25-623: West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire , England. The council is based in Ormskirk , and the largest town is Skelmersdale . The district borders Fylde to the north, over the Ribble Estuary; South Ribble , Chorley , and Wigan to the east; St Helens and Knowsley to the south; and Sefton to the south and west. The borough has a population of 117,400 and an area of 133.8 square miles (347 km). It
50-457: A single district, but have non-metropolitan county councils with no district council. In practice, these function in the same way as other unitary authorities. Berkshire is unusual, being the only non-metropolitan county, with no county council, that has more than one unitary authority district within it, each of which is not a county. The 32 London boroughs are sub-divisions of Greater London . They were established in 1965. Between 1965 and 1986
75-566: A third of the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected each time for a four-year term. Lancashire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections. The south of West Lancashire, including the towns of Burscough , Skelmersdale and Ormskirk fall under the West Lancashire constituency in the House of Commons , which has been represented by Labour Party MP Ashley Dalton since
100-638: A two-tier structure of government existed in Greater London and the boroughs shared power with the Greater London Council (GLC). When the GLC was abolished in 1986 they gained similar status to the unitary authorities. In 2000 the Greater London Authority was established and a two-tier structure was restored, albeit with a change to the balance of powers and responsibilities. Each London borough
125-532: Is a movement to establish a town council in Skelmersdale. The parish council of Burscough takes the style "town council". All the civil parishes have a parish council, with the exception of Bispham, which has a parish meeting instead. In terms of television, the area is served by BBC North West and ITV Granada broadcasting from the Winter Hill transmitter. Radio stations for the area are: Local newspaper
150-609: Is not uniform, there are currently four principal types of district-level subdivision. There are a total of 296 districts made up of 36 metropolitan boroughs , 32 London boroughs , 164 two-tier non-metropolitan districts and 62 unitary authorities , as well as the City of London and the Isles of Scilly which are also districts but do not correspond to any of these other categories. Some districts are styled as cities , boroughs or royal boroughs ; these are purely honorific titles and do not alter
175-567: Is primarily rural, and the most populous settlements after Ormskirk and Skelmersdale are Burscough (9,935), Up Holland (7,578), and Tarleton (5,959). The borough council is based in Ormskirk, and there are twenty-one civil parishes . The west of the borough contains much of the southern part of the Lancashire Plain, a low-lying region of mossland. A large lake called Martin Mere occupied much of
200-566: Is responsible for many of the services within their area, such as schools, waste management, planning applications, social services, libraries and others . Lancashire County Council elections Lancashire County Council elections are held every four years. Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire in England . Since the last boundary changes in 2017, 84 councillors have been elected from 82 electoral divisions . The composition of
225-411: Is responsible for the administration of various services, such as leisure, waste collection, planning permission and pest control. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2023. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of
250-552: Is the Lancashire Telegraph . West Lancashire is twinned with: 53°33′43″N 2°49′37″W / 53.562°N 2.827°W / 53.562; -2.827 Local authority district The districts of England (officially, local authority districts , abbreviated LADs ) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government . As the structure of local government in England
275-642: The 2023 West Lancashire by-election , whereas the north of West Lancashire falls under the South Ribble constituency, which has been represented by Conservative Party MP Katherine Fletcher since the 2019 general election . Skelmersdale, a former New Town , and Ormskirk are the two main towns in the borough. These are surrounded by a patchwork of smaller settlements to the west and north. There are 21 civil parishes in West Lancashire. The main towns of Skelmersdale and Ormskirk are unparished areas . There
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#1732869887660300-499: The County of London . The setting-down of the current structure of districts in England began in 1965, when Greater London and its 32 London boroughs were created. They are the oldest type of district still in use. In 1974, metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties (also known as " shire counties ") were created across the rest of England and were split into metropolitan districts and non-metropolitan districts . The status of
325-720: The Local Government Act 1972 , covering the whole area of two former districts and parts of another two districts, all of which were abolished at the same time: In 2009 the district was awarded borough status , causing the council to change its name from West Lancashire District Council to West Lancashire Borough Council, and allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor. Proposals to divide Lancashire into three unitary authorities were put forward in 2020, which would have seen both Lancashire County Council and West Lancashire Borough Council abolished. The Government did not pursue that proposed reform, although left open
350-545: The Poor Law . These areas were later used for census registration and as the basis for sanitary provision . In 1894, based on these earlier subdivisions, the Local Government Act 1894 created urban districts and rural districts as sub-divisions of administrative counties , which had been created in 1889. At the same time, parish-level local government administration was transferred to civil parishes . Another reform in 1900 created 28 metropolitan boroughs as sub-divisions of
375-455: The London boroughs and metropolitan districts changed in 1986, when they absorbed the functions and some of the powers of the metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council , which were abolished. Since 2000, powers are again shared (on a different basis) with the Greater London Authority . During the 1990s a further kind of district was created, the unitary authority , which combined
400-528: The area until it was drained for agriculture. The northern border of the borough is the Ribble Estuary , and both it and the remnant of Martin Mere are Ramsar sites . In the east the land rises to Harrock Hill, Parbold Hill, and Ashurst Hill ; the River Douglas flows west through the valley between the last two, then turns north and forms the borough boundary. The district was created on 1 April 1974 under
425-513: The council since 1974 has been as follows: The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in West Lancashire. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1992 have been: Following the 2024 election , the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2026. The council is based at 52 Derby Street in Ormskirk, which was originally a pair of large semi-detached Victorian houses called Beaconsfield (number 52) and Abbotsford (number 54). Beaconsfield
450-435: The creation of single-tier unitary authorities in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s, their numbers were reduced to 164 by 2023. These single-tier non-metropolitan districts are responsible for running all local services in their areas, combining county and district functions. They were created in the mid-1990s, and often cover large towns and cities as this is deemed more efficient than a two-tier structure. In addition, some of
475-573: The functions and status of county and district. Metropolitan boroughs are a subdivision of a metropolitan county . These are similar to unitary authorities, as the metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986. Most of the powers of the county councils were devolved to the districts but some services are run by joint boards and organisations. The districts typically have populations of 174,000 to 1.1 million. Non-metropolitan districts are second-tier authorities, which share power with county councils . They are subdivisions of shire counties and
500-479: The most common type of district. These districts typically have populations of 25,000 to 200,000. In this two-tier system, county councils are responsible for some local services, such as education, social services, and roads, while district councils run other services, such as waste collection, local planning, and council housing . The number of two-tier non-metropolitan districts (also known as shire districts ) has varied over time. Initially, there were 296; after
525-401: The possibility of other forms of reorganisation in future. West Lancashire Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council . Parts of the district are also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. The council employs around 600 people, making it one of West Lancashire's largest employers. It
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#1732869887660550-543: The smaller counties such as Rutland , Herefordshire and the Isle of Wight are unitary authorities. There are a total of 62 unitary authorities, the latest ones introduced in 2023. Unitary authority areas are a type of non-metropolitan district; most are established as individual counties containing a single district, with a district council but no county council. Cornwall , Durham , the Isle of Wight , Northumberland , Shropshire and Wiltshire were established as counties with
575-440: The status of the district or the powers of their councils. All boroughs and cities (and a few districts) are led by a mayor who in most cases is a ceremonial figure elected by the district council, but—after local government reform—is occasionally a directly elected mayor who makes most of the policy decisions instead of the council. Before the establishment of districts in the 1890s, the basic unit of local government in England
600-487: Was purchased in 1925 by West Lancashire Rural District Council, one of the modern council's predecessors, and converted to become its headquarters, being formally opened on 30 July 1925. Abbotsford was acquired later and the building has been significantly extended to the rear. Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 45 councillors representing 15 wards , with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with
625-537: Was the parish, overseen by the parish church vestry committee . Vestries dealt with the administration of both parochial and secular governmental matters. Parishes were the successors of the manorial system and historically had been grouped into hundreds , which had exercised some supervising administrative function. However, these powers ebbed away as more and more civic and judicial powers were centred on county towns . From 1834 these parishes were grouped into Poor Law Unions , creating areas for administration of
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