Metropolitan borough
A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England and covers urban areas within metropolitan counties.
| Metropolitan district | |
|---|---|
| Also known as: Metropolitan borough | |
 | |
| Category | Local authority districts |
| Location | England |
| Found in | Metropolitan county |
| Created by | Local Government Act 1972 |
| Created | 1 April 1974 |
| Number | 36 (as of 2023) |
| Possible status | City |
| Additional status | Borough |
| Populations | 0.1 - 1.1 million |
Current metropolitan boroughs (post 1974)
The current metropolitan boroughs were created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 as subdivisions of the new metropolitan counties which were created to cover the six largest urban areas in England outside Greater London
The new authorities were actually defined by law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have borough status or city status. The new metropolitan boroughs replaced the county boroughs, municipal boroughs and urban and rural districts which existed before. The districts typically have populations of 174,000 to 1.1 million.
In 1986 the old metropolitan county councils were abolished by the Local Government Act 1985 and most of their functions were given to the boroughs, so they are to a large extent unitary authorities. Some of the functions of the abolished county councils were taken over by joint bodies such as Passenger Transport Authorities, and joint fire, police and waste disposal authorities.
The 36 current metropolitan boroughs are:
| Metropolitan county | Metropolitan districts | Number | County population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merseyside | Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral | 5 | 1,365,000 |
| Greater Manchester | Manchester, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan | 10 | 2,573,200 |
| South Yorkshire | Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham | 4 | 1,290,000 |
| Tyne and Wear | Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Sunderland | 5 | 1,299,000 |
| West Midlands | Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton | 7 | 2,916,458 |
| West Yorkshire | Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Wakefield | 5 | 2,161,200 |