Salford (borough)

Salford (borough), metropolitan borough, north-west England. Salford is located in the metropolitan area of Greater Manchester, south of Bury and north of Trafford. Until 1986 Salford 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.

Salford borough contains the urban centres of Salford, Eccles, Irlam, Swinton, Walkden, and Worsley. Worsley, on the Bridgewater Canal, has an 18th-century dry dock. Barton Aerodrome, in Eccles, was the first municipal airport in the country. There are two large country parks—Clifton Country Park in the Croal Irwell Valley, and Blackleach Country Park in Walkden. Population 216,119 (2001).