Metropolitan borough
| Metropolitan district | |
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Also known as: Metropolitan borough |
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| Category | Local authority districts |
| Location | England |
| Found in | Metropolitan county |
| Created by | Local Government Act 1972 |
| Created | 1 April 1974 |
| Number | 36 (as of 2008) |
| Possible status | City |
| Additional status | Borough |
| Populations | 0.1 - 1.1 million |
A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts. However, all of them have been granted or regranted royal charters to give them borough status (as well as, in some cases, city status). Metropolitan boroughs have been effectively unitary authority areas since the abolition of the metropolitan county councils by the Local Government Act 1985. However, metropolitan boroughs pool much of their authority in joint boards and other arrangements that cover whole metropolitan counties, such as combined authorities.
The term "metropolitan borough" was first used for administrative subdivisions of the County of London between 1900 and 1965. However, the present boroughs of Greater London, which have different boundaries and functions, and are much larger in area, are known as London Boroughs rather than metropolitan boroughs.
The current metropolitan boroughs were created in 1974 as subdivisions of the new metropolitan counties, created to cover the six largest urban areas in England outside Greater London. The new districts replaced the previous system of county boroughs, municipal boroughs, urban and rural districts. The districts typically have populations of 174,000 to 1.1 million.
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