Burnley Central

Salford Crescent

Burnley () is a town in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is 21 miles (34 km) north of Manchester and 20 miles (32 km) east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun. The town is located near countryside to the south and east, with the smaller towns of Padiham and Nelson to the west and north respectively. It has a reputation as a regional centre of excellence for the manufacturing and aerospace industries. The town began to develop in the early medieval period as a number of farming hamlets surrounded by manor houses and royal forests, and has held a market for more than 700 years. During the Industrial Revolution it became one of Lancashire's most prominent mill towns; at its peak it was one of the world's largest producers of cotton cloth, and a major centre of engineering. Burnley has retained a strong manufacturing sector, and has strong economic links with the cities of Manchester and Leeds, as well as neighbouring towns along the M65 corridor. In 2013, in recognition of its success, Burnley received an Enterprising Britain award from the UK Government, for being the "Most Enterprising Area in the UK". For the first time in more than fifty years, a direct train service now operates between the town's Manchester Road railway station and Manchester's Victoria station, via the newly restored Todmorden Curve, which opened in May 2015.

Salford () is an area of Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre in a meander of the River Irwell, which forms part of its boundary with Manchester. The wider City of Salford local government district is administered from Swinton. The former County Borough of Salford, which included Broughton, Pendleton and Kersal, was granted city status in 1926. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886, and the City of Salford 233,933.Historically in Lancashire, Salford was the judicial seat of the ancient hundred of Salfordshire. It was granted a charter by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, in about 1230, making Salford a free borough of greater cultural and commercial importance than its neighbour Manchester, although since the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries that position has been reversed.Salford became a major cotton and silk spinning and weaving factory town and inland port on the Manchester Ship Canal in the 18th and 19th centuries. Industries declined in the 20th century, causing economic depression, and Salford became a place of contrasts, with regenerated inner-city areas like Salford Quays next to some of the most socially deprived and violent areas in England.Salford is home to the University of Salford, and has seen several firsts, including the world's first free public library, and the first street to be lit by gas. Salford's MediaCityUK became the headquarters of CBBC and BBC Sport in 2011, joined by ITV Granada in 2013.