Editing Ellesmere Port (section)

==Governance==
There is one main tier of local government covering Ellesmere Port, at [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] level, being [[Cheshire West and Chester Council]]. Most of the Ellesmere Port built up area is [[unparished area|unparished]], with the exception of the [[civil parish]] of [[Little Stanney]] on the south-eastern edge of the urban area.<ref name=electionmaps>{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=5 February 2025}}</ref> Cheshire West and Chester Council has its main offices in the town, at the Portal on Wellington Road.<ref>{{cite web |title=Registered office address |url=https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/contact-us/registered-office-address |website=Cheshire West and Chester Council |access-date=5 February 2025}}</ref>

===Parliamentary representation===
At national level, Ellesmere Port is part of the [[Ellesmere Port and Bromborough (UK Parliament constituency)|Ellesmere Port and Bromborough constituency]].<ref name=electionmaps/> {{As of|2025}}, the constituency is represented by [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) [[Justin Madders]].

===Administrative history===
The site where Ellesmere Port was developed from the 1790s onwards lay within the [[Township|township]] of Whitby. The township was mostly in the [[ancient parish]] of [[Eastham, Merseyside|Eastham]] but partly in the parish of Stoke (now called [[Stoak]]). Both parishes formed part of the [[Wirral Hundred]] of Cheshire. Whitby village lay about {{convert|1|mile|km}} inland from the port, close to where the modern town centre later developed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitby Township / Civil Parish |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10158102/boundary |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=5 February 2025}}</ref> From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under the [[poor laws]], in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Whitby, the civil functions were exercised by each township separately rather than the parishes as a whole. In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so Whitby became a [[civil parish]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Youngs |first1=Frederic |title=Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume II, Northern England |date=1991 |publisher=Royal Historical Society |location=London |isbn=0861931270 |page=xv}}</ref>

The parish of Whitby was converted into an [[Urban district (England and Wales)|urban district]] called Ellesmere Port and Whitby in 1902.<ref>{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Local Government Board |date=1902 |page=293 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Annual_Report_of_the_Local_Government_Bo/HUswAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover&bsq=Ellesmere%20Port |access-date=4 February 2025}}</ref> The urban district was enlarged in 1910 to absorb the parishes of [[Netherpool]], [[Overpool]], Great Stanney, and [[Stanlow Island|Stanlow]]. In 1911, the civil parishes within the urban district were reorganised into two [[urban parish]]es: Ellesmere Port (covering the area of the abolished parishes of Netherpool, Overpool and Whitby), and Great Stanney, which absorbed the area of the abolished parish of Stanlow.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10492233  |title= Ellesmere Port and Whitby UD|publisher=Vision of Britain| access-date=23 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of Cheshire |date=1914 |page=330 |url=https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/235527/rec/3 |access-date=5 February 2025}}</ref>

The urban district was enlarged again in 1933 to take in the parishes of [[Childer Thornton]], [[Hooton, Cheshire|Hooton]], [[Ince, Cheshire|Ince]], [[Great Sutton]], and [[Little Sutton, Cheshire|Little Sutton]], with some adjustments to the boundaries with neighbouring parishes. The enlarged urban district was renamed from Ellesmere Port and Whitby to just Ellesmere Port at the same time. The parish of Ellesmere Port was enlarged to cover the whole urban district in 1950, and in 1955 the urban district was raised to the status of a [[municipal borough]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ellesmere Port Urban District / Municipal Borough |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10081610#tab02 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=5 February 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Council Offices - geograph.org.uk - 34846.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ellesmere Port Council Offices]]]]
The borough of Ellesmere Port was abolished in 1974 under the [[Local Government Act 1972]]. The area had been considered for inclusion in the new county of [[Merseyside]], but it was decided instead to leave it in Cheshire as part of the new borough of [[Ellesmere Port and Neston]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brand |first1=Jack |title=Local Government Reform in England 1888–1974 |date=2022 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=9781000631289 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Local_Government_Reform_in_England/2pRwEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=local%20government%20ellesmere%20port%20merseyside&pg=PT55&printsec=frontcover |access-date=5 February 2025}}</ref> Ellesmere Port was the largest town in the new borough, and was where the new borough council established its headquarters, using the former borough council's offices on Civic Way as its headquarters.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=58649|page=4534|date=26 March 2008}}</ref>

Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council was abolished in 2009, when local government across Cheshire was reorganised; [[Cheshire County Council]] was also abolished, and the three districts of [[Chester (district)|Chester]], Ellesmere Port and Neston, and [[Vale Royal]] merged to become Cheshire West and Chester.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008|year=2008|number=634|access-date=14 January 2024}}</ref> The Cheshire West and Chester councillors representing the wards which cover Ellesmere Port act as [[charter trustees]] to preserve the town's civic traditions, including choosing one of their number to serve as the town's mayor.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Other Provision) Order 2009|year=2009|number=837}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ellesmere Port Charter Trustees |url=https://cmttpublic.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=601 |website=Cheshire West and Chester Council |access-date=5 February 2025}}</ref>