West Yorkshire | |
---|---|
County | |
West Yorkshire in England |
|
Coordinates: 53°45′N 1°40′W / 53.750°N 1.667°WCoordinates: 53°45′N 1°40′W / 53.750°N 1.667°W | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | England |
Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
Established | 1 April 1974 |
Preceded by | West Riding of Yorkshire |
Origin | Local Government Act 1972 |
Ceremonial county | |
Lord Lieutenant | Ingrid Roscoe |
High Sheriff | Ed Anderson |
Area | 2,029 km2 (783 sq mi) |
• Ranked | 29th of 48 |
Population (mid-2014 est.) | 2,227,400 |
• Ranked | 4th of 48 |
Density | 1,098/km2 (2,840/sq mi) |
Ethnicity | 81.8% White 11.6% S. Asian 2.1% Mixed 2.1% Black 2.4% Other |
Metropolitan county | |
Government | West Yorkshire Combined Authority |
Admin HQ | Leeds |
ONS code | 2F |
GSS code | E11000006 |
NUTS | UKE4 |
Website | www |
Districts of West Yorkshire Metropolitan districts |
|
Districts | |
Members of Parliament | List of MPs |
Police | West Yorkshire Police |
Time zone | GMT (UTC) |
• Summer (DST) | BST (UTC+1) |
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in England. It is an inland and in relative terms upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in moors of the Pennines and has a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972.
West Yorkshire consists of five metropolitan boroughs (City of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, City of Leeds and City of Wakefield) and shares borders with the counties of Derbyshire (briefly to the south), Greater Manchester (to the south-west), Lancashire (to the north-west), North Yorkshire (to the north and east) and South Yorkshire (to the south and south-east). Seams of coal and iron ore abound in the county which attracted people over the centuries – the greatest hub in the area is Leeds which may become a terminus for a north-east limb of High Speed 2, major railways and three major motorways traverse the county. In the heart of the county is Leeds Bradford International Airport.
West Yorkshire County Council was abolished in 1986 so its five districts became effectively unitary authorities. However, the metropolitan county, which covers an area of 2,029 square kilometres (783 sq mi), continues to exist in law, and as a geographic frame of reference. Since 1 April 2014 West Yorkshire has been a combined authority area, with the local authorities pooling together some functions over transport and regeneration as the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.