Sandwell

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Borough of Sandwell
Metropolitan borough
Street market in West Bromwich - geograph.org.uk - 3046127.jpg
West Bromwich, the largest town in Sandwell
Coat of arms of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.png
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Unity and Progress
Sandwell UK locator map.svg
Sandwell shown within the West Midlands and England
Coordinates: 52°30′19″N2°1′2″W / 52.50528°N 2.01722°W / 52.50528; -2.01722
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region West Midlands
Metropolitan county West Midlands
Historic County Staffordshire and Worcestershire
Status Metropolitan borough
Incorporated1 April 1974
Admin HQ Oldbury
Government
 • TypeMetropolitan district council
 • Body Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
 • LeadershipLeader & Cabinet (Labour)
 •  Mayor Cllr Bill Gavan (2023 - Present)
 •  MPs John Spellar (L)
Shaun Bailey (C)
Nicola Richards (C)
James Morris (C)
Area
 • Total33 sq mi (86 km2)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total344,210 (Ranked 29th)
 • Density9,720/sq mi (3,752/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
[1]
 •  Ethnic groups
List
Religion (2021)
[1]
 •  Religion
List
Time zone GMT BST
Postcode
B 43 & 64-71, DY 4, WS 5 & 10, WV 14,
Area code(s) 0121, 01384
ISO 3166 code GB-SAW
ONS code 00CS (ONS)
E08000028 (GSS)
OS grid reference SO9954890217
NUTS 3UKG37
Website www.sandwell.gov.uk

Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council defines the borough as the six amalgamated towns of Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich. Rowley Regis includes the towns of Blackheath and Cradley Heath. [2]

Contents

Sandwell's Strategic Town Centre is designated as West Bromwich, the largest town in the borough, while Sandwell Council House (the headquarters of the local authority) is situated in Oldbury. In 2019 Sandwell was ranked 12th most deprived of England's 317 boroughs. [3]

Bordering Sandwell is the City of Birmingham to the east, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley to the south and west, the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall to the north, and the City of Wolverhampton to the north-west. Spanning the borough are the parliamentary constituencies of West Bromwich West, West Bromwich East, Warley, and part of Halesowen and Rowley Regis, which crosses into the Dudley borough.

The borough covers an area of 86 square kilometres (33 sq mi). At the 2011 census, it had a population of 309,000. [4]

History and culture

Street nameplate on Rutland Road in Smethwick in April 2007, showing painted out "County Borough" lettering. RutlandRoadSignSmethwick.jpg
Street nameplate on Rutland Road in Smethwick in April 2007, showing painted out "County Borough" lettering.

The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell was formed on 1 April 1974 as an amalgamation of the county boroughs of Warley (ceremonially within Worcestershire) and West Bromwich (ceremonially within Staffordshire), under the Local Government Act 1972. Warley had been formed in 1966 by a merger of the county borough of Smethwick with the municipal boroughs of Rowley Regis and Oldbury; [5] at the same time, West Bromwich had absorbed the boroughs of Tipton and Wednesbury. [6]

For its first 12 years of existence, Sandwell had a two-tier system of local government; Sandwell Council shared power with the West Midlands County Council. In 1986 the county council was abolished, and Sandwell effectively became a unitary authority. The borough is divided into 24 wards and is represented by 72 ward councillors on the borough council.

The borough was named after Sandwell Priory, the ruins of which are located in Sandwell Valley. Gaining widespread acceptance for the identity of Sandwell and unifying the distinct communities within the borough has been a protracted affair. [7] The local council has considered changing its name over confusion outside the West Midlands as to the whereabouts of the borough. A survey of borough residents in June 2002 found that 65 per cent of respondents favoured retaining the name. [8]

Landmarks and attractions in Sandwell include Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery, Bishop Asbury Cottage, West Bromwich Manor House, Oak House, West Bromwich, and Sandwell Valley Country Park. It is also the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C.

Sandwell used to be a popular hotspot for car cruising. In 2015 a High Court order was introduced to ban car cruising in the area. An extension has been secured to run until at least 2021. [9]

Politics

Since the council election in 2021, the political composition of the council has been as follows: [10]

PartyCouncillors
Labour Party 60
Conservative Party 10
Independents 2

From the borough's creation in 1974 until 2010, all Members of Parliament (MPs) within its boundaries were Labour. However, in the 2010 general election, Conservative party candidate James Morris was elected to the Halesowen and Rowley Regis seat which incorporates the Sandwell communities of Rowley Regis, Blackheath and Cradley Heath, and the neighbouring area of Halesowen which is situated within Dudley's borders. This was the first time any part of Sandwell had elected a Conservative MP – or indeed an MP from any party other than Labour. [11] In the December 2019 general election, however, Conservative candidates Nicola Richards and Shaun Bailey were elected to represent West Bromwich East and West Bromwich West respectively. This was the first time since the borough's creation that West Bromwich has returned any Conservative MPs to Parliament, and the first time that a constituency fully within the boundaries of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council has been represented by a Tory MP. The election of both Richards and Bailey has been marked as a significant milestone in the political history of the borough and marked the end to decades of control by Labour MPs.[ citation needed ]

Wards

The Sandwell Borough is divided into 24 electoral wards, with each one represented by 3 councillors on the borough council: [10]

Ward nameAreaPopulation (2011 census)Population density (people per hectare)Ref.
Abbey 211 hectares (0.81 sq mi)11,75255.6 [12]
Blackheath 260 hectares (1.0 sq mi)12,29247.3 [13]
Bristnall 231 hectares (0.89 sq mi)12,15152.5 [14]
Charlemont with Grove Vale 522 hectares (2.02 sq mi)11,96422.9 [15]
Cradley Heath and Old Hill 403 hectares (1.56 sq mi)13,36533.6 [16]
Friar Park 299 hectares (1.15 sq mi)12,62542.3 [17]
Great Barr with Yew Tree 346 hectares (1.34 sq mi)12,59736.4 [18]
Great Bridge 325 hectares (1.25 sq mi)12,96239.9 [19]
Greets Green and Lyng 412 hectares (1.59 sq mi)11,76928.6 [20]
Hateley Heath 309 hectares (1.19 sq mi)14,22746.1 [21]
Langley 290 hectares (1.1 sq mi)12,96944.8 [22]
Newton 276 hectares (1.07 sq mi)11,55841.8 [23]
Oldbury 621 hectares (2.40 sq mi)13,60621.9 [24]
Old Warley 267 hectares (1.03 sq mi)11,91544.6 [25]
Princes End 278 hectares (1.07 sq mi)12,98146.7 [26]
Rowley 407 hectares (1.57 sq mi)11,78429.0 [27]
Smethwick 222 hectares (0.86 sq mi)14,14663.6 [28]
Soho and Victoria 321 hectares (1.24 sq mi)15,04246.9 [29]
St. Pauls 437 hectares (1.69 sq mi)14,22632.6 [30]
Tipton Green 341 hectares (1.32 sq mi)12,83437.6 [31]
Tividale 291 hectares (1.12 sq mi)12,61643.4 [32]
Wednesbury North 352 hectares (1.36 sq mi)12,68236.0 [33]
Wednesbury South 485 hectares (1.87 sq mi)12,51025.8 [34]
West Bromwich Central 652 hectares (2.52 sq mi)13,29020.4 [35]
Sandwell College in West Bromwich Central Campus, Sandwell College, West Bromwich.png
Sandwell College in West Bromwich

Education

Sandwell is home to nearly 100 primary schools, 25 secondary schools, 4 special schools and 1 college.

Sandwell College, the only further education college in the borough, was opened in September 1986 following the merger of Warley College and West Bromwich College. [36] It was originally based in the old Warley College buildings on Pound Road, Oldbury, and the West Bromwich College buildings on West Bromwich High Street, as well as a building in Smethwick town centre, but moved into a new single site campus in West Bromwich town centre in September 2012. [36] In 2004, a debt-ridden Sandwell College was subject to a police investigation. [37]

Media

Television

The area is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central. Television signals are received from the Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter. [38]

Radio

Radio stations for the area are:

BBC Local Radio

Independent Radio

Community Radio

Newspapers

Local newspapers for the area are: [40]

Notable people

See Category:People from Sandwell (district)

Localities

The six towns that comprise Sandwell and localities within each include:

Local places of interest

Twin towns and cities

Sandwell is twinned with: [42]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Midlands (county)</span> County of England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oldbury, West Midlands</span> Town in West Midlands, England

Oldbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It is the administrative centre of the borough. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 13,606, while the 2017 population of the wider built-up area was estimated at 25,488. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, which defines Oldbury Town as consisting of the wards of Bristnall, Langley, Oldbury, and Old Warley, gave the population as 50,641 in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowley Regis</span> Human settlement in England

Rowley Regis is a town and former municipal borough in Sandwell in the county of the West Midlands, England. It forms part of the area immediately west of Birmingham known as the Black Country and encompasses the three Sandwell council wards of Blackheath, Cradley Heath and Old Hill, and Rowley. At the 2011 census, the combined population of these wards was 50,257.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Midlands conurbation</span> Conurbation in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackheath, West Midlands</span> Human settlement in England

Blackheath is a town in the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, in the county of West Midlands, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council</span>

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, or Sandwell Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Borough of Warley</span>

Warley was a short-lived county borough and civil parish in the geographical county of Worcestershire, England, forming part of the West Midlands conurbation. It was formed in 1966 by the combination of the existing county borough of Smethwick with the municipal boroughs of Oldbury and Rowley Regis, by recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England. It was abolished just 8 years later in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, with its area passing to the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell.

The West Midlands region straddles the historic borders between the counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire in the north, and Worcestershire in the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandhall</span> Human settlement in England

Brandhall is a suburb of Oldbury in the south of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, bordering Birmingham and Halesowen. The development of the area commenced during the 1930s with the construction of several hundred private houses along the Hagley Road and Wolverhampton Road, as well as several side roads leading off the main dual carriageways. Oldbury Corporation founded a municipal farm in 1943. In 1949, the farm included a piggery, and fields growing wheat, potatoes, barley, hay, clover and oats. Oldbury Council placed a public notice for the demolition and removal of the farm buildings in February 1952. Most of Brandhall was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, when several thousand council houses, flats and bungalows were built by Oldbury Council on farmland to the south of Brand Hall. The Hall, which had become the clubhouse for Brandhall Golf Course, was demolished. Some of the first families moving on to the estate were relocating from Smethwick. Most of the high and medium-rise flats in Brandhall were demolished in the early 2000s and in their place housing associations built new low-rise homes.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warley, West Midlands</span>

Warley is a residential area of Oldbury in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands of the United Kingdom. Historically in both Worcestershire and Shropshire, the name has been used for both a civil parish (1884–1908) and a county borough (1966–1974). Warley has been the name of a UK Parliament constituency since 1997.

Warley West was a parliamentary constituency in the borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands of England. It was initially centred on the towns of Rowley Regis and Cradley Heath, and from 1983 also incorporated parts of Oldbury.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandwell Community History and Archives Service</span>

Sandwell Community History and Archives Service (CHAS) is the archive service for the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands of England. The service is based within Smethwick Library. It collects and preserves original archives and published material relating to the history of Sandwell. It is a local authority archive service, run and funded by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halesowen (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2024 onwards

Halesowen is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Created as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. The constituency is named after the town of Halesowen.

References

  1. 1 2 UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Sandwell Local Authority (E08000028)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "Where is Sandwell?". Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "Deprivation - Sandwell in a West Midlands Context". Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  4. ↑ "Sandwell in Brief". Sandwell Trends. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Warley CB through time". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "West Bromwich MB/CB through time". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Chitham, Edward (2006). Rowley Regis : a history. Chichester, West Sussex, England: Phillimore. pp. 123–124. ISBN   1860774180.
  8. ↑ Sandwell View Point, issue no.10
  9. ↑ "Car cruising | Sandwell Council".
  10. 1 2 "Councillors – Sandwell Council". Sandwell MBC. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Historic Tory win in Halesowen and Rowley Regis". Halesowen News. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  12. ↑ "Abbey (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  13. ↑ "Blackheath (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  14. ↑ "Bristnall (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "Charlemont with Grove Vale (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  16. ↑ "Cradley Heath and Old Hill (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "Friar Park (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "Great Barr with Yew Tree (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  19. ↑ "Great Bridge (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  20. ↑ "Greets Green and Lyng (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  21. ↑ "Hateley Heath (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  22. ↑ "Langley (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  23. ↑ "Newton (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  24. ↑ "Oldbury (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  25. ↑ "Old Warley (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  26. ↑ "Princes End (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  27. ↑ "Rowley (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  28. ↑ "Smethwick (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  29. ↑ "Soho and Victoria (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  30. ↑ "St Pauls (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  31. ↑ "Tipton Green (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  32. ↑ "Tividale (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  33. ↑ "Wednesbury North (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  34. ↑ "Wednesbury South (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  35. ↑ "West Bromwich Central (Ward) – Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  36. 1 2 "Sandwell College guide". The Telegraph. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  37. ↑ Fraud row college to axe 100 jobs
  38. ↑ "Sutton Coldfield (Birmingham, England) Full Freeview transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  39. ↑ "Black Country Radio" . Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  40. ↑ "Newspapers". Sandwell Council. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  41. ↑ "Home". sandwell.ac.uk.
  42. ↑ "Twin town". Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
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