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City of Wakefield

City of Wakefield
City and Metropolitan borough
A view over central Wakefield, from Sandal Magna
A view over central Wakefield, from Sandal Magna
Official logo of City of Wakefield
Coat of arms of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
Wakefield shown within West Yorkshire
Wakefield shown within West Yorkshire
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region Yorkshire and the Humber
Ceremonial county West Yorkshire
Founded 1974
Admin. HQ Wakefield
Government
 • Type Metropolitan borough, City
 • Governing body Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
 • Lord Mayor Cllr Elaine Blezard
 • Leadership Leader & Cabinet
 • Executive Labour
 • MPs: Andrea Jenkyns (C),
Yvette Cooper (L),
Mary Creagh (L),
Jon Trickett (L)
Area
 • Total 130.7 sq mi (338.6 km2)
Area rank 127th
Population (mid-2015 est.)
 • Total 333,800
 • Rank Ranked 20th
 • Density 2,600/sq mi (990/km2)
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) British Summer Time (UTC+1)
ISO 3166-2 GB-WKF
ONS code 00DB (ONS)
E08000036 (GSS)
NUTS 3
Ethnicity 97.7% White
1.3% S.Asian
Website wakefield.gov.uk

The City of Wakefield (/ˈwkfld/) is a local government district in West Yorkshire, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. Wakefield is the district's administrative centre. The population of the City of Wakefield at the 2011 Census was 325,837. The district includes the "Five Towns" of Normanton, Pontefract, Featherstone, Castleford and Knottingley. Other towns include Ossett, Hemsworth, South Kirkby & Moorthorpe and South Elmsall. The City and borough are governed by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Wakefield lies between Leeds and Sheffield.

In 2010, Wakefield was named as the UK's third 'most musical' City by PRS for Music.

In recent years, the economic and physical condition of several of the former mining towns and villages in Wakefield District have started to improve due to the booming economy of Leeds - and an increase in numbers of commuters to the city from the sub-region - and a recognition of undeveloped assets. For instance Castleford, to the North East of Wakefield is seeing extensive development and investment because of the natural asset of its outlook on to the River Aire, its easy access to the national motorway network and the availability of former mining land for house-building. In Ossett, house prices have risen from an average of £50,000 in 1998 to £130,000 in 2003.


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