Stockport (borough)

Stockport (borough), metropolitan borough, north-west England. Stockport is located in the metropolitan area of Greater Manchester, east of Manchester and north of Cheshire. Until 1986 Stockport was administered by the metropolitan county council based in Manchester. As a result of the Local Government Act 1985, the metropolitan county councils were abolished. The county council's functions devolved to Greater Manchester's ten metropolitan district councils: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan. The police authority is the Greater Manchester Police, with headquarters in Manchester. Crown Courts sit in Manchester and Bolton.

The borough is approximately 45 per cent rural or parkland; its towns and villages include Stockport (the administrative centre), Marple, Bramhall, Cheadle, Cheadle Hume, Hazel Grove, and Romiley. Population 284,544 (2001).