The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town, Wigan but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Leigh and Tyldesley. The borough also covers the villages and suburbs of Abram, Aspull, Astley, Bryn, Hindley Green, Lowton, Mosley Common, Orrell, Pemberton, Shevington, Standish, Winstanley and Worsley Mesnes. The borough is also the second-most populous district in Greater Manchester. [5]
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 and Bolton to the east, the Cheshire 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 to the north.
Wigan metropolitan borough was created on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. It was formed from the former county borough of Wigan along with other local government units from the administrative county of Lancashire. [6] [7] These were the Municipal Borough of Leigh, the urban districts of Abram, Aspull, Atherton, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Orrell, 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 part of Billinge and Winstanley Urban District and the civil parishes of Haigh, Shevington and Worthington from the Wigan Rural District 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 . However, both names were rejected by a vote of 12 to 2. [8] 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. [9]
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.
Wigan borough covers an area of 77 square miles (200 km2), 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 to the east. Outwith Greater Manchester, in the south it borders Warrington (a unitary authority in Cheshire); 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 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.
For 12 years from the creation of Greater Manchester in 1974, the borough had a two-tier system of local government, and Wigan Council shared power with the Greater Manchester County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985. Since April 2011, some of the borough's responsibilities have been pooled with neighbouring authorities and subsumed into the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which covers ten boroughs including Wigan.
The first elections to the borough council were held on 10 May 1973. [10] 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. [6] The borough council has a leader and cabinet system. The current leader is David Molyneux [11] who took over from Peter Smith, who resigned in May 2018, [12] having been leader since 1991. [13] The council rejected the idea of a directly elected mayor following a consultation in 2001. [14]
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is traditionally a Labour Party stronghold - the council has been Labour-controlled since its creation. [15] 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 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 had nine seats, and the Liberal Democrats eight. [15] [16]
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. [17]
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) [18] 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. [19]
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 as its main headquarters. [20] Leigh Town Hall is used as a secondary base. [21]
The borough is divided into 25 electoral wards, each of which elect three councillors. The present wards were adopted in 2023, following a review by the Boundary Commission, the previous review took place in 2003. Prior to 2003 the borough was divided in 24 wards. [22] [23] From the 2003 Boundary Review until the 2020s, Wigan Council divided the borough into ten areas by the name of townships, each with a Township Manager (council liaison) and a regularly scheduled Township Forum meeting. [24] However with Austerity cuts This has been replaced with an ad hoc community consultation structure without regularly scheduled community forums or permanent council liaisons consisting of 16 communities or 'Places' divided into 3 unnamed 'Localities', the Locality at the centre of the Borough consists of Ashton, Bryn, Abram, Platt Bridge, Hindley and Hindley Green with all areas to the northwest forming a locality centred on Wigan and all areas to the southwest forming one centred on Leigh. [25] However two Town Centre Managers were appointed in Wigan and Leigh primarily to act as liaisons between the Council and local business.
Former Township | Wards |
---|---|
Ashton-in-Makerfield / Bryn | Bryn with Ashton-in-Makerfield North; Ashton-in-Makerfield South |
Atherton | Atherton North; Atherton South with Lilford |
Hindley / Abram | Abram; Hindley; Hindley Green |
Leigh | Leigh Central & Higher Folds; Leigh North; Leigh South; Leigh West |
Lowton / Golborne | Golborne and Lowton West; Lowton East |
Orrell / Higher End / Winstanley | Orrell; Winstanley; |
Standish / Aspull / Shevington | Aspull, New Springs & Whelley; Shevington with Lower Ground & Moor; Standish with Langtree |
Tyldesley / Astley | Astley; Tyldesley & Mosley Common |
Wigan North | Ince; Wigan Central; Wigan West |
Wigan South | Douglas; Pemberton; Worsley Mesnes |
The borough has three civil parishes: Haigh, Shevington and Worthington. The rest of the borough is an unparished area. Church of England ecclesiastical parishes in the west of the borough are part of the Diocese of Liverpool, those in the east of the Metropolitan Borough are part of the Diocese of Manchester and the northern section part of the Diocese of Blackburn.
The Wigan Metropolitan Borough is currently covered by four parliamentary constituencies, Wigan, Makerfield, Leigh, and Bolton West. (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. [26] Makerfield is the only constituency to have returned Labour MPs continuously since 1906. [27]
Wigan council's new coat of arms is based on various elements from the arms of the councils of its predecessor districts.
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%. [28]
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.
Year | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1941 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Population | 41,413 | 50,464 | 60,760 | 69,400 | 78,349 | 93,271 | 120,001 | 146,732 | 173,462 | 212,665 | 239,399 | 269,503 | 267,754 | 266,040 | 266,436 | 266,839 | 284,309 | 302,929 | 307,721 | 310,866 | 301,415 | 317,849 |
% change | – | +21.9 | +20.4 | +14.2 | +12.9 | +19.0 | +28.7 | +22.3 | +18.2 | +22.6 | +12.6 | +12.6 | −0.6 | −0.6 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +6.5 | +6.5 | +1.6 | +1.0 | −3.0 | +5.4 |
Source: Vision of Britain [29] |
The population of the borough has remained roughly static since the 1970s at around 300,000, second to Manchester within Greater Manchester. [30]
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 towns in 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. The entirety of the Wigan borough forms part of the Manchester Larger Urban Zone [31]
Ethnic Group | Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991< [32] | 2001 [33] | 2011 [34] | 2021 [35] | |||||
Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
White: Total | 304,112 | 99.2% | 297,506 | 98.7% | 309,193 | 97.3% | 312,952 | 95.0 |
White: British | – | – | 294,149 | 97.6% | 303,519 | 95.5% | 302,482 | 91.8 |
White: Irish | 1,744 | 1,459 | 0.5 | 1,353 | 0.4 | |||
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | 151 | <0.1 | 247 | 0.1 | ||
White: Roma | – | – | 291 | 0.1 | ||||
White: Other | – | – | 1,613 | 4,064 | 1.3 | 8,579 | 2.6 | |
Asian or Asian British: Total | 1,477 | 0.5% | 1,814 | 0.6% | 3,519 | 1.1% | 5,826 | 1.8 |
Asian or Asian British: Indian | 499 | 681 | 1,019 | 0.3 | 1,532 | 0.5 | ||
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | 303 | 400 | 676 | 0.2 | 1,342 | 0.4 | ||
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | 46 | 72 | 109 | <0.1 | 156 | <0.1 | ||
Asian or Asian British: Chinese | 494 | 488 | 891 | 0.3 | 1,234 | 0.4 | ||
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | 135 | 173 | 824 | 0.3 | 1,562 | 0.5 | ||
Black or Black British: Total | 495 | 0.1% | 539 | 0.2% | 1,678 | 0.5% | 3,907 | 1.2 |
Black or Black British: African | 148 | 302 | 1,310 | 0.4 | 3,081 | 0.9 | ||
Black or Black British: Caribbean | 132 | 194 | 216 | 0.1 | 331 | 0.1 | ||
Black or Black British: Other Black | 215 | 43 | 152 | 0.1 | 495 | 0.2 | ||
Mixed or British Mixed: Total | – | – | 1,298 | 0.4% | 2,756 | 0.9% | 4,353 | 1.3 |
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | 416 | 1,015 | 0.3 | 1,148 | 0.3 | |
Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | 199 | 429 | 0.1 | 885 | 0.3 | |
Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | 387 | 783 | 0.2 | 1,293 | 0.4 | |
Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | 296 | 529 | 0.2 | 1,027 | 0.3 | |
Other: Total | 437 | 0.1% | 258 | – | 703 | 0.2% | 2,292 | 0.7 |
Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | 304 | 0.1 | 711 | 0.2 |
Other: Any other ethnic group | 437 | – | 258 | – | 399 | 0.1 | 1,581 | 0.5 |
Total | 306,521 | 100% | 301,415 | 100% | 317,849 | 100% | 329,330 | 100% |
Religion | 2021 [36] | |
---|---|---|
Number | % | |
Christian | 206,870 | 62.8 |
Muslim | 4,155 | 1.3 |
Jewish | 84 | <0.1 |
Hindu | 995 | 0.3 |
Sikh | 122 | <0.1 |
Buddhism | 831 | 0.3 |
Other religion | 1,099 | 0.3 |
No religion | 99,784 | 30.3 |
Religion not stated | 15,390 | 4.7 |
Total | 329,300 | 100.0 |
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 First Greater Manchester and Diamond North West. There are two major bus stations in both Wigan and Leigh town centres. 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. Leigh, Atherton and Tyldesley are also served by the high frequency Vantage services, via a guided busway, connecting the towns to Central Manchester in 30-40 minutes outside of peaks.
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 via two routes: one through Bolton and one via Atherton, with connections to other local and national destinations. [37] 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. [38] Other stations in the borough are Atherton, Hag Fold, Bryn, Gathurst, Hindley, Ince, Orrell, and Pemberton. Appley Bridge railway 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, Astley railway station, Lamb's Cottage railway station, Flow Moss railway station and Glazebury and Bury Lane railway station 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. [39] Leigh and Tyldesley stations on the Tyldesley Loopline were closed in 1969. [40]
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, to Liverpool, terminates at junction 26 of the M6 near Orrell. The dual carriageway 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.
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan has one twin town in France – Angers in the Pays de la Loire. [41] The arrangement was established in 1988.
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Wigan.
Leigh is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, on low-lying land northwest of Chat Moss.
Westhoughton is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Bolton, 5 miles (8 km) east of Wigan and 13 miles (21 km) northwest of Manchester.
Orrell is a suburb of Wigan in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The population of the ward had fallen at the 2011 Census to 11,513. The area lies 3 miles (4.8 km) to the west of Wigan town centre. The area is contiguous with Pemberton.
Hindley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. It is three miles (4.8 km) east of Wigan and covers an area of 2,580 acres (1,044 ha). Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Hindley borders the towns and villages of Ince-in-Makerfield, Aspull, Westhoughton, Atherton and Westleigh in the former borough of Leigh. In 2001, Hindley had a population of 23,457, increasing to 28,000 at the 2011 Census. It forms part of the wider Greater Manchester Urban Area.
Atherton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England and historically part of Lancashire. The town, including Hindsford, Howe Bridge and Hag Fold, is 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Bolton, 7 miles (11.3 km) east of Wigan, and 10 miles (16.1 km) northwest of Manchester. From the 17th century, for about 300 years, Atherton was known as Chowbent, which was frequently shortened to Bent, the town's old nickname. During the Industrial Revolution, the town was a key part of the Manchester Coalfield.
Makerfield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has been represented by Labour MP Josh Simons since 2024.
Astley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is crossed by the Bridgewater Canal and the A580 East Lancashire Road. Continuous with Tyldesley, it is between Wigan and Manchester, both 8 miles (13 km) away. Astley Mosley Common ward had a population of 11,270 at the 2011 Census.
The Greater Manchester Built-up Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), consisting of the large conurbation that encompasses the urban element of the city of Manchester and the metropolitan area that forms much of Greater Manchester in North West England. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area has a population of 2,553,379 making it the second most populous conurbation in the United Kingdom after the Greater London Built-up Area. This was an increase of 14% from the population recorded at the United Kingdom Census 2001 of 2,240,230, when it was known as the Greater Manchester Urban Area.
Tyldesley is a market town in Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, eight miles southeast of Wigan and nine miles northwest of Manchester. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, the Tyldesley built-up area subdivision, excluding Shakerley, had a population of 16,142.
The Manchester–Southport line is a railway line in the north-west of England, operated by Northern Trains. It was originally built as the Manchester and Southport Railway. The section between Wigan and Salford is also known locally as the Atherton Line.
Ince was a parliamentary constituency in England which elected one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Ince-in-Makerfield and other towns south of Wigan.
Blue Bus was a large independent bus company serving Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside.
Diamond Bus Ltd., trading as Diamond North West, is a bus operator providing services in the districts of Bolton and Wigan in Greater Manchester, England, operating an extensive commercial network as well as franchised Bee Network bus services on contract to Transport for Greater Manchester. It also serves some areas of the districts of Salford and Trafford.
Hindley Green is a village in Hindley in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The population of the village had decreased to 11,186 at the 2011 Census. The village lies to the east of Hindley and is centred on the A577 Atherton Road to its boundary with Westleigh, Leigh. The hamlet of Dangerous Corner is at the east end of the village.
Wigan Council, or Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan 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.
Wigan bus station is a bus station located in the town of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is run by Transport for Greater Manchester.
Leigh and Atherton is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. Since 2024, it has been represented by Labour's Jo Platt, who had been MP for the predecessor seat of Leigh from 2017 to 2019.