Greater Manchester
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Greater Manchester | |
| Image:EnglandGreaterManchester.png Shown within England | |
| Geography | |
| Status | Metropolitan county & Ceremonial county |
|---|---|
| Origin | 1974(Local Government Act 1972) |
| Region | North West England |
| Area - Total | Ranked 39th 1,276 km² (493 sq mi) |
| ONS code | 2A |
| NUTS 2 | UKD3 |
| Demography | |
| Population - Total (2005) - Density | Ranked 3rd 2,547,700 1,997/km² (5,172/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity | 91.1% White 5.6% S.Asian 1.2% Black British 2.1% Mixed Race and Chinese |
| Politics | |
| No county council since 1986. | |
| Executive | |
| Members of Parliament |
|
| Metropolitan Boroughs | |
| poly 100 137 107 128 98 116 109 111 103 105 114 93 109 90 115 84 113 79 114 72 115 69 111 67 114 62 118 62 124 63 126 66 130 66 138 72 132 77 136 80 137 82 133 86 138 92 134 98 129 104 123 118 116 118 118 134 113 134 102 144 104 139 City of Manchester poly 118 134 116 118 123 118 129 104 134 98 141 104 151 105 155 108 166 107 175 114 174 122 166 129 159 137 152 132 140 133 136 149 128 144 128 138 Metropolitan Borough of Stockport poly 134 98 138 92 133 86 137 82 150 76 152 71 161 71 161 68 169 69 170 71 174 71 181 77 180 83 175 88 178 94 166 107 155 108 151 105 141 104 Metropolitan Borough of Tameside poly 137 82 136 80 132 77 138 72 130 66 139 45 143 47 148 41 158 43 169 33 195 63 192 67 192 75 181 77 174 71 170 71 169 69 161 68 161 71 152 71 150 76 Metropolitan Borough of Oldham poly 118 62 114 47 107 47 109 42 116 39 111 34 111 28 110 21 121 12 130 25 135 24 140 6 143 11 152 11 158 8 160 8 165 16 163 23 169 33 158 43 148 41 143 47 139 45 130 66 126 66 124 63 Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale poly 114 72 104 73 93 65 88 60 89 52 86 51 85 43 88 37 86 36 83 28 85 28 86 13 91 17 98 18 103 15 103 21 109 35 111 34 116 39 109 42 107 47 114 47 118 62 114 62 111 67 115 69 Metropolitan Borough of Bury poly 93 65 89 69 71 63 66 68 54 64 49 70 41 64 38 46 27 43 33 36 40 41 54 29 61 33 66 32 70 22 73 30 83 28 86 36 88 37 85 43 86 51 89 52 88 60 Metropolitan Borough of Bolton poly 66 68 67 70 76 73 71 81 70 94 59 94 57 86 45 91 36 101 29 93 30 90 29 86 21 86 2 72 8 56 4 49 10 45 10 38 24 36 27 43 38 46 41 64 49 70 54 64 Metropolitan Borough of Wigan poly 59 94 61 104 69 112 80 95 98 87 106 92 109 90 115 84 113 79 114 72 104 73 93 65 89 69 71 63 66 68 67 70 76 73 71 81 70 94 City of Salford poly 69 112 61 120 72 122 88 134 93 132 100 137 107 128 98 116 109 111 103 105 114 93 109 90 106 92 98 87 80 95 Metropolitan Borough of Trafford </imagemap> | |
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.55 million.[1] It was created as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. The county consists of ten metropolitan boroughs, including the City of Manchester and the City of Salford.
Greater Manchester is landlocked, and as a ceremonial county borders Cheshire, Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire and Merseyside. The Greater Manchester Urban Area is the United Kingdom's third most populous conurbation, and spans across most of the county's territory.
Greater Manchester County Council was abolished in 1986, and so its districts (the metropolitan boroughs) are now effectively unitary authorities. However, the metropolitan county, which is some 492.7 square miles (1,276.1 km²),[2] continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference.[3][4][5]
Prior to the creation of the metropolitan county, the name SELNEC was used for the area from the initials 'South East Lancashire North East Cheshire'. Parts of the historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire covered the area that is now Greater Manchester.
Contents |
[edit] History
- See also: History of Manchester
[edit] Origins
The modern county of Greater Manchester was created in 1974. However, the history and heritage of its constituent settlements and parts stem back for centuries. Manchester is home to a c.2000 year old Roman fort in Castlefield, and other towns (such as Oldham and Bolton) played a central role during the Industrial Revolution. Indeed, due to the economic and industrial success of the modern Greater Manchester towns and cities, the connurbation has been forming for the last few centuries and the need for local government and geo-administrative change to reflect this, was postulated in as early as the 1910s.
The first known recorded use of the term Greater Manchester was in 1914 as part of a report put forward as a response to what was considered a successful creation of the County of London in 1889. The report suggested that a county should be set up to recognise the "Manchester known in commerce" and referred to the areas that formed Cottonopolis, or that of South-Lancashire and part of Cheshire.[6]
Conurbations in England tend to build-up at the historic county boundaries[7] and Greater Manchester is no exception.
Most of Greater Manchester lies within the ancient county boundaries of Lancashire; those areas south of the Mersey and Tame in Cheshire. The Saddleworth area and a small part of Mossley are historically part of Yorkshire and in the south-east a small part in Derbyshire. The areas which were incorporated into Greater Manchester in 1974 previously formed parts of the Administrative counties of Cheshire, Lancashire, the West Riding of Yorkshire and of various independent county boroughs.
Greater Manchester is today made up of some seventy former local authorities from these former boundaries, and is the only urban area in the United Kingdom outside Greater London ever to officially bear the name "Greater".
[edit] Redcliffe-Maud Report
The Local Government Act 1958 designated the "South East Lancashire" area (which despite its name included north east Cheshire as well), a Special Review Area. The Local Government Commission for England never completed its report before it was abolished in favour of the Royal Commission on Local Government. Draft recommendations were presented in December 1965 and would have seen a new county based on the Manchester conurbation, with nine most-purpose boroughs, corresponding to the modern Greater Manchester boroughs (excluding Wigan).
The Royal Commission's 1969 report, known as the Redcliffe-Maud Report, proposed a 'SELNEC' (South East Lancashire North East Cheshire) 'metropolitan area'. This had roughly the same northern boundary as today's Greater Manchester, but covered much more territory in north-east Cheshire including Macclesfield and Warrington, and also covered Glossop in Derbyshire. The metropolitan area was to be divided into nine metropolitan districts, based on Wigan, Bolton, Bury/Rochdale, Warrington, Manchester (including Salford and Old Trafford), Oldham, Altrincham, Stockport and Tameside.
In 1969 a SELNEC Passenger Transport Authority was set up, which covered an area smaller than the proposed SELNEC, but different to the eventual Greater Manchester. Compared to the Redcliffe-Maud area it excluded Macclesfield, Warrington, and Knutsford, but still including Glossop and Saddleworth, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It excluded Wigan, which was in both the Redcliffe-Maud area and in the eventual Greater Manchester (but had not been part of the SEL special review area).
Although the Redcliffe-Maud report was rejected by the Conservative government after the 1970 general election, it was committed to local government reform, and accepted the need for a metropolitan county centred on the conurbation surrounding Manchester. Its original proposal was much smaller than the Redcliffe-Maud Report's SELNEC, but further fringe areas such as Wilmslow, Warrington and Glossop were trimmed from the edges and remained instead in the shire counties. Other late changes included the separation of the proposed Bury/Rochdale authority (retained from the Redcliffe-Maud report) into the Metropolitan Borough of Bury and the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale.
[edit] Post 1974
Greater Manchester was eventually established on 1 April 1974. It is the largest of all the Metropolitan counties of England in that it contained ten boroughs (whilst Greater London is clearly larger with 32 London boroughs and the City, it is not officially a metropolitan county).
Some noted historians of Manchester have claimed that "With the creation of the Greater Manchester county, came statutory recognition to what was already as a result of natural evolution, a distinct and recognised region, bound together by innumerable ties extending back over the centuries. Greater Manchester... is the logical outcome of centuries of shared tradition."[8]
On 31 March 1986, the Greater Manchester County Council was abolished as part of the Local Government Act 1985. Upon its abolition, most of the functions of the council were devolved to the ten Greater Manchester metropolitan district councils, and some of its functions such as emergency services and public transport were taken over by joint boards and continued to be run on a county-wide basis. After its abolition, the Association of Greater Manchester Local Authorities was established to continue much of the county-wide services of the county council. The metropolitan county itself however continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference.[9][10][11] Greater Manchester metropolitan county is also used as a NUTS 2 geocode standard for referencing the administrative division of European Union countries for statistical purposes.[12]
Unlike most other modern counties (including Merseyside and Tyne and Wear), Greater Manchester was never adopted as an official Postal county by Royal Mail for postal addresses and delivery. As part of the Post Office's policy review in 1973,[13] it was noted that "Greater Manchester" would be unlikely to be adopted because of confusion with the Manchester post town.[14] And so the component areas of Greater Manchester held on to their pre-1974 postal counties until 1996, when they were abolished.
On 1 July 1997, the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester further became a ceremonial county by way of the Lieutenancies Act 1997. These ceremonial counties are increasingly being seen as the main geographic frames of reference within England.
[edit] Geography
Greater Manchester is a landlocked county. The Pennines rise along the eastern side of the county, through parts of Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. The West Pennine Moors, as well as a number of coalfields (mainly sandstones and shales) lie in the west of the county.
The rivers Mersey and Tame run through the county boundaries, both of which rise in the Pennines. Other rivers run through the county, including the Beal, the Douglas and the Irk.
Black Chew Head is the highest point (county top) of Greater Manchester, rising 542 metres (1778.2 ft) above sea-level, within the parish of Saddleworth.[15] Chat Moss at 10.6 square miles (27 km²) comprises the largest area of Grade 1 and 2 farmland in Greater Manchester and contains the largest block of semi-natural woodland in the county.[16]
There is a mix of high density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Greater Manchester, but overwhelmingly the land use in the county is urban.[17] It has a strong regional central business district, formed by Manchester City Centre and the adjoining parts of Salford and Trafford. However, Greater Manchester is also a polycentric county[17] with ten metropolitan districts, each of which has a major town centre - and in some cases more than one.
Greater Manchester is arguably the most complex urban area in the United Kingdom outside London,[17] and this is reflected in the density of its transport network and the scale of needs for investment to meet the growing and diverse movement demands generated by its development pattern.
[edit] Climate
The climate of Greater Manchester is generally temperate, with few extremes of temperature or weather. The mean temperature is slightly above average for the United Kingdom;[18] whereas annual rainfall and average amount of sunshine is slightly below the average for the UK.[18] These are average temperature and rainfall figures taken between 1971 and 2000 at the Met Office weather station at Manchester Airport:
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high °C (°F) | 6.4 (43.5) | 6.6 (43.9) | 8.9 (48.0) | 11.6 (52.9) | 15.3 (59.5) | 18.2 (64.8) | 19.6 (67.3) | 19.5 (67.1) | 17.0 (62.6) | 13.7 (56.7) | 9.1 (48.4) | 7.1 (44.8) | |
| Avg low temperature °C (°F) | 1.3 (34.3) | 1.2 (34.2) | 2.5 (36.5) | 4.3 (39.7) | 7.3 (45.1) | 10.2 (50.4) | 12.0 (53.6) | 11.9 (53.4) | 10.0 (50.0) | 7.5 (45.5) | 3.6 (38.5) | 2.0 (35.6) | |
| Mean Total Rainfall mm | 69 | 50 | 61 | 51 | 61 | 67 | 65 | 79 | 74 | 77 | 78 | 78 | |
| Mean Number of Rainy Days | 18.2 | 13.1 | 15.6 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.4 | 13.6 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 16.5 | 17.0 | 17.4 | |
| Source: Worldweather.org | |||||||||||||
[edit] Greater Manchester Urban Area
The Greater Manchester Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the large conurbation surrounding and including the City of Manchester. Its territory spans much, but not all of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester.
It discludes settlements such as Wigan and Marple from the Greater Manchester county boundaries (Wigan itself forming the Wigan Urban Area), but includes some settlements which are outside of the county boundaries, such as Wilmslow and Alderley Edge in Cheshire, and Whitworth in Lancashire.
Although neither the Greater Manchester county, nor the Greater Manchester Urban Area have been granted city status in the United Kingdom, European Union literature suggests that the conurbation surrounding Manchester constitutes as a homogonous urban city region.[19]
[edit] Governance
Local governance in Greater Manchester is currently provided by the councils of ten districts, known as metropolitan boroughs, these are: Bolton, Bury, the City of Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, the City of Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.
Each Metropolitan Borough comprises a large town (usually having formed a county borough before 1974) together with the surrounding smaller towns, villages and countryside. Most of the names are self explanatory, for example the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is centred on the town of Stockport, though includes other smaller towns, such as Cheadle, Gatley, and Bramhall.[20]
The names of two of the metropolitan boroughs are not as obvious however. For these, a neutral name was chosen because, at the time they were created, there was no agreement on the town to be put forward as the administrative centre. These boroughs are Tameside and Trafford, centred today on Ashton-under-Lyne and Stretford, respectively.[21]
For the first twelve years after the county was created in 1974, the county had a two-tier system of local government, and the metropolitan borough councils shared power with the Greater Manchester County Council. However in 1986, along with the five other metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council, the Greater Manchester County Council was abolished, and most of its powers were devolved to the boroughs, which effectively became unitary authorities.
Various civil parishes exist in certain parts of Greater Manchester: see list of civil parishes in Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester council's County Hall, was located in what is now Westminster House, in Piccadilly Gardens, central Manchester.
[edit] County level functions
Although the county council was abolished a number of local government functions take place at the county level.
The ten authorities of Greater Manchester co-operate through the Association of Greater Manchester Local Authorities (AGMLA), which meets to create a co-ordinated county-wide approach to many issues. The AGMLA funds some county-wide bodies such as the Greater Manchester County Records Office. Through the AGMLA, the ten authorities of Greater Manchester co-operate on many policy issues, including jointly producing a county-wide Local Transport Plan.[22]
In addition to this, some local services are still provided county-wide, but are now administered by statutory joint boards of the ten districts. These are:
- The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, (GMPTE) which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating public transport across the county.
- The Greater Manchester Police, who are overseen by a joint Police authority.
- The Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, who are administered by a joint "Fire and Rescue Authority".
- The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority, which does not include the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
These joint-boards which are made up of councillors appointed from each of the ten boroughs.
The ten-boroughs jointly own the Manchester Airport Group which controls Manchester Airport and three other UK airports. Other services are directly funded and managed by the local councils.
[edit] Ceremonial county
Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county with its own Lord-Lieutenant. The Local Government Act 1972 provided that the whole of the area to be covered by the new metropolitan county of Greater Manchester would also be included in the Duchy of Lancaster - extending the duchy to include areas which were formerly in the counties of Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Thus, the Lord-Lieutenant and High Sherriff of Greater Manchester are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster rather than, as is more usual, the recommendation of the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.[citation needed]
The first Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester was Sir William Downward who held the title from 1974 through to 1987. The current Lord Lieutenant is Colonel Sir John Bradford Timmins.
As a geographic county, Greater Manchester is utilised by the government (via the Office for National Statistics) for the gathering of county-wide statistics, and organising and collating general register and census material.[23]
[edit] Parliamentary representation
Greater Manchester is divided into 28 Parliamentary constituencies - 18 Borough constituencies and 10 County constituencies.
Most of Greater Manchester is controlled by the Labour party, and is generally considered a Labour stronghold, with only four constituencies (since the 2005 General Election) belonging to the Liberal Democrats, and one constituency to the Conservative party.
[edit] Economy
Due to the overwhelmingly urban, built-up land use of Greater Manchester, agriculture plays only a minor role, with the county ranking within the bottom third in the United Kingdom for employment in the agricultural sector.[24]
Manchester City Centre, the central business district of Greater Manchester, is a major centre of trade and commerce. Manchester today is a centre of the arts, the media, higher education and commerce. It is regarded as the third best place to locate business in the UK,[25] is the third most visited city in the United Kingdom by foreign visitors and now often considered to be the second city of the UK.[26]
The Trafford Centre is one of the largest indoor shopping centre's in Europe and is located within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Greater Manchester South at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling (GB£).
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added[27] | Agriculture[28] | Industry[29] | Services[30] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 15,242 | 32 | 4,077 | 11,133 |
| 2000 | 21,604 | 20 | 4,879 | 16,705 |
| 2003 | 24,950 | 26 | 4,788 | 20,136 |
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Greater Manchester North at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added[27] | Agriculture[28] | Industry[29] | Services[30] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 10,126 | 27 | 4,267 | 5,833 |
| 2000 | 11,391 | 18 | 3,938 | 7,435 |
| 2003 | 13,350 | 22 | 4,185 | 9,143 |
[edit] Industrial Revolution and textiles
Encompassing several former mill towns, Greater Manchester has been described as "one of the classic areas of industrial and urban growth in Britain, the result of a combination of forces that came together in the 18th and 19th centuries: a phenomenal rise in population, the appearance of the specialist industrial town, a transport revolution, and weak local lordship".[31] Much of the county was at the forefront of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution and into the early 20th century.[32][31] and this is represented by former textile mills found throughout the county.[31]
The territory that makes up Greater Manchester experienced a rapid decline of these traditional sectors, partly during the Lancashire Cotton famine brought on by the American Civil War, but mainly as part of the post-war economic depression that occurred during the 20th century. Considerable industrial restructuring has helped the region to recover.[33]
Historically, the docks at Salford Quays were an industrial port, though are now (following a period of disuse) a commercial and residential area which includes the Imperial War Museum North, The Lowry Theatre and exhibition centre and is to become a major centre for the BBC.[34]
[edit] Demography
Greater Manchester has a population of 2,547,700, making it the third most populous county in the United Kingdom (after Greater London and the West Midlands). It is the seventh most densely populated county of England.
Greater Manchester is a multicultural agglomeration with significant ethnic minority population comprising 8.49% of the total population.[35]
Below is a table outlining population totals of the area for every ten years since 1801. Pre-1974 statistics were gathered from local government areas that now comprise Greater Manchester.
| Year | Population | Year | Population | Year | Population | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 1871 | | 1941 | | |||
| 1811 | | 1881 | | 1951 | | ||
| 1821 | | 1891 | | 1961 | | ||
| 1831 | | 1901 | | 1971 | | ||
| 1841 | | 1911 | | 1981 | | ||
| 1851 | | 1921 | | 1991 | | ||
| 1861 | | 1931 | 2001 | | |||
| Source: A Vision of Britain through Time.[36] | |||||||
[edit] Settlements
As a large urbanised county, Greater Manchester is home to two cities and several towns of varying sizes. Some of the ten metropolitan boroughs are named after the largest settlements, including Rochdale, Bolton, Salford and Oldham. However Greater Manchester is also home to many smaller settlements including some rural villages along the outskirts.
The table below outlines many of these settlements, and is formatted according to their metropolitan borough. Each district has a centre of administration; for the most part these correlate with a boroughs largest town (which in further cases gave their name to the boroughs themselves), though for some districts such as the City of Salford, other arrangements apply.
- This table does not form an extensive list. More settlements can be found at Category:Towns in Greater Manchester, Category:Villages in Greater Manchester, and Category:Districts of Greater Manchester.
Some of these settlements were immortalised on The Beautiful South's 2006 single Manchester (which somewhat erroneously places many settlements within Manchester, rather than Greater Manchester).
[edit] Transport
In addition to a network of bus routes and a light rail system which radiate from Manchester City Centre, Greater Manchester has a rail network of 142 route miles with 98 stations, forming a central hub to the North West rail network.[37] Train services are provided by private operators and run on the national rail network which is owned and managed by Network Rail.
Greater Manchester has a higher percentage of the motorway network than any other county in the country.[38] According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it has the most traffic lanes side by side (17), spread across several parallel carriageways (M61 at Linnyshaw Moss, Greater Manchester, close to the M60 interchange).[39][40][41]
A canal network also remains from the Industrial Revolution.
[edit] Sports
[edit] Venues and facilities
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were staged in Manchester and provided the area with world class sports facilities, including the Manchester Aquatics Centre, Bolton Arena, National Squash Centre, Eastlands Stadium and the supporting athletics stadium at Sports City. This built on the success of the Manchester Velodrome in regenerating the Eastern side of the conurbation.[42]
[edit] Football
Greater Manchester has a high concentration of football clubs. Four Greater Manchester teams, Bolton Wanderers F.C., Manchester City F.C., Manchester United F.C., and Wigan Athletic F.C., play in the 2007-08 Premier League. In addition to this, Oldham Athletic A.F.C. play in League One and Stockport County F.C., Bury F.C. and Rochdale A.F.C. play in League Two. There are numerous high-profile non-league football teams, including Altrincham F.C., Stalybridge Celtic F.C., Droylsden F.C., Salford City F.C., Atherton Collieries F.C., Hyde United F.C., Maine Road F.C. (1954) and the recently created F.C. United of Manchester. Manchester United F.C. is the most successful team in the history of the Premier League, having won the title nine times since it was introduced in 1991-92[43] Manchester Football League, dating from 1893, includes numerous amateur teams.
[edit] Rugby
In rugby union, Sale Sharks compete in the Guinness Premiership, and won the league in 2006.[44] Whitefield based Sedgley Park RUFC are competing in National League 1, Manchester RUFC in National League 2 and Wigan side Orrell RUFC in National League 3 (North).
In rugby league, Wigan Warriors and Salford City Reds compete in the Super League, while Leigh Centurions and Rochdale Hornets take part in National League 1, with Oldham Roughyeds being local rivals of Swinton Lions in National League 2. Prominent amateur sides are numerous and include Leigh Miners, Leigh East, Wigan St Patricks, Eccles and Salford Juniors and Oldham St Annes.
[edit] Cricket
- See also: Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club began in the county as Manchester Cricket Club[45] and continues to represent the area (along with the rest of the historic county of Lancashire). The club is based at Old Trafford and near the famous football stadium of the same name. Lancashire contested the original 1890 County Championship.[46] Lancashire are perenial favourites in most competitions, though have not won much silverware since 1999.[47][48][49][50][51]
[edit] Other sports
The Kirkmanshulme Lane stadium in Belle Vue is the home to top-flight speedway team the Belle Vue Aces and regular greyhound racing.
Professional ice hockey is set to return to the area in early 2007 with the scheduled opening of a purpose designed rink in Altrincham, the Altrincham Ice Dome to host the Manchester Phoenix, the predecessor Manchester Storm having gone out of business in 2002 due to the overheads of staging matches in the 17,500 capacity Manchester Arena.
Greater Manchester had a venue for horse racing for 87 years, initially at New Barnes and later at Castle Irwell which is now a student residence for the University of Salford. Racing began at New Barnes in 1876 but the site had to be vacated in 1901 to facilitate an expansion to Manchester Docks - the land is now home to Dock 9 of the re-branded Salford Quays. Racing then moved to Castle Irwell which later staged a Classic - the 1941 St. Leger, and was most famous as home of the Lancashire Oaks (nowadays run at Haydock Park Racecourse) and the November Handicap, which was traditionally the last major race of the UK flat season. Through the late 50's and early 60's the track saw legendary jockeys Scobie Breasley and Lester Piggott annually battle out the closing acts of the jockey's title until racing ceased on November 7 1963. The main stand at Castle Irwell was designed by local architect Ernst Atherton and was the first stand at any UK sports venue to include private boxes, the idea having later been copied by Manchester United and then made commonplace throughout the country. The structure still survives as a Students Union building. Although both sites carried the name of Manchester Racecourse, neither was strictly speaking within the boundaries of Manchester itself. A proposal to reincarnate Manchester Racecourse is presently being pursued by Peel Holdings at a site in Worsley - which like New Barnes and Castle Irwell is found in the neighbouring City of Salford.
Aside from Sports City, which has hosted numerous national trials, alternative athletics venues can be found at Robin Park in Wigan, Longford Park in Stretford (home to Stretford Harriers) and the Cleavleys Track in Winton (home of Salford Harriers).
A wide range of new sports facilities that include a 10,000 capacity stadium and athletics venue are presently being constructed at the Leigh Sports Village.
[edit] Places of interest
| To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup because it is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (November 2007) |
Greater Manchester boasts many places of interest, including multiple museums, galleries and centres of art and culture. Along the outskirts of the Greater Manchester conurbation feature many sites of natural beauty, including the West Pennine Moors, and parts of the Peak District.
[edit] See also
<categorytree>Greater Manchester</categorytree>
[edit] Gallery
SalfordQuays.jpg
Salford Quays, between the City of Salford and Trafford. |
Beetham tower.jpg
The Beetham Tower - The tallest building in Greater Manchester. |
ManchesterTownHall OwlofDoom.jpg
Manchester Town Hall, an example of the Victorian architecture found in Manchester |
Manchester Central Library.jpg
|
Bramall Hall 2.jpg
Bramall Hall - near Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme, is a historic Tudor hall |
Salford11.JPG
Salford skyline, as seen in 2005. |
GMPTE Manchester Bus Flag June 2006.jpg
One of the bus stop flags of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive |
IWMN canal entrance.JPG
|
The B of the Bang, Manchester.jpg
The B of the Bang - a public sculpture in Manchester |
Printworks.jpg
The Printworks an urban entertainment complex in Manchester City Centre |
Pennine scenery.jpg
Saddleworth Moor - an area of the Pennines in the rural north-east of Greater Manchester. |
Stockport Viaduct.jpg
Stockport Viaduct - one of several redbrick monuments of Greater Manchester's industrial past |
ManchesterCore.PNG
Manchester City Centre - the central business district of Greater Manchester |
Manchester Chinatown.jpg
The Chinese Arch on George Street in "China Town" |
UrbisManchester20051020 CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg
The Urbis building which houses Channel-M News |
Stockport Town Hall.jpg
Stockport Town Hall |
[edit] References
- ^ Corrected - 20/12/05 - T 09: Quinary age groups and sex for local authorities in the United Kingdom; estimated resident population; Mid-2004 Population Estimates, National Statistics Online, 2006. URL accessed February 28, 2007.
- ^ Greater Manchester Fire Service, stockport.gov.uk URL accessed December 22, 2006.
- ^ Office of National Statistics - Gazetteer of the old and new geographies of the United Kingdom, p48. URL accessed December 14, 2006.
- ^ Metropolitan Counties and Districts, Beginners' Guide to UK Geography, Office for National Statistics, September 17, 2004. URL accessed January 11, 2007.
- ^ North West England Counties, The Boundary Commission for England. URL accessed February 14, 2007.
- ^ Swarbrick, J., (February 1914), Greater Manchester: The Future Municipal Government of Large Cities, pp.12-15.
- ^ Dearlove, J., (1979), The reorganisation of British local government.
- ^ Frangopulo, N.J., (1977), Tradition in Action: The Historical Evolution of the Greater Manchester County, EP Publishing, Wakefield.
- ^ Office of National Statistics - Gazetteer of the old and new geographies of the United Kingdom, p48. URL accessed December 14, 2006.
- ^ Metropolitan Counties and Districts, Beginners' Guide to UK Geography, Office for National Statistics, September 17, 2004. URL accessed January 11, 2007.
- ^ North West England Counties, The Boundary Commission for England. URL accessed February 14, 2007.
- ^ Regional Portrait of Greater Manchester - 5.1 Spatial Structure, BISER Europe Regions Domain Reporting, 2003. URL accessed February 17, 2007.
- ^ "Changes in local government units may cause some famous names to disappear", The Times, January 2, 1973.
- ^ "Post Office will ignore some new counties over addresses", The Times, November 26, 1973.
- ^ Dawson, A., (1992), The Relative Hills of Britain - Chapter 6: The County Tops, Cicerone Press, Milnthorpe, Cumbria.
- ^ Salford City Council (2007). Chat Moss (http). salford.gov.uk. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
- ^ a b c Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority. The Greater Manchester Area and its Regional Context. gmltp.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
- ^ a b Met Office (2007). Annual UK weather averages. Met Office. Retrieved on 2007-04-23.
- ^ State of the English Cities: Volume 1 Produced for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, (2006). Online Report Accessed December 17, 2006.
- ^ Manchester: Historical geography, www.genuki.org.uk, May 31, 2006. URL accessed March 28, 2007.
- ^ Manchester: Historical geography, www.genuki.org.uk, May 31, 2006. URL accessed March 28, 2007.
- ^ Greater Manchester Local Transport Plan, www.gmltp.co.uk. URL accessed December 12, 2006.
- ^ A Vision of Britain through time. Greater Manchester Met.C. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
- ^ Regional Portrait of Greater Manchester - 6 Economic Factors, BISER Europe Regions Domain Reporting, 2003. URL accessed February 17, 2007.
- ^ [1] 11 July 2007.
- ^ Manchester 'England's second city'. BBC News. BBC (12 September 2002). Retrieved on 2007-05-02. “Manchester is seen as England's second city by a majority of the population, according to a new survey.”
•Manchester 'England's Second City'. Ipsos MORI web pages. Ipsos MORI (12 September 2002). Retrieved on 2007-07-12. “... research by MORI North shows a third consider Manchester to be England's second city, ahead of competition from the likes of Liverpool and Birmingham.”
• Riley, Catherine. "Can Birmingham halt its decline?", The Times, Times Newspapers Ltd, 8 July 2005. Retrieved on 2007-08-01. "Many now consider Manchester to be the country’s second city: ..."
•Manchester 'close to second city'. BBC News. BBC (29 September 2005). Retrieved on 2006-05-02. “Manchester is pushing Birmingham for its position as Britain's second city and has a better international reputation, it has been claimed.”
•Manchester tops second city poll. BBC News. BBC (9 February 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-18. “Manchester is thought to be England's second most important city ahead of Birmingham, a BBC survey has found.”
•BBC (9 February 2007). "Birmingham loses out to Manchester in second city face off". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-06-18. “Birmingham has lost its 'second city' status to Manchester according to results from a nationwide survey ...” - ^ a b Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
- ^ a b includes hunting and forestry
- ^ a b includes energy and construction
- ^ a b includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
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- ^ Cowhig, W.T. (1976). It Happened Round Greater Manchester; Textiles. Greater Manchester Council.
- ^ Regional Portrait of Greater Manchester - 6 Economic Factors, BISER Europe Regions Domain Reporting, 2003. URL accessed February 17, 2007.
- ^ Salford bid wins BBC move north
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- ^ The Metropolitan County of Greater Manchester has the most extensive motorway network in the United Kingdom. Oldham College -About Manchester URL accessed June 28, 2007
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- ^ Matthews, Peter (ed) (1992). The Guinness Book of Records 1993. Enfield: Guinness World Records Limited, p121. ISBN 0-85112-978-1.
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[edit] External links
| North West England Portal |
- Association of Greater Manchester Local Authorities
- Greater Manchester Online
- VisitManchester.com Official Tourism Website for Greater Manchester.
- Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive Information on buses, trains and tram services
- Greater Manchester County Records Office, historical records relating to Greater Manchester.
- Greater Manchester Against Crime
- Greater Manchester e-Government Partnership
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bn:গ্রেটার ম্যানচেস্টার ca:Gran Manchester cy:Manceinion Fwyaf de:Greater Manchester es:Gran Manchester eo:Greater Manchester eu:Manchester Handia fr:Grand Manchester hi:ग्रेटर मैनचेस्टर id:Greater Manchester is:Stórborgarsvæði Manchesters it:Greater Manchester lv:Lielā Mančestra lb:Greater Manchester nl:Greater Manchester ja:大マンチェスタ州 no:Stor-Manchester pl:Greater Manchester pt:Grande Manchester ro:Greater Manchester ru:Большой Манчестер simple:Greater Manchester sk:Veľký Manchester fi:Suur-Manchester sv:Greater Manchester
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since April 2007 | Articles with sections needing expansion | Cleanup from November 2007 | Articles with sections that need to be turned into prose | Greater Manchester | Metropolitan counties | NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union
