Great Sankey

Great Sankey is a civil parish in the Borough of Warrington in Cheshire, England. It is Template:Convert west of Warrington town centre and has a population of 31,600 according to the 2021 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The township of Great Sankey was originally a chapelry in Prescot parish in Lancashire. It became formally a separate civil parish in 1866, and it was transferred to Cheshire in 1974.<ref>Youngs, F. A. (1991). pages 34, 199–200, 877.</ref> There was industrial growth along the banks of the Sankey Canal at Sankey Bridges during the 19th century but otherwise the area was rural.<ref name=sankeyparishcouncil /> In the 20th century the area became largely a residential area. RAF Burtonwood was built on the outskirts in 1939, and the land is now transformed into Chapelford Urban Village and the Omega Development Site.<ref name=sankeyparishcouncil/>

Governance

Great Sankey forms part of Warrington South constituency of the United Kingdom Parliament. It has three council wards for the election of councillors to Warrington Borough Council: Great Sankey South, Great Sankey North and Whittle Hall, and Chapelford and Old Hall. All are represented by Labour councillors.

The civil parish is governed by a parish council consisting of fifteen elected members.<ref name=sankeyparishcouncil>Great Sankey Parish Council. Official website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref>

Religion

The Parish Church of the Church of England is in the Diocese of Liverpool and dedicated to St. Mary.<ref>St. Mary's Church. Official website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref><ref name=yellchurches /> The nearest Roman Catholic church is in Penketh (St. Joseph's).<ref name=yellchurches /><ref>St Joseph's Church contact details. Template:Webarchive Thomson Local Directory official website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref> Similarly, the nearest Methodist Church is also in Penketh.<ref name=yellchurches>Search results for closest churches to Great Sankey. yell.com website. Retrieval Date: 31 March 2008.</ref><ref>Methodist Churches near Great Sankey search results. Google Maps website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref>

Demographics

Data are based on official 2001 census figures,<ref>Great Sankey official census figures, introduction page. Neighbourhood statistics official UK website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref> and also on those of Great Sankey North and Great Sankey South wards.<ref>Great Sankey North Ward census figures. Warrington Borough Council official website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref><ref>Great Sankey South Ward census figures. Warrington Borough Council official website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref>

Population and ethnicity

The district of Great Sankey has a total population of 16,960 residents, of which 49.5% are male and 50.5% are female. The average age of the population at the 2001 census was 24.3 years. Of the 16,960 residents, 98.05% describe their racial origin as white. Other major majorities are mixed (0.55%), black (0.15%) and Asian origin (0.75%). Other race accounts for 0.50%.

Housing and social situation

At the last count (2001), there were 6,381 households in Great Sankey, of which 87.10% are owner occupied, 9.55% are social accommodation, 2.70% are rented from private landlords and 0.70% have residents who live rent free. The average house price is £136,409. Of the 6,381 houses, 2.80% are classed as overcrowded. The population density is 43.75 residents per hectare. The majority of residents describe Sankey as a "comfortably well-off" area. On the Index of Multiple Deprivation, Great Sankey was described as one of the most affluent areas of Warrington.

Affluence

Great Sankey is one of the more affluent parts of Warrington north of the River Mersey. Its key position near the M62 motorway links, and being in between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester, make it a popular place to live. Relatively unaffected by the 2008 financial bank crisis, unlike other parts of Warrington, the area has continued to see the development of Chapelford Urban Village, with new restaurants and shopping facilities nearby. Developments on the north-western section of the former Burtonwood Airbase, known as Omega, also continue, although most of that is not in the parish.

Employment and education

66.20% of all resident in the Great Sankey wards are employed while unemployment stands at 2.25%. Of the population 2.50% of residents are students in full-time education. 26.44% of residents are economically inactive (due to retirement, disability or acting as a full-time carer). In terms of education, 24.05% of residents have no qualifications whatsoever (mainly down to dropping out of school early or failing end of school examinations). 49.70% of residents only have level one or two qualifications (at least 1 GCSE pass (A*-G) or equivalent), and 18.25% have at least level three qualifications (at least 2 A-levels (A-E) or 4 AS levels (A-E) or equivalent).

Education

The secondary school is Great Sankey High School.<ref>Great Sankey High School. Official website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref> This site also contains facilities for its sixth form under the name of Barrow Hall College.<ref>Barrow Hall College. Official website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref> Nine primary schools (Barrow Hall, St Philips, Park Road, Old Hall, St Joseph's, Chapelford Village, St James, Callands and Burtonwood) serve Great Sankey.<ref>Education in or near Great Sankey. Upmystreet website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref>

Sycamore Lane Primary School closed in early 2013, with staff and pupils relocating to Chapelford Village Primary School.<ref>New Chapelford school will deliver 'outstanding' education Warrington Guardian article. Retrieval date: 31 October 2015.</ref>

Transport

Sankey railway station is on the Liverpool to Manchester line and had an hourly service of stopping trains run by Northern.<ref>Sankey Railway Station. National Rail website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref><ref>Rail Timetable information. National Rail website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref> That was reduced to four services a day from the opening of Warrington West railway station (in Chapelford) on 16 December 2019, where Northern Rail provide two trains per hour, supplemented by peak hour TransPennine Express services between Liverpool and Cleethorpes. Bus services link the area with Warrington Town Centre.<ref>Bus Timetables. Warrington Borough Transport official website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref> Great Sankey is on the A57 road linking Warrington with the M62 motorway at junction 7.<ref>Ordnance Survey (2004). Maps 275 and 276. Template:Gbmappingsmall–Template:Gbmappingsmall</ref> The nearest airport is Liverpool John Lennon Airport.<ref>Great Sankey Travel Information. Upmystreet website. Retrieval Date: 30 March 2008.</ref>

Notable residents

• Shafilea Ahmed, honour killing victim<ref name=Palspaytribute>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Listed buildings in Great Sankey

References

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