Virgin Train, Yorkshire and the Humber, England, United Kingdom, Europe

• Report rights infringement
• published: 19 Aug 2013
• views: 207

Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. When the Government Office Regions were created in 1994 it was called Yorkshire & Humberside with the counties of North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humberside. However Humberside was abolished hence the current Region name. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000. The British Government has announced its intention to abolish Government Offices (for the Regions) no later than 31 March 2011. There are seven cities in Yorkshire and the Humber: Bradford, Kingston upon Hull, Leeds, Ripon, Sheffield, Wakefield and York. There are many other large towns in the area such as Doncaster, Grimsby, Halifax, Huddersfield and Scunthorpe. Leeds is the largest settlement being the largest part of an urban area with a population of 1.5 million. Leeds is now one of the largest financial centres in the United Kingdom. Sheffield is the second largest settlement and is a large manufacturing centre. Bradford is the third largest city and was traditionally a textile city, the decline of these industries has left Bradford's economy more diverse. Kingston upon Hull is the main port in the region and also a notable fishing harbour. While cities such as Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield grew during the industrial revolution, there are older cities in the region such as Wakefield and York. The tallest occupied building in Yorkshire is Bridgewater Place in central Leeds, commonly referred to as The Dalek, and at 361 feet is the 34th tallest building in the UK, built in 2007. The 37 storey Sky Plaza in Leeds is the world's second tallest student accommodation building at 338 feet, and the second tallest building in the region, and the UK's 42nd tallest building, built in 2009. The 32-storey St Pauls Tower is now the tallest building in Sheffield at 331 feet. The Royal Hallamshire Hospital is the tallest hospital in the UK outside of London at 249 feet, and was built in 1979. Stainless steel was invented in 1913 by Harry Brearley of Sheffield, working for Firth Brown Steels (now called Sheffield Forgemasters). Crucible steel had been invented in the 1740s by Benjamin Huntsman of Epworth in Lincolnshire (part of the region). he area is well known for its brass bands, with the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band, Black Dyke Band, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band, Rothwell Temperance Band and Hammonds Saltaire Band. Brass bands have mostly been linked with coal mines. The Brontë family are the region's best known authors. The region's most popular city for tourists is York. Castleford is the birthplace of the world famous sculptor Henry Moore. The Yorkshire and Humber Assembly was a partnership of all local authorities in the region and representatives of various economic, social and environmental sectors. The full Assembly normally met three times a year, normally in February, June and October. The full Assembly is responsible for providing regional leadership, agreeing regional strategic priorities, directing the development of the Integrated Regional Framework and endorsing key regional strategies. Membership comprises all 22 local authorities in this region, plus 15 Social, Economic and Environmental partners, and the National Parks for planning purposes. On 31 March 2009, the Assembly was abolished and replaced by Local Government Yorkshire and Humber, which continues to be based in the former Assembly premises in King Street in Wakefield. Yorkshire is one of the two regions (along with the North West) that were expected to have a referendum about the establishment of an elected regional assembly. When the North East region of England rejected having an elected regional assembly in a referendum, the then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced that he would not move orders for other referendums before the relevant provisions expired in June 2005.