West Midlands conurbation

West Midlands
Birmingham and the Black Country
Birmingham-Wolverhampton Greater Birmingham
West Midlands Birmingham and the Black Country; Birmingham-Wolverhampton Greater Birmingham;
Conurbation
	Top: Birmingham and Wolverhampton ; Lower: Dudley and West Bromwich ; Bottom: Solihull and Walsall ;
	Map of the West Midlands conurbation in 2011, with Travel to Work Areas overlaid. The five most populous are highlighted with Birmingham and Wolverhampton sub-divisions in orange and the Dudley, Walsall and Solihull sub-divisions in green.
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Largest settlements	(Pop. 100,000+) Birmingham ; Dudley ; Solihull ; Sandwell ; Wolverhampton ;
Population (2011 census)
• Total	2,440,986
• Rank	3rd
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode	B, DY, WS, WV
Area code(s)	0121, 01543, 01562, 01384, 01902, 01922

Last updated February 14, 2024

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.

It is broken down into multiple Travel to Work Areas: Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley & Sandwell , Walsall & Cannock , Hagley is within the Kidderminster area and the extreme south-east corner is within the Warwick & Stratford upon Avon area. The conurbation is mainly in the West Midlands county, including parts of the surrounding counties of Staffordshire (e.g. Little Aston, Perton and Essington) and Worcestershire (such as Hagley and Hollywood), with Coventry a separate area in the county.

According to the 2011 Census the area had a population of 2,440,986,^[1] making it the third most populated in the United Kingdom behind Greater London and Greater Manchester.

With the West Midlands also being a region and county, the conurbation is sometimes known as Birmingham-Wolverhampton.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] though it is the term Birmingham & The Black Country that has gained the widest traction as an alternative to the conurbation's official name: an example of this is the tagline used by BBC Radio WM - "The sound of Birmingham & The Black Country".^[7]^[8]

Constituent parts

The West Midlands Urban Area as at the 2001 Census WestMidlandsUrbanArea.svg — The West Midlands Urban Area as at the 2001 Census

Although the exact boundaries of any conurbation are open to debate, dependent on what criteria are used to determine where an urban area ceases, the Office for National Statistics defines the West Midlands Built Up Area as including the urban areas of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Solihull, West Bromwich, Dudley, and Walsall amongst others. These settlements are not coterminous with the Metropolitan Boroughs of the same name.^{[ citation needed ]}

Coventry is separated from the West Midlands conurbation by the Meriden Gap, and other urban areas, such as Cannock and Codsall remain separate from the conurbation. Coventry is 19 miles east of Birmingham.

Administration

Occasionally the conurbation is seen as being coterminous with the West Midlands Metropolitan county; however, this includes Coventry, which is separate from the main urban area, and excludes the parts of the surrounding counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire that fall within the conurbation.

For administrative purposes, the vast majority of the conurbation falls within the six Metropolitan Boroughs of Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

Two Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) cover the majority of the conurbation area: Black Country LEP comprises the local authorities of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton while the Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP includes those two authorities and a number of satellite boroughs, many remote from the conurbation and not traditionally associated with it (Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Redditch, Tamworth and Wyre Forest).

Settlements

2011 Census

The West Midlands Built Up Area consists of the below subdivisions. Due to the change in methodology between the 2001 and 2011 Census, and the amount of change between 2011 Census and previous census data, it is impossible to compare the data directly between 2011 and earlier Censuses.

Rank	Settlement	Population (2011)^[1]	Notes on significant changes since 2001
1	Birmingham	1,085,810	Gained Quinton from Oldbury-Smethwick USD. Gained Minworth from Sutton Coldfield USD.
2	Wolverhampton	210,319	Bilston and Wednesfield removed from 2001. The three BUASDs combined total 265,178. Essington removed and placed within Willenhall BUASD.
3	Solihull	123,187	Gained Shelly Green and Knowle-Bentley Heath from 2001.
4	Sutton Coldfield	95,107
5	Dudley	79,379	Coseley, Kingswinford, Brierley Hill and Sedgley removed from 2011. The five BUASDs combined total 215,693. Gained Cradley Heath and Quarry Bank from Oldbury-Smethwick USD.
6	West Bromwich	72,945	Wednesbury and Tipton removed from 2001. Town split in two by Sandwell Valley and the two parts are now considered separately. The four BUASDs combined total 153,366. Gained Yew Tree from 2001.
7	Walsall	67,594	Willenhall, Darlaston and Bloxwich removed from 2001. The four BUASDs combined total 185,114.
8	Stourbridge	63,298	Gained Hagley from 2001.
9	Halesowen	58,135
10	Willenhall	51,429	New in 2011. Previously part of Walsall USD, but also gained Essington from Wolverhampton USD.
11	Kingswinford	50,801	New in 2011. Previously part of Dudley USD.
12	Smethwick	48,765	New in 2011. Previously part of Oldbury-Smethwick USD.
13	Bloxwich	47,288	New in 2011. Previously part of Walsall USD.
13	Tipton	42,407	New in 2011. Previously part of West Bromwich USD.
14	Aldridge	39,463	Gained Rushall, Shelfield and Pelsall from 2001.
15	Rowley Regis	34,260	New in 2011. Previously part of Oldbury-Smethwick USD.
16	Brierley Hill	31,430	New in 2011. Previously part of Dudley USD.
17	Sedgley	30,979	New in 2011. Previously part of Dudley USD.
18	Bilston	29,556	New in 2011. Previously part of Wolverhampton USD.
19	Wednesfield	25,303	New in 2011. Previously part of Wolverhampton USD
20	Oldbury	23,964	New in 2011. Previously part of Oldbury-Smethwick USD.
21	Coseley	23,104	New in 2011. Previously part of Dudley USD.
22	Brownhills	20,373
23	Wednesbury	19,029	New in 2011. Previously part of West Bromwich USD.
24	West Bromwich East	18,985	New in 2011. Previously part of West Bromwich USD.
25	Darlaston	18,803	New in 2011. Previously part of Walsall USD.
26	Blackheath	6,518	New in 2011. Previously part of Oldbury-Smethwick USD.
27	Cheswick Green	2,197
28	Wythall	1,912	New in 2011.
29	Hampton in Arden	1,678	New in 2011.
30	Stonnall	1,338	New in 2011.
31	Major's Green	1,002	New in 2011.
32	Tidbury Green	720	New in 2011.

In the 2011 Census, Coleshill and Water Orton are two separate built-up areas with populations of 6,341 and 3,444 respectively. Prior to 2011, they were considered part of the West Midlands Urban Area.

Prior censuses

Prior to the 2011 census, the conurbation was known by the ONS as the West Midlands Urban Area, which contained the following Urban Sub-Divisions:

Rank (2001)	Settlement	Population (2001)^[9]	Population (1991)^[10]	Population (1981)^[11]
1	Birmingham	970,892	965,928	1,024,118
2	Wolverhampton	251,462	257,943	265,631
3	Dudley	194,919	192,171	187,367
4	Walsall	170,994	174,739	178,852
5	Oldbury / Smethwick	139,855	145,542	153,461
6	West Bromwich	136,940	146,386	154,531
7	Sutton Coldfield	105,452	106,001	103,097
8	Solihull	94,753	94,531	94,613
9	Stourbridge	55,480	55,624	55,499
10	Halesowen	55,273	57,918	57,532
11	Brownhills	19,866	18,159	18,200
12	Knowle / Bentley Heath	18,452
13	Aldridge	15,659	16,832	17,589
14	Pelsall	10,524	10,007	10,328
15	Shelfield	6,807	7,079	6,029
16	Coleshill	6,235	6,324
17	Yew Tree	6,109
18	Rushall	5,864	5,871	6,137
19	Hagley	5,723	5,417	5,754
20	Shelly Green	5,702
21	Water Orton	3,573	3,555
22	Cheswick Green	2,261	2,511
23	Knowle		17,588	16,872
24	Bentley Heath		5,984

Notes:

Knowle and Bentley Heath are considered as one settlement in 2001, but are considered separately in 1991 and 1981. Bentley Heath was not considered to be a settlement within the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981.
Coleshill and Water Orton were not considered to be part of the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981, but a separate Coleshill/Water Orton Urban Area with a total population of 9,554; made up of Coleshill (6,113) and Water Orton (3,441).
Yew Tree is only considered part of the West Midlands Urban Area in the 2001 census.
Cheswick Green was not considered to be a settlement within the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981.
Shelly Green was not considered to be a settlement within the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981 or 1991.

Related Research Articles

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.

Staffordshire is a landlocked ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south-east, the West Midlands county and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Stoke-on-Trent; the county town is Stafford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midlands</span> Place in England

The Midlands is the central part of England, bordered by Wales, Northern England, Southern England and the North Sea. The Midlands correspond broadly to the early-medieval kingdom of Mercia, and later became important in the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. They are now split into two official regions, the West Midlands and East Midlands. The Midlands' biggest city, Birmingham, is the second-largest in the United Kingdom. Other important cities include Coventry, Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton, and Worcester.

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.

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 traditionally known 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.

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The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Darlaston, Pelsall and Willenhall.

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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.

National Express West Midlands (NXWM), also operating under the West Midlands Bus brand identity, is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull as well as express services to areas such as Cofton Hackett and Bromsgrove, NXWM is a subsidiary of Mobico Group.

NHS West Midlands was a strategic health authority (SHA) of the National Health Service in England. It operated in the West Midlands region, which is coterminous with the local government office region. It was abolished in April 2013.

The Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) is one of 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships set up by Government to drive economic development in England.

Healthcare in the West Midlands was, until July 2022, the responsibility of five integrated care groups: Birmingham and Solihull, Sandwell and West Birmingham, Dudley, Wolverhampton, and Walsall.

The West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (WMPTE) was the public body responsible for public transport in the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom from 1969 until 2016. The organisation operated under the name Centro from 1990, and was publicly branded as Network West Midlands from 2005.

The inaugural West Midlands mayoral election was held on 4 May 2017 to elect the Mayor of the West Midlands, with subsequent elections to be held every four years from May 2020. The election took place alongside five elections for English metro mayors and other local elections, and ahead of the general election on 8 June 2017.

The Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership is a local enterprise partnership which seeks to help with economic growth and future plans around the Black Country in the West Midlands County, England. The partnership is shared around the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, Walsall Metropolitan Borough and the city of Wolverhampton. These are also part of the West Midlands Conurbation, along with Birmingham and Solihull, as well as Coventry, although this is not part of the conurbation but rather the county. The partnership is also the only partnership to adopt the historic Black Country name as the country is only recognized by the Black Country Flag and its history in industrial.

References

1 2 "2011 Census - Built-up areas". ONS . Retrieved 4 July 2013.
↑ Fothergill, Stephen; Gudgin, Graham (1985), "Ideology and methods in industrial location research", in Massey, Doreen; Meegan, Richard (eds.), Politics and Method: Contrasting Studies in Industrial Geography, London: Taylor & Francis, p. 89, ISBN 978-0203974551 , retrieved 6 October 2013
↑ 143 (West Midlands) Brigade, British Army, 2013, retrieved 6 October 2013
↑ Goode, David (2010), "Planning for Nature in Towns and Cities", in Douglas, Ian; Goode, David; Houck, Mike; Wang, Rusong (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology, London: Routledge, p. 86, ISBN 978-0203839263 , retrieved 6 October 2013
↑ Wells, John C. (1982), "Accents of English 2: The British Isles", Accents of English 2: The British Isles, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 350, ISBN 978-0521285407 , retrieved 9 October 2013
↑ Way, J.M. (1976), Grassed and Planted Areas by Motorways (PDF), Huntingdon: The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, p. 8, ISBN 978-0521285407 , retrieved 9 October 2013
↑ Wise, M.J. (1972), "The Birmingham-Black Country Conurbation in its Regional Setting", Geography Vol 57, number 2, vol. 57, Geographical Association, pp. 89–104, JSTOR 40568059
↑ Whitehead, Mark (2007), Spaces of Sustainability: Geographical Perspectives on the Sustainable Society, Routledge, p. 155, ISBN 978-0203004098 , retrieved 6 October 2013
↑ "2001 census: Key Statistics for Urban Areas". ONS. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
↑ "1991 Census: West Midlands Urban Area". ONS. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
↑ "1981 Key Statistics for Urban Areas: The Midlands Table 1". Office for National Statistics. 1981.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links

Office for National Statistics (2004), Key Statistics for urban areas in the Midlands (PDF), London: TSO Laid before Parliament pursuant to Section 4(1) Census Act 1920 Census 2001, retrieved 10 April 2013

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[BUA2011-1] 1 2 "2011 Census - Built-up areas". ONS . Retrieved 4 July 2013.

[2] Fothergill, Stephen; Gudgin, Graham (1985), "Ideology and methods in industrial location research", in Massey, Doreen; Meegan, Richard (eds.), Politics and Method: Contrasting Studies in Industrial Geography, London: Taylor & Francis, p. 89, ISBN 978-0203974551 , retrieved 6 October 2013

[3] 143 (West Midlands) Brigade, British Army, 2013, retrieved 6 October 2013

[4] Goode, David (2010), "Planning for Nature in Towns and Cities", in Douglas, Ian; Goode, David; Houck, Mike; Wang, Rusong (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology, London: Routledge, p. 86, ISBN 978-0203839263 , retrieved 6 October 2013

[5] Wells, John C. (1982), "Accents of English 2: The British Isles", Accents of English 2: The British Isles, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 350, ISBN 978-0521285407 , retrieved 9 October 2013

[6] Way, J.M. (1976), Grassed and Planted Areas by Motorways (PDF), Huntingdon: The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, p. 8, ISBN 978-0521285407 , retrieved 9 October 2013

[7] Wise, M.J. (1972), "The Birmingham-Black Country Conurbation in its Regional Setting", Geography Vol 57, number 2, vol. 57, Geographical Association, pp. 89–104, JSTOR 40568059

[8] Whitehead, Mark (2007), Spaces of Sustainability: Geographical Perspectives on the Sustainable Society, Routledge, p. 155, ISBN 978-0203004098 , retrieved 6 October 2013

[9] "2001 census: Key Statistics for Urban Areas". ONS. Retrieved 10 April 2013.

[10] "1991 Census: West Midlands Urban Area". ONS. Retrieved 10 April 2013.

[11] "1981 Key Statistics for Urban Areas: The Midlands Table 1". Office for National Statistics. 1981.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

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