Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane. The town is about 18 miles east of Chester, 15 miles south of Warrington, 19 miles south of Manchester and 12 miles south of Manchester Airport. The population of the civil parish was 19,924 in 2011 and the wider built-up area was 47,421. Northwich was named as one of the best places to live in the United Kingdom by The Sunday Times in 2014.
The area around Northwich has been exploited for its salt pans since Roman times, when the settlement was known as Condate. The town has been severely affected by salt mining, and subsidence has historically been a significant problem. Mine stabilisation work was completed in 2007.