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 rigorously manage development around the cities, towns and villages in the large West Midlands conurbations centred around Birmingham and Coventry, discouraging convergence. [1] It is managed by local planning authorities on guidance from central government.
Land area taken up by the green belt is 231,291 hectares (571,530 acres), 1.7% of the total land area of England (2019). [2] [3] Tracts of green belt lie within the West Midlands county itself, much of it by the Meriden Gap in Solihull borough; however, the vast coverage of the green belt completely envelops the county.
The green belt stretches from Stafford and Telford through to Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, and Rugby. There is a small isolated portion of green belt separating Droitwich Spa and Worcester. [3] The Stoke-on-Trent and Burton upon Trent/Swadlincote green belts lie around 10 miles (16 km) to the north.
Due to the West Midlands green belt extending across several counties, responsibility and co-ordination lies with the many local district councils whose land covers the green belt, as these are the local planning government bodies.
Worcestershire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands county to the north, Warwickshire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south, and Herefordshire to the west. The city of Worcester is the largest settlement and the county town.
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 almost surrounded by Warwickshire to the east. The largest settlement is the city of Birmingham.
Staffordshire is a landlocked ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands county and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the county town is Stafford.
The Midlands is the central part of England, between Northern England to its north, and Southern England to its south and east. The region also shares a border with Wales to the west, while it also shares a coastline at the North Sea. The Midlands correspond to the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire.
The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area known traditionally as the Midlands. The region consists of the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. The region has seven cities: Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester.
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.
Redditch is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Worcestershire, England. It is located south of Birmingham, east of Bromsgrove, north-west of Alcester and north-east of Worcester. In 2021, the town had a population of 81,637 and the district had a population of 87,037. In the 1800s, it became a centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry; by the end of the century, 90% of the world's needles were manufactured in the town and its surrounding areas.
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council is based in Codsall. Other notable settlements include Brewood, Cheslyn Hay, Coven, Essington, Featherstone, Four Ashes, Great Wyrley, Huntington, Kinver, Landywood, Penkridge, Perton, Wedges Mills, Weston-under-Lizard and Wombourne. The district covers a largely rural area lying immediately to the west and north-west of the West Midlands conurbation.
Cannock Chase is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is named after and covers a large part of Cannock Chase, a designated National Landscape. The council is based in the town of Cannock. The district also contains the towns of Hednesford and Rugeley, as well as a number of villages and surrounding rural areas.
Lichfield District is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district is named after its largest settlement, the city of Lichfield, which is where the district council is based. The district also contains the towns of Burntwood and Fazeley, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas, including part of Cannock Chase, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
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.
Birmingham, a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England, is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom.
The Birmingham Metropolitan Area is an urban agglomeration located in the West Midlands region of England with a population of around 4.3 million people, making it the second largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom. It comprises the three cities and four metropolitan boroughs which make up the Metropolitan county of the West Midlands, along with its commuter zones, which extend into the neighbouring district authorities of Bromsgrove and Redditch in Worcestershire; Cannock Chase, Lichfield, South Staffordshire and Tamworth in Staffordshire; and all five district authorities of Warwickshire, including the towns of Bedworth, Coleshill, Nuneaton, Royal Leamington Spa, and Warwick itself.
The West Midlands region straddles the historic borders between the counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire in the north, and Worcestershire in the south.
The Cross-City Line is a suburban rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for 32 mi (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 Railway.
The ceremonial county of Staffordshire is divided into 12 seats - 2 borough and 10 county constituencies, one of which includes part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. Staffordshire is a county in the West Midlands of England. At the 2024 general election, nine of the seats were won by Labour and three by the Conservatives.
Shenstone is a village and civil parish in The Lichfield District, Staffordshire, England, located between Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield. The parish also contains the village of Stonnall.
The administrative boundaries of Worcestershire, England have been fluid for over 150 years since the first major changes in 1844. There were many detached parts of Worcestershire in the surrounding counties, and conversely there were islands of other counties within Worcestershire. The 1844 Counties Act began the process of eliminating these, but the process was not completed until 1966, when Dudley was absorbed into Staffordshire.
The Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) was one the Local Enterprise Partnerships set up by UK Government to drive economic development in England.
2.19 In Stafford Borough there are two areas of Green Belt; around the North Staffordshire conurbation and in the south eastern area of the Borough which includes Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty