When did Greater Manchester become designated a City Region?

The Greater Manchester Statutory City Region (sometimes called the Greater Manchester City Regionor more commonly as the Manchester City Region) is a pilot administrative division of England, consisting of Greater Manchester plus five other borough divisions. It is under the strategic governance of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, officially designated on April 1, 2011 and has a population of 3,363,555 according to figures from the office for national statistics (2011).

The Manchester City Region initially appeared as one of eight city regions defined in the 2004 strategic document Moving Forward: The Northern Way, as a collaboration between three regional development agencies. It encompassed the ten districts of Greater Manchester and five neighbouring local government districts, and was suggested as an effective administrative metropolitan area that could share resources and stimulate economic growth in northern England.

Following the 2009 United Kingdom Budget, the city region, abridged to the ten districts of Greater Manchester, was announced as a pilot region which could establish a formal corporate strategic government with powers comparable with the Greater London Authority. AGMA agreed to the creation of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in March 2010; on 1 April 2011 the combined authority was established.