is a
Metropolitan County within the
Yorkshire And The Humber region of
England , that has a population of
2.1 Million . West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the
Local Government Act 1972 .Arnold-Baker, C., ''Local Government Act 1972'', (1973)
West Yorkshire, which is landlocked, consists of five
Metropolitan Borough s (
City Of Bradford ,
Calderdale ,
Kirklees ,
City Of Leeds and
City Of Wakefield ) and shares borders with the counties of
Derbyshire ,
Greater Manchester ,
Lancashire ,
North Yorkshire and
South Yorkshire .
'', September 17, 2004. URL accessed January 11, 2007.
Yorkshire and Humber Counties , The Boundary Commission for England. URL accessed February 14, 2007.
West Yorkshire encompasses the
West Yorkshire Urban Area , which is the most built-up and biggest
Urban Area within the
Historic County Boundaries of
Yorkshire .
West Yorkshire is divided into five local government districts; they are the
City Of Bradford ,
Calderdale ,
Kirklees , the
City Of Leeds and the
City Of Wakefield . The county borders
Lancashire ,
Greater Manchester ,
Derbyshire ,
North Yorkshire and
South Yorkshire .
It was formed as a metropolitan county in 1974, by the
Local Government Act 1972 , and corresponds roughly to the core of the
Historic West Riding of
Yorkshire and the county boroughs of Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield, Dewsbury, Halifax and Huddersfield. The Wakefield district's industrial heritage is significantly different from most of the rest of the county in that coal-mining was a large employer whilst textiles was not a particularly large industry (except in
Ossett , where the two industries were both important).
West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council inherited the use of
County Hall at
Wakefield , opened in 1898, from the
West Riding County Council in 1974. Since 1987 it has been the headquarters of Wakefield City Council.
1
It initially had a two-tier structure of local government with a strategic-level county council and five districts providing most services. Redcliffe-Maud & Wood, B., ''English Local Government Reformed'', (1974) In 1986, throughout England the metropolitan county councils were abolished. The functions of the county council were devolved to the boroughs; joint-boards covering fire, police and public transport; and to other special joint arrangements. Kingdom, J., ''Local Government and Politics in Britain'', (1991) Organisations such as
West Yorkshire Police Authority and
West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive continue to operate on this basis.
Although the county council was abolished, West Yorkshire continues to form a
Metropolitan and
Ceremonial county with a
Lord Lieutenant Of West Yorkshire and a
High Sheriff .
In Parliament, all but two of West Yorkshire's M.P.s are
Labour . At local level, the councils are generally divided, apart from the Wakefield district, which has long been one of the safest Labour councils in the country.
There are currently plans for a
Tram system in West Yorkshire, but those for a
Leeds Supertram were rejected by the government in 2005.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of West Yorkshire at current basic prices
published (pp.240-253) by ''Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
- Ackworth , Addingham , Allerton Bywater
- Baildon , Bailiff Bridge , Batley , Beeston , Bingley , Birkby , Birkenshaw , Birstall , Boothtown , Boston Spa , Bradford , Brighouse , Burley-in-Wharfedale
- Castleford , Cleckheaton , Collingham , Copley , Cottingley , Cragg Vale , Crofton , Crigglestone , Cullingworth ,
- Denby Dale , Dewsbury
- Elland , Emley , Esholt
- Fairburn Ings , Ferrybridge , Fitzwilliam
- Garforth , Golcar , Gomersal , Greetland , Guiseley
- Halifax , Harewood , Hartshead , Hartshead Moor , Haworth , Hebden Bridge , Heckmondwike , Hemsworth , Heptonstall , Hipperholme , Holmfirth , Honley , Horbury , Horsforth , Huddersfield
- Ilkley
- Keighley , Kippax , Kirkburton , Kirkstall , Knottingley
- Ledsham , Ledston , Leeds , Linthwaite , Liversedge
- Marsden , Meltham , Menston , Mirfield , Morley , Mytholmroyd
- New Mill , Newmillerdam , New Farnley , Nostell , Norristhorpe
- Oakworth , Ossett , Oxenhope , Otley , Oulton
- Pontefract , Pool-in-Wharfedale , Pudsey
- Queensbury
- Rastrick , Riddlesden , Ripponden , Rothwell , Roberttown
- Saltaire , Sandal , Scammonden Scarcroft , Scholes , Shelley , Shepley , Shibden , Shipley , Silsden , Slaithwaite , Sowerby Bridge , Stanbury , Steeton , Swillington
- Thornbury , Thornton , Thornhill , Todmorden , Tong
- Wakefield , Walton , West Bretton , Wetherby , Wilsden
- Yeadon
- Harewood House
- Queens Park , Castleford
- Cliffe Hall, also known as Cliffe Castle , Keighley
- Esholt Hall , Esholt
- Firsby Hall
- Kirklees Hall
- Leeds (in general)
- Ledston Hall , Ledston
- Linthwaite Hall , Linthwaite
- Linton Hall
- Lotherton Hall
- Kershaw House
- East Riddlesden Hall
- Oakwell Hall
- Oulton Hall , Oulton
- Sandal Castle
- Shelley Hall , Shelley
- Shibden Hall
- Tong Hall , Tong
- Bretton Hall
- Kirkstall Abbey
- Kirklees Hall/Priory
- Nostell Priory
- Pontefract Priory , Pontefract
- Wetherby Castle , Wetherby
- Scarcroft Watermill , Scarcroft
- Roman Lagentium ( Castleford )
- Saltaire , a Model Village
- Keighley And Worth Valley Railway
