West Lancashire

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.

West Lancashire
Borough
The West Lancashire plain near Burscough
Shown within the ceremonial county of Lancashire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	North West England
Ceremonial county	Lancashire
Admin. HQ	Ormskirk
Government
• Type	West Lancashire Borough Council
• Leadership	Leader and Cabinet
• MPs:	Ashley Dalton (Lab) (West Lancashire) Katherine Fletcher (Con) (South Ribble)
Area
• Total	133.8 sq mi (346.6 km2)
• Rank	102nd
Population  (2021)
• Total	117,125
• Rank	Ranked 204th
• Density	880/sq mi (340/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
• Ethnic groups	List 96.9% White 1.3% Mixed 1.3% Asian 0.4% other 0.3% Black
Religion (2021)
• Religion	List 61.5% Christianity 31.5% no religion 5.6% not stated 0.4% Islam 0.3% other 0.2% Buddhism 0.2% Hinduism 0.1% Sikhism 0.1% Judaism
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode	L, PR, WN
ONS code	30UP (ONS) E07000127 (GSS)

West Lancashire Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Mayor	Maureen Nixon, Labour since 17 May 2023
Leader	Yvonne Gagen, Labour since 18 May 2022
Chief Operating Officer	Jacqui Sinnott-Lacey since 2020
Structure
Seats	45
Political groups	Administration (26)   Labour (26) Other parties (19)   Conservatives (15)   Our West Lancashire (4)
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Last election	2 May 2024
Meeting place
52 Derby Street, Ormskirk, L39 2DF
Website
www.westlancs.gov.uk

The borough has a population of 117,400 and an area of 133.8 square miles (347 km²). It 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 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 west the land is 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 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:

• Ormskirk Urban District
• Skelmersdale and Holland Urban District
• West Lancashire Rural District (majority of former district's territory; remainder went to Merseyside)
• Wigan Rural District (parishes of Dalton, Parbold and Wrightington; remainder went to Greater Manchester)

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 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 is responsible for the administration of various services, such as leisure, waste collection, planning permission and pest control.

Political 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 the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership

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:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in 2024.

Premises

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 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 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.

Wards and councillors

Since the last election in May 2023, the composition of the council has been as follows. The next election is due in 2024.

Parliamentary constituencies

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 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.

 

 

Ormskirk

 

Skelmersdale

 

Andertons Mill

 

Appley Bridge

 

Aughton

 

Banks

 

Barrow Nook

 

Barton

 

Bickerstaffe

 

Bispham Green

 

Blaguegate

 

Burscough

 

Crawford

 

Dalton

 

Downholland Cross

 

Great Altcar

 

Halsall

 

Haskayne

 

Hesketh Bank

 

Hilldale

 

Holmes

 

Holmeswood

 

Hundred End

 

Lathom

 

Mere Brow

 

Newburgh

 

Parbold

 

Roby Mill

 

Rufford

 

Scarisbrick

 

Scarth Hill

 

Shirdley Hill

 

Simonswood

 

Sollom

 

Tarleton

 

Tarlscough

 

Upholland

 

Westhead

 

Wrightington Bar

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Towns and villages in West Lancashire

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.

Civil parishes

 

There are 21 civil parishes in West Lancashire. The main towns of Skelmersdale and Ormskirk are unparished areas. There 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:

• BBC Radio Lancashire
• BBC Radio Merseyside
• Heart North West
• Smooth North West
• Dune Radio
• Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire
• Central Radio North West
• Dune FM

Local newspaper 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