Bury

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Geographically, Bury is an attractive blend of town and country ranging from Pennine moorland in the north to the suburbs of north Manchester in the south. The common feature of the area is the River Irwell and there are attractive villages throughout the Borough but especially in the north and west .

The East Lancashire Railway which features steam and diesel preservation runs along the Irwell Valley and since its opening a decade ago has brought tourism on a large scale to the whole of the area. There is a wide range of industry in each of the six towns with a particular concentration of paper-making in Radcliffe and Ramsbottom. Other industries include heavy and light engineering, woollen and worsted manufacture, chemicals, spinning, textile finishing, luggage, carpet manufacture, rubber, plastics, confectionery and greetings cards .

In addition there is a wide range of shopping and modern entertainment including the Mill Gate Shopping Centre in Bury together with the famous open and indoor markets. The Warner Village Cinema Complex at Pilsworth was the first of its kind in the country.

There are excellent communications in the area with the M62 and M66 Motorways crisscrossing the area plus the Metrolink Light Rapid Transit system with a fast and frequent service from Bury centre through Manchester city centre to Altrincham. Manchester Airport is half an hour away by road.

Bury Metropolitan Borough consists of six towns, Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich. Formed in April 1974 as a result of Local Government re-organisation it was one of the ten original districts that formed the County of Greater Manchester.

The Borough has an area of 9,919 hectares (24,511 acres) and serves a population of 181,900. The six towns are divided into sixteen wards, which each elect three Councillors to serve on the Council.