Salford

The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton and Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over 35,000. The city has a population of 218,000, and is administered from the Salford Civic Centre in Swinton. It is unique in Britain having no identifiable "city centre."

The current city boundaries were set as part of the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, and cover an amalgamation of five former local government districts. It is bounded on the south east by the River Irwell, which forms its boundary with the city of Manchester and by the Manchester Ship Canal to the south, which forms its boundary with Trafford.

The metropolitan boroughs of Wigan, Bolton and Bury lie to the west, northwest and north respectively. Some parts of the city, which lies directly west of Manchester, are highly industrialised and densely populated, but around one third of the city consists of rural open space. This is because the western half of the city stretches across an ancient peat bog known as Chat Moss.

Salford has a history of human activity stretching back to the Neolithic age. There are over 250 listed buildings in the city, including Salford Cathedral, and three Scheduled Ancient Monuments. With the Industrial Revolution, Salford and its neighbours grew along with its textile industry.

The former County Borough of Salford was granted city status in 1926. The city and its industries experienced decline throughout much of the 20th century, until the 1990s. Since then, parts of Salford have undergone regeneration, especially Salford Quays which will become the home of BBC Manchester and Granada Television. The University of Salford, situated in the city, is undergoing a £150 million redevelopment as of 2008. Salford City Reds play rugby league in Super League.