The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. Its largest town is Rochdale and the wider borough covers other outlying towns and villages, including Heywood, Littleborough, Middleton & Milnrow. It is the ninth-largest district by population in Greater Manchester with a population of 226,992 in 2022. [3]
Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the borough was formed in 1974 as part of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 and is an amalgamation of six former local government districts. It was originally proposed that the borough include the neighbouring town of Bury and disclude Middleton; Bury however went on to form the administrative centre for the adjacent Metropolitan Borough of Bury. The borough was formed by a merger of the former county borough of Rochdale and from the administrative county of Lancashire, the municipal boroughs of Heywood and Middleton, along with the urban districts of Littleborough, Milnrow and Wardle.The borough lies mostly within the historic county of Lancashire but a small part lies in the former West Riding of Yorkshire. Prior to its creation, it was suggested that the metropolitan borough be named Chadwick (with reference to Sir Edwin Chadwick), but this was rejected in favour of Rochdale. [5]
The council is based at Number One Riverside in Rochdale town centre, which was opened in 2014. It serves as a public library, includes a café, private meeting areas, a conference centre and a workplace. It merged 33 buildings into one and won the award for the best workplace of 2014. [6]
The borough of Rochdale is divided into 20 wards, each ward having three councillors for a total of 60 councillors. Councillors serve four-year terms, with one-third of the council elected every year except every fourth year when no councilors are elected.
The council has been controlled by Labour since 2011.
| Party Affiliation | councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 44 | |
| Conservative | 8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | |
| Independent | 3 | |
| Workers Party of Britain | 2 | |
The borough lies directly north-northeast of the City of Manchester, to the east of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, to the north of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham and partly to the east of the county of West Yorkshire bordering near to the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale and the Lancashire borough of Rossendale is to the northwest. There are some rural parts and urban parts of the district including Blackstone Edge and the Pennine hills which form part of the rural areas of the borough. The more urban areas centre around the town and neighbouring boroughs of Bury, Oldham and Manchester. The town of Middleton is contiguous with the northeastern suburbs of Manchester and the towns of Chadderton, Failsworth and Oldham. The towns of Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow form an urban area with Rochdale.
| Ethnic Group | Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 estimations [7] | 1991 census [8] [9] | 2021 census [10] | ||||
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| White: Total | 196,512 | 94.8% | 188,428 | 92% | 165,485 | 74.0% |
| White: British | – | – | – | – | 156,669 | 70.0 |
| White: Irish | – | – | – | – | 1,735 | 0.8 |
| White: Roma | – | – | – | – | 163 | |
| White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | – | – | 194 | |
| White: Other | – | – | – | – | 6,724 | 3.0 |
| Asian or Asian British: Total | 9,534 | 4.6% | 14,806 | 7.2% | 41,406 | 18.4% |
| Asian or Asian British: Indian | 556 | 821 | 1,190 | 0.5 | ||
| Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | 7,505 | 3.6% | 11,402 | 5.6% | 30,525 | 13.6 |
| Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | 863 | 1693 | 5,170 | 2.3 | ||
| Asian or Asian British: Chinese | 285 | 404 | 867 | 0.4 | ||
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | 325 | 486 | 3,654 | 1.6 | ||
| Black or Black British: Total | 700 | 951 | 7,927 | |||
| Black or Black British: African | 111 | 145 | 6,476 | |||
| Black or Black British: Caribbean | 281 | 374 | 440 | |||
| Other Black | 308 | 432 | 1,011 | |||
| Mixed or British Mixed: Total | – | – | – | – | 5,284 | 2.4% |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | – | – | 1,303 | |
| Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | – | – | 1,210 | |
| Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | – | – | 1,736 | |
| Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | – | – | 1,035 | |
| Other: Total | 437 | 613 | 3,669 | |||
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | 815 | |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | – | – | 2,854 | |
| Ethnic minority: Total | 10,671 | 5.2% | 16,370 | 8% | 58,286 | 26% |
| Total | 207,183 | 100% | 204,798 | 100% | 223,773 | 100% |
The following table shows the religious identity of residents residing in Rochdale.
| Religion | 2021 [11] | |
|---|---|---|
| Number | % | |
| Christian | 104,841 | 46.9 |
| Muslim | 42,121 | 18.8 |
| Jewish | 218 | 0.1 |
| Hindu | 613 | 0.3 |
| Sikh | 191 | 0.1 |
| Buddhism | 398 | 0.2 |
| Other religion | 675 | 0.3 |
| No religion | 64,349 | 28.8 |
| Religion not stated | 10,366 | 4.6 |
| Total | 295,963 | 100.0 |
The table below details the population change since 1801, including the percentage change since the last available census data. Although the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale has only existed 1974, figures have been generated by combining data from the towns, villages, and civil parishes that would later be constituent parts of the borough.
| Population growth in Rochdale since 1801 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1941 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 |
| Population | 28,689 | 36,815 | 46,440 | 57,377 | 69,956 | 80,317 | 102,247 | 124,177 | 146,107 | 151,490 | 165,617 | 181,061 | 181,227 | 181,395 | 177,574 | 173,833 | 188,316 | 204,071 | 206,351 | 204,802 | 205,233 |
| % change | – | +28.3 | +26.1 | +23.6 | +21.9 | +14.8 | +27.3 | +21.4 | +17.7 | +3.7 | +9.3 | +9.3 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −2.1 | −2.1 | +8.3 | +8.4 | +1.1 | −0.8 | +0.2 |
| Source: Vision of Britain [12] | |||||||||||||||||||||
The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale has formal twinning arrangements with six places. Three were originally twinned with a place within the Metropolitan Borough boundaries prior to its creation in 1974. [13]
| Country | Place | County / District / Region / State | Originally twinned with | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | Tourcoing | Nord-Pas de Calais | County Borough of Rochdale | 1956 |
| Germany | Peine | Niedersachsen | Municipal Borough of Heywood | 1967 |
| Germany | Bielefeld | Nordrhein-Westfalen | County Borough of Rochdale | 1953 |
| Pakistan | Sahiwal | Punjab | Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale | 1988 |
| Ukraine | Lviv | Lviv | Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale | 1992 |
| Bangladesh | Sylhet | Sylhet Division | Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale | 2009 |
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Rochdale.
 |
Rochdale is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the 2021 census the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wider borough. Rochdale is in the foothills of the South Pennines and lies in the dale (valley) of the River Roch, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Oldham, and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Manchester.
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is named after its largest town, Oldham. The borough had a population of 243,912 in 2022, making it the sixth-largest district by population in Greater Manchester. The borough spans 142 square kilometres (55 sq mi).
Milnrow is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Beal at the foothills of the South Pennines, and forms a continuous urban area with Rochdale. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Rochdale town centre, 10 miles (16.1 km) north-northeast of Manchester, and spans from Windy Hill in the east to the Rochdale Canal in the west. Milnrow is adjacent to junction 21 of the M62 motorway, and includes the village of Newhey, and hamlets at Tunshill and Ogden.
Middleton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk. It is 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Rochdale and 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Manchester. Middleton had a population of 42,972 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the northern edge of Manchester, with Blackley to the south and Moston to the south east.
Littleborough is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Roch Valley by the foothills of the South Pennines, 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Rochdale and 13 miles (20.9 km) northeast of Manchester; Milnrow and the M62 motorway are to the south, and the rural uplands of Blackstone Edge to the east. According to the 2001 census, Littleborough, and its suburbs of Calderbrook, Shore and Smithy Bridge, had a population of 13,807.
Heywood is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, in the historic county of Lancashire. It had a population of 28,205 at the 2011 Census. The town lies on the south bank of the River Roch, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Bury, 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Rochdale, and 8 miles (12.9 km) north of Manchester. Middleton lies to the south, whilst to the north is the Cheesden Valley, open moorland, and the Pennines.
Newhey is a village in the town of Milnrow in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies at the foot of the South Pennines, by Junction 21 of the M62 motorway and on the River Beal, 3 miles (4.8 km) east-southeast of Rochdale, 10 miles (16.1 km) northeast of Manchester.
Littleborough and Saddleworth was a parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester, England. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The demography of Greater Manchester is analysed by the Office for National Statistics and data is produced for each of its ten metropolitan boroughs, each of the Greater Manchester electoral wards, the NUTS3 statistical sub-regions, each of the Parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester, the 15 civil parishes in Greater Manchester, and for all of Greater Manchester as a whole; the latter of which had a population of 2,682,500 at the 2011 UK census. Additionally, data is produced for the Greater Manchester Urban Area. Statistical information is produced about the size and geographical breakdown of the population, the number of people entering and leaving country and the number of people in each demographic subgroup.
Rochdale was, from 1856 to 1974, a local government district coterminate with the town of Rochdale in the northwest of England.
Stanney Brook is a watercourse in Greater Manchester, England. It originates in the Burnedge area of Shaw and Crompton, and flows through Milnrow into Rochdale before joining the River Roch at Newbold Brow. Alone among the watercourses of Milnrow and Newhey, it does not pass through the centre of either village, and flows directly into the River Roch, rather than first into the River Beal. Its name derives from the Lancashire dialect word "stanner", a ridge of stones. It is also unusual in that the borough in which it rises, changes, depending on the wetness of surrounding moorland. The brook drops 100 metres in a little over 5.5 kilometres, or 330feet in 3.5 miles. It is culverted four times, generally is only 60 cm (2 ft) wide, and rarely exceeds 90 cm (3 ft) in width at any point.
Rochdale Interchange is a transport hub located in the town of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England, run by the Bee Network (TfGM)
Rochdale Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority since 2011.
Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive was the public body responsible for public transport in Greater Manchester between 1974 and 2011, when it became part of Transport for Greater Manchester.
Bu-Val Buses was an independent bus operator, situated in Littleborough, Greater Manchester. The company started operations in 1990 and provided a number of local services in the Greater Manchester area, originally in the Rochdale and Littleborough areas, before expanding out to the Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Saddleworth, Salford and Tameside areas. In February 2011, the company started a free night bus service running into Rochdale town centre from surrounding areas. The service runs along three routes. The service started in Bacup via Whitworth to Rochdale before heading to Littleborough via Milnrow and Newhey into the town centre and then heading to Heywood and running to Middleton and Castleton and back into town. In May 2011, only a few weeks after winning new contracts on evening and Sunday services in the Rochdale area, it was announced that the company had ceased trading following failure to operate services.
The 2021 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 6 May 2021 to elect members of Rochdale Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. One-third of the seats were up for election.
The 2023 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council elections took place on 4 May 2023 alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom. One third of seats (20) on Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council were contested.
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