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| Wirral | ||
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| Metropolitan borough | ||
Wallasey Town Hall
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 Wirral shown within Merseyside |
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| Sovereign state |  United Kingdom |
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| Constituent country |  England |
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| Region | North West England | |
| Ceremonial county | Merseyside | |
| Established | 1 April 1974 | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 60.6 sq mi (157.0 km2) | |
| Area rank | 185th | |
| Population (2005 est.) | ||
| • Rank | Ranked | |
| • Ethnicity | 98.3% white | |
| Time zone | Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0) | |
| • Summer (DST) | British Summer Time (UTC+1) | |
| Postcode area | CH | |
| Dialling code | 0151 | |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-WRL | |
| GSS code | E08000015 | |
| NUTS 3 code | UKD74 | |
| ONS code | 00CB | |
| Website | www.wirral.gov.uk | |
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 320,295, and encompasses 60 square miles (160 km2) of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of Liverpool over the Mersey, faces the northeastern side of Wirral. Bordering is the River Mersey to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and the River Dee to the west; the borough of Cheshire West and Chester occupies the remainder of the Wirral Peninsula and borders the borough of Wirral to the south.
The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the county boroughs of Birkenhead and Wallasey, along with the municipal borough of Bebington and the urban districts of Hoylake and Wirral.
Wirral Council maintains five designated Local Nature Reserves: Bidston Moss, Dibbinsdale, Heswall Dales, Hilbre Island and Thurstaston Common. It also operates the Merseyside part of Wirral Country Park, which was the first country park to be established in Britain.
The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is twinned or has sister city relationships with:
