Nelson, Lancashire

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Nelson
Nelson shown within Lancashire
Area[1]	1.8 sq mi (4.64 km²)
Population	28,998 (2001 Census)
- Density	16,187/sq mi (6,250/km²)
OS grid reference	SD856376
- London	184 mi (294 km) SSE
District	Pendle
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NELSON
Postcode district	BB9
Dialling code	01282
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
European Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Pendle
Website: Pendle Borough Council
List of places: UK • England • Lancashire

Coordinates: 53°50′05″N 2°13′05″W / 53.8346, -2.218

Nelson is a town in the borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 28,998 in 2001. It lies 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Burnley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

It developed as a mill town during the Industrial Revolution, but has today lost much of its industry and is characterised by pockets of severe deprivation.

[edit] History

The town was originally two villages, Little Marsden and Great Marsden. A small mill had been established by the Ecroyd family at Edge End as early as 1740,^[2] and there were two coal mines nearby,^[3] but it was the coming of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1796, followed by the East Lancashire Railway in 1849,^[4][5] that spurred its development as an industrial town, with an economy based mainly upon cotton weaving. Walverden Mill in Leeds Road was built in 1850,^[6] and was soon followed by others. The town became associated in the twentieth century with the production of confectionery as well, including Jelly Babies and Victory Vs, and was where the package holiday company Airtours (formerly Pendle Travel and now part of Thomas Cook) began life as an independent travel agent. It was granted its charter of incorporation by Queen Victoria in 1890.^[7]

The textile industry has now sharply declined, leaving the town with high unemployment. The town is also home to Nelson F.C., who were Football League members from 1921 until 1931 and since then have played in the lower semi-professional leagues.

Cricket was extremely popular in the town during the inter-war period, and Nelson Cricket Club enjoyed the services of Learie Constantine, the West Indian cricketer. After the war, Constantine was involved in public service and politics in both his native Trinidad, and in the UK. In 1969 Constantine became the first person of African descent to be given a life peerage, being created Baron Constantine, of Maraval in Trinidad and Tobago and of Nelson in the County Palatine of Lancaster.

Extreme left wing politics in the town led to it being labelled "little Moscow" by both the local and national press. Indeed the Nelson Leader ran the headline "Moscow Calling" during the lockout of 1928. There was significant Communist Party influence in the town both pre WWI and between the wars, although never as powerful as the Labour Party. Leftist politics was well established in the town before this period, however, and in fact before the formation of the Labour Party. When the Labour Party came to power in the town, they responded to local political feeling by placing utilities such as gas and water under the control of the municipal council, anticipating by decades the nationalisation of such utilities after WWII. The council refused, moreover, to participate in celebrations for King George V's silver jubilee in 1935, saying that they would rather spend public money on free dinners for school children and the jobless.

[edit] Governance

Nelson was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1890, and became, under the Local Government Act 1972, part of the non-metropolitan district of Pendle on 1 April 1974.^[8]

Nelson currently has three tiers of government, Pendle Borough Council and Lancashire County Council ("local"), the United Kingdom parliament ("national") and the European Parliament ("Europe"). Although the town is unparished, a town council, comprised of 24 councillors, was elected for the first time on 1 May 2008.^[9]

[edit] Local

Pendle Borough Council has been governed since 2004 by the Liberal Democrats, led by Alan Davies (Liberal Democrat). The mayor – a ceremonial post, which rotates annually – is currently Alan Buck (Liberal Democrat). The borough comprises sixteen wards in total, six of which – Bradley, Clover Hill, Marsden, Southfield, Walverden and Whitefield – represent the town.

Lancashire County Council has been governed since 1994 by Labour. The town is represented on the council in three divisions: Brierfield & Nelson North, Nelson South, and Pendle Central.^[10]

[edit] National

The Member of Parliament for Pendle, the constituency into which the town falls, is the backbencher Gordon Prentice (Labour), who was first elected in 1992.

[edit] Europe

Nelson lies within the North West England European Parliament constituency, which elects nine MEPs by proportional representation - currently three Conservative, three Labour, two Liberal Democrat and one UKIP.^[11]

[edit] Demography

The United Kingdom Census 2001 showed a total resident population for Nelson of 28,998. The town forms part of the Burnley-Nelson urban area, which has an estimated population of 149,796; for comparison purposes, this is about the same size as Huddersfield, Oxford or Poole.^[13]

The racial composition of the town is 67.79% White and 30.70% Asian or Asian British. The largest religious groups are Christian (52.07%) and Muslim (29.15%). The town is strikingly segregated: the Marsden ward, which in 2006 elected the borough's first British National Party councillor, is 96.58% White, while the Whitefield ward is 68.72% Asian or Asian British.^[14]

59.02% of adults between the ages of 16 and 74 are classed as economically active and in work.^[15]

[edit] Transport

[edit] Road

Nelson is served by Junction 13 of the M65 motorway, which runs west to Burnley, Accrington, Blackburn and Preston, and northeast to Colne. From the town centre, the A56 runs southwest to the M65 at Brierfield and northeast to Colne and beyond, while the A682 – Britain's most dangerous road^[16] – heads north into the Yorkshire Dales.

[edit] Rail

Rail services to and from Nelson are provided by Northern Rail. The town's railway station has an hourly stopping service west to Blackpool South via Blackburn and Preston, and east to Colne. One service each day runs to and from Manchester Victoria.

[edit] Bus and coach

The main bus operator in Nelson is Burnley & Pendle, although Northern Blue and Tyrer Bus operate some services. Other services are provided by Coastlinks Express (X27 to Southport) and Pennine (215 to Skipton). National Express operates three coach services to London each day, and one to Birmingham, from the new bus station currently under construction next to the railway station.

The town has good bus links into Manchester, compensating for the lack of a frequent rail link: the X43/X44 Witch Way service (operated by Burnley & Pendle) runs via Burnley and Rawtenstall to Manchester city centre, using a fleet of specially-branded double-decker buses with leather seats. The fastest journeys take 1 hour 22 minutes.

[edit] Media

Local radio for Nelson is currently provided by 2BR and BBC Radio Lancashire, and – since September 2007 – by community radio service Pendle Community Radio, aimed primarily at the local Asian community.

There are two local newspapers: the Nelson Leader, published on Fridays, and the daily Lancashire Telegraph, which publishes a local edition for Burnley and Pendle.

[edit] People

Footballer and manager Jimmy Hogan^[17] and actor John Simm^[18] were brought up in the town.

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

[edit] Bibliography