April 1 2024 marks 50 years since the formation of Greater Manchester.<br /><br />Exactly fifty years ago this week, a major shake-up of local government changed the perception of the county of Lancashire for all generations born since.<br /><br />Greater Manchester was created as a result of the Local Government Act 1972 and is formed of parts of the historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire.<br /><br />The county has an area of almost 500 square miles and is highly urbanised, with a population of 2.8 million living within the ten metropolitan boroughs.<br /><br />The creation of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority was approved on March 29 2010 and there has been a directly elected Greater Manchester Mayor since 2017 with powers over transport, planning and policing.<br /><br />Although the last 50 years have brought significant growth to the city-region, some residents still firmly see themselves as Lancastrian. What about you?
