The West Midlands is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in western-central England with a 2018 estimated population of 2,916,458, making it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county itself is a NUTS 2 region within the wider NUTS 1 region of the same name. The county consists of seven metropolitan boroughs: the City of Birmingham, the City of Coventry and the City of Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall.
Great Barr Hall is an 18th-century mansion situated at Pheasey, Walsall, on the border with Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It has associations with the Lunar Society and is a Grade II* listed building. It is, however, in a very poor state of repair and is on the Buildings at Risk Register.
The River Tame is the main river of the West Midlands of England, and one of the principal tributaries of the River Trent. The Tame is about 95 km (59 mi) long from the source at Oldbury to its confluence with the Trent near Alrewas, but the main river length of the entire catchment, i.e. the Tame and its main tributaries, is about 285 km (177 mi).
The Shropshire Union Canal, nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. The Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union (SU) system and lie partially in Wales.
Severn Trent Water Limited is a water company based in the United Kingdom that is part of the Severn Trent plc group, traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the trading name owned by the company, applies to a group of companies employing more than 15,000 people across the United Kingdom, United States and mainland Europe, with some involvement in the Middle East. It took its name from the two predecessor River Authorities, which managed the catchment of the Severn and the Trent.
Chasewater is a reservoir located in the parish of Burntwood and the district of Lichfield in Staffordshire, England. Originally known as Norton Pool and Cannock Chase Reservoir, it was created as a canal feeder reservoir in 1797. The reservoir was created to directly supply the Wyrley and Essington Canal and maintain levels in the 160-mile (260 km) Birmingham Canal Network. During a period of great industrial growth in the Black Country region the maintenance of water levels in canal infrastructure was essential and Chasewater was in great demand. As canals became less essential for transport of goods during the mid-20th century, the reservoir diversified and became a popular public amenity with activities such as water-skiing, sailing, wakeboarding and cycling. Chasewater is the third largest reservoir by volume in the county of Staffordshire and the largest canal feeder reservoir in the West Midlands.
Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, England. It is also the name of a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency; its Member of Parliament is Khalid Mahmood.
Barr Beacon is a hill on the edge of Walsall, West Midlands, England, very near the border with Birmingham. It gives its name to nearby Great Barr and to the local secondary school Barr Beacon School. It is historically the site of a beacon where fires were lit in times of impending attack or on celebratory occasions. The site is on green belt land and is of local importance for nature conservation, as defined by Walsall Borough Council, who have designated some 60 acres of it as a Local Nature Reserve.
Hampton Loade is a hamlet in Shropshire, England along the Severn Valley. It is situated on the east bank of the River Severn at grid reference SO747864, and is notable for the unusual current-operated Hampton Loade Ferry, a reaction ferry to the hamlet of Hampton on the west bank. The ferry is responsible for Hampton Loade's name, as Loade is derived from lode, an old English word for ferry.
Great Barr is now a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as Perry Barr, which is still the name of an adjacent Birmingham district. Other areas known as Great Barr are in the Metropolitan Boroughs of Walsall and Sandwell.
The Cross-City Line is a commuter rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for 32 miles (51 km) from Redditch, and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New Street, connecting the suburbs of Birmingham in between. Services are operated by West Midlands Trains.
The Chase Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from its southern terminus, Birmingham New Street, to Walsall, and then Rugeley in Staffordshire, where it joins the Trent Valley Line. The name of the line refers to Cannock Chase which it runs through at its northern end.
Perry Barr Reservoir is a covered drinking water reservoir, in north Birmingham, England. Built on the site of the former Perry Barr Farm, it is not, despite its name, in the modern Perry Barr area, but nearby Kingstanding, at grid reference SP083951.
Witton is an inner city area in Birmingham, England, in the metropolitan county of the West Midlands. It was within the ancient parish of Aston in the Hemlingford hundred of the historic county of Warwickshire. It is probably best known as the home of Aston Villa Football Club at Villa Park.
The Clywedog reservoir is a reservoir near Llanidloes, Wales on the head-waters of the River Severn. arliament which asserted that "The chief function of the reservoir is river regulation". Its primary purpose was to regulate the flow in the River Severn to mitigate flooding and provide support for drinking water abstractions for the West Midlands It was completed in 1967 and is situated near the B4518 road north of Llanidloes, Powys
South Staffordshire Water plc known as South Staffs Water is a UK water supply company owned by a privately owned utilities company serving parts of Staffordshire the West Midlands as well as small areas of surrounding counties in England. South Staffordshire Water plc is part of South Staffordshire plc. It purchased Cambridge Water in 2011. In 2013, KKR & Co. L.P., a company registered in the United States of America, acquired South Staffordshire Water from Alinda Infrastructure Fund. As of April 2018, KKR & Co. L.P., has agreed to sell its 75% equity stake in South Staffordshire plc to Arjun Infrastructure Partners (AIP). This deal will include South Staffs Water (SSW) and its non-regulated businesses, SSI Services and Echo Managed Services.
A series of large floods occurred in parts of the United Kingdom during the summer of 2007. The worst of the flooding occurred across Scotland on 14 June; East Yorkshire and the Midlands on 15 June; Yorkshire, the Midlands, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire on 25 June; and Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and South Wales on 28 July 2007.
Severn Trent Water Authority was one of ten regional water authorities established in 1974. Its area of operation was the catchments of the River Trent and River Severn. It assumed the powers and responsibilities of existing water supply authorities in those catchment areas, the Severn River Authority, the Trent River Authority and the sewage and sewage disposal responsibilities of the councils within its area.
The Birmingham Corporation Water Department was responsible for the supply of water to Birmingham, England, from 1876 to 1974. It was also known as Birmingham Corporation Waterworks Department.
In June 2016, parts of the United Kingdom were struck by serious flash floods. Starting on 7 June, thunderstorms caused intense rainfall in many locations across the country, particularly in the north of England and in London, causing repeated flash floods in several locations on a daily basis.
