Blackpool Urban Area
Greater Blackpool is the informal name for the urban area surrounding Blackpool in Lancashire, England. The ONS define a Blackpool Built-up Area or Blackpool Urban Area, with a population of 239,409 in 2011 this is considerably down on the 2001 population of 261,088 mainly due to Fleetwood no longer being considered as part of the built-up area. The population of the Blackpool Urban Area has been declining for some time with the 2001 population down 0.1% from the 1991 figure of 261,355.
Blackpool
In 1863, the North Pier was completed, rapidly becoming a centre of attraction for elite visitors. Central Pier was completed in 1868, with a theatre and a large open-air dance floor. The town expanded southward beyond what is today known as the Golden Mile, towards South Shore, and South Pier was completed in 1893, making Blackpool the only town in the United Kingdom with three piers. In 1878, the Winter Gardens complex opened, incorporating ten years later the Opera House, said to be the largest in Britain outside London.