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Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.55 million.[1] 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.[2] Greater Manchester is landlocked and 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 third most populous conurbation in the UK, and spans across most of the county's territory. As a ceremonial county, Greater Manchester has a Lord Lieutenant and a High Sheriff. 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 ,[3] continues to exist in law and as a geographic frame of reference.[4] Several county-wide services are co-ordinated through 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 eight independent county boroughs.[5]
HistoryOriginsAlthough the modern county of Greater Manchester was not created until 1974, the history of its constituent settlements and parts goes back centuries. There is evidence of Iron Age inhabitation, particularly at Mellor,[6] and Celtic activity in a settlement named Chochion, believed to have been an area of Wigan settled by the Brigantes.[7] 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.[8] The remains of 1st-century forts at Castlefield in Manchester,[9] and Castleshaw Roman fort in Saddleworth,[10] are evidence of Roman occupation. Much of the region was omitted from the Domesday Book of 1086; Redhead states that this was because only a partial survey was taken, rather than sparsity of population.[11] 
Former weavers' cottages in Wardle. The development of Greater Manchester is attributed to a shared tradition of domestic cloth production, and textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution. By the 18th century, traders from Germany had coined the name Manchesterthum, meaning "Greater Manchester", and were using that as a name for the region in and around Manchester.[18] However, the English term "Greater Manchester" did not appear until the start of the 20th century. One of its first known recorded uses 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 "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".[17][19] In his 1915 book Cities In Evolution, innovative urban planner Sir Patrick Geddes wrote "far more than Lancashire realises, is growing up another Greater London".[20] 
Greater Manchester lies at the conjunction of the ancient county boundaries of Cheshire, Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. 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".[23] 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."[23] 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.[24] In 1947, Lancashire County Council proposed a three "ridings" system to meet the changing needs of the county of Lancashire, including those for Manchester and surrounding districts.[24] 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.[24] Redcliffe-Maud ReportThe Local Government Act 1958 designated the south east Lancashire area (which, despite its name, included part of north east Cheshire), 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 a final report.[25] 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 a new administrative metropolitan area.[26] 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 ? a minority report suggested that Buxton be included).[27] 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.[27] The report noted "The choice even of a label of convenience for this metropolitan area is difficult".[28] Seven years earlier, 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".[29] 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.[27] Following 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 and Saddleworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It excluded Wigan, which was in both the Redcliffe-Maud area and in the eventual Greater Manchester (but had not been part of the 1958 act's review area).[30] Redcliffe-Maud's recommendations were accepted by the Labour-controlled Government in February 1970.[31] 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, with areas such as Warrington, 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).[31] 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)[32][33] but were divided into separate boroughs. To re-balance the districts, the borough of Rochdale took Middleton from Oldham.[34] During the passage of the bill, the towns of Whitworth, Wilmslow and Poynton successfully objected to their incorporation in the new county.[31] After 1974
The Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre (better known as the G-Mex centre and now branded Manchester Central) was a converted former railway station in Manchester City Centre used for hosting the county's cultural events. 
Stockport Bus Station in 1988. Greater Manchester Transport operated bus services throughout the county, from 1974 to 1993. 
GMC County Hall (now known as Westminster House) in Manchester housed the Greater Manchester County Council until its abolition in 1986. By January 1974, a joint working party representing Greater Manchester had drawn up its county Structure Plan, ready for implementation by the Greater Manchester County Council. The plan set out strategic and long-term objectives for the forthcoming metropolitan county.[41] The highest priority was to increase the quality of life for its inhabitants by way of improving the county's physical environment and cultural facilities which had suffered following deindustrialisation. Other objectives were to reverse the trend of depopulation in central-Greater Manchester, to invest in the county's country parks to improve the region's poor reputation on leisure and recreational facilities, and to improve the county's transport infrastructure and journey to work patterns.[42] The Greater Manchester Exhibition Centre (better known as the G-Mex centre and now branded Manchester Central) was a converted former railway station in Manchester City Centre used for cultural events.[43] 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.[44] And so the component areas of Greater Manchester held on to their pre-1974 postal counties until 1996, when they were abolished.[45] 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 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.[46] Greater Manchester County Council was abolished on 31 March 1986 under the Local Government Act 1985. That 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".[47] Most of the functions of the Greater Manchester County 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.[48] 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.[49] Although having been a Lieutenancy area since 1974, Greater Manchester was included as a ceremonial county by the Lieutenancies Act 1997 on 1 July 1997.[50] 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.[51] 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 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.[52] In January 2008, AGMA suggested that a formal government structure be created to cover the whole city region.[53] 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 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".[54] 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 the artificial limits of boundaries" in return for greater autonomy from "Whitehall".[55] Geography
An aerial photograph of Greater Manchester 
The Greater Manchester Urban Area, highlighted in red, against the boundaries of the Metropolitan County 
A view over the borough of Tameside, towards Manchester City Centre. 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 above sea-level, within the parish of Saddleworth.[56] Chat Moss at comprises the largest area of prime farmland in Greater Manchester and contains the largest block of semi-natural woodland in the county.[57] 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.[58] 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,[58] 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 UK outside London,[58] and this is reflected in the density of its transport network and the scale of its 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. 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.[59] 
ClimateGreater 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 [60] compared to the UK average of ,[61] and its mean rain days are per annum,[60] compared to the UK average of .[61] The mean temperature is slightly above average for the United Kingdom.[62] 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,[63] notably the A62 road via Standedge, the A57 (Snake Pass) towards Sheffield,[64] and the M62 over Saddleworth Moor. Governance
The coat of arms of the former Greater Manchester Council, which was abolished in 1986 
Stockport Town Hall houses government and administrative functions for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport. 
Oldham Civic Centre is where the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham's government functions take place. 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,[65][66] 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. Eight of the ten metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester are named after the eight former county boroughs that now compose the largest centres of population and greater historical and political prominence.[67] As an example, 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.[67] 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.[67] 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.[68] The Greater Manchester County Council, a strategic authority running regional services such as transport, strategic planning, emergency services and waste disposal, comprised 106 members drawn from the ten metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester.[69] 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.[68] Various civil parishes exist in certain parts of Greater Manchester. Although the county council, which was based in what is now Westminster House off 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 county-wide Local Transport Plans.[70] Some local services are provided county-wide, administered by statutory joint boards. 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.[71] 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. 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.[72] The first Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester was Sir William Downward who held the title from 1974 to 1988.[73] The current Lord Lieutenant is Warren James Smith.[74] 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.[75] Demography
The population of Greater Manchester has increased from around 328 thousand in 1801, to 2.5M in 2001. It was at its peak in 1971, however, at 2.7M. 
Much of Greater Manchester's housing stock consists of terraced houses constructed as low-cost dwellings for the populations of local factory towns. This street in Salford has been renovated by Urban Splash. 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.[77][78] There are currently over 66 refugee nationalities in the county.[79] 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 is similar to the rest of the country, although the proportions of Muslims and Jews are nearly twice the national average.[80] Greater Manchester is covered by the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Salford and Shrewsbury,[81][82] and the Archdiocese of Liverpool. Most of Greater Manchester is part of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester,[83] apart from Wigan which lies within the Diocese of Liverpool.[84] 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.[85][86] 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.[86][87] 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.[88] During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the population of Greater Manchester declined by over 8,000 inhabitants a year.[86] While the population of the City of Manchester shrank by about 40% during this time (from 766,311 in 1931 to 452,000 in 2006), the total population of Greater Manchester only decreased by 8%.[86]
Greater Manchester's housing stock comprises a variety of types. Manchester City Centre is noted for its high-rise apartments,[90] while Salford has some of the tallest and most densely populated tower block estates in Europe.[91] Throughout Greater Manchester, rows of terraced houses are common, most of them built 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. Altrincham, with its neighbours Bowdon and Hale, is said to constitute a "stockbroker belt, with well-appointed dwellings in an area of sylvan opulence".[92] EducationGreater 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),[93] and the thirteenth highest in England per head of population.[94] The majority of students are concentrated on Oxford Road in Manchester, Europe's largest urban higher education precinct.[95] 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 independent schools such as Manchester Grammar School, Bolton School and Bury Grammar School. Economy
Oldham, painted during the Industrial Revolution. Many towns in Greater Manchester were built around the mills. 
Manchester City Centre, the central business district of Greater Manchester, is a major centre of trade and commerce. 
Salford Quays is the City of Salford's main business district. 
The Trafford Centre is one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom. 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.[86] Considerable industrial restructuring has helped the region to recover.[98] 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 and The Lowry theatre and exhibition centre. A major BBC centre is also scheduled to open there in 2010.[99] 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.[100] Greater Manchester represents more than £42 billion of the UK regional GVA, more than Wales, Northern Ireland or North East England.[101] Manchester City Centre, the central business district of Greater Manchester, is a major centre of trade and commerce and provides Greater Manchester with a global identity, specialist activities and employment opportunities; similarly, the economy of the city centre is dependent upon the rest of the county for its population as an employment pool, skilled workforce and for its collective purchasing power.[102] 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.[103] A report commissioned by Manchester Partnership, published in 2007, showed Manchester to be the "fastest-growing city" economically.[104] It is the third most visited city in the United Kingdom by foreign visitors[105] and is now often considered to be the second city of the UK.[106] The Trafford Centre is one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom, 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%.[107] 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%.[108] 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% electricity, gas, 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.[109][98]
Transport
A Manchester Metrolink tram approaching Radcliffe, part of Greater Manchester's light rail public transport system 
First Manchester operate bus services in northern-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.[112] 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.[112] The council had overall responsibility for strategic planning and all policy decisions covering public transport and highways. GMPTE's purpose was to secure the provision of a completely integrated and efficient system of passenger transport to meet the needs of its area.[112] In 1977, it was noted as the largest authority for public transport in the United Kingdom after London Transport.[112] 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,[113] the M60, which passes 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,[114] 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 in Walkden, close to the M60 interchange).[115] Greater Manchester's of motorway network saw 5.8 billion vehicle kilometres in 2002 ? about 6% of the UK's total, or 89,000 vehicles a day.[113] 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.[116] There are proposals for congestion charging in Greater Manchester.[117][118] 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.[119] 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.[120] 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:[121] since June 2007 it has served 225 routes.[122] 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.[121] Sports
The East Stand of Old Trafford 
The main entrance of Old Trafford Cricket Ground 
The City of Manchester Stadium, the main venue of the 2002 Commonwealth Games and home to Manchester City F.C. 
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.[126] They are the current Premier League and UEFA Champions League champions, have won the | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
