article

  1. Leeds
  2. Wakefield
  3. Kirklees
  4. Calderdale
  5. Bradford
West Yorkshire
Geography
Status Ceremonial and Metropolitan county (no county council)
Origin 1974
Region Yorkshire and the Humber
Area
- Total
Ranked 29th
2,029 km²
ONS code 2F
NUTS 3 UKE4
Demographics
Population
- Total ()
- Density
Ranked

/ km²
Ethnicity 88.6% White
8.7% S.Asian
Politics
Members of Parliament
Districts
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in England, corresponding roughly to the core of the West Riding of the traditional county of Yorkshire. It borders on Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Derbyshire, North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire.

It is composed of the districts of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield. It was formed in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. Its county council was abolished in 1986 making its metropolitan boroughs de facto unitary authorities, although the county still exists in law and ceremonially. 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 the safest Labour councils in the country. The Wakefield district's industrial heritage of coal-mining tends to set it apart from the others somewhat.

Since the abolition of the county council, some services previously controlled by it are now run by joint boards, such as emergency services (West Yorkshire Police) and public transport (West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive). There are currently plans for a tram system in West Yorkshire, but those for a Leeds Supertram were rejected by the government in 2005.

Economy


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.
Year Regional Gross Value Added Agriculture Industry Services
1995 21,302 132 7,740 13,429
2000 27,679 80 8,284 19,314
2003 31,995 91 8,705 23,199

includes hunting and forestry

includes energy and construction

includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

Components may not sum to totals due to rounding

Towns and villages


Places of interest


Historic environment

Museums

Natural environment

  • Emley Moor, site of the tallest self-supporting structure in the UK (a TV mast)
  • Walton Hall, West Yorkshire, home of naturalist Charles Waterton and the world's first nature reserve
  • RSPB Fairburn Ings - wetland centre for birds
  • Seckar Woods LNR, a Local Nature Reserve
  • New Swillington Ings Nature Reserve
  • Otley Chevin - extensive wooded parkland on high ground with extensive views North over Wharfedale and South as far as the Peak District
  • Harewood Estate - Leeds Country Way public footpath runs through the estate, beautiful landscaped gardens and home to Red Kites amongst many other birds

Waterways

Entertainment

See also



West Yorkshire | Metropolitan counties

West Yorkshire | West Yorkshire | West Yorkshire | Okcidenta Jorkŝiro | Yorkshire de l'Ouest | West Yorkshire | West Yorkshire | West Yorkshire | West Yorkshire | Западный Йоркшир | West Yorkshire | West Yorkshire | West Yorkshire | 西约克郡

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "West Yorkshire".

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