Heywood, Greater Manchester
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| The [Neutral point of view>neutrality] of this article is [NPOV disputedisputed]. Please see the discussion on the [Greater Manchester, north-west England. The town is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale and the parliamentary constituency of Heywood and Middleton. Heywood can be reached via the M66 motorway and is also served by the East Lancashire Railway (primarily a tourist attraction). Its main industry in the past has been cotton milling, although this has long since declined. Heywood is now home to one of the largest distribution parks in the North-West, thanks to its excellent motorway links with Manchester and Liverpool.
OverviewHeywood is a typical Lancashire town, during the Industrial Revolution its main industry was cotton. Many of the cotton mills have now been demolished, mainly for housing. Whilst neighbouring towns such as Ramsbottom have flourished as a result of their heritage, Heywood has remained a predominantly working class town. The main employer in the town is the distribution park with many of the country's major retailers having warehouse units there. This has been made possible mainly by land owners selling off green belt land to the highest bidder, distribution parks or even a landfill site which is the latest proposed scheme to blight local residents. The town centre of Heywood has declined in recent years. The shops along Market Street have suffered at the hands of retail parks and supermarket developments. The centre of the town is dominated by Morrisons supermarket and Dunnes Stores, although it does still possess some interesting smaller shops. The whole town is currently undergoing a major regeneration as part of the Government's New Deal for Communities, and New Heart for Heywood are investing over £52m [link]. This bid was initially won in 2000 and the hard work to regenerate this town is still ongoing. Some of the planned works for 2006-2008 include a new Health Connections Centre, a new family Surestart Centre, a new Primary School and a multi-million pound sports and leisure village. The town was originally served by railway, with a station to the south of the town. There were services to Bury Knowsley Street Station and Rochdale, but this line was closed in the 1970s. However, the line has recently been re-opened to Bury, as an extension to the East Lancashire Railway preservation project. CultureHeywood is well known for its density of pubs. Highlights include the Queen Anne pub (also known as the 'Style Bar') in the town centre; in years gone by this pub reputedly staged public hangings in its back yard. The town is also home to the Dressers Arms and the Pig and Whistle. The only CAMRA rated pub in Heywood is the "Wishing Well" [link], which is, unusually for a public house, owned by an ordained Baptist minister, the Reverend Mike Huck. Heywood is still often referred to as "Monkey Town" - which legend has it was attributed to the local penchant for bar stools with holes in the seat, ostensibly for tails. [link] A more likely etymology is derived from a now much reduced part of the town called Heap Bridge, or in local patois, "'Ape Bridge", hence "Monkey Town". Recently the trailer of Ray Winstone, star of film and TV, was pelted by stones by a group of unruly youths whilst filming for the TV show Vincent. [link] Famous Residents
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