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Merseyside

Coordinates:53°25′N3°00′W/ 53.417°N 3.000°W/53.417; -3.000
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Merseyside
Metropolitanandceremonial county
Left to right:
Location of Merseyside within England
Location of Merseyside within England
Coordinates:53°25′N3°00′W/ 53.417°N 3.000°W/53.417; -3.000
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionNorth West England
Established1 April 1974
Established byLocal Government Act 1972
Time zoneUTC+0(GMT)
• Summer (DST)UTC+1(BST)
UK Parliament15 MPs
PoliceMerseyside Police
Largest cityLiverpool
Ceremonial county
Lord LieutenantMark Blundell
High SheriffNigel Lanceley
Area652 km2(252 sq mi)
• Rank43rd of 48
Population
(2022)[1]
1,442,081
• Rank9th of 48
Density2,211/km2(5,730/sq mi)
Metropolitan county
GSS codeE11000002
Districts

Districts of Merseyside
Districts
  1. City of Liverpool
  2. Sefton
  3. Knowsley
  4. St Helens
  5. Wirral

Merseyside(/ˈmɜːrzisaɪd/MUR-zee-syde) is aceremonialandmetropolitan countyinNorth West England.It bordersLancashireto the north,Greater Manchesterto the east,Cheshireto the south, theWelshcounty ofFlintshireacross theDee Estuaryto the southwest, and theIrish Seato the west. The largest settlement is the city ofLiverpool.

The county is highly urbanised, with an area of 249 square miles (645 km2) and a population of 1.42 million.[2]After Liverpool (552,267), the largest settlements areBirkenhead(143,968),St Helens(102,629), andSouthport(94,421). Forlocal governmentpurposes the county comprises fivemetropolitan boroughs:Knowsley,St Helens,Sefton,Wirral,and Liverpool. The borough councils (andHaltonin Cheshire) collaborate through theLiverpool City Regioncombined authority,chaired by an electedmayor.

What is now Merseyside was a largely rural area until theIndustrial Revolution,when Liverpool and Birkenhead's positions on theMersey Estuaryenabled them to expand. Liverpool became a major port, heavily involved in theAtlantic slave tradeand in supplying cotton to the mills of Lancashire, and Birkenhead developed into a centre for shipbuilding. Innovations during this period included thefirst inter-city railway,the firstpublicly-funded civic park,advances indock technology,and a pioneeringelevated electrical railway.The county was established in 1974, before which the entirety of theWirralwas in Cheshire and the remainder of the county was in Lancashire.

Merseyside is notable for its sport, music, and cultural institutions. TheMerseybeatgenre developed in what is now the county, which has also producedmany artists and bands,includingthe Beatles.The county contains several football clubs, withEvertonandLiverpoolplaying in thePremier League.TheRoyal LiverpoolandRoyal Birkdalegolf clubs have hostedThe Open Championship22 times between them, and theGrand Nationalis the most valuable jump race in Europe.National Museums Liverpoolcomprises nine museums and art galleries.

History

[edit]
Port of Liverpooldocks, atSeaforth.Merseyside lies on theMersey Estuary

Merseyside was designated as a "Special Review" area in theLocal Government Act 1958,and theLocal Government Commission for Englandstarted a review of this area in 1962, based around the core county boroughs ofLiverpool,Bootle,BirkenheadandWallasey.Further areas, includingWidnesandRuncorn,were added to the Special Review Area by Order in 1965. Draft proposals were published in 1965, but the commission never completed its final proposals as it was abolished in 1966.

Instead, aRoyal Commissionwas set up to review English local government entirely, and its report (known as theRedcliffe-Maud Report) proposed a much wider Merseyside metropolitan area covering southwest Lancashire and northwest Cheshire, extending as far south asChesterand as far north as theRiver Ribble.This would have included four districts:Southport/Crosby,Liverpool/Bootle,St Helens/WidnesandWirral/Chester.In 1970 theMerseyside Passenger Transport Executive(which operates today under theMerseytravelbrand) was set up, covering Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral and Knowsley, but excluding Southport and St Helens.

The Redcliffe-Maud Report was rejected by the incomingConservativegovernment, but the concept of a two-tier metropolitan area based on the Mersey area was retained. AWhite Paperwas published in 1971. TheLocal Government Billpresented to Parliament involved a substantial trimming from the White Paper, excluding the northern and southern fringes of the area, excluding Chester, Ellesmere Port, and, for the first time, including Southport, whose council had requested to be included. Further alterations took place in Parliament, withSkelmersdalebeing removed from the area, and a proposed district including St Helens andHuytonbeing subdivided into what are now the metropolitan boroughs ofSt HelensandKnowsley.

Merseyside was created on 1 April 1974 from areas previously part of theadministrative countiesofLancashireandCheshire,along with the county boroughs of Birkenhead, Wallasey, Liverpool, Bootle, and St Helens. Following the creation of Merseyside, Merseytravel expanded to take in St Helens and Southport.

post-1974 pre-1974
Metropolitan county Metropolitan borough County boroughs Non-county boroughs Urban districts Rural districts

Merseyside is an amalgamation of 22 former local government districts, including six county boroughs and two municipal boroughs.
 Knowsley Huyton with Roby•Kirkby•Prescot West Lancashire•Whiston
Liverpool Liverpool
Sefton Bootle•Southport Crosby Formby•Litherland West Lancashire
St Helens St Helens Newton-in-Makerfield•Billinge and Winstanley•Haydock•Rainford Whiston
Wirral Birkenhead•Wallasey Bebington Hoylake•Wirral

Between 1974 and 1986 the county had a two-tier system of local government with the five boroughs sharing power with theMerseyside County Council.In 1986 the government ofMargaret Thatcherabolished the county council along with all other metropolitan county councils, and so its boroughs are now effectivelyunitary authorities.

Geography

[edit]
An aerial photograph of Merseyside
See also:List of places in Merseyside,List of settlements in Merseyside by population,andLiverpool Built-up Area

Merseyside is divided into two parts by theMerseyestuary; the Wirral is on the west side of the estuary, upon theWirral Peninsula,and the rest of the county lies on the east side. The eastern part of Merseyside borders ontoLancashireto the north andGreater Manchesterto the east, with both parts of the county borderingCheshireto the south. The territory comprising the county of Merseyside previously formed part of theadministrative countiesof Lancashire (east of the River Mersey) and Cheshire (west of the River Mersey). The two parts are linked by the twoMersey Tunnels,theWirral lineofMerseyrail,and theMersey Ferry.

Green belt

[edit]
Further information:North West Green Belt

Merseyside containsgreen beltinterspersed throughout the county, surrounding the Liverpool urban area, as well as across the Mersey in the Wirral area, with further pockets extending towards and surrounding Southport, as part of the western edge of the North West Green Belt. It was first drawn up from the 1950s. All the county's districts contain some portion of belt.

Demography

[edit]
Population of Merseyside by district (2022)[3]
District Land area Population Density
(/km2)
(km2) (%) People (%)
Knowsley 87 13% 157,103 11% 1,816
Liverpool 112 17% 496,770 34% 4,442
St Helens 136 21% 184,728 13% 1,355
Sefton 157 24% 281,027 19% 1,795
Wirral 161 25% 322,453 22% 2,004
Merseyside 652 100% 1,442,081 100% 2,211
Ethnicity
Ethnic Group 1981 estimations[4] 1991 census[5]
Number % Number %
White:Total 1,500,267 98.6% 1,422,453 98.1%
White:British – – – –
White:Irish – – – –
White:Gypsy or Irish Traveller[note 1] – – – –
White:Roma – – – –
White:Other – – – –
Asian or Asian British:Total 9,061 11,624
Asian or Asian British:Indian 2248 2,740
Asian or Asian British:Pakistani 716 912
Asian or Asian British:Bangladeshi 489 764
Asian or Asian British:Chinese[note 2] 4,719 5,895
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian 889 1313
Black or Black British:Total 8,344 9,914
Black or Black British:African 2,630 3,093
Black or Black British:Caribbean 1,890 2,208
Black or Black British:Other Black 3,824 4,613
Mixed:Total – – – –
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean – – – –
Mixed: White and Black African – – – –
Mixed: White and Asian – – – –
Mixed: Other Mixed – – – –
Other: Total 4,531 5,713
Other: Arab[note 1] – – – –
Other: Any other ethnic group – – – –
Ethnic minority: Total 21,932 1.4% 27,247 1.9%
Total 1,522,199 100% 1,449,700 100%

Identity

[edit]

Ipsos MORIpolls in the boroughs of Sefton and Wirral in the 2000s showed that in general, residents of these boroughs identified slightly more strongly to Merseyside than to Lancashire or Cheshire respectively, but their affinity to Merseyside was more likely to be "fairly strong" than "very strong".[6]

Local government

[edit]
Coat of arms of the formerMerseyside County Council.

Metropolitan boroughs

[edit]

Merseyside comprises themetropolitan boroughsofLiverpool,Knowsley,Sefton,St HelensandWirral.

County-level functions

[edit]

Following the abolition of the county council, some local services are run byjoint-boardsof the five metropolitan boroughs; these include the:

Combined authority

[edit]

TheLiverpool City Region Combined Authority,which includes the five boroughs of Merseyside and theBorough of Haltonin Cheshire, oversees transport, economic development and regeneration.[7]The combined authority is chaired by aMetro Mayor,Steve Rotheram,who was elected in2017and re-elected in2021[8]and in2024.[9]

Local health system

[edit]

The planning and commissioning of care within Merseyside is the responsibility ofNHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Service(ICS), which coversNHSand other care services within theCheshireand Merseyside area.[10]NHS Cheshire and Merseyside serves a combined population of 2.7 million people, with some 17 NHS trusts, 349 GP practices, and 590 pharmacies under its control.

Economy

[edit]
See also:Liverpool City Region § Economy,Liverpool § Economy,Metropolitan Borough of Wirral § Economy,andMetropolitan Borough of Sefton § Economy
GVA and GDP by local authority district in 2021[11]
District GVA
(£ billions) 		GVA
per capita (£) 		GDP
(£ billions) 		GDP
per capita (£)
Knowsley £4.0 £25,927 £4.6 £29,407
Liverpool £14.3 £29,489 £15.9 £32,841
St Helens £2.8 £15,448 £3.4 £18,803
Sefton £4.6 £16,275 £5.4 £19,418
Wirral £5.6 £17,527 £6.6 £20,688
Merseyside £31.3 £22,000 £36.0 £25,281

Transport

[edit]
See also:Transport in Liverpool;St Helens, Merseyside § Transport and infrastructure;Wirral Peninsula § Transport;Merseytravel;andCategory:Transport in Merseyside

Road

[edit]
Motorway network around Merseyside

Merseyside is served by sixmotorways:theM58to the north,M56to the south,M6&M62to the east andM53to the west. TheM57acts as an outer ring road and bypass for the city of Liverpool itself. TheRiver Merseyis crossed byQueensway TunnelandKingsway Tunnel,which link Liverpool to Birkenhead and Wallasey respectively, and by theSilver Jubilee BridgeandMersey Gateway Bridge,which link Runcorn and Widnes. The Mersey Gateway Bridge opened in 2017 and is designed to improve transport links between Widnes and Runcorn and other key locations in the vicinity.[12]

National Cycle Route 56andNational Cycle Route 62pass through the region, the former along the Wirral and the latter from Southport to Runcorn.[13][14]Major bus companies areStagecoach MerseysideandArriva North West.Liverpool One bus stationserves as a terminus for national coach travel.

Rail

[edit]
Typical Merseyrail train at Liverpool Central underground station

Liverpool Lime Streetmainline station is Merseyside's primary intercity railway station, being used by 10.46 million passengers in 2021–22.[15]Train services are provided byAvanti West Coast,London Northwestern Railway,TransPennine Express,West Midlands Trains,Transport for Wales,andNorthern,and serve destinations across the UK.[16][17]

Merseyrailis the county's urban rail system and is operated byMerseytravel,the combinedpassenger transport executivefor the Liverpool City Region. The network has 66 stations on two lines; the Northern Line covers the centre of the county, and the Wirral Line covers the eponymous peninsula.[18]The two lines meet inLiverpool City Centre,andLiverpool Centralis the county's most-used station, with 10.75 million passengers in 2021–22.[19][20][15]The network extends toOrmskirkin Lancashire, and Ellesmere Port and Chester in Cheshire.[21]Merseytravel brands the network in the east of the county as the 'City Line', but the services on it are not operated by Merseyrail. TheBorderlands lineconnects the west of the Wirral toWales,and is operated byTransport for Wales Rail.

Maritime

[edit]
Maritime Transport in Merseyside
Liverpool Cruise Terminal,Pier HeadandMersey Ferryterminal
Mersey FerryMVRoyal Iris of the Mersey
Queen Mary 2withIsle of Man Steam Packet CompanyferryHSCManannanat Pier Head
Twelve QuaysFerry Terminal,BirkenheadforStena LineMSStena Laganservices toBelfast,Northern Ireland
Further information:Category:Maritime transport in Merseyside

Liverpool Cruise Terminalprovides facilities for long-distance passenger cruises.Fred. Olsen Cruise LinesMSBlack WatchandCruise & Maritime VoyagesMSMagellanuse the terminal to depart toIceland,France,SpainandNorway.Peel Portshave also planned a second cruise terminal as part of theLiverpool Watersproject.[22][23]

Ferries

[edit]
Seacombe Ferry Terminal

Prince's Landing Stage on Liverpool'sPier HeadservesIsle of Man Steam Packet Companysummer service to theIsle of Man(and Mersey Ferries). TheTwelve Quaysferry port in Birkenhead serves winter Isle of Man ferry service andStena Lineservices toBelfast,Northern Ireland.Almost three quarters of a million people[citation needed]travel theseIrish Seaferry services.[24][25]

TheMersey Ferryhas operated since the 1200s, currently betweenWirralandLiverpool City Centreat Seacombe, Woodside and Liverpool Pier Head. In 2009–2010 it had 684,000passengers using the service.[26]

Commercial

[edit]

ThePort of Liverpoolhandles most commercial shipping, but the Birkenhead Docks complex inGreat Floaton theWirral peninsulastill handles some freight.

The Port of Liverpool is acontainer portthat handles over 33milliontonnes offreight cargoper year[citation needed]and serves more than 100 global destinations including Africa, Australia, China, India, theMiddle EastandSouth America.Imports includegrainandanimal feed,timber,steel, coal, cocoa, crude oil, edible oils and liquid chemicals; there are exports ofscrap metalfor recycling.[27][28]A second container terminal,Liverpool2atSeaforth,can handlePost-Panamaxvessels and doubled the port's capacity when it opened in 2016.[29]

Air

[edit]

Liverpool John Lennon Airportis the county's international airport. It is inSpeke,6.5 miles (10.5 km) southeast of Liverpool city centre, with 5 million departures in 2020.[30]Flights are primarily operated byeasyJetandRyanair,and over 70 destinations are served by the airport, including regular flights to theNear EastandNorth Africa.[31][32][33]

The airport is planning substantial expansion, and is forecast to handle more than 12million passengers by 2030, as well as targeting permanent direct long haul flights and significantly larger terminal facilities.[34]

Sport

[edit]
Further information:Category:Sport in Merseyside

Merseyside is host to several football league football clubs includingEverton F.C.,Liverpool F.C.andTranmere Rovers F.C.and several non-league football clubs includingMarine A.F.C.andSouthport F.C.Golf courses includeRoyal Liverpool Golf Club,Royal Birkdale Golf Club,Hillside Golf ClubandSouthport and Ainsdale Golf Club.Cricket clubs include the historicAigburth Cricket Ground.Aintree Motor Racing Circuithosted theBritish Grand Prixbiennially between 1955 and 1961, and finally in 1962.[35]Aintree Racecoursehosts theGrand Nationaland there is alsoHaydock Park Racecourse.Totally Wicked Stadiumhosts Rugby League andHoylakehosts sailing (such as theSouthport 24 Hour Race) and is Britain's premier location for sand yachting. A ski slope facility is found atThe Oval (Wirral).

Places of interest

[edit]
Croxteth Hall
Knowsley Hall

Liverpool

[edit]

Knowsley

[edit]

St Helens

[edit]

Sefton

[edit]

Wirral

[edit]

Notable people

[edit]
SeeCategory:People from Merseyside
Main articles:List of people from MerseysideandList of bands and artists from Merseyside

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^abNew category created for the 2011 census
  2. ^In 2001, listed under the 'Chinese or other ethnic group' heading.

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Mid-2022 population estimates by Lieutenancy areas (as at 1997) for England and Wales".Office for National Statistics.24 June 2024.Retrieved26 June2024.
  2. ^"2009 Mid Year Estimates – Table 9 ONS".statistics.gov.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 16 December 2008.Retrieved9 September2010.
  3. ^"Mid-Year Population Estimates, UK, June 2022".Office for National Statistics.26 March 2024.Retrieved3 May2024.
  4. ^Ethnicity in the 1991 census: Vol 3 - Social geography and ethnicity in Britain, geographical spread, spatial concentration and internal migration.Internet Archive. London: HMSO. 1996.ISBN978-0-11-691655-6.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^Ethnicity in the 1991 census: Vol 3 - Social geography and ethnicity in Britain, geographical spread, spatial concentration and internal migration.Internet Archive. London: HMSO. 1996.ISBN978-0-11-691655-6.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^Sefton pollArchived26 September 2006 at theWayback Machine,where 51% residents belonged strongly to Merseyside, and compared with 35% to Lancashire;Wirral pollArchived26 September 2006 at theWayback Machine,where 45% of residents belonged strongly to Merseyside; compared with 30% to Cheshire. In both boroughs, "very strongly" ratings for the historic county were larger than that for Merseyside, but "fairly strongly" was lower.
  7. ^Wiggins, Kaye (12 August 2013)."Merseyside combined authority plans outlined".Local Government Chronicle.Retrieved19 April2024.
  8. ^"Liverpool city region metro mayor: what is it, when will we get one and who will it be?".Liverpool Echo.18 May 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 23 July 2016.Retrieved16 July2016.
  9. ^"Local election results 2024 live: London mayor and West Midlands race being counted".BBC News.4 May 2024.Retrieved4 May2024.
  10. ^"Constitution".NHS Cheshire and Merseyside.Retrieved9 December2023.
  11. ^Fenton, Trevor (25 April 2023)."Regional gross domestic product: local authorities".Office for National Statistics.Retrieved13 December2023.
  12. ^"Halton Council: Runcorn & Widnes Communications".Archived fromthe originalon 15 October 2011.Retrieved10 May2012.
  13. ^"Route 56 – Sustrans.org.uk".Sustrans.Retrieved20 June2023.
  14. ^"Route 62".Sustrans.Retrieved20 June2023.
  15. ^abOffice of Rail and Road (24 November 2022)."Estimates of station usage: 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022"(PDF).dataportal.orr.gov.uk.p. 4.Retrieved20 June2023.
  16. ^"railway-technology: Liverpool Lime Street Station, United Kingdom".Retrieved9 May2012.
  17. ^"redspottedhanky: Stations Overview: Liverpool Lime Street".Retrieved9 May2012.
  18. ^"Stations".merseyrail.org.Retrieved20 June2023.
  19. ^"Transport Committee: Written evidence from Merseytravel (CTR 09)".31 October 2011.Retrieved9 May2012.
  20. ^"transportweb: Merseyrail Electrics".Retrieved9 May2012.
  21. ^"Network Map".merseyrail.org.Retrieved20 June2023.
  22. ^"BBC Liverpool: Liverpool cruise liner terminal opening set for May".BBC News.2 March 2012.Retrieved9 May2012.
  23. ^"Liverpool Confidential: Second Mersey cruise terminal planned".30 January 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 12 September 2012.Retrieved9 May2012.
  24. ^"Direct Ferries Ltd: How To Get To Liverpool Ferry Port".Retrieved9 May2012.
  25. ^"parliament.uk: Written evidence from Blundellsands Sailing Club (MCA 53)".February 2011.Retrieved9 May2012.
  26. ^"Merseytravel: Annual Statistical Monitor 2009/10"(PDF).2009–2010. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 19 April 2014.Retrieved9 May2012.
  27. ^"Peel Ports: Port of Liverpool".2010. Archived fromthe originalon 13 April 2012.Retrieved9 May2012.
  28. ^"Port of Liverpool Introduction".2010.Retrieved9 May2012.
  29. ^"Liverpool Port Terminal Work to Begin Next Year".6 March 2012.Retrieved9 May2012.
  30. ^"Arrivals and departures at Liverpool John Lennon Airport 2020".Statista.Retrieved20 June2023.
  31. ^"Liverpool John Lennon airport provides key tourism gateway".29 June 2011.Retrieved10 May2012.
  32. ^"Ryanair's New Routes from JLA Take Off In Style".Archived fromthe originalon 4 September 2012.Retrieved10 May2012.
  33. ^"Liverpool John Lennon Airport Destination Map".Retrieved10 May2012.
  34. ^"Liverpool John Lennon Airport Master Plan".Retrieved10 May2012.
  35. ^"Aintree Circuit:: Liverpool Motor Club".10 March 2024. Archived fromthe originalon 10 March 2024.Retrieved25 March2024.
  36. ^"Art Galleries – Museum – Glass Blowing- Victorian Furnace".The World of Glass.Archivedfrom the original on 8 December 2015.Retrieved28 November2015.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toMerseyside.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide forMerseyside.
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