs and Greater London Council formed in 1965. Southern Lancashire and northern Cheshire were among these urban areas, and two new metropolitan Counties were to be formed around Liverpool (as Merseyside) and Manchester (as Greater Manchester). However, the towns of Widnes and Runcorn (and the County Borough of Warrington) which lay between these were reluctant to join either. The Commission agreed that Halton and Warrington would become districts within Cheshire, as they would be detached from Lancashire by the two new metropolitan counties controlling the territory to the north.


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