Wigan (borough)
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The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a
metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...
of Greater Manchester, in
North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
. It is named after the main settlement of Wigan. It covers the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield,
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...
and Tyldesley. The borough also covers the villages and suburbs of Abram, Aspull, Astley, Bryn, Hindley Green, Lowton, Mosley Common,
Orrell Orrell may refer to: *Orrell, Greater Manchester, a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan **Orrell (ward), an electoral ward of the Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council *Orrell, Merseyside, an urban area east of Bootle, in the Metropolitan Bo ...
, Pemberton,
Shevington Shevington is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, England. The population of the Wigan ward called Shevington and Lower Ground had increased to 11,482 at the 2011 Census. Lying within the historic county boun ...
, Standish,
Winstanley Winstanley may refer to: People: *Alan Winstanley, British record producer *Bill Winstanley, English footballer who played for Stoke City *Dean Winstanley, English darts player *Eric Winstanley, English footballer *Gerrard Winstanley, 17th-century ...
and Worsley Mesnes. The borough is also the second-most populous district in Greater Manchester. The borough was formed in 1974, replacing several former local government districts. It is the furthest west part of Greater Manchester, and it is bordered by the Greater Manchester boroughs of
City of Salford The City of Salford () is a metropolitan borough within Greater Manchester, England. The borough is named after its main settlement, Salford. The borough covers the towns of Eccles, Swinton, Walkden and Pendlebury, as well as the villages ...
and Bolton to the east, the
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
borough of Warrington to the south, the Merseyside borough of St Helens to the south west, and the Lancashire boroughs of West Lancashire to the west and
Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
to the north.


History

Wigan metropolitan borough was created on 1 April 1974 by the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
. It was formed from the former county borough of Wigan along with other local government units from the administrative county of Lancashire. These were the
Municipal Borough of Leigh The Municipal Borough of Leigh was, from 1899 to 1974, a local government district of the administrative county of Lancashire, England, consisting of the townships of Pennington, Westleigh, Bedford and part of the township of Atherton and named ...
, the
urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
s of Abram, Aspull, Atherton, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield,
Orrell Orrell may refer to: *Orrell, Greater Manchester, a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan **Orrell (ward), an electoral ward of the Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council *Orrell, Merseyside, an urban area east of Bootle, in the Metropolitan Bo ...
, Standish and Tyldesley. Ashton-in-Makerfield except for the parish of Seneley Green, the Golborne Urban District except for the parish of Culcheth and Glazebury in Warrington, the
Higher End Higher End or Billinge Higher End is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Governance Billinge was a civil parish lying within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire on 2 February 1837 it was divided ...
part of
Billinge and Winstanley Urban District Billinge (from 1927 Billinge and Winstanley) was, from 1872 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England. The district was created in 1872 as a local government district, governed by a local board. ...
and the civil parishes of
Haigh Haigh may refer to: Places *Haigh, Greater Manchester, England - a village * Haigh, West Yorkshire, England - a village Other uses * Haigh (surname) *Haigh's Chocolates, Australian chocolatier *Haigh Foundry Haigh Foundry was an ironworks and f ...
,
Shevington Shevington is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, England. The population of the Wigan ward called Shevington and Lower Ground had increased to 11,482 at the 2011 Census. Lying within the historic county boun ...
and
Worthington Worthington may refer to: People * Worthington (surname) * Worthington family, a British noble family Businesses * Worthington Brewery, also known as Worthington's * Worthington Corporation, founded as a pump manufacturer in 1845, later a dive ...
from the
Wigan Rural District Wigan Rural District was an administrative district in Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. The rural district comprised an area to the north, but did not include the town of Wigan. The district was created by the Local Government Act 1894 a ...
were included. Before its creation, the name ''Wigan-Leigh'' was used in the Redcliffe-Maud Report. It was also suggested that the new metropolitan borough be named ''
Makerfield Makerfield is an area in North West England. It is now split between the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, and the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside, both within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. Plac ...
''. However, both names were rejected by a vote of 12 to 2. According to an opinion poll in 2003, 26% of 299 residents surveyed felt they belonged "very strongly" or "fairly strongly" (4% very strongly) to Greater Manchester, 64% (28% very strongly) to the borough of Wigan, and 63% (31% very strongly) to Lancashire. The metropolitan borough was created from a highly industrialised area of Lancashire that was part of the Lancashire Coalfield and had an important textile industry.


Geography

Wigan borough covers an area of , and is the 9th-largest metropolitan borough (out of 36) in England. The borough is the most north western in Greater Manchester. Within Greater Manchester it borders the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton to the north-east and east, and the
City of Salford The City of Salford () is a metropolitan borough within Greater Manchester, England. The borough is named after its main settlement, Salford. The borough covers the towns of Eccles, Swinton, Walkden and Pendlebury, as well as the villages ...
to the east. Outwith Greater Manchester, in the south it borders Warrington (a unitary authority in
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
); to the south-west it borders the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside. To the west it borders the West Lancashire borough, and to the north it borders the
Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
borough, both in Lancashire. Wigan borough has seven Local Nature Reserves: including Wigan Flashes LNR, Borsdane Wood LNR, between Hindley and Aspull, Greenslate Water Meadows LNR within Orrell Water Park in Orrell, Low Hall LNR between Hindley and Platt Bridge, Pennington Flash LNR, Kirkless LNR at Ince and Three Sisters LNR, Ashton-In-Makerfield.


Governance


Local government

For 12 years after the county was created in 1974, the borough had a two-tier system of local government, and
Wigan Council The Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in the United Kingdom. It consists of 75 Councillors with one-third being elected every three years in four. The borough is separated into 25 war ...
shared power with the
Greater Manchester County Council The Greater Manchester County Council (GMCC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater Manchester from 1974 to 1986. A strategic authority, with responsibilities for roads, public transport, planning, emergency services ...
. The county council was abolished in 1986 by the
Local Government Act 1985 The Local Government Act 1985 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Its main effect was to abolish the six county councils of the metropolitan counties that had been set up in 1974, 11 years earlier, by the Local Government Act 1972, ...
. In April 2011, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority became the top tier of local government within Greater Manchester, covering ten boroughs including Wigan. The first elections to the borough council were held on 10 May 1973. The Metropolitan Borough Council is divided into 25 wards, each of which elects three councillors. Elections are by thirds, with one councillor from each ward up for re-election in each election year. The borough council has a leader and cabinet system. The current leader is David Molyneux who took over from Peter Smith, who resigned in May 2018, having been leader since 1991. The council rejected the idea of a directly elected mayor following a consultation in 2001. The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is traditionally a Labour Party stronghold - the council has been Labour-controlled since its creation. The local elections in 1998 resulted in a council with only two non-Labour members. Labour had a majority with 43 seats at the 2006 election. The second-largest party was the local
Community Action Party The Community Action Party was a minor political party in the United Kingdom, mostly active in Greater Manchester and Merseyside. It advocated free health care and education provision, a managed public transport infrastructure free to all at th ...
which had 15 seats. Community Action first contested Wigan elections in 2002, and won 18 seats in the 2004 election following the re-warding - their councilors are for wards in the middle of the borough, between Wigan and Leigh. The
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
had nine seats, and the Liberal Democrats eight. At the 2008 elections Labour was the largest party with 41 seats out of a total of 75; the Conservative Party had 14 seats, Community Action Party eight seats, Independent seven seats, Liberal Democrats four seats, and one was vacant. In November 2010 (after elections in May), Labour was the largest party with 51 seats out of a total of 75; the Conservative Party had eight seats, Independents seven seats, Community Action Party four seats, Liberal Democrats three seats (one member currently suspended) and two members were 'Independent Conservative'. As of June 2011 (after May elections), Labour continued to be the largest party with 58 seats out of 75, the Independent Councillor group with 8 seats form the official opposition, the Conservative Party had 5 seats, the Liberal Democrats hold 2 seats, Community Action Party 1 seat and 1 Independent councillor. In May 2012 (post 2012 Local Elections) the composition of the council was Labour 63 (+5), Others 9 (-1), Liberal Democrats 2 (No change) and Conservatives 1 ( -4). Presently in May 2018, the Council's political composition is: Labour 60, Conservatives 7, Independent 4, Independent Network 2, Shevington Independents 1, and Standish Independents 1. The council uses
Wigan Town Hall The new Town Hall is a former technical college in Library Street, Wigan, England which was converted into a municipal facility in 1990. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building, which was designed by Briggs and Wolstenholme in th ...
as its main headquarters.
Leigh Town Hall Leigh Town Hall is a municipal building in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. It stands in Civic Square at the junction with Market Street, facing Leigh parish church. It was built in 1907 and granted grade II listed building status in 1987. ...
is used as a secondary base.


Townships and wards

The borough is divided into 25 electoral wards, each of which elect three councillors. The present wards were adopted in 2003, following a review by the Boundary Commission, the previous review took place in 1979. The borough was formerly divided in 24 wards. Wigan Council has divided the borough into ten areas by the name of townships, with a Township Manager and a Township Forum each.


Parishes

The borough has three civil parishes: Haigh, Shevington and Worthington. The rest of the borough is an unparished area. Ecclesiastical parishes in the west of the borough are part of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool, Anglican parishes in the east of the Metropolitan Borough are part of the Diocese of Manchester and the northern section part of the Diocese of Blackburn.


Parliamentary

The Wigan Metropolitan Borough is currently covered by four parliamentary constituencies, Wigan,
Makerfield Makerfield is an area in North West England. It is now split between the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, and the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside, both within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. Plac ...
,
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...
, and
Bolton West Bolton West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Chris Green, a Conservative. Constituency profile The seat is on the outskirts of Greater Manchester with fields making for separate villages ...
. (Atherton is the only Wigan ward included in Bolton West, with the rest of the constituency made up of wards from Bolton Borough). New constituency boundaries recommended by the Boundary Commission for the 2010 general election saw the link to Salford broken by the removal of Wigan areas from the Worsley constituency. This resulted in the Worsley constituency wards of Tyldesley and Astley-Mosley Common being placed in the Leigh Constituency with the Atherton ward becoming part of Bolton West. Makerfield is the only constituency to have returned Labour MPs continuously since 1906.


Coat of arms

Wigan council's new coat of arms is based on various elements from the arms of the councils of its predecessor districts.


Demography

With a population of around 300,000, Wigan is the second most populous borough of Greater Manchester, after Manchester. It has one of the lowest ethnic minority populations, with the 2001 census reporting 98.7% of the population as white. Unemployment is around the average for England and Wales. Approximately 9.5% of the population was recorded as being permanently sick or disabled compared to a national average of 5.5%.


Population change

The table details the population change since 1801, including the percentage change since the last available census data. Although the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan has existed since 1974, figures have been generated by combining data from the towns, villages, and civil parishes that became constituent parts of the borough. The population of the borough has remained roughly static since the 1970s at around 300,000, second to Manchester within Greater Manchester. The ONS identify the Wigan Built-up Area as the western part of the district, as well as Skelmersdale and Upholland in West Lancashire, with a population of 166,840. It considers the east of the borough, Hindley, Leigh, Golborne, Atherton and Tyldesley to be part of the Greater Manchester Built-up Area. Aspull and Shevington are identified as standalone urban areas and Ashton-in-Makerfield is considered to be part of the Liverpool Built-up area, sitting at the border with St Helen’s. However, the entirety of the Wigan borough forms part of the Manchester Larger Urban Zone


Ethnicity


Transport

Public transport in Wigan MBC is co-ordinated by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The borough is served by an extensive bus network with most services operated by Stagecoach Manchester, Arriva North West and
Diamond North West Diamond Bus (North West) Ltd., trading as Diamond North West, is a bus operator providing services in the districts of Bolton and Wigan in Greater Manchester operating an extensive commercial network along with tendered services on behalf of Tra ...
. Wigan town centre is the main hub of the bus network, and has Wigan bus station. Leigh is a secondary hub which too has a bus station. Services operate from the bus stations to Bolton, Manchester, the Trafford Centre, St Helens and Chorley, as well as local inter-urban routes, with three high frequency services between Wigan and Leigh bus stations, operated by Stagecoach Manchester. Several railway lines cross the borough. Wigan Wallgate railway station is served by Northern trains on the Manchester to Southport and Kirkby lines. There are services to stations towards Manchester, serving all city centre stations including Manchester Victoria and
Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...
via two routes: one through Bolton and one via Atherton, with connections to other local and national destinations. Wigan North Western railway station is on the West Coast Main Line served by Northern and Avanti West Coast. There are services to Liverpool Lime Street, Blackpool North, London Euston, Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Other stations in the borough are Atherton, Hag Fold, Bryn,
Gathurst Gathurst is the name given to a small section of the township of Shevington, a Civil Parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was historically a part of Lancashire. The village is served by a railway stati ...
, Hindley, Ince,
Orrell Orrell may refer to: *Orrell, Greater Manchester, a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan **Orrell (ward), an electoral ward of the Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council *Orrell, Merseyside, an urban area east of Bootle, in the Metropolitan Bo ...
, and Pemberton.
Appley Bridge railway station Appley Bridge railway station serves the villages of Appley Bridge and Shevington, both in Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester in England. The station is north-west of Wigan Wallgate on the Manchester-Southport Line. The station ...
just outside the border with West Lancashire is managed by TfGM and serves the far north-western part of the borough. There is a campaign for Golborne railway station and Kenyon Junction station to be re-opened. The Liverpool-Manchester line ( Chat Moss route) crosses the far south of the borough but has no railway station since the 60's after
Kenyon Junction railway station Kenyon Junction was a railway station at Kenyon near Culcheth in Warrington, England. The station was built at the junction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the Kenyon and Leigh Junction Railway. It was situated in the historic cou ...
,
Astley railway station Astley was a railway station on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway on Chat Moss to the south of Astley village in what was then the county of Lancashire, England. History Opened in the 1840s by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the s ...
, Lamb's Cottage railway station, Flow Moss railway station and
Glazebury and Bury Lane railway station Glazebury and Bury Lane is a closed railway station between Liverpool and Manchester. The station opened on 15 September 1830 by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city ...
closed. Leigh is one of the largest towns in the UK without a railway station. Westleigh station, on the Bolton and Leigh Railway, closed in 1954. Leigh and Tyldesley stations on the
Tyldesley Loopline The Tyldesley Loopline was part of the London and North Western Railway's Manchester and Wigan Railway line from Eccles to the junction west of Tyldesley station and its continuance south west via Bedford Leigh to Kenyon Junction on the Liver ...
were closed in 1969. There is a guided busway located in Leigh which goes from Leigh to Manchester via Tyldesley towards Manchester as a guided busway but this is not universally popular. Leigh may get direct rail links in the future. The Leeds and Liverpool and Bridgewater canals meet in Leigh town centre. The M6 motorway crosses the west of the borough, and serves Ashton-in-Makerfield at junctions 23 and 24 (north only) and 25 (south only), Wigan at junction 25 (south only), Wigan/Orrell at junction 26 and Standish junction 27. The
M58 motorway The M58 is a motorway passing through Merseyside and Lancashire, terminating in Greater Manchester. It is 12 miles (19.3 km) long and provides a link between the M6 motorway and the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton and hence on, via the A5 ...
, to Liverpool, terminates at junction 26 of the M6 near Orrell. The
dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
A580 East Lancashire Road linking Liverpool to Manchester crosses the south of the borough.The A579 runs from Bolton to the M6 via Atherleigh Way, which runs from the west of Atherton, bypassing Leigh town centre to reach the East Lancashire Road at the Warrington border.


Twinning

The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan has one twin town in France.


Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the
Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...
of Wigan.


Individuals

* James Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford: January 1900. * Sir William Gorman: 1954. *
David Whelan David Whelan (born 24 November 1936) is an English businessman and former footballer. During his football career, he played for Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra. Whelan is the former owner of club Wigan Athletic, having also been the chai ...
: 30 August 2007. * Lord Smith of Leigh: 7 December 2011.


Military units

* D Squadron ( TA Reserve) Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry: 27 February 2008. * The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment: 2 December 2019.


References


Notes


Bibliography

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wigan, Metropolitan Borough Of Metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester