Your council

Cheshire West and Chester: what’s happening where you live

What the council itself has published on the five things it most shapes for a household: homes, getting about, the bill, the local environment and schools. Each line is quoted from the council’s own document, with the link. This page says what was decided or proposed; it never says whether it was right.

This page is built from official registers only; the council’s own publications have not been read yet, and every line below says so where that leaves a gap.

Cheshire West and Chester Council: Unitary authority (unitary), England, North West. GOV.UK lists it as a unitary council. ONS code E06000050.

Council website · Publication scheme

Do it online

The council’s own service pages as listed by GOV.UK’s Local Links Manager (Open Government Licence), refreshed weekly; the same list of everyday services, in the same order, for every council, in GOV.UK’s wording.

Housing

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Transport

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Council tax

Band D set by Cheshire West and Chester for 2026–27: £2,076.79 of a £2,517.33 total bill in the area. MHCLG, Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027 (Open Government Licence).

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Environment

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Education

We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website

Changes to schools in this area recorded by the Department for Education Updated automatically

Barrow CofE Primary School (primary) — proposed to open; reason recorded: new provision; proposed date 1 January 2027
Barrow CofE Primary School (primary) — open, but proposed to close; reason recorded: for academy; proposed date 31 December 2026
Great Budworth CofE Primary School (primary) — open, but proposed to close; reason recorded: for academy; proposed date 30 November 2026
Great Budworth CofE Primary School (primary) — proposed to open; reason recorded: new provision; proposed date 1 December 2026

In the last twelve months: 13 opened (8 academy converter, 4 new provision, 1 reason not recorded), 8 closed (8 academy converter)

Capenhurst CofE Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 30 September 2025
Davenham CofE Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 30 September 2025
Hoole Church of England Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 31 October 2025
Kingsley St John's CofE (VA) Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 30 April 2026
Lostock Gralam CofE Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 30 September 2025
Lower Peover CofE Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 31 October 2025
Tilston Parochial CofE Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 31 March 2026
Upton Westlea Primary School (primary) — closed; reason recorded: academy converter, 31 August 2026
Capenhurst CofE Primary School (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 October 2025
Davenham CofE Primary School (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 October 2025
Elmy Hall School — open; reason recorded: new provision, 8 April 2026
Everly East Academy — open; reason recorded: new provision, 10 September 2026
Hoole Church of England Primary School (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 November 2025
Kings Moat Community Primary School (primary) — open; reason recorded: new provision, 1 September 2026
Kingsley St John's CofE Primary School (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 May 2026
Lostock Gralam CofE Primary School (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 October 2025
Lower Peover CofE Primary School (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 November 2025
The Greenhouse HyFlex Academy — open, 1 September 2026
Thrive Education and Wellbeing — open; reason recorded: new provision, 28 May 2026
Tilston Parochial CofE Primary Academy (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 April 2026
Upton Westlea Primary School (primary) — open; reason recorded: academy converter, 1 September 2026

Get Information about Schools, DfE’s register of every school in England, refreshed daily (Open Government Licence). The register’s own reason is shown: most closures and openings are a school becoming an academy, which changes who runs it, not whether it is there.

What the council plans to spend, 2026–27

The budget for each service, as Cheshire West and Chester reported it to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The same headings, in the same order, for every council in England.

Cheshire West and Chester: budget by service, 2026 to 2027
Service	Budget
Education services	£314.5 million
Highways and transport services	£16.9 million
Children's social care	£103.2 million
Adult social care	£225.7 million
Public health	£22.2 million
Housing services (general fund only)	£20.1 million
Cultural and related services	£11.1 million
Environmental and regulatory services	£37.3 million
Planning and development services	£13.1 million
Police services	none budgeted
Fire and rescue services	none budgeted
Central services	£6.3 million
Other services	none budgeted
Total service expenditure	£770.4 million

Net current expenditure: net of sales, fees and charges; spending funded by the NHS, such as through the Better Care Fund, is excluded.A minus figure means the service’s income is budgeted to be more than its spending. “None budgeted” usually means another body runs that service here. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Revenue Account Budget 2026 to 2027, individual local authority data (part 1), updated 11 June 2026 (Open Government Licence).

Cheshire West and Chester in numbers

Official statistics for the whole council area. Each figure is the latest published, with the period it covers.

Total population: 371,652 people 30 June 2024 · Office for National StatisticsMid-year estimate of the total number of people
Median age: 43 years 30 June 2024 · Office for National StatisticsMedian age of people
Gross disposable household income per head: £25,803 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage income per person (£) after taxes and direct benefits
Gross median weekly pay: £636 30 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsGross median weekly pay based on where people live (£)
Children in relative poverty after housing costs: 20.2% April 2024 to March 2025 · Department for Work and PensionsPercentage of children aged under 16 living in relative low income families After Housing Costs (AHC)
Claimant Count: 2.5% 2025 · Office for National StatisticsPercentage of people aged 16 to 64 who are claiming unemployment-related benefits
Average house price: £270,104 July 2026 · HM Land RegistryAverage monthly price of a property (£)
Housing affordability ratio (residence-based): 6.2 affordability ratio 1 April 2025 · Office for National StatisticsRatio of median house price to median gross annual residence-based earnings
Female healthy life expectancy: 62.9 years 2022 to 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage years expected to be lived in good health for females born in the given year
Male healthy life expectancy: 61.6 years 2022 to 2024 · Office for National StatisticsAverage years expected to be lived in good health for males born in the given year
Greenhouse gas emissions: 8.3 tCO2e per capita 2024 · Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroGreenhouse gas emissions (tCO2e) per capita
Gigabit capable broadband: 88.3% 1 January 2026 · OfcomPercentage of premises that have coverage from a gigabit-capable service (download speeds of 1,000 Mbps or more)
Public electric vehicle chargers: 110.9 per 100,000 population 1 July 2026 · Department for Transport, sourced from ZapmapPublicly available electric vehicle chargers at all speeds per 100,000 people
Active businesses: 13,840 number of enterprises 2024 · Office for National StatisticsBusinesses with turnover or employment in current year

Gathered by the Office for National Statistics in Explore Local Statistics (Open Government Licence), refreshed daily. Some figures aren’t published for every nation, so the list can be shorter outside England.

Who runs the council

70 seats in 2026. Run by: Labour, as a minority administration. Open Council Data (public domain).

Councillors by party: Labour Party 35, Conservative and Unionist 20, Independent / Other 7, Reform UK 3, Green Party (E&W) 3, Vacant 1, Liberal Democrats 1.

Next scheduled council election: 6 May 2027.

All 70 councillors, by ward

Alan Smith (Labour Party) — Blacon
Carol Gahan (Labour Party) — Blacon
Sheila Little (Labour Party) — Blacon
Karen Shore (Labour Party) — Central & Grange
Robert Bisset (Labour Party) — Central & Grange
Ben Walker (Labour Party) — Chester City & the Garden Quarter
Katrina Kerr (Labour Party) — Chester City & the Garden Quarter
Paul Chamberlain (Labour Party) — Chester City & the Garden Quarter
Mark Williams (Reform UK) — Christleton & Huntington
Vacant (Vacant) — Christleton & Huntington
Dan Marr (Conservative and Unionist) — Davenham, Moulton & Kingsmead
Gaynor Sinar (Conservative and Unionist) — Davenham, Moulton & Kingsmead
Adrian Waddelove (Conservative and Unionist) — Farndon
Lucy Sumner (Labour Party) — Frodsham
Michael Garvey (Labour Party) — Frodsham
Graham Heatley (Reform UK) — Gowy Rural
Margaret Parker (Conservative and Unionist) — Gowy Rural
Elizabeth MacGlashan (Independent / Other) — Great Boughton
Steve Collings (Labour Party) — Great Boughton
Matt Carter (Labour Party) — Handbridge Park
Razia Daniels (Conservative and Unionist) — Handbridge Park
Martin Loftus (Conservative and Unionist) — Hartford & Greenbank
Patricia Parkes (Conservative and Unionist) — Hartford & Greenbank
Chris Copeman (Green Party (E&W)) — Helsby
Alex Tate (Labour Party) — Lache
Christine Warner (Labour Party) — Ledsham & Manor
Peter Wheeler (Labour Party) — Ledsham & Manor
Louise Gittins (Labour Party) — Little Neston
Rachel Williams (Conservative and Unionist) — Malpas
Lynn Gibbon (Conservative and Unionist) — Marbury
Norman Wright (Conservative and Unionist) — Marbury
Phil Marshall (Conservative and Unionist) — Marbury
Keith Millar (Labour Party) — Neston
Katie Kendrick (Labour Party) — Netherpool
Adam Langan (Labour Party) — Newton & Hoole
Gill Watson (Independent / Other) — Newton & Hoole
Richard Beacham (Labour Party) — Newton & Hoole
Rachel Waterman (Labour Party) — Northwich Leftwich
Arthur Neil (Labour Party) — Northwich Winnington & Castle
Felicity Davies (Labour Party) — Northwich Winnington & Castle
Sam Naylor (Labour Party) — Northwich Witton
Martin Barker (Independent / Other) — Parkgate
Olwyn Dean (Labour Party) — Rudheath
Hugo Deynem (Conservative and Unionist) — Sandstone
Simon Eardley (Conservative and Unionist) — Saughall & Mollington
Mark Stocks (Conservative and Unionist) — Shakerley
Kris Fisher (Labour Party) — Strawberry
Caroline Ellis (Labour Party) — Sutton Villages
Paul Donovan (Labour Party) — Sutton Villages
Charles Hardy (Conservative and Unionist) — Tarporley
Ted Lush (Liberal Democrats) — Tarvin & Kelsall
Tom Cooper (Conservative and Unionist) — Tarvin & Kelsall
Mike Jones (Conservative and Unionist) — Tattenhall
Matt Bryan (Independent / Other) — Upton
Sherin Akhtar (Labour Party) — Upton
Gillian Edwards (Independent / Other) — Weaver & Cuddington
Lynn Stocks (Conservative and Unionist) — Weaver & Cuddington
Phil Rimmer (Conservative and Unionist) — Weaver & Cuddington
Lisa Denson (Labour Party) — Westminster
Jimmy Shannon (Green Party (E&W)) — Whitby Groves
John Roach (Green Party (E&W)) — Whitby Park
Sion Roberts (Conservative and Unionist) — Willaston & Thornton
Mandy Clare (Reform UK) — Winsford Dene
Martin Beveridge (Independent / Other) — Winsford Gravel
Gina Lewis (Labour Party) — Winsford Over & Verdin
Stuart Bingham (Labour Party) — Winsford Over & Verdin
Tommy Blackmore (Labour Party) — Winsford Over & Verdin
Simon Boone (Independent / Other) — Winsford Swanlow
Nathan Pardoe (Labour Party) — Winsford Wharton
John Stockton (Labour Party) — Wolverham

Each councillor’s register of interests is on the council’s own website; we have not yet located the page. Councillors from Open Council Data as recorded after the May 2026 elections; a by-election since then may have changed one seat. Attendance and allowances are not shown.

This council’s meeting papers are not yet read automatically, so decisions and motions are not listed here; they are on the council’s website.

Write to your councillors → WriteToThem (mySociety) finds them from your postcode; nothing is sent through this site.

Cite this page

Harvard style. Every figure on the page also names its original source, which is usually the better thing to cite.

Every council page has the same five headings in the same order. Sources are the council’s own publications and official statistics. Council list: mySociety, UK Local Authorities (CC BY 4.0) and WhatDoTheyKnow authorities (CC BY-SA 4.0); council websites, tiers and service links: GOV.UK (Open Government Licence); codes: ONS Code History Database (Open Government Licence). Corrections: hello@whatsittome.org.