Halton (/hɒltən/) is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, North West England. The borough was created in 1974 and contains the towns of Runcorn and Widnes and the civil parishes of Daresbury, Hale, Halebank, Moore, Preston Brook, and Sandymoor. Since 1998, Halton Borough Council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. Since 2014, it has been a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

The neighbouring districts (clockwise from west) are Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens, Warrington and Cheshire West and Chester.

History
Demographics
Governance
Economy
Media
Twin boroughs

History

Halton Castle overlooking the Mersey Gateway Bridge

The River Mersey marks the boundary of the historic counties of Lancashire (to the north) and Cheshire (to the south). Before 1974, Widnes was administered by the Municipal Borough of Widnes in Lancashire, and Runcorn by Runcorn Urban District Council in Cheshire.

The 1969 Redcliffe-Maud Report recommended reforms to local government in England, including the abolition of all existing local government areas. They were to be replaced by mostly unitary authorities with the exception of three two-tier metropolitan areas to be called Merseyside, SELNEC and West Midlands. Runcorn and Widnes would form part of the new Merseyside Metropolitan Area under a district called 'St Helens-Widnes'.

The proposals were broadly accepted by the then Labour government but set aside by the incoming Conservative government following the 1970 general election which it had fought on a manifesto pledge to introduce a system of two-tier local government. The Local Government Act 1972 created new metropolitan counties around Liverpool (as Merseyside) and Manchester (as Greater Manchester) but Runcorn and Widnes would not be allocated to either. Instead, Widnes and Warrington would be moved into the non-metropolitan county of Cheshire, with Widnes joining Runcorn to create the new non-metropolitan district of Halton. The name of the new district was inspired by the ancient Barony of Halton which had possessed land on both sides of the river. The district was established on 1 April 1974. In addition to Runcorn Urban District and the Municipal Borough of Widnes, parts of Runcorn Rural District and the parish of Hale from Whiston Rural District were incorporated into Halton.

On 1 April 1998, Halton became a unitary authority, independent of Cheshire County Council. However, it continues to be served by Cheshire Police and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, and forms part of Cheshire for ceremonial purposes. On 1 April 2014, Halton became part of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, joining the local authorities of Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, Knowsley and St Helens; the five metropolitan district councils which constitute the county of Merseyside. As a unitary authority, Halton's status is similar to the metropolitan district councils.

Demographics

Population growth

The population of Halton is 129,410 (2020). Although the borough was only created in 1974, the change in population since 1801 has been calculated by adapting historical census data to modern boundaries.

Population growth in the Borough of Halton since 1801
Year	Population	Change as %
1801	6,460	—
1811	7,491	+16.0%
1821	8,962	+19.6%
1831	10,918	+21.8%
1841	13,364	+22.4%
1851	16,296	+21.9%
1861	17,678	+8.5%
1871	—	—
1881	46,181	—
1891	58,042	+25.7%
1901	—	—
1911	56,656	—
1921	61,977	+9.4%
1931	64,979	+4.8%
1941	—	—
1951	80,072	—
1961	82,119	+2.6%
1971	99,749	+21.5%
1981	129,187	+29.5%
1991	128,525	-0.5%
2001	118,242	-8.0%
2011	125,746	+6.3%
2021	128,478	+2.2%

Religion

St Mary's Church, Widnes

In the 2021 census, Christianity was the main religion in Halton at 58.6%, above the national average for England of 46.3% but down from 75% in 2011. 35.2% stated that they had 'no religion'. Those stating their religion as Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh or other amounted to 1.6%.

Ethnicity

In the 2021 census, 96.5% of Halton residents identified as White and 3.5% as non-White or mixed. 95.2% were born in the United Kingdom.

Governance

Runcorn Town Hall

Halton Borough Council is a unitary authority responsible for most local government functions within the area. The Labour Party has controlled the council since it was created in 1974.

On 1 April 2014, Halton became one of the six constituent local government districts of the Liverpool City Region under the Combined Authority.

Since the 2024 general election, the borough has been split into the two constituencies of Widnes and Halewood and Runcorn and Helsby, and held by Derek Twigg and Mike Amesbury respectively, both of the Labour Party.

Economy

Chemical works at Weston Point

In 2021, the borough's total GVA was £4.0 billion with a total GDP of £4.5 billion. GVA per capita in Halton was £31,390 and GDP per capita was £34,985, the highest in the Liverpool City Region.

In 2022, there were 67,000 jobs in Halton, including the self-employed. The borough is an industrial, scientific and logistics hub with a higher proportion of jobs in these industries, and proportionally fewer jobs in hospitality and education compared to Great Britain. Proportionally more jobs were full-time roles.

In the period October 2022 to September 2023, the employment rate in Halton was 76.6%, higher than the average rate for Great Britain of 75.8%. Unemployment was 2.9% compared to 3.7% for Great Britain.

However, people in Halton are qualified to a lower level than the average for the North West or Great Britain. In 2023, the gross median weekly wage for full time workers living in Halton was £664. Although higher than the regional median of £649, it is lower than the £682.60 for Great Britain.

Media

Television

The area is served by BBC North West and ITV Granada with television signals received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter.

Radio

Radio stations for the area are:

BBC Radio Merseyside
Heart North West
Smooth North West
Capital North West & Wales
Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West (formerly Wire FM)
Hits Radio Liverpool
Dee Radio
Halton Community Radio, a community based station.

Newspapers

Local newspapers for the area are:

The Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News
Runcorn and Widnes World.

Twin boroughs

Halton is twinned with:

Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Berlin, Germany (since 25 May 1993)
Ústí nad Labem, Ústí nad Labem Region, Czech Republic (since 13 October 1993)
Leiria, Central Region, Portugal (since 1997)
Tongling, Anhui, China (since 1997)

Following an appeal in 1997, Halton residents donated 1,000 English books to Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. In 1999, an historic Halton Transport bus was restored and gifted to the Czech Republic to mark the centenary of public transport in the city. Engineers from Halton have assisted with chemical decontamination in the city and also when the city flooded in 2002.

The first crazy golf course in Berlin, created in Marzahn-Hellersdorf in 2005, contains several Halton landmarks and was constructed with the assistance of exchange students from the borough.

Several roads are named after Halton's twin boroughs, including Leiria Way in Runcorn and Marzahn Way in Widnes. A Chinese friendship garden was created in the grounds of Runcorn Town Hall in 2006, including a bronze statue gifted by the twin city of Tongling.

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Borough of Halton Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.

Borough of Halton facts for kids

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