doctors' surgeries. But the town's population did not grow as much as planned, so the new civic buildings were too large for the population. Vale Royal Borough Council was formed in 1974, covering Winsford, Northwich and a large rural area of mid-Cheshire. In 1991, the council moved its main office from Northwich to a purpose-built headquarters in Winsford, which since April 2009 has been used by its successor authority Cheshire West and Chester Council. The same building also houses Winsford Town Council. Since then both Cheshire Fire Service (in 1997) and Cheshire Police (in 2003) have moved headquarters from the county town of Chester to Winsford. Governance Political representation Currently there are two layers of local government with responsibility for Winsford, Cheshire West and Chester Council, and the town council. There used to be three tiers, however Vale Royal Borough Council and Cheshire County Council were abolished on 31 March 2009. The town falls within the Eddisbury constituency in Parliament, and has been represented by Edward Timpson since 2019. Winsford is served by Cheshire Police and forms part of Northwich Local Policing Unit. Geography A small area in the south of the civil parish falls within the Weaver Valley Area of Special County Value. Weather Winsford's climate is temperate with few extremes. The average temperature is slightly above the average for the United Kingdom, as is the average amount of sunshine. The average annual rainfall is slightly below the average for the United Kingdom. On an annual basis there are few days when snow lies on the ground, although there are some days of air frost. Economy Rock salt The United Kingdom's largest rock salt (halite) mine is in Winsford. It is one of only three places where rock salt is commercially mined in the United Kingdom, the others being at Boulby Mine, North Yorkshire, and Kilroot, near Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. Rock salt was laid down in this part of North West England 220 million years ago, during the Triassic geological period. Seawater moved inland from an open sea, creating a chain of shallow salt lakes across what is today the Cheshire Basin. As the lakes evaporated, deep deposits of rock salt were formed. Extraction began at Winsford in the 17th century. At first it was used only as salt licks for animals, and to strengthen weak brine. In 1844 Winsford Rock Salt Mine was opened, and is claimed by