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Metropolitan Borough of Sefton

Field	Value
name	Borough of Sefton
settlement_type	Metropolitan borough
image_skyline	Southport_Town_Hall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1369488.jpg
image_caption	Southport Town Hall
image_map	Sefton UK locator map.svg
map_caption	Sefton shown within Merseyside
coordinates
subdivision_type	Sovereign state
subdivision_name	United Kingdom
subdivision_type1	Country
subdivision_name1	England
subdivision_type2	Region
subdivision_name2	North West
subdivision_type3	Ceremonial county
subdivision_name3	Merseyside
subdivision_type4	City region
subdivision_name4	Liverpool
established_title	Incorporated
established_date	1 April 1974
named_for	Sefton
seat_type	Administrative HQ
seat	Bootle and Southport
government_footnotes
government_type	Metropolitan borough
governing_body	Sefton Council
leader_title	Executive
leader_name	Leader and cabinet
leader_title1	Control
leader_name1
leader_title2	Leader
leader_name2	Marion Atkinson (L)
leader_title3	Mayor
leader_name3	June Burns
leader_title4	MPs
unit_pref	Metric
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	203
area_land_km2
area_rank	[](list-of-english-districts-by-area)
population_footnotes
population_as_of
population_total
population_rank	[](list-of-english-districts-by-population)
population_density_km2
demographics_type1	Ethnicity (2021)
demographics1_footnotes
demographics1_title1	Ethnic groups
demographics_type2	Religion (2021)
demographics2_footnotes
demographics2_title1	Religion
timezone1	GMT
utc_offset1	+0
timezone1_DST	BST
utc_offset1_DST	+1
postal_code_type	Postcode areas
postal_code
area_code_type	Dialling codes
area_code
iso_code	GB-SFT
blank1_name	GSS code
blank1_info	E08000014
website

the local government district

| Peter Dowd (L) | Bill Esterson (L) | Patrick Hurley (L) | 95.8% White | 1.5% Asian | 1.5% Mixed | 0.5% Black | 0.7% other | 64.4% Christianity | 28.6% no religion | 0.8% Islam | 0.4% Hinduism | 0.2% Buddhism | 0.1% Judaism | 0.0% Sikhism | 0.4% other | 5.0% not stated The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974, 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, 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.

Governance

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

Main article: 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.

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.

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.

Historic controversy

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. 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.

Sefton Council composition

Main article: Sefton Council

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

Ainsdale
Birkdale Blundellsands
Cambridge Church
Derby Dukes
Ford
Harington
Kew
Linacre Litherland
Manor Meols Molyneux
Netherton and Orrell Norwood
Park
Ravenmeols
St. Oswald Sudell
Victoria , the council is composed of 51 Labour councillors, nine Liberal Democrats, four Conservatives, one Green and one independent.

Economy

In 2021, the Office for National Statistics estimated the GDP of Sefton to be £5.4 billion, with 9.8% growth in the previous year.

The majority of the Port of Liverpool is in Sefton, including a freeport. Major employers include Experian, HMRC and Shop Direct.

Demographics

Ethnic Group	2001	2011	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:

English 259,820 (98.04%)
Polish 1,579 (0.62%)
Chinese 415 (0.16%)
Portuguese 318 (0.12%)
Latvian 252 (0.10%)
Spanish 201 (0.08%)
Lithuanian 190 (0.07%)
Arabic 158 (0.06%)
Bengali (with Sylheti and Chittagonian) 142 (0.05%)
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

Ainsdale
Aintree
Birkdale
Blowick
Blundellsands
Bootle
Churchtown
Crosby
Crossens
Ford
Formby
Hightown
Hillside
Ince Blundell
Kennessee Green
Litherland
Little Altcar
Little Crosby
Lunt
Lydiate
Maghull
Marshside
Melling
Netherton
Orrell
Seaforth
Sefton
Southport
Thornton
Waterloo
Woodvale

Parliamentary constituencies

Bootle
Sefton Central
Southport

Sister cities

Sefton is twinned with:

Gdańsk, Poland (since 1993)
Mons, Belgium

Freedom of the Borough

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

Individuals

Donald "Ginger" McCain: 22 June 2004
Jamie Carragher: 23 January 2006
Alex Greenwood: 17 November 2022
Frank Cottrell-Boyce: 13 November 2025

Military units

238 (Sefton) Squadron 156 Regiment Royal Corps of Transport: 6 March 1982
238 (Sefton) Squadron 156 (North-West) Transport Regiment Royal Logistic Corps (Volunteers): 13 April 2002
RAF Woodvale: 3 July 2011
, RN: 17 November 2016.
The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment: 20 June 2017

Organisations and groups

The Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust: 27 May 2021
Sefton CVS (Community Voluntary Service)

Media

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

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.

References

(27 November 2023). "Your Council".
{{United Kingdom district population citation. area
{{United Kingdom district population citation
"Sefton Local Authority".
(1997). "Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70". The Stationery Office Ltd.
"Welcome to the Estate". Knowsley Hall.
"Sefton RD through time: Relationships and changes". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.
(November 2013). "Proposal to establish a combined authority for Greater Merseyside". [[Department for Communities and Local Government]].
Liam Murphy. (22 July 2015). "Liverpool city region to decide on devolution demands by end of summer".
Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of Sefton, Local Government Commission for England, November 1997.
(May 2011). "Sefton Local Economic Assessment". Invest Sefton.
Council, Sefton. (2025-06-23). "Councillors, Meetings, Decisions".
"Sefton Economy {{!}} Labour Market & Industries".
"Sefton".
"UV009 - Ethnic group". NOMIS.
"QS201EW - Ethnic group". NOMIS.
"Sefton - UK Census Data 2011".
[https://www.sefton.gov.uk/your-council/the-mayor/twinning-with-towns-and-cities.aspx Sefton Council, Twinning with Towns and Cities] retrieved 21 January 2019
"Gdańsk Official Website: 'Miasta partnerskie'". Urząd Miejski w Gdańsku].
Dukes, Emma. (19 November 2022). "Lioness Alex Greenwood becomes first ever woman to be awarded Freedom of Sefton".
Brown, Andrew. (2025-11-05). "Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce who wrote 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony to be granted Freedom of Sefton".
Council, Sefton. (21 June 2017). "Honorary Freedom of the Borough". Government of the United Kingdom.
"Freedom of the Borough for HMS Mersey".
"Regiment set to march through Bootle".
(2021-05-27). "Covid: Merseyside hospitals honoured over Covid response". BBC News.
(May 2004). "Full Freeview on the Winter Hill (Bolton, England) transmitter". UK Free TV.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

metropolitan-borough-of-sefton local-government-in-the-metropolitan-borough-of-sefton liverpool-city-region metropolitan-boroughs-of-merseyside nuts-3-statistical-regions-of-the-united-kingdom

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