The Meriden Gap is a mostly rural area in the West Midlands between Solihull and Coventry. It is a part of the wider West Midlands Green Belt, separating Coventry from the large West Midlands conurbation, which includes Birmingham and The Black Country. The 'Gap' takes its name from the village central to the area, Meriden, although the largest settlement is the small town of Balsall Common. The highest point lies at 185m / 607 ft above sea level on the northern edge of Boultbee’s Wood north of the hamlet of Eaves Green, close to the West Midlands-Warwickshire border.
Most of the gap is in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, a small area is in Warwickshire and some of the northeastern part is in the City of Coventry limits. Other villages and hamlets in the gap include Hampton-in-Arden, Berkswell, Barston, Temple Balsall, Eastcote, Bradnocks Marsh, Millison's Wood, Eaves Green, Four Oaks, Fen End, Pickford Green and Corley Moor.
The gap is largely in the Meriden parliamentary constituency.
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The planned expansion [1] of Birmingham Airport outlines the need for construction on the greenbelt to allow the expansion to happen. Despite opposition [2] to the expansion plans, the proposal was granted approval. A motorway service area between Junctions 3a and 7 on the M42 motorway has been proposed on several occasions. [3]
West Midlands is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the larger West Midlands region of England. A landlocked county, it is bordered by Staffordshire to the north and west, Worcestershire to the south, and is surrounded by Warwickshire to the east. The largest settlement is the city of Birmingham.
The River Blythe flows through the English Midlands from central Warwickshire, through the Borough of Solihull and on to Coleshill in north Warwickshire. It runs along the Meriden Gap in the Midlands Plateau, is fed by the River Cole and is a tributary of the River Tame beside the West Midland Bird Club's Ladywalk reserve. This then joins the River Trent, whose waters reach the North Sea via the Humber Estuary.
The West Midlands conurbation is the large conurbation in the West Midlands region of England. The area consists of two cities and numerous towns: to the east, the city of Birmingham, along with adjacent towns of Solihull and Sutton Coldfield; and to the west, the city of Wolverhampton and the area called the Black Country, containing the towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Oldbury, Willenhall, Bilston, Darlaston, Tipton, Smethwick, Wednesbury, Rowley Regis, Stourbridge and Halesowen.
Warwickshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire to the south, and Worcestershire and the West Midlands county to the west. The largest settlement is Nuneaton and the county town is Warwick.
Knowle is a large village situated 3 miles (5 km) east-southeast of the town of Solihull, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Knowle lies within the Arden area of the historic county boundaries of Warwickshire, and since 1974 it has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. It lies 2.5 miles from the Warwickshire border and had a recorded population of 10,678.
The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough in West Midlands county, England. It is named after its largest town, Solihull, from which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is based. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of seven boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region. Much of the large residential population in the north of the borough centres on the communities of Castle Bromwich, Kingshurst, Marston Green and Smith's Wood as well as the towns of Chelmsley Wood and Fordbridge. In the south are the towns of Shirley and Solihull, as well as the large villages of Knowle, Dorridge, Meriden and Balsall Common.
The West Midlands region straddles the historic borders between the counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire in the north, and Worcestershire in the south.
Balsall Common is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is situated 5 miles (7.5 km) northwest of Kenilworth, 8 miles (13 km) west of Coventry, 8 miles (13 km) east of Solihull and 15 miles (24 km) to the southeast of Birmingham. The name “Balsall” comes from the Anglo Saxon word “Baelle” meaning corner of land, and “Heale” meaning a sheltered place
Meriden was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was named after the village of Meriden, halfway between Solihull and Coventry.
Marston Green railway station is a station serving Chelmsley Wood and Marston Green in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull and the Birmingham suburbs of Lea Hall and Sheldon in the West Midlands County, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Trains.
Berkswell railway station, in the West Midlands of England, takes its name from the nearby village of Berkswell although it is located on the northern edge of the village of Balsall Common. The station originally opened in 1844 as Docker's Lane, changed to Berkswell on 1 January 1853, then to Berkswell & Balsall Common on 1 February 1928 before reverting to Berkswell again in 1955.
Bickenhill is a small village in the civil parish of Bickenhill and Marston Green, in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands county, England, on the eastern fringe of the West Midlands conurbation. Bickenhill is also a ward and was within the historic county of Warwickshire. Birmingham Airport is also located within the civil parish.
Berkswell is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, county of West Midlands, England. Historically in Warwickshire, Berkswell is situated in the rural east of the borough, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the western city boundary of Coventry, at Eastern Green. It is situated about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of Coventry city centre, 8.5 miles (13.7 km) east of central Solihull, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Meriden and 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Balsall Common.
The Meriden Rural District was a rural district of Warwickshire, England, which existed between 1894 and 1974. It was named after the village of Meriden.
Solihull is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Forest of Arden area. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census, and its wider borough had a population of 216,240. The town is located 8 miles (12 km) southeast of Birmingham and 13 miles (21 km) west of Coventry.
The A452 is a road in England, which runs from Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire to Brownhills in the West Midlands. It is the major link to the M6 motorway for both Leamington and Warwick in addition to serving as Leamington's link to the M40 motorway and to Coventry.
The Coventry Way is a 40-mile (64 km) long-distance footpath in central England that starts and finishes in Meriden. It forms a circular route around the city of Coventry covering countryside in both the West Midlands and Warwickshire. The path is managed by A Coventry Way Association.
Earlswood is a village split between the counties of Warwickshire and the West Midlands in England. Most of the village is located in the Tanworth-in-Arden civil parish of the Stratford-on-Avon District, Warwickshire, while the northern part is in the Tidbury Green parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. A hamlet called Warings Green lies to the south east of the village, with the northernmost point crossing into the parish of Cheswick Green in the borough of`Solihull. The village is surrounded by farmland and forests and it gives its name to Earlswood Lakes as well as to Earlswood railway station, even though The Lakes railway station is located closer to the main part of the village.
The West Midlands Green Belt is a statutory green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates the rural space within the West Midlands region of England. It is contained within the counties of the West Midlands, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Essentially, the function of the green belt is to more rigorously manage development around the cities, towns and villages in the large West Midlands conurbations centred around Birmingham and Coventry, discouraging convergence. It is managed by local planning authorities on guidance from central government.
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