Sandwell

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Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell
—  Metropolitan borough  —
Sandwell Council House in Oldbury

Coat of arms
Logo of the Borough Council
Motto: Unity and Progress
Sandwell shown within West Midlands
Sovereign state United Kingdom United Kingdom
Constituent country England England
Region West Midlands
Metropolitan county West Midlands
Status Metropolitan borough
Admin HQ Oldbury
Incorporated 1 April 1974
Government
 • Type Metropolitan district council
 • Body Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
 • Leadership Leader & Cabinet (Labour)
 • Mayor Cllr. Keith Davies[1]
 • MPs Adrian Bailey (LC)
James Morris (C)
John Spellar (L)
Tom Watson (L)
Area
 • Total 85.58 km2 (33.04 sq mi)
Area rank 233rd (of 326)
Population (2011 est.)
 • Total 309,000 (Ranked 29th)
 • Ethnicity 69.8% White
19.2% Asian
5.9% Black
3.4% Mixed Race
1.6% Other [2]
Time zone GMT (UTC0)
 • Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
Postcode B, DY
Area code(s) 0121, 01384
ISO 3166 code GB-SAW
ONS code 00CS (ONS)
E08000028 (GSS)
OS grid reference SP025895
NUTS 3 UKG37[3]
Website www.sandwell.gov.uk

Sandwell is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, with a population of around 308,100, and an area of 33 square miles (85 km2). The borough is named after Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of both the Black Country, and the West Midlands conurbation, encompassing the urban towns and villages of Blackheath, Cradley Heath, Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Tividale, Wednesbury and West Bromwich. West Bromwich is the largest town in the borough, but Sandwell Council House (the headquarters of Sandwell Council) is located in Oldbury.

The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and is an amalgamation of the former county boroughs of Warley and West Bromwich, which in turn were amalgamated from the previous boroughs of Oldbury, Rowley Regis, and Smethwick (Warley County Borough),[4] and Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich (West Bromwich County Borough).[5] For its first 12 years, Sandwell had a two-tier system of local government; Sandwell Council shared power with the West Midlands County Council.

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 Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell are the parliamentary constituencies of West Bromwich West, West Bromwich East and Warley, and part of Halesowen and Rowley Regis, which crosses into the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley.

Since 2009, there has been a petition to merge Sandwell with Birmingham. If successful, Birmingham would substantially increase in size with a combined population of over 1,300,000.[6]

Contents

History [edit]

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 a merger of the county boroughs of Warley (ceremonially within Worcestershire) and West Bromwich (ceremonially within Staffordshire). Warley had formed in 1966 by a merger of the county borough of Smethwick with the Staffordshire borough of Rowley Regis and the Worcestershire town of Oldbury (itself part of an exclave of Shropshire until the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844), as well as parts of Dudley and Tipton. West Bromwich had also been expanded in 1966 to include the bulk of the boroughs of Tipton and Wednesbury, as well as a small part of Coseley.

In 1986 the West Midlands County Council was abolished and Sandwell effectively became a unitary authority. Sandwell is divided into 24 Wards and is represented by 72 ward councillors.

West Bromwich is the largest town in Sandwell, however the council headquarters are based in Oldbury.

The borough was named after Sandwell Priory, the ruins of which are in Sandwell Valley. The local council has considered changing its name in the past, as many people outside of the West Midlands are confused as to where it is located, and in June 2002 a survey of borough residents was carried out. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed favoured retaining the name Sandwell.[7]

Sandwell College was opened in September 1986 following the merger of Warley College and West Bromwich College. It was originally currently 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 2011.

Politics [edit]

See also: Sandwell local elections

Most of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council's councillors are members of the Labour Party.[8] As of the latest election, the political make-up of the council is as follows:[9]

Party Councillors
  Labour Party 67
  Conservative Party 2
  Independent 3

From the borough's creation in 1974, all Members of Parliament (MPs) within its boundaries were Labour, but 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 is the very first time Sandwell has had a Tory MP - or indeed an MP from any party other than Labour.[10]

Wards [edit]

The Sandwell Borough is divided into 24 electoral wards, with each one represented by 3 councillors on the borough council:[9]

Ward name Area (ha)/mi2 Population
(2011 census)		 Population density (people per hectare) Ref.
Abbey 211 hectares (0.81 sq mi) 11,752 55.6 [11]
Blackheath 260 hectares (1.0 sq mi) 12,292 47.3 [12]
Bristnall 231 hectares (0.89 sq mi) 12,151 52.5 [13]
Charlemont with Grove Vale 522 hectares (2.02 sq mi) 11,964 22.9 [14]
Cradley Heath and Old Hill 403 hectares (1.56 sq mi) 13,365 33.6 [15]
Friar Park 299 hectares (1.15 sq mi) 12,625 42.3 [16]
Great Barr with Yew Tree 346 hectares (1.34 sq mi) 12,597 36.4 [17]
Great Bridge 325 hectares (1.25 sq mi) 12,962 39.9 [18]
Greets Green and Lyng 412 hectares (1.59 sq mi) 11,769 28.6 [19]
Hateley Heath 309 hectares (1.19 sq mi) 14,227 46.1 [20]
Langley 290 hectares (1.1 sq mi) 12,969 44.8 [21]
Newton 276 hectares (1.07 sq mi) 11,558 41.8 [22]
Oldbury 621 hectares (2.40 sq mi) 13,606 21.9 [23]
Old Warley 267 hectares (1.03 sq mi) 11,915 44.6 [24]
Princes End 278 hectares (1.07 sq mi) 12,981 46.7 [25]
Rowley 407 hectares (1.57 sq mi) 11,784 29.0 [26]
Smethwick 222 hectares (0.86 sq mi) 14,146 63.6 [27]
Soho and Victoria 321 hectares (1.24 sq mi) 15,042 46.9 [28]
St. Pauls 437 hectares (1.69 sq mi) 14,226 32.6 [29]
Tipton Green 341 hectares (1.32 sq mi) 12,834 37.6 [30]
Tividale 291 hectares (1.12 sq mi) 12,616 43.4 [31]
Wednesbury North 352 hectares (1.36 sq mi) 12,682 36.0 [32]
Wednesbury South 485 hectares (1.87 sq mi) 12,510 25.8 [33]
West Bromwich Central 652 hectares (2.52 sq mi) 13,290 20.4 [34]

Localities [edit]

See also List of areas in Sandwell

Localities in the borough include:

Local places of interest [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "The Mayor and Mayoress 2012 - 2013". Council and Democracy. Sandwell Council. Retrieved 20 August 2012. 
  2. ^ http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks201ew.xls
  3. ^ "NUTS by regional level". Eurostat. Retrieved 20 August 2012. 
  4. ^ "Warley CB through time". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 20 August 2012. 
  5. ^ "West Bromwich MB/CB through time". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 20 August 2012. 
  6. ^ Should Sandwell & Birmingham merge?
  7. ^ Sandwell View Point, issue no.10
  8. ^ "England council elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 29 August 2011. 
  9. ^ a b "Councillors - Sandwell Council". Sandwell MBC. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  10. ^ "Historic Tory win in Halesowen and Rowley Regis". Halesowen News. 7th May 2010. 
  11. ^ "Abbey (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  12. ^ "Blackheath (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  13. ^ "Bristnall (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  14. ^ "Charlemont with Grove Vale (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  15. ^ "Cradley Heath and Old Hill (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  16. ^ "Friar Park (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  17. ^ "Great Barr with Yew Tree (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  18. ^ "Great Bridge (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  19. ^ "Greets Green and Lyng (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  20. ^ "Hateley Heath (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  21. ^ "Langley (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  22. ^ "Newton (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  23. ^ "Oldbury (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  24. ^ "Old Warley (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  25. ^ "Princes End (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  26. ^ "Rowley (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  27. ^ "Smethwick (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  28. ^ "Soho and Victoria (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  29. ^ "St Pauls (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  30. ^ "Tipton Green (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  31. ^ "Tividale (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  32. ^ "Wednesbury North (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  33. ^ "Wednesbury South (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  34. ^ "West Bromwich Central (Ward) - Population Density". Neighbourhood Statistics. ONS. Retrieved 22nd February 2013. 
  35. ^ http://www.sandwell.ac.uk/

External links [edit]

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Coordinates: 52°30′19″N 2°1′2″W / 52.50528°N 2.01722°W / 52.50528; -2.01722

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