Greater Manchester

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Greater Manchester
Shown within England
Geography
Status	Metropolitan county & Ceremonial county
Origin	1 April 1974[1] (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	88.9% White 6.5% S.Asian 1.7% Black 1.6% Mixed Race 1.3% E. Asian and Other
Politics
No county council since 1986.
Executive
Members of Parliament	List of Greater Manchster MPs 23 Labour Party MPs 4 Liberal Democrat MPs 1 Conservative Party MP
Metropolitan Boroughs
City of Manchester Stockport Tameside Oldham Rochdale Bury Bolton Wigan City of Salford Trafford

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.55 million.^[2] It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Salford and Manchester. Greater Manchester was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972.^[1]

Greater Manchester is landlocked, and as a ceremonial county borders Cheshire (to the south-west and south), Derbyshire (to the south-east), West Yorkshire (to the north-east), Lancashire (to the north) and Merseyside (to the west). 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 authority areas. However, the metropolitan county, which is some 496 square miles (1,285 km²),^[3] continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference.^[4] Several county-wide services are co-ordinated via the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities.

Before the creation of the metropolitan county, the name SELNEC was used for the area, taken from the initials of "South East Lancashire North East Cheshire". Greater Manchester is an amalgamation of 70 former local government districts from the former administrative counties of Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire, West Riding and several independent county boroughs.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 Redcliffe-Maud Report 1.3 Post 1974 2 Geography 3 Governance 4 Demography 5 Education 6 Economy 7 Transport 8 Sports 9 Culture 10 See also 11 References 11.1 Notes 12 External links

[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 stems back for centuries. There is evidence of Iron Age inhabitation, particularly at Mellor,^[5] and Celtic activity in a settlement named Chochion, believed to have been an area of Wigan settled by the Brigantes.^[6] Stretford was also part of the land believed to have been occupied by the Celtic Brigantes tribe, and lay on their border with the Cornovii on the southern side of the River Mersey.^[7] Evidence of Roman activity is provided by the remains of 1st-century forts at Castlefield in Manchester,^[8] and Castleshaw in Saddleworth.^[9] Much of the region was omitted from the Domesday Book of 1086. During the Middle Ages, much of what became Greater Manchester lay within the hundred of Salfordshire – an ancient division of the county of Lancashire. Salfordshire encompassed several parishes and townships, some of which, like Rochdale, were important market towns and centres of England's woollen trade. Much of Greater Manchester's heritage is related to textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution and the infrastructure that grew up to support the sector. Towns such as Oldham and Bolton played a central role during the Industrial Revolution, rapidly becoming some of the most important and productive mill towns in the world. Due to its commercial and socioeconomic success, the need for local government and geo-administrative change in the conurbation now called Greater Manchester was proposed as early as the 1910s.^[10]

The term Greater Manchester began to appear around the start of the 20th century. One of the first known recorded uses of the term was in a 1914 report put forward in response to what was considered to have been the 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.^[11] Traders from Germany had already coined the name Manchesterthum, meaning "Greater Manchester", and had been using it to describe the area since the 18th century.^[10]

Conurbations in England tend to build-up at the historic county boundaries^[12] and Greater Manchester is no exception. Most of Greater Manchester lay within the ancient county boundaries of Lancashire; those areas south of the Mersey and Tame were 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 that 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.

The Manchester Evening Chronicle brought to the fore the issue of "regional unity" for the area in April 1935 under the headline "Greater Manchester – The Ratepayers' Salvation". It reported on the "increasing demands for the exploration of the possibilities of a greater merger of public services throughout Manchester and the surrounding municipalities". The issue was frequently discussed by civic leaders in the area at that time, particularly those from Manchester and Salford. The Mayor of Salford pledged his support to the idea, stating that he looked forward to the day when "there would be a merging of the essential services of Manchester, Salford, and the surrounding districts constituting Greater Manchester." Proposals were halted by the Second World War, though in the decade after it, the pace of proposals for local government reform for the area quickened. In 1947, Lancashire County Council proposed a three "ridings" system to meet the changing needs of the county of Lancashire, including those for City of Manchester and surrounding districts. Other proposals included the creation of a Manchester County Council, a directly elected regional body. In 1951, the census in the United Kingdom began reporting on South-East Lancashire as a homogonous conurbation.^[10]

[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.^[10] 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 (though included Rossendale), but covered much more territory from Cheshire including Macclesfield and Warrington, and also covered Glossop in Derbyshire.^[10] 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.^[10] The Conservative Party objected to the proposal however and secured a one third reduction of the size of Greater Manchester.^[10]

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 with the Redcliffe-Maud area it excluded Macclesfield, Warrington, and Knutsford, but still included Glossop and Saddleworth, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.^[10] 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).^[10] The Redcliffe-Maud Report confessed that "the choice even of a label of convenience for this metropolitan area is difficult" when exploring the eventual name of the county.^[10]

Although the Redcliffe-Maud Report was rejected by the Conservative government after the 1970 general election, there was a commitment to local government reform, and the need for a metropolitan county centred on the conurbation surrounding Manchester was accepted. The new government's original proposal was much smaller than the Redcliffe-Maud Report's SELNEC, but further fringe areas such as Wilmslow, Warrington and Glossop were retained by their original counties to ensure their county councils had enough revenue to remain competitive.^[10] 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. Bury and Rochdale were originally planned to form a single district (dubbed "Botchdale" by local MP Michael Fidler)^[13][14] but were divided into separate boroughs. To re-balance the districts, the borough of Rochdale took Middleton from Oldham.^[15]

Greater Manchester is today made up of some 70 former local authority areas from the former county boundaries.^[10]

[edit] Post 1974

The Local Government Act 1972 reformed local government in England and Wales by creating a system of two-tier metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties and districts throughout the country.^[16] The act formally established Greater Manchester on 1 April 1974, though Greater Manchester County Council had been running since elections in 1973.^[17] Frangopulo noted 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."^[10] Greater Manchester is the largest of the metropolitan counties by number of boroughs.

Greater Manchester County Council was abolished on 31 March 1986 under the Local Government Act 1985. Most of the functions of the council were devolved to the ten Greater Manchester metropolitan district councils, though some functions such as emergency services and public transport were taken over by joint boards and continued to be run on a county-wide basis. The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) was established to continue much of the county-wide services of the county council.^[18]

The metropolitan county continues to exist in law, and as a geographic frame of reference,^[4] for example as a NUTS 2 administrative division for statistical purposes within the European Union.^[19] Greater Manchester became a ceremonial county as a result of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 on 1 July 1997.

Unlike most other modern counties (including Merseyside and Tyne and Wear), Greater Manchester was never adopted as a postal county by the Royal Mail. A review in 1973 noted that "Greater Manchester" would be unlikely to be adopted because of confusion with the Manchester post town.^[20] And so the component areas of Greater Manchester held on to their pre-1974 postal counties until 1996, when they were abolished.

In 1998, the people of Greater London voted in a referendum in favour of establishing a new Greater London Assembly, with mayor and an elected chamber for the county.^[21] Her Majesty's Government has outlined similar proposals for metropolitan counties, including Greater Manchester.^[21] The New Local Government Network has proposed the creation of a new Manchester City Region based on Greater Manchester and other metropolitan counties as part of on-going reform efforts, while a report released by the Institute for Public Policy Research's Centre for Cities has proposed the creation of two large city regions based on Manchester and Birmingham. In July 2007, The Treasury published its Review of sub-national economic development and regeneration, which stated that the government would allow those city regions that wished to work together to form a statutory framework for city regional activity, including powers over transport, skills, planning and economic development.^[22] AGMA has also suggested that a formal government structure be created to cover the whole city region.^[23]

[edit] Geography

Main articles: Geography of Greater Manchester and List of places in Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a landlocked county spanning 492.7 square miles (1,276 km²). 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 of Greater Manchester, rising 542 metres (1,778 ft) above sea-level, within the parish of Saddleworth.^[24] 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.^[25]

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.^[26] 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 with ten metropolitan districts,^[26] each of which has a major town centre – and in some cases more than one – and many smaller settlements. Greater Manchester is arguably the most complex urban area in the United Kingdom outside London,^[26] 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.

The table below outlines many of the county's settlements, and is formatted according to their metropolitan borough.

Metropolitan county	Metropolitan district		Centre of administration	Other components
Greater Manchester	Bury		Bury	Prestwich, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Whitefield
	Bolton		Bolton	Blackrod, Farnworth, Horwich, Kearsley, Little Lever, South Turton, Westhoughton
	Manchester		Manchester	Blackley, Cheetham Hill, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Didsbury, Ringway, Withington, Wythenshawe,
	Oldham		Oldham	Chadderton, Shaw and Crompton, Failsworth, Lees, Royton, Saddleworth
	Rochdale		Rochdale	Heywood, Littleborough, Middleton, Milnrow, Newhey, Wardle
	Salford		Swinton	Eccles, Walkden, Worsley, Salford, Irlam, Pendlebury, Cadishead
	Stockport		Stockport	Bramhall, Bredbury, Cheadle, Gatley, Hazel Grove, Marple, Romiley
	Tameside		Ashton-under-Lyne	Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Longdendale, Mossley, Stalybridge
	Trafford		Stretford	Altrincham, Bowdon, Hale, Old Trafford, Sale, Urmston
	Wigan		Wigan	Abram, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Aspull, Astley, Atherton, Bryn, Golborne, Higher End, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Leigh, Orrell, Standish-with-Langtree, Shevington, Tyldesley, Winstanley

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 excludes 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 a homogonous urban city region.^[27]

Greater Manchester experiences a temperate maritime climate, like most of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters. The county's average annual rainfall is 806.6 millimetres (31.76 in)^[28] compared to the UK average of 1,125.0 millimetres (44.29 in),^[29] and its mean rain days are 140.4 per annum,^[28] compared to the UK average of 154.4.^[29] The mean temperature is slightly above average for the United Kingdom;^[30] Greater Manchester also has a relatively high humidity level, which lent itself to the optimised and breakage-free textile manufacturing which took place around the county. Snowfall is not a common sight in the built up areas, due to the urban warming effect. However, the Pennine and Rossendale Forest hills around the eastern and northern edges of the county receive more snow, and roads leading out of the county can be closed due to heavy snowfall,^[31] notably the A62 road via Standedge, the A57 (Snake Pass) towards Sheffield,^[32] and the M62 over Saddleworth Moor.

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 taken between 1971 and 2000 at the Met Office weather station at Manchester Airport.

[edit] Governance

See also: List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester, List of civil parishes in Greater Manchester, and High Sheriff of Greater Manchester

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,^[33][34] with only four constituencies (since the 2005 General Election) belonging to the Liberal Democrats, and one constituency to the Conservative party. 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.^[35] 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 and neither had a county borough. These boroughs are Tameside and Trafford, centred on Ashton-under-Lyne and Stretford, respectively.^[35]

For the first 12 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.^[36] 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.^[36] Various civil parishes exist in certain parts of Greater Manchester.

Although the county council, which was based in what is now Westminster House in Piccadilly Gardens, has been 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 Authorities (AGMA), which meets to create a co-ordinated county-wide approach to many issues. The AGMA funds some county-wide bodies such as the Greater Manchester County Records Office. Through the AGMA, the ten authorities of Greater Manchester co-operate on many policy issues, including jointly producing a county-wide Local Transport Plan.^[37] Also, some local services are still provided county-wide, but are now administered by statutory joint boards of the ten districts. These are 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"; and the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority. These joint boards are made up of councillors appointed from each of the ten boroughs (except the Waste Disposal Authority, which does not include the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan). 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.

Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county with its own Lord-Lieutenant who is the personal representative of the monarch. 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 Sheriff 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 to 1988.^[38] The current Lord Lieutenant is Warren James Smith.^[39] As a geographic county, Greater Manchester is used 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.^[40]

[edit] Demography

Main article: Demography of Greater Manchester

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 home to a diverse population and is a multicultural agglomeration with significant ethnic minority population comprising 8.49% of the total population.^[41] There are currently over 66 refugee nationalities in the county.^[42] As of the 2001 UK census, 74.2% of Greater Manchester's residents were Christian, 5.0% Muslim, 0.9% Jewish, 0.7% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist, and 0.1% Sikh. 11.4% had no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 7.4% did not state their religion. This was broadly similar to the rest of the country, although the relative size of the Muslim and Jewish communities are nearly double the national average.^[43] Greater Manchester is covered by the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Salford and Shrewsbury,^[44][45] and the Archdiocese of Liverpool. Most of Greater Manchester is part of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester,^[46] apart from Wigan which lies within the Diocese of Liverpool.^[47]

Following the deindustrialisation of Greater Manchester in the mid-20th century, there was a significant economic and population decline in the region, particularly in Manchester and Salford.^[48][49] Vast areas of low-quality squalid terraced housing that were built throughout the Victorian era were found to be in a poor state of repair and unsuited to modern needs; many inner-city districts suffered from chronic social deprivation and high levels of unemployment.^[49][50] Slum clearance and the increased building of social housing overspill estates by Salford and Manchester City Councils lead to a decrease in population in central Greater Manchester.^[51] During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the population of Greater Manchester declined by over 8,000 inhabitants a year.^[49] Although the City of Manchester lost over half its population during this time (from 766,311 in 1931 to 452,000 in 2006), the total population of Greater Manchester remained almost stable.^[49]

Population totals for Greater Manchester
Year	Population		Year	Population		Year	Population
1801	328,609		1871	1,590,102		1941	2,693,775
1811	409,464		1881	1,866,649		1951	2,688,987
1821	526,230		1891	2,125,318		1961	2,699,711
1831	700,486		1901	2,357,150		1971	2,729,741
1841	860,413		1911	2,617,598		1981	2,575,441
1851	1,037,001		1921	2,660,088		1991	2,569,700
1861	1,313,550		1931	2,707,070		2001	2,482,352
Pre-1974 statistics were gathered from local government areas that now comprise Greater Manchester Source: Great Britain Historical GIS.[52]

Greater Manchester's housing stock comprises a variety of types. Manchester City Centre is noted for its high-rise apartments,^[53] whilst Salford has some of the tallest and densely populated tower block estates in Europe.^{[citation needed]} Throughout Greater Manchester, rows of terraced houses are common. Most of these were constructed during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The Housing Market Renewal Initiative has identified Manchester, Salford, Rochdale and Oldham as areas with terraced housing unsuited to modern needs. Although Greater Manchester has a reputation as an urban sprawl, the county does have areas of green belt, and includes some of the most affluent areas in the country;^[54] Altrincham, with its neighbours Bowdon and Hale, is said to constitute a "stockbroker belt", with well-appointed dwellings in an area of sylvan opulence.^[10]

[edit] Education

See also: List of schools in Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester has four universities: the University of Bolton, the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the University of Salford. Together with the Royal Northern College of Music they had a combined population of students in higher education of 101,165 in 2007 – the third highest number in England behind Greater London (360,890) and the West Midlands (140,980),^[55] and the thirteenth highest in England per head of population.^[56] The majority of students are concentrated on Oxford Road in Manchester, Europe's largest urban higher education precinct.^[57]

Primary, secondary and further education within Greater Manchester are the responsibility of the constituent boroughs which form local education authorities and administer schools and colleges of further education. The county is also home to a number of notable independent schools such as Manchester Grammar School, Bolton School and Bury Grammar School.

[edit] Economy

See also: List of companies based in Greater Manchester and Economy of Manchester

Greater Manchester made much of its wealth during the Industrial Revolution with the world's first cotton mill built in the town of Royton.^[58][59] Encompassing several former mill towns, an Association for Industrial Archaeology publication describes Greater Manchester 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".^[60] Much of the county was at the forefront of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution and into the early 20th century,^[61][60] and this is represented by former textile mills found throughout the county.^[60]

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 and deindustrialisation of Britain that occurred during the 20th century.^[49] Considerable industrial restructuring has helped the region to recover.^[62] 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. A major BBC centre is also scheduled to open there in 2010.^[63]

Today, Greater Manchester is the economic centre of the North West region of England and is the largest sub-regional economy in the UK outside London and South East England.^[64] Greater Manchester represents more than £42 billion of the UK regional GVA, more than Wales, Northern Ireland or North East England.^[65] 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. In a poll of British business leaders published in 2006, Manchester was regarded as the best place in the UK to locate a business.^[66] A report commissioned by Manchester Partnership, published in 2007, showed Manchester to be the "fastest-growing city" economically.^[67] It is the third most visited city in the United Kingdom by foreign visitors^[68] and is now often considered to be the second city of the UK.^[69] The Trafford Centre is one of the largest indoor shopping centres in Europe and is located within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford.

As of the 2001 UK census, there were 1,805,315 residents of Greater Manchester aged 16 to 74. The economic activity of these people was 40.3% in full-time employment, 11.3% in part-time employment, 6.7% self-employed, 3.5% unemployed, 5.1% students without jobs, 2.6% students with jobs, 13.0% retired, 6.1% looking after home or family, 7.8% permanently sick or disabled and 3.5% economically inactive for other reasons. The figures follow the national trend, although the percentage of self-employed people is below the national average of 8.3%.^[70] The proportion of unemployment in the county varies, with the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport having the lowest at 2.0% and the City of Manchester the highest at 7.9%.^[71] In 2001, of the 1,093,385 residents of Greater Manchester in employment, the industry of employment was 18.4% retail and wholesale, 16.7% manufacturing, 11.8% property and business services, 11.6% health and social work, 8.0% education, 7.3% transport and communications, 6.7% construction, 4.9% public administration and defence, 4.7% hotels and restaurants, 4.1% finance, 0.8% energy and water supply, 0.5% agriculture, and 4.5% other. This was roughly in line with national figures, except for the proportion of jobs in agriculture which is only about a third of the national average of 1.5%, due to the overwhelmingly urban, built-up land use of Greater Manchester.^[72][73]

Regional gross value added by the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester at current basic prices. Figures are in millions of British pounds sterling.[74]
Year	Regional Gross Value Added[A]	Agriculture[B]	Industry[C]	Services[D]
1995	25,368	59	8,344	16,966
2000	32,995	38	8,817	24,140
2003	38,300	48	8,973	29,279
2005[75]	42,082	--	-----	------

[edit] Transport

See also: Transport in Manchester, Manchester Metrolink, Manchester Congestion Charge, and List of railway stations in Greater Manchester

Public transport services in Greater Manchester are co-ordinated by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE), a public body (Passenger Transport Executive) established as SELNEC PTE in 1969 in accordance with the Transport Act 1968.^[10] The original SELNEC Passenger Transport Authority was taken over by the Greater Manchester County Council on 1 April 1974 in order to co-ordinate bus and rail services within the new county.^[10] The council had overall responsibility for the strategic planning and all policy decisions in transportation planning convering public transport and highways. GMPTE's purpose was to secure, through its Executive, the provision of a completely integrated and efficient system of passenger transport to meet the needs of its area.^[10] In 1977, it was noted as the largest authority for public transport in the United Kingdom after London Transport.^[10]

Greater Manchester lies at the heart of the North West transport network. Much of the infrastructure is centred on the City of Manchester with the Manchester Inner Ring Road, an amalgamation of several major roads, circulating the city centre. The county is the only place in the UK to have a fully orbital motorway,^[76] the M60, which cuts through all of the boroughs except Bolton and Wigan. Greater Manchester has a higher percentage of the motorway network than any other county in the country,^[77] and 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).^[78] Greater Manchester's 85 miles (137 km) of motorway network saw 5.8 billion vehicle kilometres in 2002—about 6% of the UK's total, or 89,000 vehicles a day.^[76] The A580 "East Lancs" road is a primary A road that connects Manchester and Salford with Liverpool. It was the UK's first purpose-built intercity highway and was officially opened by King George V on 18 July 1934.^[79] The Manchester Congestion Charge is a proposed scheme of road pricing for Greater Manchester county.^[80][81] Unlike the current version of the London scheme, two cordons will be used, one covering the main urban core of the Greater Manchester Urban Area and another covering the Manchester City Centre.^[82]

There is an extensive bus network which radiates from Manchester City Centre, the largest providers are First Manchester for the northern parts of the county and Stagecoach Manchester for the southern parts. In addition to the network of bus routes a light rail system began operating in 1992 called Manchester Metrolink. The tram system serves the City of Manchester, City of Salford, Bury and Trafford. An expansion of the system is due to begin in 2008 which will see the system run to all boroughs except Bolton and Wigan. Greater Manchester has a rail network of 142 route miles (229 km) with 98 stations, forming a central hub to the North West rail network.^[83] Train services are provided by private operators and run on the national rail network which is owned and managed by Network Rail. An extensive canal network also remains from the Industrial Revolution. Manchester Airport, which is the fourth largest in the United Kingdom, serves the county with flights to more destinations than any other airport in the UK:^[84] since June 2007 it has served 225 routes.^[85]

The three modes of public transport in the area are heavily used. 19.7 million rail journeys were made in the GMPTE-supported area in the 2005/2006 financial year – an increase of 9.4% over 2004/2005; there were 19.9 million journeys on Metrolink; and the bus system carried 219.4 million passengers.^[84]

[edit] Sports

See also: Sports in Manchester

Manchester hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games which was, at a cost of £200M for the sporting facilities and a further £470M for local infrastructure, by far the biggest and most expensive sporting event held in the UK and the first to be an integral part of urban regeneration.^[86] A mix of new and existing facilities were used. New amenities included the Manchester Aquatics Centre, Bolton Arena, the National Squash Centre, and the City of Manchester Stadium. The Manchester Velodrome was built as part of the bid to hold the 2000 Olympic games.^[87] After the games the City of Manchester Stadium was converted for football use, and the adjacent warm-up track upgraded to become the Sports City athletics stadium.^[88] Other facilities continue to be used by élite athletes.^[86] The net amount of regeneration to the area is not easy to quantify. Cambridge Policy Consultants estimate 4500 full-time jobs as a direct consequence, and Grattan points to other long-term benefits from publicity and the improvement of the area's image.^[86]

In football four Greater Manchester teams will play in the 2008–09 Premier League. Manchester United F.C. are one of the world's best-known football teams, and in April 2008 Forbes estimated that they were also the world's richest club.^[89] They are the current Premier League and UEFA Champions League champions, have won the Premier League/Football League seventeen times, the FA Cup a record eleven times and the Champions League/European cup three times.^[90] Their Old Trafford ground has hosted the FA Cup Final and international matches. Since 1990, the stadium has undergone redevelopments costing £114M.^[91] Manchester City F.C. moved from Maine Road to the City of Manchester Stadium after the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Thay have won the Football League twice and the FA Cup four times.^[92][93] Bolton Wanderers F.C. have won the FA cup four times.^[92] Wigan Athletic F.C. are one of the league's younger sides, and have yet to win a major title.^[94] In addition, Oldham Athletic A.F.C. and Stockport County F.C., will play in League One; Bury F.C. (two FA Cup wins) and Rochdale A.F.C. will play in League Two.

In rugby union, Stockport's Sale Sharks compete in the Guinness Premiership, and won the league in 2006.^[95] Whitefield based Sedgley Park RUFC compete in National Division One, Manchester RUFC in National Division Two and Wigan side Orrell RUFC in National Division Three North. In rugby league, Wigan Warriors compete in the Super League; they have won the Super League/Championship seventeen times, the Challenge Cup seventeen times, and the World Club Challenge three times.^[96] Leigh Centurions, Rochdale Hornets, and Salford City Reds take part in National League One, with Oldham Roughyeds local rivals of Swinton Lions in National League Two.

Lancashire County Cricket Club began as Manchester Cricket Club and represents the area along with the rest of the historic county of Lancashire. Lancashire contested the original 1890 County Championship. The team has won the County Championship eight times, and in 2007 finished third, narrowly missing their first title since 1950. ^[97] Their Old Trafford ground, near the football stadium of the same name, regularly hosts test matches. Possibly the most famous took place in 1956, when Jim Laker took a record nineteen wickets in the fourth test against Australia.^[98] Cheshire County Cricket Club are a minor counties club who sometimes play in the south of the county.^[99]

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 returned to the area in early 2007 with the opening of a purpose-designed rink in Altrincham, the Altrincham Ice Dome, to host the Manchester Phoenix. Their predecessor, Manchester Storm, went out of business in 2002 due to the overheads of staging matches in the 21,500 capacity Manchester Arena, which is one of the largest indoor venues in Europe.^{[clarify][100]}

Horse racing has taken place at several sites in the county. The two biggest courses were both known as Manchester Racecourse – though neither was within the boundaries of Manchester – and ran from the 17th century until 1963. Racing was at Kersal Moor until 1847 when the racecourse at Castle Irwell was opened. In 1867 racing was moved to New Barnes, Weaste, until the site was vacated (for a hefty price) in 1901 to allow an expansion to Manchester Docks. The land is now home to Dock 9 of the re-branded Salford Quays. Racing then moved back to Castle Irwell which later staged a Classic – the 1941 St. Leger – and was home to the Lancashire Oaks (nowadays run at Haydock Park) and the November Handicap, which was traditionally the last major race of the flat season. Through the late 50s and early 60s the track saw Scobie Breasley and Lester Piggott annually battle out the closing acts of the jockey's title until racing ceased on November 7, 1963.^[101]

Athletics takes place at Sports City, which has hosted numerous national trials, Robin Park in Wigan, Longford Park in Stretford (home to Trafford Athletic Club), Woodbank Stadium in Stockport (home to Stockport Harriers) and the Cleavleys Track in Winton (home to Salford Harriers). As of 2008, new sports facilities including a 10,000 capacity stadium and athletics venue are being constructed at Leigh Sports Village.^[102]

[edit] Culture

Art, tourism, culture and sport provide 16% of employment in Greater Manchester. The proportion is highest in Manchester.^[103]

Greater Manchester has the highest number of theatre seats per head of population outside London. Most, if not all, of the larger theatres are subsidised by local authorities or the North West Regional Arts Board.^[104] The Royal Exchange Theatre formed in the 1970s out of a peripatetic group staging plays at venues such as at the University [of Manchester] Theatre and the Apollo Theatre. A season in a temporary stage in the former Royal Exchange, Manchester was followed by funding for a theatre in the round, which opened in 1976.^[105] The Lowry houses two theatres, used by travelling groups in all the performing arts.^[103][106] The Opera House is a 1900-seat venue hosting travelling productions, often musicals just out of the West End.^[107] Its sister venue, The Palace hosts generally similar shows. The Oldham Playhouse helped launch the careers of Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin, and is one of the older theatres in the region. Its productions are described by the 2007 CityLife guide as 'staunchly populist'—and popular.^[107] There are many other venues scattered throughout the county, of all types and sizes.^[107]

Art galleries in the county include: Gallery Oldham, which has in the past featured work by Pablo Picasso;^[108] The Lowry at Salford Quays, which has a changing display of L. S. Lowry's work alongside travelling exhibitions; Manchester Art Gallery, a major provincial art gallery noted for its collection of Pre-Raphaelite art and housed in a Grade I listed building by Charles Barry;^[109] Salford Museum and Art Gallery, a local museum with a recreated Victorian street;^[110] and Whitworth Art Gallery, a broad-based gallery now run by the University of Manchester.

Greater Manchester has four professional orchestras, all based in Manchester. The Hallé Orchestra is the UK's oldest extant symphony orchestra (and the fourth oldest in the world),^[111] supports a choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label.^[112] The Hallé is based at the Bridgwater Hall but often tours, typically giving 70 performances 'at home' and 40 on tour.^[112] The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, one of five BBC orchestras, can trace its history back to the early days of radio broadcasting in 1926.^[113] As of 2008 it is based at the BBC's Oxford Road studios,^[114] but is expected to move to mediacity:uk in Salford.^[115] The Manchester Camerata and the Northern Chamber Orchestra are smaller, though professional, organizations.^[116] The main classical venue is the 2,341-seat Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, opened in 1996 at a cost of £42M.^[117] Manchester is also a centre for musical education, via the Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music.^[118]

The main popular music venue is the Manchester Evening News Arena, situated next to Victoria station. It seats over 21,000, is the largest arena of its type in Europe, has been voted International Venue of the Year, and for several years was the most popular venue in the world.^[119] The sports grounds in the county also host some of the larger pop concerts.^[120]

Some of Greater Manchester's museums showcase the county's industrial and social heritage. The Hat Works in Stockport is the UK’s only museum dedicated to the hatting industry; the museum moved in 2000 to a Grade II listed Victorian mill, previously a hat factory.^[121] The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, amongst other displays, charts the rise of science and industry and especially the part Manchester played in its development; the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council described the displays as "pre-eminent collections of national and international importance".^[122] Urbis is a museum of the modern city that attempts to explain the effects and experiences of life in the city; it has had mixed success since its opening in 2002, but had its most successful year in 2006.^[123] Stockport Air Raid Shelters uses a mile of underground tunnels, built to accommodate 6,500 people, to illustrate life in the second World War's air raid shelters.^[124] The Imperial War Museum North in Trafford Park is one of the Imperial War Museums five branches. Alongside exhibitions of war machinery are displays describing how peoples’ lives are affected by war.^[125] The Museum of Transport in Manchester, which opened in 1979, has one of the largest collection of vehicles in the country.^[126] The People's History Museum is "the national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of working people in Britain"; the museum is closed for redevelopment and will reopen in 2009.^[127] The Pankhurst Museum is based in the early feminist Emmeline Pankhurst's former home and includes a parlour laid out in contemporary style.^[128] Manchester United, Manchester City, and Lancashire CCC all have dedicated museums illustrating their histories. Wigan Pier, best known from George Orwell’s book The Road to Wigan Pier,^[129] was the name of wharf on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Wigan. The name has been re-used to describe an industrial-based visitor attraction, partly closed for redevelopment as of 2008.^[130]

[edit] See also

• Greater Manchester Employer Coalition

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

^A Components may not sum to totals due to rounding

^B Includes hunting and forestry

^C Includes energy and construction

^D Includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

[edit] External links

• Association of Greater Manchester Local Authorities
• 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.

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