POLITICIANS marked the end of an era as two new councils took control of Cheshire.

The new Cheshire West & Chester and Cheshire East councils were formed from the previous combination of borough councils and Cheshire County Council.

They will receive a share of the £30m remaining when the county council closed its books yesterday.

Cheshire West & Chester includes the former Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston, and Vale Royal councils.

Conservative Mike Jones will be the first leader of the new authority, which today takes responsibility for around 14,000 employees and a population of more than 300,000 people.

Liverpool-born mortgage broker John Ebo will be its first chairman.

One of the largest councils in the North West, its members were elected last year, with the Conservatives taking 55 of the 72 seats.

Since then, the “shadow” authority has appointed its management team.

There was also the painful process of shedding about 250 staff through voluntary redundancies, and setting the budget.

Cllr Jones said it was “an exciting time” but a key issues was to provide seamless continuity of service.

He said: “We set out on day one we want a new council with a different way of doing things – responsive, exciting and with people prepared to try new things. Residents will see a very different council over the next six to 12 months.

“We recognise people cannot get excited about a change in organisation – what they want are good services and value for money.”