Cheshire East

Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.

The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. It was an amalgamation of the boroughs of Macclesfield, Congleton and Crewe and Nantwich, together with a disaggregated share of the former Cheshire County Council. The residual part of the disaggregated former County Council, together with the other three former Cheshire borough councils (Chester City, Ellesmere Port & Neston and Vale Royal) were, similarly, amalgamated to create the new unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester. The decision to create the two unitary authorities was announced on 25 July 2007 following a consultation period, in which a proposal to create a single Cheshire unitary authority was rejected.

Politics and administration
The electoral wards for the new unitary authority currently use the same boundaries as the outgoing Cheshire County Council's electoral divisions, with each ward electing 3 councillors and representing between 8,800 and 12,000 people. At the last Cheshire County Council election in 2005 there were 15 Conservative controlled wards, 6 Labour controlled wards, 5 Liberal Democrat controlled wards and 1 ward controlled by an independent within the unitary authority boundaries.

The first elections for the new council took place on 1 May 2008, with the Conservative Party taking overall control. The Conservatives took 59 of the 81 seats with the others being held by the Liberal Democrats (12), Labour (6), 3 members of Middlewich First and one Independent. The leader of the new authority is Wesley Fitzgerald who was elected at Cheshire East's inaugural meeting on Tuesday 13 May 2008. Wesley Fitzgerald is a Councillor for the Wilmslow South ward. The next elections for Cheshire East will be in 2011 when it is anticipated that the current three Councillors per ward system will be replaced by mixed sized wards, each represented by between one and three Councillors.

The administrative centre for the new council is at Westfields in Sandbach, the former Headquarters of Congleton Borough Council. The site could be expanded if needed as there is space around the newly built centre.

Local sites of interest
The area is home to a large number of sites of public interest:


 * Tatton Park is the venue for a variety of events: classical concerts; fireworks displays; classic car shows; open air theatre and the Country Show (massed pipes and drums, sheepdog trials, competitions, crafts fair, and dancing).


 * Gawsworth Hall is a half-timbered hall, and possibly once home to Shakespeare's 'Dark Lady'. Concerts are held in the grounds, and each summer there is an open air theatre season, featuring Shakespearean classics and light opera, comedy, jazz, and drama.


 * Cuckooland Museum is a reputed museum which exhibits the world's largest and finest collection of antique cuckoo clocks.


 * Arley Hall is a Victorian-Jacobean hall.


 * Quarry Bank Mill is set in the village of Styal and is a working water-mill and living museum.


 * Capesthorne Hall is a Jacobean-style stately home which plays host to a variety of events.


 * Alderley Edge is a great sandstone escarpment that overlooks the Cheshire plain. The Edge itself has been mined for copper since at least the time of the Roman invasion, and is the centre of the legend of the Wizard of Alderley, made famous by local author Alan Garner's books The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath. Nowadays it is said that the Wizard was Merlin, but this is an addition that only appeared over the past thirty years.  Tours of the mines are available, but should not be attempted without an experienced guide - the Edge is riddled with mineshafts.


 * St James' and St Paul's Church, Marton is a 14th century house of worship which lies on an artificial mound or earthwork.


 * Knutsford is best known as the site where King Canute forded the Lily Stream, and as the home of Victorian author Elizabeth Gaskell, and the town puts on a May Day parade and festival every year.


 * Lyme Park is an estate and park located near Disley. Lyme Hall is the principal feature of the park.


 * Little Moreton Hall is one of the country's best-preserved half-timbered and moated manor houses.


 * Sandbach Crosses are two Anglo-Saxon stone crosses now erected in the market place in the town of Sandbach, Cheshire, England . They are recognised as a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.


 * Old Hall Hotel is a Grade I listed building. The Hall is on English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk Register as priority A, this is the highest grading.


 * Jodrell Bank Observatory is home to a number of significant radio telescopes including the Lovell Telescope; and is involved in a range of international research projects such as MERLIN.

Twin town
The former borough of Macclesfield was twinned with 🇩🇪 Eckernförde, Germany.