system through the area and a link between the A57 and M62 at Barton. Under this plan the town's retail environment would also be maintained and enhanced. Governance In 1854 the Barton, Eccles, Winton and Monton Local Board of Health was established for the northern part of the township of Barton. Eccles was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1892, part of which was in Barton poor law union, an inter-parish unit established to provide social security, and in 1933 this was expanded to include most of Barton Moss civil parish, and part of Worsley Urban District. A small part of the borough was transferred in 1961 to the County Borough of Salford. In 1974 the borough was abolished and its area transferred to Greater Manchester to form part of the City of Salford. The Eccles area incorporates the wards of Barton, Winton, and Eccles. Following its review of parliamentary representation in Greater Manchester, the Boundary Commission for England recommended that Eccles be split between two new constituencies; Salford and Eccles, from the existing Salford constituency and the central/eastern part of Eccles, and Worsley and Eccles South, from the existing Worsley constituency and the southern/western part of Eccles. Geography Eccles is 3.7 miles (6 km) west of Manchester, on the north bank of the Manchester Ship Canal. The area is along a gentle slope from above sea level to the north, to above sea at the south, near the Irwell. The underlying geology is made up of New Red Sandstone and pebble beds. The coal measures of the Lancashire coalfield extend south to Monton and Winton. On the surface deposits of clay and loose sands are prevalent throughout the area, along with vegetable moulds formed by rotted vegetation from the previous ice age. These areas have, when drained, provided fertile soil for local agriculture, benefited by the 19th century practice of dumping nightsoil from nearby Manchester. Parts of the area are within an indicated floodplain. Eccles' climate is generally temperate, like that of the rest of Greater Manchester. The mean highest and lowest temperatures ( and ) are slightly above the national average, while the annual rainfall () and average hours of sunshine (1394.5 hours) are respectively above and below the national averages. Demography Overall At the 2001 Census, Eccles was part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area and had a population of 36,610, of which 17,924 (48.96%) were male