147-567: The Leigh-Salford-Manchester Bus Rapid Transit service in Greater Manchester , England provides transport connections between Leigh , Atherton , Tyldesley , Ellenbrook and Manchester city centre via Salford . The guided busway and bus rapid transit (BRT) scheme promoted by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) opened on 3 April 2016. Built by Balfour Beatty at a total cost of £122 million to improve links from former Manchester Coalfield towns into Manchester city centre,
294-586: A joint venture composed of an association of 24 colleges in the region. Primary and secondary education within Greater Manchester are the responsibility of the constituent boroughs which form local education authorities and administer schools. The county has several independent schools such as Bolton School , Bury Grammar School , Manchester Grammar School , Oldham Hulme Grammar School , St Bede's College , Stockport Grammar School and Chethams School of Music. Much of Greater Manchester's wealth
441-669: A "stockbroker belt, with well-appointed dwellings in an area of sylvan opulence". Greater Manchester has six universities: the Manchester Metropolitan University , the University of Bolton , the University of Law , the University of Manchester the University of Salford and The University Campus of Football Business . Together with the Royal Northern College of Music they had a combined population of students of 101,165 in 2007 –
588-693: A "wide and varied range" of wildlife and natural habitats. For instance, the wooded valleys of Bolton, Bury and Stockport, the moorlands north and east of Rochdale, Oldham and Stalybridge, and the reed beds between Wigan and Leigh, harbour flora and fauna of national importance. Mature woodland, scrubland, grassland, high moorland, mossland, agricultural land, lakes, wetlands, river valleys, embankments, urban parks and suburban gardens are habitats found in Greater Manchester which further contribute to biodiversity. The Greater Manchester Ecology Unit classifies Sites of Biological Importance . The 21 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Greater Manchester, and
735-497: A 200-student super lab, study areas and green spaces. Library The Library offers a study skills service and houses a number of special collections mainly relating to the fine and applied arts, like the Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection , a collection of Victorian and Edwardian greeting cards. The North West Film Archive is managed by Manchester Metropolitan University's Library and
882-529: A Special Review Area. The Local Government Commission for England presented draft recommendations, in December 1965, proposing a new county based on the conurbation surrounding and including Manchester, with nine most-purpose boroughs corresponding to the modern Greater Manchester boroughs (excluding Wigan). The review was abolished in favour of the Royal Commission on Local Government before issuing
1029-611: A broadly voluntary basis. That eight of the ten borough councils have (for the most part) been Labour -controlled since 1986, has helped maintain this informal co-operation between the districts at a county-level. After the abolition of the county council, the ten authorities of Greater Manchester co-operated voluntarily on policy issues like Local Transport Plans as well as funding the Greater Manchester County Record Office , and local services were administered by statutory joint boards . Now under
1176-572: A busway. The BRT route begins at Leigh bus station, and joins the guided section at East Bond Street. It proceeds through Leigh and along the converted rail alignment via Tyldesley to Newearth Road in Ellenbrook. An improved bus route from Atherton joins the route at Astley Street, Tyldesley. From Ellenbrook the route continues via bus lanes alongside the A580 East Lancashire Road, serving Worsley and Swinton before joining
1323-661: A constitution to the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Transport and two days later the Communities Secretary John Denham approved the constitution and launched a 15-week public consultation on the draft bill together with the approved constitution. Following requests by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, which was superseded by the GMCA,
1470-576: A converted former railway station in Manchester city centre used for cultural events, and GMCC's creation of five new country parks within its boundaries. GMCC was, however, criticised for being too Manchester-centric by representatives from the outer suburbs. A decade after they were established, the mostly Labour -controlled metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council (GLC) had several high-profile clashes with
1617-500: 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 . The metropolitan county continues to exist in law, and as a geographic frame of reference, for example as a NUTS 2 administrative division for statistical purposes within the European Union . Although having been a Lieutenancy area since 1974, Greater Manchester
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#17328026199261764-545: A decision taken following a review conducted by financial advisory firm Deloitte. Manchester Metropolitan University comprises four faculties led by faculty pro-vice-chancellors, 10 Professional Services Directorates and a range of departments, schools and institutes. The four faculties are: Arts and Humanities The Faculty of Arts and Humanities has more than 11,000 undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students. Home to Manchester School of Art (f. 1838), Manchester School of Architecture and Manchester Writing School,
1911-748: A directly elected councillor from one of the ten metropolitan boroughs that comprise Greater Manchester. The authority derives most of its powers from the Local Government Act 2000 and Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 , and replaced a range of single-purpose joint boards and quangos in 2011, to provide a formal administrative authority for Greater Manchester with powers over public transport, skills, housing, regeneration, waste management, carbon neutrality and planning permission. Functional executive bodies, such as Transport for Greater Manchester , are responsible for delivery of services in these areas. On 3 November 2014,
2058-659: A final report. The Royal Commission's 1969 report, known as the Redcliffe-Maud Report, proposed the removal of much of the then existing system of local government. The commission described the system of administering urban and rural districts separately as outdated, noting that urban areas provided employment and services for rural dwellers, and open countryside was used by town dwellers for recreation. The commission considered interdependence of areas at many levels, including travel-to-work, provision of services, and which local newspapers were read, before proposing
2205-410: A global market. The townships in and around Manchester began expanding "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century as part of a process of unplanned urbanisation brought on by a boom in industrial textile production and processing. This population increase resulted in the "vigorous concentric growth" of a conurbation between Manchester and an arc of surrounding mill towns , formed from
2352-722: A large Ashkenazi Orthodox synagogue in North Manchester. Greater Manchester is covered by the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Salford and Shrewsbury , and the Archdiocese of Liverpool . Much of Greater Manchester is part of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester , apart from Wigan which lies within the Diocese of Liverpool and parts of Stockport , Tameside and Trafford , which are in
2499-574: A majority of the county north of the River Irwell to as far as Chorley, Darwen, St Helens and Rossendale form a large part of the historic county of Lancashire including Manchester, Salford, Eccles, Bolton, Bury, Prestwich, Swinton, Pendlebury, Wigan, Leigh, Rochdale, Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Stretford, Urmston, Old Trafford, Chadderton, Middleton, Heywood, Radcliffe, Milnrow, Horwich, Blackrod, Westhoughton, Littleborough, Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield and Golborne. The eastern and northeastern parts of
2646-399: A minority report suggested that Buxton be included). 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. The report noted "The choice even of a label of convenience for this metropolitan area is difficult". Seven years earlier,
2793-412: A network of ancient peat bog on the fringe of Chat Moss , which in turn, at 10.6 sq mi (27 km ) comprises the largest area of prime farmland in Greater Manchester and contains the largest block of semi-natural woodland in the county. The Wigan Flashes, such as those at Pennington Flash Country Park , are the by-product of coal mining, where subsidence has led to waterbodies collecting in
2940-403: A new administrative metropolitan area . The area had roughly the same northern boundary as today's Greater Manchester (though included Rossendale ), but covered much more territory from Cheshire (including Macclesfield , Warrington , Alderley Edge , Northwich , Middlewich , Wilmslow and Lymm ), and Derbyshire (the towns of New Mills , Whaley Bridge , Glossop and Chapel-en-le-Frith –
3087-633: A new authority covering the Pennines around Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, and the Saddleworth White Rose Society erected signs with the wording "The Historic West Riding of Yorkshire". A 2015 petition called for Wigan to apply for independence from Greater Manchester and rejoin Lancashire because of its heritage and location. There was a proposal for Horwich , Atherton , Blackrod and Westhoughton to form either
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#17328026199263234-598: A new part of Greater Manchester or become a separate area back within Lancashire possibly under the Borough of Chorley although this was not pursued. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is the top-tier administrative body for the local governance of Greater Manchester. It was established on 1 April 2011 as a pilot combined authority , unique to local government in the United Kingdom . Upon formation, it consisted of ten indirectly elected members, each
3381-502: A plant with fluffy white plumes native to wet hollows on high moors, was announced as the county flower of Greater Manchester. The house sparrow , starling , and blackbird are among the most populous bird species in Greater Manchester; magpie and feral pigeon are common and breed in habitats across the county. Flocks of feral parakeets can be seen in many of south Manchester's parks, including Birchfields Park, Whitworth Park and Platt Fields Park . The birds' relocation to
3528-708: A range of projects including: the Arts and Humanities development, the Science and Engineering development, the School of Digital Arts (SODA), Manchester Metropolitan Institute of Sport, and the Student Residential portfolio. In common with most universities in the United Kingdom, Manchester Met is headed formally by the chancellor, currently Lord Mandelson but led by the vice-chancellor, currently Professor Malcolm Press CBE. The university's board of governors
3675-544: A report released by the Institute for Public Policy Research 's Centre for Cities proposed the creation of two administrative city regions based on Manchester and Birmingham . The Manchester City Region initially appeared in government documents as one of eight city regions defined in the 2004 strategic document Moving Forward: The Northern Way . In July 2007, The Treasury published its Review of sub-national economic development and regeneration , which stated that
3822-420: A steady accretion of houses, factories and transport infrastructure. Places such as Bury , Oldham and Bolton played a central economic role nationally, and by the end of the 19th century had become some of the most important and productive cotton-producing towns in the world. However, it was Manchester that was the most populous settlement, a major city, the world's largest marketplace for cotton goods, and
3969-404: A strategic authority based in what is now Westminster House off Piccadilly Gardens , comprised 106 members drawn from the ten metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester. It was a sub-regional body running regional services such as transport, strategic planning, emergency services and waste disposal. In 1986, along with the five other metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council ,
4116-677: A survey prepared for the British Association intended to define the "South-East Lancashire conurbation" noted that "Greater Manchester it is not ... One of its main characteristics is the marked individuality of its towns, ... all of which have an industrial and commercial history of more than local significance". The term Selnec (or SELNEC ) was already in use as an abbreviation for south east Lancashire and north east Cheshire; Redcliffe-Maud took this as "the most convenient term available", having modified it to south east Lancashire, north east and central Cheshire. Following
4263-537: 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 mm (31.76 in) compared to the UK average of 1,125.0 mm (44.29 in), and its mean rain days are 140.4 mm (5.53 in) per annum, compared to the UK average of 154.4 mm (6.08 in). The mean temperature is slightly above average for
4410-631: A variety of types. Manchester city centre is noted for its high-rise apartments, while Salford has some of the tallest and most densely populated tower block estates in Europe. Saddleworth has stone-built properties, including farmhouses and converted weavers' cottages. Throughout Greater Manchester, rows of terraced houses are common, most of them built during the Victorian and Edwardian periods . House prices and labour markets differ in Greater Manchester between north and south, such that in
4557-447: A visual orientation point of reference as a central business district. However, Greater Manchester is also a polycentric county with ten metropolitan districts, each of which has a major town centre – and in some cases more than one – and many smaller settlements. The major towns encircle Manchester city centre, and between them are other outlying towns (such as Denton , Middleton and Failsworth ) which are suburban to both
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4704-452: Is "Greater Mancunian". The Manchester accent and dialect , native to Manchester, is common in the city and adjacent areas, but gives way to "slower, deeper accents" towards Greater Manchester's fringes and suburbs. Greater Manchester is home to a diverse population and is a multicultural agglomeration with an ethnic minority population comprising 8.5% of the total population in 2001. In 2008, there were over 66 refugee nationalities in
4851-421: Is a mix of high density urban areas, suburbs, semi-rural and rural locations in Greater Manchester, but land use is mostly urban. The built environment of Greater Manchester utilises red brick and sandstone prominently as a building material, alongside structures composed of modern materials, high-rise towers, and landmark 19th, 20th and 21st century buildings in the city and town centres. Manchester city centre
4998-474: Is another clear example of our successful approach to rapid transit in action, carrying over two and a half million journeys per year and removing the need for around half a million car journeys"; and proposes this as a model that might be considered for other parts of the Greater Manchester conurbation, especially for serving Manchester Airport and the proposed growth area of the 'Atom Vally' between Bury and Rochdale . The Strategy proposes that, as BRT demand
5145-545: Is expected to continue to grow, so frequencies along this busway should be increased; and also that an additional stop should be provided on the guided section to serve new residential developments in Mosley Common south of Tyldesley . Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England . It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to
5292-726: Is located within the Central Library. In 2021, the Manchester Poetry Library opened in the Grosvenor building. The Library can be accessed 24/7 by MMU students during term times and by visitors during term times on Saturdays and Sundays between 11:00 and 17:00. Campus investment The university's 10-year Estate Masterplan 2017–2027 was complemented by a £379m commitment to the Estates Investment Programme until 2024, delivering
5439-619: Is now Greater Manchester was a largely rural area until the Industrial Revolution , when the region rapidly industrialised. The area's towns and cities became major centres for the manufacture of cotton textiles , aided by the exploitation of the Lancashire coalfield . The region was also an engineering and scientific centre, leading to achievements such as the first inter-city railway and Ernest Rutherford 's pioneering work on nuclear fission . Since deindustrialisation in
5586-676: Is represented in Parliament by the Labour Party, and is generally considered a Labour stronghold. The results of the 2024 United Kingdom general election in Greater Manchester are as follows: Greater Manchester has a population of 2,867,800 (2021 Census), making it the third most populous county in England after Greater London and the West Midlands and the highest ever for the county. The demonym of Greater Manchester
5733-430: Is responsible for determining the educational character and mission of the university. It also falls to the board of governors to ensure that the university's resources are used in line with the university's Article of Government. It also safeguards the university's assets and approves the annual estimates of income and expenditure. The board of governors is responsible for broad policy, but the vice-chancellor, along with
5880-482: Is the commercial and geographic heart of Greater Manchester, and with the adjoining parts of Salford and Trafford, is defined as Greater Manchester's "Regional Centre" for purposes of urban planning and public transport. Political and economic ties between the city centre and neighbouring Salford and Trafford have strengthened with the shift from town and district centres to metropolitan-level centres in England, and this area's high-rise landmark buildings provide
6027-614: The A6 at Irlams o' th' Height . All stops along the A580 bus lanes are bus bays so that conventional stopping services can be overtaken by limited-stop expresses. The service passes the University of Salford / Salford Crescent railway station and the route then runs along Chapel Street on buslanes to Salford Central station , passing through a bus-gate before continuing through Manchester city centre and along buslanes on Oxford Road to Manchester Metropolitan University , Manchester University and
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6174-757: The Brigantes . 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 . The remains of 1st-century forts at Castlefield in Manchester, and Castleshaw Roman Fort in Saddleworth , are evidence of Roman occupation . From the River Mersey to River Ribble
6321-605: The COVID-19 pandemic; but have since recovered to a total annual ridership of 2.6 million in the financial year 2023/24, and continue to increase. Services were initially operated by 20 Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LH hybrid double-decker buses in purple-livery. These were equipped with CCTV and next stop audio and visual announcements, USB charging points and free Wi-Fi. Five more buses were purchased in January 2017 to provide extra capacity at busy times and facilitate
6468-503: The City of Salford , Stockport , Tameside , Trafford and Wigan . These district councils have the greatest powers over public services, and control matters such as council tax , education provision, social housing, libraries and healthcare. Eight of the ten metropolitan boroughs were named after the eight former county boroughs that now compose the largest centres of population and greater historical and political prominence. As an example,
6615-608: The Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher , with regards overspending and high rates charging. Government policy on the issue was considered throughout 1982, and the Conservative Party put a "promise to scrap the metropolitan county councils" and the GLC, in their manifesto for the 1983 general election . Greater Manchester County Council was abolished on 31 March 1986 under the Local Government Act 1985 . That
6762-570: The Devolution to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority agreement was signed to pass further powers and responsibilities, as well as the establishment of an elected Mayor of Greater Manchester. From April 2016, Greater Manchester became the first area of England to "get full control of its health spending" with a devolution deal which unites the region's health and social care systems under one budget under
6909-521: The Diocese of Chester . 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. 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. Slum clearance and
7056-776: The Duchy of Lancaster – extending the duchy to include areas which are historically in the counties of Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Until 31 March 2005, Greater Manchester's Keeper of the Rolls was appointed by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster ; they are now appointed by the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain . The first Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester was Sir William Downward who held
7203-530: 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
7350-522: The Manchester Royal Infirmary were added to the scheme. Site clearance for the dedicated busway section between Leigh and Ellenbrook took place between November 2012 and March 2013. TfGM spent £122 million on bus priority investment of which the guided busway track and infrastructure cost £68 million and the rest was spent upgrading associated local roads, bus lanes and junctions. The Greater Manchester Transport Fund provided most of
7497-637: The Manchester School of Design (f. 1838) latterly known as the Manchester School of Art . The painter L. S. Lowry attended in the years after the First World War, where he was taught by the noted impressionist Adolphe Valette . Schools of Commerce (f. 1889), Education (f. 1878), and Domestic Science (f. 1880) were added alongside colleges at Didsbury, Crewe, Alsager and the former Domestic and Trades College (f. 1911). The Manchester College of Science and Technology, which had originally been
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#17328026199267644-581: The Northern Consortium , and became a corporate body on 1 April 1989 as allowed by the terms of the Education Reform Act . On 15 September 1992, Manchester Polytechnic gained university status under the wide-sweeping Further and Higher Education Act 1992 , and then became Manchester Metropolitan University . After earning university status, Manchester Met absorbed Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education, and in 2004
7791-850: The South Pennines in the northeast and the Peak District in the east. Most of the county's rivers rise in the Pennines and are tributaries of the Mersey and Irwell , the latter of which is itself a tributary of the Mersey. The county is connected to the Mersey Estuary by the Manchester Ship Canal , which for its entire length within Greater Manchester consists of canalised sections of the Mersey and Irwell. What
7938-693: The Transport Act 1968 , in 1969 the SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive (an authority to co-ordinate and operate public transport in the region) was set up, covering an area smaller than the proposed Selnec, and different again to the eventual Greater Manchester. Compared with the Redcliffe-Maud area, it excluded Macclesfield, Warrington, and Knutsford but included Glossop in Derbyshire and Saddleworth in
8085-655: The West Riding of Yorkshire . It excluded Wigan, which was both in the Redcliffe-Maud area and in the eventual Greater Manchester (but had not been part of the 1958 act's review area). Redcliffe-Maud's recommendations were accepted by the Labour-controlled government in February 1970. Although the Redcliffe-Maud Report was rejected by the Conservative government after the 1970 general election , there
8232-459: The boroughs of High Peak , Warrington and the former boroughs of Congleton , Macclesfield and Vale Royal . In January 2008, AGMA suggested that a formal government structure be created to cover Greater Manchester. The issue resurfaced in June 2008 with regards to proposed congestion charging in Greater Manchester ; Sir Richard Leese (leader of Manchester City Council ) said "I've come to
8379-516: The cotton industry and expansion in ancillary trades. The area became central to England's woollen trade with domestic flannel and fustian cloth production, which encouraged a system of cross-regional trade. In the 18th century, German traders had coined the name Manchesterthum to cover the region in and around Manchester. Infrastructure such as rows of terraced housing, factories and roads were constructed to house labour, transport goods, and produce cotton goods on an industrial scale for
8526-550: The financial crisis of 2007–2008 , it was announced in the 2009 United Kingdom Budget that Greater Manchester and the Leeds City Region would be awarded Statutory City Region Pilot status, allowing (if they desired) for their constituent district councils to pool resources and become statutory Combined Authorities with powers comparable to the Greater London Authority. The stated aim of the pilot
8673-508: The parish councils , which cover the various civil parishes in Greater Manchester , and have limited powers over upkeep, maintenance and small grants. For the first 12 years after the county was created in 1974, Greater Manchester had a two-tier system of local government, and the metropolitan borough councils shared power with the Greater Manchester County Council . The Greater Manchester County Council,
8820-419: The second most populous built-up area in the UK , and occupied an area of 630.3 km (243.4 sq mi) at the time of the 2011 census. The European Union designate the conurbation as a single homogeneous urban city region . The Built-up Area includes most of Greater Manchester, omitting areas of countryside and small villages, as well as noncontiguous urban towns such as Wigan and Marple . Outside
8967-455: The "Manchester known in commerce", and referred to the areas that formed "a substantial part of South Lancashire and part of Cheshire, comprising all municipal boroughs and minor authorities within a radius of eight or nine miles of Manchester". In his 1915 book Cities in Evolution , urban planner Sir Patrick Geddes wrote "far more than Lancashire realises, is growing up another Greater London". The Manchester Evening Chronicle brought to
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#17328026199269114-404: The ' Bee Network ', an overall bus franchising scheme intended as a component of an eventual integrated transport network for the whole of Greater Manchester. Consequently, the Rapid Transit bus operation has been transferred to Go North West , the vehicles have been repainted with the yellow 'Bee Network' branding, and day tickets are valid for all bus journeys across the Network. Leigh , one of
9261-414: The 12.1 sq mi (31 km ) of common land in Greater Manchester are of particular interest to organisations such as the Greater Manchester Local Record Centre, the Greater Manchester Biodiversity Project and the Manchester Field Club, which are dedicated to wildlife conservation and the preservation of the region's natural history . Among the SSSIs are Astley and Bedford Mosses which form
9408-404: The 18th and 19th centuries: a phenomenal rise in population, the appearance of the specialist industrial town, a transport revolution, and weak local lordship". Much of the county was at the forefront of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution and into the early-20th century; Peter Smith, Baron Smith of Leigh , chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority said "clearly, all of
9555-402: The 2000s, the Housing Market Renewal Initiative identified Manchester , Salford, Rochdale and Oldham as areas with terraced housing unsuited to modern needs. In contrast, towns and villages in southern Greater Manchester, from Bramhall through Woodford to Altrincham constitute an arc of wealthy commuter towns . Altrincham in particular, with its neighbours Bowdon and Hale , forms
9702-404: The 20th century. Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester , England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education and Science and Engineering) and is one of the largest universities in the UK, measured by
9849-404: The Business School, which holds the globally recognised trio of accreditations from EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA, and the Manchester Law School. The faculty is also home to the majority of the university's Degree Apprenticeship programmes, with more than 2,400 apprentices studying across 15 programmes with 530 employer partners. Health and Education Home to around 9,000 students across 5 departments,
9996-419: The Central Manchester Hospitals. The guided section has stops at East Bond Street, Holden Road in Leigh and Cooling Lane between Higher Folds and Squires Lane in Tyldesley, Astley Street, Hough Lane and Sale Lane in Tyldesley and Newearth Road in Ellenbrook. The multi-user path for walkers, horse riders and cyclists alongside the guided section provides access for emergency vehicles and maintenance. For cyclists
10143-477: The Department of Physiotherapy in 2004, and was later renamed as the Department of Health Professions. The university's logo is derived from the upper part of the shield of the university's coat-of-arms, with six spade-irons positioned together, suggesting hard toil and entrenchment. The university was previously located on seven sites: five in Manchester (All Saints, Aytoun, Didsbury, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Hollings) and two in Cheshire (Alsager and Crewe). However,
10290-416: The Faculty of Health and Education provides an inclusive learning and training environment based in the Brooks building. Science and Engineering More than 6,000 students in the Faculty of Science and Engineering benefit from nearly 100 undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in a variety of subjects. A new, £115m base for the faculty opens in 2024, which will include teaching and research spaces,
10437-429: The Greater Manchester County Council was abolished, and most of its powers were devolved to the boroughs. Between 1986 and 2011, the boroughs were effectively unitary authority areas , but opted to co-operate voluntarily under the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA), which served to create a co-ordinated county-wide approach to issues of common interest to Greater Manchester, such as public transport and
10584-555: The Greater Manchester County Council. The plan set out objectives for the forthcoming metropolitan county. The highest priority was to increase the quality of life for its inhabitants by improving the county's physical environment and cultural facilities which had suffered following deindustrialisation – much of Greater Manchester's basic infrastructure dated from its 19th-century growth, and was unsuited to modern lifestyles. Other objectives were to reverse
10731-596: The Greater Manchester area was once at the heart of a very vibrant [textiles] industry", represented by former textile mills found throughout the county. 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 deindustrialization of Britain that occurred during
10878-617: The Manchester School of Physiotherapy (MSOP), an institution officially formed in 1991 through the amalgamation of the Schools of Physiotherapy of the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) and of Withington Hospital . MSOP was previously affiliated with the Victoria University of Manchester , which conferred degree-level courses by extension until the final class of 2005. MSOP joined Manchester Metropolitan University as
11025-556: The Mechanics Institute and would then become UMIST , transferred its non-degree courses to the School of Art by 1966. The institution renamed itself as Manchester Polytechnic in 1970, which was followed by series of mergers with the Didsbury College of Education and Hollings College in 1977, as well as City of Manchester College of Higher Education in 1983. In 1987, the institution became a founding member of
11172-736: The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is centred on the town of Stockport , a former county borough, but includes other smaller settlements, such as Cheadle , Gatley , and Bramhall . The names of two of the metropolitan boroughs were given a neutral name 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, and are named with reference to geographical and historical origins. The lowest formal tier of local government in Greater Manchester are
11319-700: The National and the North of England Transport Awards in December 2016. Greater Manchester's Bus Priority Package won the National Transport Award for improvements to bus services in October 2017. A long legal process preceded the busway's construction, including a public inquiry in 2002. The decision of the public inquiry was delayed because of great crested newts occupying a site on the route. The Department for Transport granted powers to build
11466-532: The Regional Centre and the major town centres. Combined, these factors make Greater Manchester the most complex "polycentric functional urban region" in the UK outside London. The Greater Manchester Built-up Area is the conurbation or continuous urban area based around Greater Manchester, as defined by the Office for National Statistics . In 2011, it had an estimated population of 2,553,379, making it
11613-839: The Transport Policy, Planning and Implementation award at the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport North West Awards and the award for sustainability at the 10th annual North West Construction Awards in 2016. The launch of the Vantage service won the Transport Project of the Year category and the Leigh to Ellenbrook Guided Busway section was the winner in the Construction and Engineering category at
11760-429: The UK . The city of Manchester is the largest settlement. Other large settlements are Altrincham , Bolton , Rochdale , Sale , Salford , Stockport and Wigan . Greater Manchester contains ten metropolitan boroughs : Manchester, Salford , Bolton , Bury , Oldham , Rochdale , Stockport , Tameside , Trafford and Wigan , the councils of which collaborate through Greater Manchester Combined Authority . The county
11907-579: The UK has made them the country's "only naturalised parrot and the most northerly breeding parrot in the world". The South Pennines also support internationally important numbers of golden plover , curlew , merlin and twite . A number of Red Eared Terrapins , a species of small turtle, are known to inhabit the lake in Alexandra Park . Greater Manchester is formed of parts of Cheshire, Lancashire and parts of West Riding of Yorkshire. The historic boundary between Cheshire and Lancashire begins from
12054-503: The United Kingdom. Greater Manchester has a relatively high humidity level, which lent itself to the optimised and breakage-free textile manufacturing process that took place around the county. Snowfall is not common in the built up areas because of the urban warming effect but the West Pennine Moors in the northwest, South Pennines in the northeast and Peak District in the east receive more snow, and roads leading out of
12201-549: The University Executive Group, is responsible for overall management, policy implementation, organisation, operations and direction of the university. In December 2014, it was announced that Malcolm Press had been appointed to succeed John Brooks as vice chancellor on 1 June 2015. Manchester Met has around 40,000 students , making it currently the 11th in the UK for the biggest student population in 2020/21. The university employs over 4,000 staff. In
12348-540: The approval of the Combined Authority. On 3 November 2014, George Osborne , the Chancellor of the Exchequer , announced that there would be an eleventh member of the GMCA – a directly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester , with "powers over transport, housing, planning and policing" from 2017. Greater Manchester is a landlocked county spanning 493 sq mi (1,277 km ). The Pennines rise to
12495-522: The artificial limits of boundaries" in return for greater autonomy from the central government of the UK . A referendum on the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund was held in December 2008, in which voters "overwhelmingly rejected" plans for public transport improvements linked to a peak-time weekday-only congestion charge. Following a bid from AGMA highlighting the potential benefits in combatting
12642-425: The autumn and 55,000 in the run up to Christmas 2016. In the first year more than 2.1 million passengers were carried; increasing to approximately 2.6 million in the second, and 3 million in the third. By December 2017, weekly ridership had increased to 62,000. This further increased to a record 71,626 weekly passengers in December 2019. BRT services were curtailed and patronage sharply reduced in 2020 and 2021 during
12789-518: The boundary of Greater Manchester it includes several adjacent areas of settlement and a few outliers connected to the conurbation by ribbon development, such as Wilmslow and Alderley Edge in Cheshire, Glossop and Hadfield in Derbyshire, and Whitworth in Lancashire. This conurbation forms part of a megalopolis of 9.4 million across northern England . Greater Manchester experiences
12936-545: The busway in 2005 and it was projected to be built by 2009 but preliminary work only started in 2012. Powers to build it are set out in the Greater Manchester (Leigh Busway) Order 2005 in the Transport and Works Act . The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive estimated in 2005 that the busway would generate around 2 million passenger trips per annum. After the public inquiry, a branch bus route from Atherton to Tyldesley and an extension from Manchester city centre to
13083-662: The busway proposal encountered much opposition and a public enquiry in 2002 before construction finally started in 2013. A branch route from Atherton, and an extension to the Manchester Royal Infirmary have been added to the planned original scheme. From Leigh, the V1 limited-stop bus service joins seven kilometres of guided busway to Ellenbrook, six kilometres of bus lanes on the East Lancashire Road and sections of reserved bus lanes through Salford and Manchester city centres. The V2 service from Atherton to Manchester joins
13230-455: The changing needs of the county of Lancashire, including those for 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 UK began reporting on South East Lancashire as a homogeneous conurbation. The Local Government Act 1958 designated the south east Lancashire area (which, despite its name, included part of north east Cheshire),
13377-456: The communities of town and village, each of which was the embodiment of the character of this region". The name Greater Manchester was adopted, having been favoured over Selnec following public consultation, despite opposition claiming that "Greater Manchester [...] is a myth. An abomination. A travesty.". By January 1974, a joint working party representing Greater Manchester had drawn up its county Structure Plan , ready for implementation by
13524-423: The conclusion that [a referendum on congestion charging should be held] because we don't have an indirectly or directly elected body for Greater Manchester that has the power to make this decision". On 14 July 2008 the ten local authorities in Greater Manchester agreed to a strategic and integrated cross-county Multi-Area Agreement ; a voluntary initiative aimed at making district councils "work together to challenge
13671-403: The control of local leaders, including Greater Manchester's new directly elected mayor. On 4 May 2017, Labour politician Andy Burnham was elected as the inaugural mayor , joining the GMCA as its eleventh member and serving as its leader. Beneath the GMCA are the ten councils of Greater Manchester's ten districts , which are Bolton , Bury , the City of Manchester , Oldham , Rochdale ,
13818-661: The county can be closed due to heavy snowfall. They include the A62 road via Standedge , the Pennine section of the M62 and the A57 , Snake Pass , towards Sheffield . At the most southern point of Greater Manchester, Woodford's Met Office weather station recorded a temperature of −17.6 °C (0.3 °F) on 8 January 2010 . Contrary to its reputation for urban sprawl, Greater Manchester has green belt constraining urban drift , and
13965-459: The county centuries later, to south of the Mersey and Tame , were governed under Cheshire while the Saddleworth area and a small part of Mossley are historically part of Yorkshire . In the late 18th to early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution transformed the local domestic system; mechanisation enabled the industrialisation of the region's textile trade, triggering rapid growth in
14112-474: The county which include Saddleworth and parts of Rochdale form part of the historic county of West Riding of Yorkshire. Since the formation of Greater Manchester, residents have debated their identities in the metropolitan and historic counties through heritage, culture and governance. Residents in Saddleworth in the Borough of Oldham have called for independence from Greater Manchester and Oldham Council and
14259-520: The county. At 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 is similar to the rest of the country, although the proportions of Muslims and Jews are nearly twice the national average. It contains the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation ,
14406-556: The day the Local Government Act came into effect noted that the "new arrangement is a compromise which seeks to reconcile familiar geography which commands a certain amount of affection and loyalty, with the scale of operations on which modern planning methods can work effectively". Frangopulo noted that the creation of Greater Manchester "was the official unifying of a region which, through history and tradition, had forged for itself over many centuries bonds ... between
14553-622: The direction of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, these joint boards are Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating public transport across the county; 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
14700-511: The east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester . The county has an area of 493 sq mi (1,277 km ) and is highly urbanised, with a population of 2.9 million. The majority of the county's settlements are part of the Greater Manchester Built-up Area , which extends into Cheshire and Merseyside and is the second most populous urban area in
14847-762: The extended service to Central Manchester Hospitals. Further buses entered service in September 2018 to operate the V4 service from Ellenbrook, as standard vehicles not adapted for busway running. In February 2019, TfGM were successful in bidding for funding support in buying an additional 10 electric buses for busway operation, to enter service in March 2020. These are Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC double-deckers with BYD Company battery power. TfGM intend that eventually all Vantage services will be operated by electric buses; to be purchased and owned by TfGM themselves, rather than by
14994-433: The faculty is one of the largest in the UK. It offers a range of subjects, from design to fashion, creative writing to architecture, linguistics to languages, digital arts to journalism, and history to sociology, across 9 departments and schools. Business and Law The Faculty of Business and Law has more than 10,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled on 120 different degree programmes. The faculty consists of
15141-422: The financial year ending 31 July 2021, Manchester Metropolitan University had a total income of £369m. Manchester Metropolitan University is the ninth most popular university by applications in the UK (UCAS 2021/22 entry). Manchester Metropolitan University was the highest LGBT+ recruiting university by the number of accepted applicants in 2020 at 720. 30% of Manchester Met's overall research has been rated at
15288-544: 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
15435-410: The former Manchester Coalfield . There was considerable opposition to the proposals; variously arguing that the costs were unjustifiable, that buslane construction on the A580 East Lancashire Road would seriously disrupt traffic and that the permanent loss of a traffic lane to a buslane would reduce capacity for general traffic. In addition, rail campaign groups opposed the loss of a rail alignment to
15582-525: The funding and the Department for Transport contributed £32.5 million. From 24 September 2023, the busway became part of the Bee Network , a London-style integrated transport system. In July 2024, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority published its 'Draft GM Rapid Transit Strategy' proposing priority schems for expansion of rapid transit of all forms across Greater Manchester, up to the year 2040. This states that "The Leigh–Salford–Manchester Busway
15729-464: 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. The Manchester City Region encompassed fifteen local government districts: the cities of Manchester and Salford plus the metropolitan boroughs of Stockport , Tameside , Trafford , Bolton , Bury , Oldham , Rochdale and Wigan , together with
15876-485: The guided busway at Tyldesley. Stops on the guided busway section have level-boarding from platforms equipped with passenger information display screens. Both services run via the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University before terminating at Manchester Royal Infirmary. From from 24 September 2023 all services along the Bus Rapid Transit route were integrated into the first tranche of
16023-519: The guided section, four on the Leigh to Tyldesley section and four from Atherton joining the Tyldesley to Ellenbrook section. From 1 September 2024, V1 services have run round the clock and every day of the week, with night-time services at hourly frequencies. Two additional V1 services run from Leigh into Manchester in the weekday morning peak; three additional services return to Leigh in the weekday evening peak. Four V4 services run into Manchester in
16170-603: The highest 'world leading' (4*) level and 90% of its research impact is rated 'world leading' (4*) or 'internationally excellent', (3*) across more than 740 academics. The university has fourteen research centres: The Students' Union exists to represent all members at the Manchester Metropolitan University and students on accredited external courses. The Union is led by the Union Officers Group formed of five students of
16317-499: 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
16464-511: The increased building of social housing overspill estates by Salford and Manchester City Councils lead to a decrease in population in central Greater Manchester. During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the population of Greater Manchester declined by over 8,000 inhabitants a year. While Manchester's population shrank by about 40% during this time (from 766,311 in 1931 to 452,000 in 2006), the total population of Greater Manchester decreased by only 8%. Greater Manchester's housing stock comprises
16611-540: The largest towns in Britain without a railway station after the closure of the Tyldesley Loopline in 1969, suffered from poor transport connections to neighbouring towns. A guided busway running over a kerbed concrete track was proposed, reusing the former railway trackbed from Leigh to Ellenbrook to improve access to Manchester city centre from Leigh, Tyldesley and Ellenbrook and regenerate areas of
16758-579: The metropolitan county councils were controlled by the Labour Party led to accusations that their abolition was motivated by party politics: the general secretary of the National Association of Local Government Officers described it as a "completely cynical manoeuvre". Most of the functions of GMCC were devolved to the ten Greater Manchester metropolitan district councils, though functions such as emergency services and public transport were taken over by joint boards and continued to be run on
16905-464: The mid-20th century the county has emerged as a major centre for services, media and digital industries, and is renowned for guitar and dance music and its football teams. Although Greater Manchester was not created until 1974, the history of its settlements go back centuries. There is evidence of Iron Age habitation, particularly at Mellor , and a known Celtic Britons settlement named Chochion , believed to have been an area of Wigan settled by
17052-521: The middle set of exit doors removed and replaced by window and seats, were deployed on the BRT routes. These buses, along with the original fleet have gradually been repainted to Bee Network yellow. Stops along the guided busway section provide level-boarding from platforms and are equipped with passenger information display screens. The guided busway crosses local roads on level, light-controlled junctions at which busway services have priority. The scheme won
17199-693: The morning peak, starting from Ellenbrook. After light-controlled junctions along the East Lancashire Road were upgraded with SCOOT adaptive signalling in July 2016, TfGM reported that October that general road traffic journey times on this section had returned to pre-construction levels in the morning peak while accommodating significant additional traffic. In the first six months of operation, more than 900,000 passenger journeys were made. A survey of users published in October 2016 revealed that 20% of passengers had switched from using their cars for
17346-476: The natural centre of its region. By 1835 "Manchester was without challenge the first and greatest industrial city in the world"; and by 1848 urban sprawl had fused the city to its surrounding towns and hinterland to form a single continuous conurbation. The area is recorded in planning documents for the Manchester Ship Canal dated 1883, as "Manchester, Salford and the Out-Townships". The conurbation
17493-432: The new authority was created on 1 April 2011. On the same day, the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee was also formed from a pool of 33 councillors allocated by council population (roughly one councillor per 75,000 residents) to scrutinise the running of Greater Manchester's transport bodies and their finances, approve the decisions and policies of said bodies and form strategic policy recommendations or projects for
17640-478: The north and east of the county with the West Pennine Moors in the northwest, the South Pennines in the northeast and the Peak District in the east. Several coalfields (mainly sandstones and shales) lie in the west of the county while the Cheshire Plain fringes the south. The rivers Mersey , Irwell and Tame run through Greater Manchester, all of which rise in the Pennines. Other rivers traverse
17787-408: The passage of the bill, the towns of Whitworth , Wilmslow and Poynton successfully objected to their incorporation in the new county. 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 eight independent county boroughs . By the early 1970s, this system of demarcation
17934-611: The path from Tyldesley to Ellenbrook is part of the National Cycle Network Route 55. The route from Leigh to Central Manchester Hospitals has 36 stops and the connecting route from Tyldesley to Atherton has five. Park and ride facilities are provided at East Bond Street, Astley Street and Wardley (accessed from the A580, where the road passes under the M60 motorway ). Service V1 operates from Leigh and V2 from Atherton; with additional V4 services from Ellenbrook in
18081-457: The points of both the River Irwell and Manchester Ship Canal. The southern parts of the county that form part of Trafford, Stockport and Tameside cover Altrincham, Sale, Stockport, Marple, Cheadle Hulme, Hyde, Stalybridge and Wythenshawe (Which became part of Manchester in the 1920s) are all historically part of Cheshire. Denton and Audenshaw in Tameside were historically part of Lancashire. While
18228-835: The region as tributaries to the major rivers, including the Douglas , the Irk , and the Roch . Black Chew Head is the highest point in Greater Manchester which forms part of the Peak District National Park , rising 1,778 ft (542 m) above sea-level, within the parish of Saddleworth . Greater Manchester is characterised by its dense urban and industrial developments, which include centres of commerce, finance, retail and administration, as well as commuter suburbs and housing, interspersed with transport infrastructure such as light rail, roads and motorway, and canals. There
18375-461: The resulting hollows which form an important reed bed resource in Greater Manchester. Opened in 1979, Sale Water Park is a 152-acre (62 ha) area of countryside and parkland in Sale which includes a 52-acre (21 ha) artificial lake by the River Mersey . Clover , sorrel , nettle and thistle are common, and grow wild in Greater Manchester. Common heather ( Calluna vulgaris ) dominates
18522-420: The same journey, and nearly all respondents would recommend the service. More than a quarter of busway users walked or travelled more than a kilometre to reach the busway. By the third year of operation, it was being estimated that 580,000 car trips per year along the BRT route had transferred to bus ridership. The service attracted about 28,000 passengers per week when it started in April 2016 rising to 45,000 by
18669-503: 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 ) but were divided into separate boroughs. To re-balance the districts, the borough of Rochdale took Middleton from Oldham. During
18816-480: The service operator. Five of the existing fleet of Volvo B5LH buses were be transferred to other services in Greater Manchester; and so total busway-equipped fleet increased to 30, allowing extra daytime frequency on V1 services from Leigh. In 2023, under Tranche 1 of Bee Network , the existing fleet were passed from First Greater Manchester to Go North West . Under Go North West, a fleet of MCV EvoSeti bodied Volvo B5LH, originally from Go Ahead London and having
18963-511: The shared labour market, as well as making representations to central government and the European Union. Although used as a "successful brand", Greater Manchester's politics have been characterised by "entrenched localism and related rivalries", historically resistant to regionalism . The major towns in Greater Manchester retain a "fierce independence", meaning Greater Manchester is administered using "inter-municipal coordination" on
19110-502: The size of its student population in 2020/21. Manchester Metropolitan University was developed from mergers of various colleges with various specialisms, including technology, art and design. Its founding can be traced back to the Manchester Mechanics Institute , which was established in 1824 entirely through private initiative and funds to teach artisans the basic principles of science by part-time study, and
19257-563: The south", and so had to negotiate several land-use, transport and housing projects with its neighbouring county councils. However a "major programme of environmental action" by GMCC broadly succeeded in reversing social deprevation in its inner city slums. Leisure and recreational successes included the Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre (better known as the G-Mex centre and now branded Manchester Central ),
19404-598: The ten boroughs (except the Waste Disposal Authority, which does not include the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan ). Greater Manchester Police was formerly overseen by a joint police authority , but was briefly overseen by the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner from 2012 until the functions of that office were subsumed into the new regional mayoralty upon its creation in 2017. The ten borough councils are joint-owners of
19551-589: The ten councils. Such strategic matters would be decided on via an enhanced majority rule voting system involving ten members appointed from among the councillors of the metropolitan boroughs (one representing each borough with each council nominating one substitute) without the input of central government. The ten district councils of Greater Manchester approved the creation of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) on 29 March 2010, and submitted final recommendations for
19698-494: The third highest number in England behind Greater London (360,890) and the West Midlands (140,980), and the thirteenth highest in England per head of population. The majority of students are concentrated on Oxford Road in Manchester, Europe's largest urban higher education precinct. As of 2010, further education in Greater Manchester is co-ordinated by the Greater Manchester Colleges Group,
19845-538: The title from 1974 to 1988. The current Lord Lieutenant is Warren James Smith. 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. In terms of representation in the Parliament of the United Kingdom , Greater Manchester is divided into 27 parliamentary constituencies . Most of Greater Manchester
19992-557: The trend of depopulation in central-Greater Manchester, to invest in country parks to improve the region's poor reputation on leisure facilities, and to improve the county's transport infrastructure and patterns. Because of political objection, particularly from Cheshire, Greater Manchester covered only the inner, urban 62 of the 90 former districts that the Royal Commission had outlined as an effective administrative metropolitan area. In this capacity, GMCC found itself "planning for an arbitrary metropolitan area ... abruptly truncated to
20139-545: The university later closed six of the seven sites to rationalise its estate. The university moved the work of the Alsager campus to Crewe, while the Aytoun campus was closed in 2012 following the opening of a Business School on the main campus. The Elizabeth Gaskell, Hollings and Didsbury campuses were closed in 2014, with faculties being relocated to the main city centre campus in Manchester. The Crewe campus closed in summer 2019,
20286-475: The uplands, such as Saddleworth Moor , which lies within the South Pennines and Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park . The Rochdale Canal harbours floating water-plantain ( Luronium natams ), a nationally endangered aquatic plant. In 2002, Plantlife International launched its County Flowers campaign , asking members of the public to nominate and vote for a wild flower emblem for their county. Common cottongrass ( Eriophorum angustifolium ),
20433-535: The weekday morning peak period that do not use the guided section of the route. Timetabled journey times are 60 minutes from Leigh and Atherton to Albert Square, Manchester at peak periods; 51 minutes daytime off-peak and 40 minutes in evenings, overnight and early mornings. In peak periods, the services from the Wardley, A580 Park and Ride take 31 minutes into Albert Square. In daytime operation from Monday to Saturday at least eight buses per hour run in each direction on
20580-471: Was "a Victorian metropolis, achieving its commercial peak during 1890–1915". In the 1910s, local government reforms to administer this conurbation as a single entity were proposed. Use in a municipal context appeared in a 1914 report submitted 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
20727-516: 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, with areas such as Winsford, Northwich, Knutsford, Macclesfield and Glossop retained by their original counties to ensure their county councils had enough revenue to remain competitive ( Cheshire County Council would have ceased to exist). Other late changes included
20874-483: Was created on 1 April 1974 from parts of north-east Cheshire, south-east Lancashire, and a small part of the West Riding of Yorkshire . The centre and south-west of Greater Manchester are lowlands, similar to the West Lancashire Coastal Plain to the north-west and the Cheshire Plain to the south-west. The north and east are part of the Pennines : the West Pennine Moors in the northwest,
21021-641: Was described as "archaic" and "grossly inadequate to keep pace both with the impact of motor travel, and with the huge increases in local government responsibilities". The Local Government Act 1972 reformed local government in England , with the act enacted on the 1 April 1974. The area was given the name Greater Manchester and a metropolitan county designation. This was a two-tier counties and districts system. The act formally , although Greater Manchester County Council (GMCC) had been running since elections in 1973 . The leading article in The Times on
21168-497: Was generated during the Industrial Revolution, particularly textile manufacture. The world's first cotton mill was built in the town of Royton , and the county encompasses 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
21315-519: Was included as a ceremonial county by the Lieutenancies Act 1997 on 1 July 1997. In 1998, the people of Greater London voted in a referendum in favour of establishing a new Greater London Authority , with mayor and an elected chamber for the county. The New Local Government Network 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
21462-510: Was recorded as an area surveyed with Cheshire in the Domesday Book of 1086; it is thought that the area was partially surveyed. Between Lancashire 's creation to the 18th century an ancient division of the shire, with a similar but smaller area to the current county, was known as Salfordshire . The division (a wapentake which later became a hundred) had several parishes, townships and market towns. Other areas of what would become
21609-406: Was to evaluate the contributions to economic growth and sustainable development by Combined Authorities. The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 enabled the creation of a Combined Authority for Greater Manchester with devolved powers on public transport, skills, housing, regeneration, waste management, carbon neutrality and planning permission , pending approval from
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