About Cheshire East

Cheshire East Council came into existence on the 1st of April 2009. It was formed from the preceding authorities of Congleton Borough Council, Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council, Macclesfield Borough Council and Cheshire County Council. The confirmation of the decision to create a unitary authority was announced in December 2007.

Cheshire East petitioned the Queen to issue a charter allowing the council to become a borough. The charter was granted and officially came into effect at the county’s inception in April 2009. This allows the county to elect a mayor as its civic figurehead, appoint aldermen and grant the Freedom of the Borough.

Cheshire's boundaries remain the same as those of the former Cheshire County Council. Cheshire East is surrounded by 10 neighbouring authorities along with it’s newest neighbours Cheshire West and Chester Council, who were formed in the same phase of Local Government Re-organisation as Cheshire East Council.

Towns in Cheshire East

Cheshire East is home to the following towns:

• Congleton
• Crewe
• Knutsford
• Macclesfield
• Middlewich
• Nantwich
• Sandbach
• Wilmslow

You can find out more about the towns of Cheshire East in our Town Information section.

Cheshire East at a Glance

Below are some key facts about the area governed by Cheshire East:

• Cheshire East is the third largest unitary authority in the North West next to Manchester and Liverpool
• Cheshire East has an area of 1,116km²
• Cheshire East has an electorate of over 280,000
• Cheshire East has 81 Councillors representing 27 wards
• Cheshire East has a net budget of £235 million
• Cheshire East has approximately 14,000 staff

You can find out more key facts and figures about Cheshire East in the Research and Intelligence section of this website.