About Bury Metropolitan Borough Council (MBC)

Bury Metropolitan Borough Council serves a population of some 183,000 and is the fourth smallest of the 36 Metropolitan Districts in England. It has a small but growing ethnic population (3.6% of the total population) and the second largest Jewish community outside London (an estimated 19% percentage of the population living in the Prestwich and Whitefield areas of the Borough are Jewish). The Metropolitan Borough of Bury was established in 1974 and comprises six townships – Bury, Prestwich, Radcliffe, Ramsbottom, Tottington and Whitefield. It includes City suburbs, urban centres and semi-rural areas. It covers an area of 9,919 hectares of which the majority (just under 60%) is open land. Communications are excellent, with the M60, M62 and M66 serving the Borough and the Metrolink passenger system providing a quick and easy link to Manchester and beyond. The Borough has a diverse local economy, which combines a manufacturing sector with service industries. The Council operates on a “Leader and Cabinet” model of political management. The political arrangements are also based on an “Executive/Scrutiny” split (basically the Executive takes most of the major decisions whilst the Overview and Scrutiny Commissions develop policy and hold the Executive to account). The Council has also established six Area Boards to allow local communities to have their say about Council Services and policies affecting their areas.

Bury Metropolitan Borough Council delivers a full range of services typical of the Metropolitan Borough Council including:-