Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, with a population of 545,500 as of 2017. It lies within the United Kingdom's second-most populous built-up area, with a population of 3.2 million. It is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation; the local authority is Manchester City Council. The recorded history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium or Mancunium, established in about AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell, it was a part of Lancashire, although areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated in the 20th century. The first to be included, was added to the city in 1931. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city.
Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and directly linking the city to the Irish Sea, 36 miles to the west, its fortune declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation, but the IRA bombing in 1996 led to extensive investment and regeneration. In 2014, the Globalisation and World Cities Research Network ranked Manchester as a beta world city, the highest-ranked British city apart from London. Manchester is the third-most visited city after London and Edinburgh, it is notable for its architecture, musical exports, media links and engineering output, social impact, sports clubs and transport connections. Manchester Liverpool Road railway station was the world's first inter-city passenger railway station. Manchester hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games; the name Manchester originates from the Latin name Mamucium or its variant Mancunium and the citizens are still referred to as Mancunians. These are thought to represent a Latinisation of an original Brittonic name, either from mamm- or from mamma.
Both meanings are preserved in Insular Celtic languages, such as mam meaning "breast" in Irish and "mother" in Welsh. The suffix -chester is a survival of Old English ceaster and from that castra in latin for camp or settlement; the Brigantes were the major Celtic tribe in. Their territory extended across the fertile lowland of what is now Stretford. Following the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century, General Agricola ordered the construction of a fort named Mamucium in the year 79 to ensure that Roman interests in Deva Victrix and Eboracum were protected from the Brigantes. Central Manchester has been permanently settled since this time. A stabilised fragment of foundations of the final version of the Roman fort is visible in Castlefield; the Roman habitation of Manchester ended around the 3rd century. After the Roman withdrawal and Saxon conquest, the focus of settlement shifted to the confluence of the Irwell and Irk sometime before the arrival of the Normans after 1066. Much of the wider area was laid waste in the subsequent Harrying of the North.
Thomas de la Warre, lord of the manor and constructed a collegiate church for the parish in 1421. The church is now Manchester Cathedral; the library, which opened in 1653 and is still open to the public today, is the oldest free public reference library in the United Kingdom. Manchester is mentioned as having a market in 1282. Around the 14th century, Manchester received an influx of Flemish weavers, sometimes credited as the foundation of the region's textile industry. Manchester became an important centre for the manufacture and trade of woollens and linen, by about 1540, had expanded to become, in John Leland's words, "The fairest, best builded and most populous town of all Lancashire." The cathedral and Chetham's buildings are the only significant survivors of Leland's Manchester. During the English Civil War Manchester favoured the Parliamentary interest. Although not long-lasting, Cromwell granted it the right to elect its own MP. Charles Worsley, who sat for the city for only a year, was appointed Major General for Lancashire and Staffordshire during the Rule of the Major Generals.
He was a diligent puritan, banning the celebration of Christmas. Significant quantities of cotton began to be used after about 1600, firstly in linen/cotton fustians, but by around 1750 pure cotton fabrics were being produced and cotton had overtaken wool in importance; the Irwell and Mersey were made navigable by 1736, opening a route from Manchester to the sea docks on the Mersey. The Bridgewater Canal, Britain's first wholly artificial waterway, was opened in 1761, bringing coal from mines at Worsley to central Manchester; the canal was extended to the Mersey at Runcorn by 1776. The combination of competition and improved efficiency halved th
Garsdale
Garsdale is a dale or valley in the south east of Cumbria, England, on the western slopes of the Pennines, between Baugh Fell to the north, Rise Hill to the south. It is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park; the dale is the valley of the Clough River, which rises on the north eastern slopes of Baugh Fell and flows through Grisedale, the Dale that Died, as Grisedale Beck until it becomes the Clough River at Garsdale Head. The dale forms the civil parish of Garsdale. Small settlements lie along the main Northallerton to Kendal road which runs through the dale for 7 miles, with frequent bridges in the upper part of the dale; the largest settlement, known as “The Street”, lies 6 miles east of Sedbergh, 10 miles west of Hawes. The other hamlet in Garsdale is Garsdale Head called Hawes Junction, the old name for Garsdale railway station, after the former Wensleydale branch on the Settle to Carlisle railway; the population of the parish recorded in the 2001 census was 202, with many of the 150 houses being derelict or used as second homes.
Garsdale was a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, was transferred to Cumbria in 1974. It is now within the South Lakeland local government district, but is still a "Yorkshire Dale" for planning purposes. At Longstone Fell, locally known, spoken as Langst'n Fell, the A684 road rises to a well-known view-point looking over the Howgill Fells, the river descends to Danny Bridge, the site of a seventeenth-century mill on the “old road”, before joining the River Rawthey near Sedbergh; the Sedgwick Trail, named after the well-known geologist Adam Sedgwick runs along the Clough from Danny Bridge and highlights rock features along the Dent Fault. The Anglican Church of St John the Baptist, built in 1861 next to the original medieval church, lies 6 miles from Sedbergh, between The Street and Garsdale Hall, once an inn but is now used as a farm store. There are three Methodist chapels: Low Smithy and Garsdale Street, both in regular use, Hawes Junction which has occasional special events; the only other public building in Garsdale is the village hall, the primary school.
Garsdale has most of them amalgamating several of the original smallholdings. Because of the high annual rainfall of up to 100 inches, crops other than hay and silage are impossible, so all farms are stock rearing. Pedigree Swaledale rams make high prices at Hawes Auction mart. At Garsdale railway station stands a statue of a collie. Ruswarp belonged to Graham Nuttall, the first Secretary of the Friends of the Settle–Carlisle Line, formed to campaign against the proposed closure of the line. Ruswarp's paw print was put on his own objection as a fare-paying passenger; the line was saved in 1989. In January 1990 Nuttall and Ruswarp went missing in the Welsh mountains. On 7 April 1990 a lone walker found Nuttall's body, by a mountain stream. Nearby was Ruswarp, so weak that the 14-year-old dog had to be carried off the mountain, he had stayed with his master's body for 11 winter weeks. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals awarded Ruswarp their Animal Medallion and collar for'vigilance' and their Animal Plaque for'intelligence and courage'.
He survived long enough to attend Nuttall's funeral. Famous people born in Garsdale include: John Dawson, surgeon James Inman, astronomer John Haygarth, physician Listed buildings in Garsdale Thompson, Rev. W. Sedbergh, Garsdale & Dent. Original copy available from Kendal public library. Thompson, William. Sedbergh, Garsdale And Dent: Peeps At The Past History And Present Condition Of Some Picturesque Yorkshire Dales. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0-548-83166-3; the Garsdale website Cumbria County History Trust: Garsdale The Garsdale Red Squirrels website
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, field projects and education. IUCN's mission is to "influence and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable". Over the past decades, IUCN has widened its focus beyond conservation ecology and now incorporates issues related to sustainable development in its projects. Unlike many other international environmental organisations, IUCN does not itself aim to mobilize the public in support of nature conservation, it tries to influence the actions of governments and other stakeholders by providing information and advice, through building partnerships. The organization is best known to the wider public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which assesses the conservation status of species worldwide.
IUCN has a membership of over 1400 non-governmental organizations. Some 16,000 scientists and experts participate in the work of IUCN commissions on a voluntary basis, it employs 1000 full-time staff in more than 50 countries. Its headquarters are in Switzerland. IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations, plays a role in the implementation of several international conventions on nature conservation and biodiversity, it was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. In the past, IUCN has been criticized for placing the interests of nature over those of indigenous peoples. In recent years, its closer relations with the business sector have caused controversy. IUCN was established in 1948, it was called the International Union for the Protection of Nature and the World Conservation Union. Establishment IUCN was established on 5 October 1948, in Fontainebleau, when representatives of governments and conservation organizations signed a formal act constituting the International Union for the Protection of Nature.
The initiative to set up the new organisation came from UNESCO and from its first Director General, the British biologist Julian Huxley. The objectives of the new Union were to encourage international cooperation in the protection of nature, to promote national and international action and to compile and distribute information. At the time of its founding IUPN was the only international organisation focusing on the entire spectrum of nature conservation Early years: 1948–1956 IUPN started out with 65 members, its secretariat was located in Brussels. Its first work program focused on saving species and habitats and applying knowledge, advancing education, promoting international agreements and promoting conservation. Providing a solid scientific base for conservation action was the heart of all activities. IUPN and UNESCO were associated, they jointly organized the 1949 Conference on Protection of Nature. In preparation for this conference a list of gravely endangered species was drawn up for the first time, a precursor of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
In the early years of its existence IUCN depended entirely on UNESCO funding and was forced to temporarily scale down activities when this ended unexpectedly in 1954. IUPN was successful in engaging prominent scientists and identifying important issues such as the harmful effects of pesticides on wildlife but not many of the ideas it developed were turned into action; this was caused by unwillingness to act on the part of governments, uncertainty about the IUPN mandate and lack of resources. In 1956, IUPN changed its name to International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Increased profile and recognition: 1956–1965 In the 1950s and 1960s Europe entered a period of economic growth and formal colonies became independent. Both developments had impact on the work of IUCN. Through the voluntary involvement of experts in its Commissions IUCN was able to get a lot of work done while still operating on a low budget, it established links with the Council of Europe. In 1961, at the request of United Nations Economic and Social Council, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, IUCN published the first global list of national parks and protected areas which it has updated since.
IUCN's best known publication, the Red Data Book on the conservation status of species, was first published in 1964. IUCN began to play a part in the development of international treaties and conventions, starting with the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Environmental law and policy making became a new area of expertise. Africa was the focus of many of the early IUCN conservation field projects. IUCN supported the ‘Yellowstone model’ of protected area management, which restricted human presence and activity in order to protect nature. IUCN and other conservation organisations were criticized for protecting nature against people rather than with people; this model was also applied in Africa and played a role in the decision to remove the Maasai people from Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. To establish a stable financial basis for its work, IUCN participated in setting up the World Wildlife Fund
Kirkby Lonsdale
Kirkby Lonsdale is a small town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. In Westmorland, it is situated 13 miles south east of Kendal along the A65; the parish had a population of 1,771, recorded in the 2001 census, increasing to 1,843 at the 2011 Census. Notable buildings include a Norman structure with fine carved columns; the view of the River Lune from the churchyard is known as Ruskin's View. M. W. Turner. Early signs of occupation in the area are a Neolithic stone circle on Casterton Fell and remains of Celtic settlements at Barbon and Hutton Roof. During the Roman occupation, a Roman road followed the course of the River Lune, linking forts at Low Borrow Bridge and Over Burrow. A Roman milestone unearthed in 1836 and described as'the best in the country' was re erected on a hill near Hawkin Hall, close to where it was found. Kirkby Lonsdale developed at a crossing point over the River Lune where several drovers' and packhorse routes converged.
It is one of the few Cumbrian towns mentioned in the Domesday Book, where it is described as Cherchibi. The earlier church was wholly rebuilt by the Normans, who erected an artificial mound or motte on nearby glebe land. A wooden tower or'keep' would have been built on the top, the stronghold used as a base to administer power and control over the surrounding area. In years, the mound was used for cockfighting, hence the current name of Cockpit Hill. In 1093, Ivo de Taillebois gifted the church at Kirkby Lonsdale to St Mary's Abbey in York, which held it until the Dissolution. Thereupon the Abbey and all its possessions, including St Mary's Church at Kirkby Lonsdale, were granted to Trinity College, which retains patronage to this day. In 1227, the town gained the right to hold an annual fair every September; every week, stallholders would gather on Market Street to sell their wares, with horse traders in the Horsemarket and pig sellers in Swinemarket. Thursdays were, as now, the scene of great activity as people flocked into the town to buy all manner of goods and merchandise.
The weekly market and daily throughput of drovers and packhorse carriers created a bustling town, with a large number of inns and ale houses to cater for thirsty travellers, some 29 in total, of which eight still function as licensed premises. By the early 19th century, the old market area was becoming too congested for the volume of trade, so a new marketplace was built in 1822; the steep incline of Mill Brow with its fast flowing stream was the industrial heart of Kirkby Lonsdale, with several mills using water power for grinding corn and bone, carding wool, manufacturing snuff, making bobbins, fulling cloth and sawing timber. The Keighley and Kendal Turnpike of 1753 passed through Kirkby Lonsdale and there met a turnpike from Milnthorpe on the coast. In 1818 the two trusts were amalgamated. Kirkby Lonsdale railway station, 2 miles away in Lancashire, opened in 1861 and closed to passengers in 1954. Today, Kirkby Lonsdale bustles with activity, with a weekly market, many local events and traditional shops.
The centre is a mix of elegant 18th century buildings and stone cottages huddled around cobbled courtyards and narrow alleyways, with names such as Salt Pie Lane and Jingling Lane. Motorbike enthusiasts meet every Sunday at Devil's Bridge. Kirkby Lonsdale's secondary school, Queen Elizabeth School, specialises in the performing arts and languages; the school is situated on Biggins Road, takes pupils from ages 11 to 18. A two-day Victorian fair used to be hosted in the town each September; the streets were closed to traffic and filled with traders' stalls, craft demonstrations and entertainment, while visitors were encouraged to wear Victorian dress. The town is noted for the Devil's Bridge which at one time carried the Skipton to Kendal road over the River Lune, it is constructed of fine gritstone ashlar. It has three spans, the western two measuring 54.75 feet each and the eastern one 29 feet and measures 45 feet from river to parapet. The piers are hexagonal, extend upwards to provide pedestrian refuges.
At the eastern end is a sundial in the form of a square block on an octagonal column. The bridge was built by the monks of St Mary's Abbey, York. In common with many bridges of the same name, legend holds that the Devil appeared to an old woman, promising to build a bridge in exchange for the first soul to cross over it; when the bridge was finished, the woman threw bread over the bridge and her dog chased after it, thereby outwitting the Devil. Several large stones in the surrounding area, including the Great Stone of Fourstones, are ascribed to the Devil's purse-strings bursting open as he ferried masonry to build it, it was repaired in 1705, repointed in 1829 using Roman-style cement. The eastern arch was repaired in around 1869; the roadway on the bridge is only 12 feet wide, insufficient for modern traffic, with the numbers of vehicles increasing the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 1932. Traffic now crosses the river by the Stanley Bridge, 490 feet to south, built in the 1930s, it is a grade I listed a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The section of river underneath Devil's Bridge is popular with scuba divers because of the easy access and egress, deep rock pools and good visibility. The bridge is popular for illegal "tombston
National parks of England and Wales
The national parks of England and Wales are areas of undeveloped and scenic landscape that are designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Despite their similar name, national parks in England and Wales are quite different from national parks in many other countries, which are owned and managed by the government as a protected community resource, which do not include permanent human communities. In England and Wales, designation as a national park may include substantial settlements and human land uses which are integral parts of the landscape, land within a national park remains in private ownership. There are thirteen national parks in England and Wales; each park is operated by its own national park authority, with two "statutory purposes": to conserve and enhance the natural beauty and cultural heritage of the area, to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the park's special qualities by the public. When national parks carry out these purposes they have the duty to: seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the national parks.
An estimated 110 million people visit the national parks of Wales each year. Recreation and tourism bring visitors and funds into the parks, to sustain their conservation efforts and support the local population through jobs and businesses; these visitors bring problems, such as erosion and traffic congestion, conflicts over the use of the parks' resources. Access to cultivated land is restricted to bridleways, public footpaths, permissive paths, with most uncultivated areas in England and Wales having right of access for walking under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. Archaeological evidence from prehistoric Britain shows that the areas now designated as national parks have been occupied by humans since the Stone Age, at least 5,000 years ago and in some cases much earlier. Before the 19th century wild, remote areas were seen as uncivilised and dangerous. In 1725 Daniel Defoe described the High Peak as "the most desolate and abandoned country in all England". However, by the early 19th century, romantic poets such as Byron and Wordsworth wrote about the inspirational beauty of the "untamed" countryside.
Wordsworth described the English Lake District as a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy" in 1810. This early vision, based in the Picturesque movement, took over a century, much controversy, to take legal form in the UK with the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949; the idea for a form of national parks was first proposed in the United States in the 1860s, where national parks were established to protect wilderness areas such as Yosemite. This model has been used in many other countries since, but not in the United Kingdom. After thousands of years of human integration into the landscape, Britain lacks any substantial areas of wilderness. Furthermore, those areas of natural beauty so cherished by the romantic poets were only maintained and managed in their existing state by human activity agriculture. By the early 1930s, increasing public interest in the countryside, coupled with the growing and newly mobile urban population, was generating increasing friction between those seeking access to the countryside and landowners.
Alongside of direct action trespasses, such as the mass trespass of Kinder Scout, several voluntary bodies took up the cause of public access in the political arena. In 1931, Christopher Addison chaired a government committee that proposed a'National Park Authority' to choose areas for designation as national parks. A system of national reserves and nature sanctuaries was proposed: " to safeguard areas of exceptional natural interest against disorderly development and spoliation; the voluntary Standing Committee on National Parks first met on 26 May 1936 to put the case to the government for national parks in the UK. After World War II, the Labour Party proposed the establishment of national parks as part of the post-war reconstruction of the UK. A report by John Dower, secretary of the Standing Committee on National Parks, to the Minister of Town and Country Planning in 1945 was followed in 1947 by a Government committee, this time chaired by Sir Arthur Hobhouse, which prepared legislation for national parks, proposed twelve national parks.
Sir Arthur had this to say on the criteria for designating suitable areas: The essential requirements of a National Park are that it should have great natural beauty, a high value for open-air recreation and substantial continuous extent. Further, the distribution of selected areas should as far as practicable be such that at least one of them is accessible from each of the main centres of population in England and Wales. Lastly there is merit in variety and with the wide diversity of landscape, available in England and Wales, it would be wrong to confine the selection of National Parks to the more rugged areas of mountain and moorland, to exclude other districts which, though of less outstanding grandeur and wildness, have their own distinctive beauty and a high recreational value; the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 was passed with all party support. The first ten national parks were designated as such in the 1950s under the Act in poor-quality agricultural upland. Much of the land was
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has one of the most diverse economies of all the UK's main employment centres and has seen the fastest rate of private-sector jobs growth of any UK city, it has the highest ratio of private to public sector jobs of all the UK's Core Cities, with 77% of its workforce working in the private sector. Leeds has the third-largest jobs total by local authority area, with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015. Leeds is ranked as a gamma world city by World Cities Research Network. Leeds is the cultural and commercial heart of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. Leeds is served by four universities, has the fourth largest student population in the country and the country's fourth largest urban economy. Leeds was a small manorial borough in the 13th century, in the 17th and 18th centuries it became a major centre for the production and trading of wool, in the Industrial Revolution a major mill town. From being a market town in the valley of the River Aire in the 16th century, Leeds expanded and absorbed the surrounding villages to become a populous urban centre by the mid-20th century.
It now lies within the West Yorkshire Urban Area, the United Kingdom's fourth-most populous urban area, with a population of 2.6 million. Today, Leeds has become the largest legal and financial centre, outside London with the financial and insurance services industry worth £13 billion to the city's economy; the finance and business service sector account for 38% of total output with more than 30 national and international banks located in the city, including an office of the Bank of England. Leeds is the UK's third-largest manufacturing centre with around 1,800 firms and 39,000 employees, Leeds manufacturing firms account for 8.8% of total employment in the city and is worth over £7 billion to the local economy. The largest sub-sectors are engineering and publishing, food and drink and medical technology. Other key sectors include retail and the visitor economy and the creative and digital industries; the city saw several firsts, including the oldest-surviving film in existence, Roundhay Garden Scene, the 1767 invention of soda water.
Public transport and road communications networks in the region are focused on Leeds, the second phase of High Speed 2 will connect it to London via East Midlands Hub and Sheffield Meadowhall. Leeds has the third busiest railway station and the tenth busiest airport outside London; the name derives from the old Brythonic word Ladenses meaning "people of the fast-flowing river", in reference to the River Aire that flows through the city. This name referred to the forested area covering most of the Brythonic kingdom of Elmet, which existed during the 5th century into the early 7th century. Bede states in the fourteenth chapter of his Ecclesiastical History, in a discussion of an altar surviving from a church erected by Edwin of Northumbria, that it is located in...regione quae vocatur Loidis. An inhabitant of Leeds is locally known as a word of uncertain origin; the term Leodensian is used, from the city's Latin name. The name has been explained as a derivative of Welsh lloed, meaning "a place".
Leeds developed as a market town in the Middle Ages as part of the local agricultural economy. Before the Industrial Revolution, it became a co-ordination centre for the manufacture of woollen cloth, white broadcloth was traded at its White Cloth Hall. Leeds handled one sixth of England's export trade in 1770. Growth in textiles, was accelerated by the building of the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1699 and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816. In the late Georgian era, William Lupton, Lord of the Manor of Leeds, was one of a number of central Leeds landowners with the mesne lord title, some of whom, like him, were textile manufacturers. At the time of his death in 1828, Lupton's land in Briggate in central Leeds included a mill, manor house and outbuildings; the railway network constructed around Leeds, starting with the Leeds and Selby Railway in 1834, provided improved communications with national markets and for its development, an east-west connection with Manchester and the ports of Liverpool and Hull giving improved access to international markets.
Alongside technological advances and industrial expansion, Leeds retained an interest in trading in agricultural commodities, with the Corn Exchange opening in 1864. Marshall's Mill was one of the first of many factories constructed in Leeds from around 1790 when the most significant were woollen finishing and flax mills. Manufacturing diversified by 1914 to printing, engineering and clothing manufacture. Decline in manufacturing during the 1930s was temporarily reversed by a switch to producing military uniforms and munitions during World War II. However, by the 1970s, the clothing industry was in irreversible decline, facing cheap foreign competition; the contemporary economy has been shaped by Leeds City Council's vision of building a'24-hour European city' and'capital of the north'. The city has developed from the decay of the post-industrial era to become a telephone banking centre, connected to the electronic infrastructure of the modern global economy. There has been growth in the corporate and legal sectors, increased local affluence has led to an expanding retail sector, including the luxury goods market.
Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone was launched in April 2012 to promote development in four sites along the A63 East Leeds Link Road. Leeds was a manor and townshi
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan county and largest ceremonial county in England. It is located in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber but in the region of North East England; the estimated population of North Yorkshire was 602,300 in mid 2016. Created by the Local Government Act 1972, it covers an area of 8,654 square kilometres, making it the largest county in England; the majority of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors lie within North Yorkshire's boundaries, around 40% of the county is covered by National Parks. The largest towns are Middlesbrough, York and Scarborough; the area under the control of the county council, or shire county, is divided into a number of local government districts: Craven, Harrogate, Ryedale and Selby. The Department for Communities and Local Government considered reorganising North Yorkshire County Council's administrative structure by abolishing the seven district councils and the county council to create a North Yorkshire unitary authority; the changes were planned to be implemented no than 1 April 2009.
This was rejected on 25 July 2007 so District Council structure will remain. The largest settlement in the administrative county is the second largest is Scarborough. Within the ceremonial county, the largest is the Middlesbrough built-up area. York is the most populous district in the ceremonial county. York and Redcar and Cleveland are unitary authority boroughs which form part of the ceremonial county for various functions such as the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, but do not come under county council control. Uniquely for a district in England, Stockton-on-Tees is split between North Yorkshire and County Durham for this purpose. Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and Cleveland boroughs form part of the North East England region; the ceremonial county area, including the unitary authorities, borders East Riding of Yorkshire to the east/south east, South Yorkshire to the south, West Yorkshire to the west/south west, Lancashire to the west, Cumbria to the north west and County Durham to the north, with the North Sea to the east.
The geology of North Yorkshire is reflected in its landscape. Within the county are the North York Moors and most of the Yorkshire Dales. Between the North York Moors in the east and the Pennine Hills in the west lie the Vales of Mowbray and York; the Tees Lowlands lie to the north of the North York Moors and the Vale of Pickering lies to the south. Its eastern border is the North sea coast; the highest point is Whernside, on the Cumbrian border, at 736 metres. The two major rivers in the county are the River Ure; the Swale and the Ure form the River Ouse which flows into the Humber Estuary. The River Tees forms part of the border between North Yorkshire and County Durham and flows from upper Teesdale through Middlesbrough and Stockton and to the coast. North Yorkshire contains a small section of green belt in the south of the county, just north of Ilkley and Otley along the North and West Yorkshire borders, it extends to the east to cover small communities such as Huby, Kirkby Overblow, Follifoot before covering the gap between the towns of Harrogate and Knaresborough, helping to keep those towns separate.
The belt meets with the Yorkshire Dales National Park at its southernmost extent, forms a border with the Nidderdale AONB. It extends into the western area of Selby district, reaching as far as Balne; the belt was first drawn up from the 1950s. The city of York has an independent surrounding belt area affording protections to several outlying settlements such as Haxby and Dunnington, it too extends into the surrounding districts. North Yorkshire was formed on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972, covers most of the lands of the historic North Riding, as well as the northern half of the West Riding, the northern and eastern fringes of the East Riding of Yorkshire and the former county borough of York. York became a unitary authority independent of North Yorkshire on 1 April 1996, at the same time Middlesbrough and Cleveland and areas of Stockton-on-Tees south of the river became part of North Yorkshire for ceremonial purposes, having been part of Cleveland from 1974 to 1996.
The non-metropolitan county of North Yorkshire is administered by North Yorkshire County Council, a cabinet-style council. The full council of 72 elects a council leader, who in turn appoints up to 9 more councillors to form the executive cabinet; the cabinet is responsible for making decisions in the non-metropolitan county. The county council have their offices in the County Hall in Northallerton. Certain areas within the ceremonial county are administered independently of the county council and have their own unitary authority councils: the City of York Council and Cleveland Borough Council, Middlesbrough Borough Council, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council; the county has above average house prices. Unemployment is below average for the UK and claimants of Job Seekers Allowance is very low compared to the rest of the UK at 2.7%. Agriculture is an important industry, as are power generation; the county has prosperous high technology and tourism sectors. Tourism is a significant contribut
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