Metropolitan Borough of Sefton

For the settlement, see Sefton, Merseyside.
This article is about the local government district. For other uses, see Sefton.

Borough of Sefton
Metropolitan borough
Southport Town Hall
Southport Town Hall
Sefton shown within Merseyside
Sefton shown within Merseyside
Coordinates: 53°26′42″N 2°59′53″W / 53.445°N 2.998°W / 53.445; -2.998
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryEngland
RegionNorth West
Ceremonial countyMerseyside
City regionLiverpool
Incorporated1 April 1974
Named forSefton
Administrative HQBootle and Southport
Government
[1]
 • TypeMetropolitan borough
 • BodySefton Council
 • ExecutiveLeader and cabinet
 • ControlLabour
 • LeaderMarion Atkinson (L)
 • MayorJune Burns
 • MPs
Area
[2]
 • Total
78 sq mi (203 km2)
 • Land61 sq mi (157 km2)
 • Rank164th
Population
 (2022)[3]
 • Total
281,027
 • Rank57th
 • Density4,650/sq mi (1,795/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
[4]
 • Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
[4]
 • Religion
List
Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode areas
Dialling codes
  • 0151
  • 01704
ISO 3166 codeGB-SFT
GSS codeE08000014
Websitesefton.gov.uk

The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974,[5] by the amalgamation of the county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, the municipal borough of Crosby, the urban districts of Formby and Litherland, and part of West Lancashire Rural District. It consists of a coastal strip of land on the Irish Sea which extends from Southport in the north to Bootle in the south, and an inland part to Maghull in the south-east, bounded by the city of Liverpool to the south, the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley to the south-east, and West Lancashire to the east.

It is named after Sefton, near Maghull. When the borough was created, a name was sought that would not unduly identify the borough with any of its constituent parts, particularly the former county boroughs of Bootle and Southport. The area had strong links with both the Earl of Sefton and the Earl of Derby, resident of Knowsley Hall,[6] and the adjacent borough was subsequently named Knowsley. A Sefton Rural District covering some of the villages in the district existed from 1894 to 1932.[7]

Governance

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton 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 within the metropolitan area and subsumed into the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.[8]

The combined authority has effectively become the top-tier administrative body for the local governance of the city region and the leader of Sefton 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.[8]

In July 2015, negotiations took place between the UK national government and the combined authority over a possible devolution deal to confer greater powers on the region, including whether to introduce an elected 'Metro Mayor' to oversee the entire metropolitan area.[9]

Historic controversy

Bootle Town Hall

The existence of Sefton has been an ongoing local controversy, especially in Southport, where local Members of Parliament (MPs) and councillors have campaigned for separation from Bootle and the possible inclusion of the town as a district in the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire.[10] It was highlighted after the 2012 local government election that different regions in Sefton had vastly different socio-economic backgrounds and needs. There are high levels of poverty around the Bootle area and central Southport.[11]

Sefton Council composition

The council has 66 councillors, three for each of the borough's 22 wards:

As of April 2021, the council is composed of 41 Labour councillors, 12 for The Liberal Democrat and Progressive Alliance Group, six Conservatives, and five for The Independents Group. There are two vacancies.[12]

Economy

The borough has a strong income from tourism, most of whom visit the Aintree Grand National, the most valuable horse race in Europe, Anthony Gormley's Another Place at Crosby Beach and Southport. Birkdale is also home to the Royal Birkdale Golf Club which has played host to the Open Championship, Ryder Cup, Walker Cup and Curtis Cup.[13]

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Sefton at current basic prices published (pp. 240–53) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year Regional gross value added[1] Agriculture[2] Industry[3] Services[4]
1995 2,079 20 496 1,563
2000 2,500 8 468 2,024
2003 2,994 10 418 2,566

^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding ^ includes hunting and forestry ^ includes energy and construction ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

Demographics

Ethnicity

Ethnic Group 2001[14] 2011[15]
Number % Number %
White: British 273,536 96.67% 259,629 94.83%
White: Irish 2,665 0.94% 2,312 0.84%
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller 120 0.04%
White: Other 2,339 0.83% 4,680 1.71%
White: Total 278,540 98.44% 266,741 97.43%
Asian or Asian British: Indian 604 0.21% 666 0.24%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani 181 0.06% 127 0.04%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi 257 0.09% 308 0.11%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese 903 0.32% 965 0.35%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian 173 0.06% 653 0.24%
Asian or Asian British: Total 2,118 0.75% 2,719 0.99%
Black or Black British: African 204 0.07% 464 0.17%
Black or Black British: Caribbean 173 0.06% 223 0.08%
Black or Black British: Other Black 61 0.02% 109 0.04%
Black or Black British: Total 438 0.15% 796 0.29%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean 476 0.17% 830 0.30%
Mixed: White and Black African 234 0.08% 488 0.18%
Mixed: White and Asian 441 0.16% 760 0.28%
Mixed: Other Mixed 433 0.15% 742 0.27%
Mixed: Total 1,584 0.56% 2,820 1.03%
Other: Arab 327 0.12%
Other: Any other ethnic group 387 0.14%
Other: Total 278 0.10% 714 0.26%
Black, Asian, and minority ethnic: Total 4,418 1.56% 7,049 2.57%
Total 282,958 100.00% 273,790 100.00%

Main languages

At the 2011 census, there were 265,010 usual residents of Sefton aged 3 or over whose main language was declared. The 10 most common main languages were as follows:[16]

  1. English 259,820 (98.04%)
  2. Polish 1,579 (0.62%)
  3. Chinese 415 (0.16%)
  4. Portuguese 318 (0.12%)
  5. Latvian 252 (0.10%)
  6. Spanish 201 (0.08%)
  7. Lithuania 190 (0.07%)
  8. Arabic 158 (0.06%)
  9. Bengali (with Sylheti and Chittagonian) 142 (0.05%)
  10. Turkish 141 (0.05%)

1,794 (0.68%) usual residents over the age of 3 had a different main language to the above languages.

Towns and villages in Sefton

Parliamentary constituencies

See also: List of Parliamentary constituencies on Merseyside

Sister cities

Sefton is twinned with:[17]

Freedom of the Borough

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

Individuals

Military units

Organisations and groups


Media

In terms of television, the area is served by BBC North West and ITV Granada broadcasting from the Winter Hill transmitter.[24]

The borough is served by both BBC Radio Merseyside and BBC Radio Lancashire. Other radio stations including Heart North West, Smooth North West, Dune Radio, Hits Radio Liverpool, Hits Radio Lancashire, Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West and Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire.

The area is served by the regional newspapers the Lancashire Telegraph and the Liverpool Echo. Other local newspapers are The Southport Visiter and Southport Reporter.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Your Council". Sefton Council. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Sefton Local Authority (E08000014)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  5. ^ Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70. The Stationery Office Ltd. 1997. ISBN 0-10-547072-4.
  6. ^ Welcome to the Estate, Knowsley Hall, retrieved 7 October 2010
  7. ^ "Sefton RD through time: Relationships and changes". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Proposal to establish a combined authority for Greater Merseyside" (PDF). Department for Communities and Local Government. November 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  9. ^ Liam Murphy (22 July 2015). "Liverpool city region to decide on devolution demands by end of summer". Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  10. ^ Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of Sefton, Local Government Commission for England, November 1997.
  11. ^ "Sefton Local Economic Assessment" (PDF). Invest Sefton. May 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  12. ^ Council, Sefton (23 April 2021). "Councillors, Meetings, Decisions". www.sefton.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Royal Birkdale Golf Club – Club History". Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  14. ^ "UV009 - Ethnic group". NOMIS. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  15. ^ "QS201EW - Ethnic group". NOMIS. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  16. ^ "Sefton - UK Census Data 2011".
  17. ^ Sefton Council, Twinning with Towns and Cities retrieved 21 January 2019
  18. ^ "Gdańsk Official Website: 'Miasta partnerskie'". www.gdansk.pl (in Polish and English). Urząd Miejski w Gdańsku]. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  19. ^ Dukes, Emma (19 November 2022). "Lioness Alex Greenwood becomes first ever woman to be awarded Freedom of Sefton". The Liverpool World. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  20. ^ a b Council, Sefton (21 June 2017). "Honorary Freedom of the Borough". Government of the United Kingdom.
  21. ^ "Freedom of the Borough for HMS Mersey". Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  22. ^ "Regiment set to march through Bootle".
  23. ^ "Covid: Merseyside hospitals honoured over Covid response". BBC News. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  24. ^ "Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. May 2004. Retrieved 21 April 2024.