Bewsey and Whitecross is a ward to the west of the town centre of Warrington

Warrington

Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 (and includes much of the town centre). The town's General Hospital is within the ward. The area is served by the 16/16A bus route from Dallam to Warrington. In terms of other facilities the Sankey Valley Park runs through Bewsey, and there is a piece of parkland known as Bewsey Park in the centre. There are two primary schools, while the nearest high schools are William Beamont in the Orford

Orford, Warrington

Orford is a suburb of Warrington, England. The "hamlet of Orford" was originally a small area north of the township of Warrington, centred on Orford Green. Orford now describes a large area between the town centre and the M62, incorporating other small communities, such as Longford...

 area, Great Sankey High School

Great Sankey High School

Great Sankey High School is a secondary school located in Warrington, Cheshire. The school is a state school, built in the 1970s and extensions have included a mathematics & humanities block and theatre. The school also has a linking leisure centre and arts theatre...

in Great Sankey, and St Gregory's RC High School.

Politics

Bewsey and Whitecross ward is represented on Warrington Borough Council by three councillors. Currently, two councillors represent the Labour Party and one represents the Liberal Democrats.

Population and Ethnicity

Bewsey and Whitecross ward has a population of 9,840 residents. Of which 49.3% are male and 50.7% are female. The average age of the population at the census was 36.1 years. Of the 9,840 residents, 96.2% of the population describe their ethnicity as white. Other significant minorities are mixed (0.6%), black (0.4%)and Asian (2.1%). Other races account for 0.7% of the population.

Housing and social situation

In the ward, there are 4,431 households of which 51.5% are owner-occupied. 34.1% account for council housing, 11.2% are rented from private landlords and 3.1% of houses have residents who live rent free. In the last two quarters of 2005, the average price of a house in Bewsey was £132,235. The population density of Bewsey and Whitecross is 12.6 residents per hectare. Also, 8.3% of households are classed as overcrowded. According to the ACORN index, 49.6% of residents describe Bewsey and Whitecross as a "hard-pressed" area. According to the indices of multiple deprivation, the ward falls into the slightly below average ward economically. 12.8% of residents are on benefits.

Employment and education

In the ward, employment rate stands at 58.2% of the population. On top of this, 5.0% of all economically active residents are unemployed (this is significantly above the Warrington unemployment rate of 2.9%), 1.7% are students in full-time education. 35.0% are classed as "economically inactive" (due to long-term disability, retirement or full time carer status). In terms of education, 37.25 have no qualifications whatsoever. The majority (46%) have level one (at least 1+ GCSE at A*-G or equivalent) or level two (at least 5+ GCSEs at A*-G or 1 A-Level at A-E or equivalent) qualifications. 11.0% have level three or higher (at least 2+ A-levels (A-E) or 4+ AS-levels at A-E or equivlent) qualifications.