West Midlands (region)

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West Midlands
West Midlands
West Midlands region shown within England
Geography
Status Region
Area
— Total		 Ranked 7th
13,004 km²
5,020 sq mi
NUTS 1 UKG
Demographics
Population
— Total
— Density		 Ranked 5th
5,267,337 (2001)
405/km²
GDP per capita £15,257 (5th)
Government
HQ Birmingham
Assembly
— Type		 West Midlands
not directly elected
Regional development Advantage West Midlands
European parliament West Midlands
Website

The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley, Solihull, Walsall and West Bromwich. The city of Coventry is also located within the West Midlands county, but is separated from the conurbation to the west by several miles of green belt.

The region is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of the conurbation to the rural western counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire which border Wales. The longest river in the UK, the River Severn, traverses the region southeastwards, flowing through the county towns of Shrewsbury and Worcester, and the Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Staffordshire is home to the industrialised Potteries conurbation, including the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the Staffordshire Moorlands area, which borders the southeastern Peak District National Park near Leek. The region also encompasses five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Warwickshire is home to the town of Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of poet William Shakespeare.

It is not to be confused with the West Midlands county which has covered the most densely populated parts of the region since its creation in 1974 from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The boroughs of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell, Solihull and Coventry form the West Midlands county.

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[edit] Geography

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Rural Shropshire, Lyth Hill.

The official region contains the large conurbation that includes Birmingham and Wolverhampton, but also covers the predominantly rural shire counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

Unofficially the West Midlands region also spreads as far as Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, but these are not part of the official region.

There is some confusion in the use of the term "West Midlands", as the name is also used for the much smaller West Midlands county, and is still used by various organisations within that area such as West Midlands Police and West Midlands Fire Service.

The highest point in the region is Black Mountain, at 703 metres (2,307 ft) in west Herefordshire on the border with Powys, Wales.

The region contains five Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), including all of the Shropshire Hills, Malvern Hills and Cannock Chase, and parts of the Wye Valley and Cotswolds. The Peak District national park also stretches into the northern corner of Staffordshire.

[edit] Transport

[edit] Road

The M6 Toll plaza.

Numerous notable roads pass through the region, with most converging around the central conurbation. The M5, which connects South West England to the region, passes through Worcestershire, near to Worcester, and through the West Midlands county, past West Bromwich, with its northern terminus at its junction with the M6 just south of Walsall. The M6, which has its southern terminus just outside the southeast of the region at its junction with the M1, and which connects the region to North West England, passes Rugby and Nuneaton in Warwickshire, Coventry and Birmingham, and Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. The M6 toll provides an alternative route to the M6 between Coleshill and Cannock, passing north of Sutton Coldfield and just south of Lichfield. The M40 connects the region through South East England to London, with its northern terminus at its junction with the M42; it passes close to Warwick and Banbury. The M42 connects the M5 at Bromsgrove, passing around the south and east of Birmingham, joining the M40 and M6, passing Solihull and Castle Bromwich, to Tamworth, northeast of Birmingham. The M50 connects the M5 from near Tewksbury to Ross-on-Wye in the southwest. The M54 connects Wellington in the west, passing Telford, to the M6 near Cannock. The A5 road traverses the region northwest-southeast, passing through Shrewsbury, Cannock, Tamworth and Nuneaton.

[edit] Towns and cities

A map of the West Midlands region, showing Towns/Cities in Red, Motorways in Blue, AONBs in Light Green and National Parks in Dark Green.
Bold indicates city status.

Major towns and cities in the West Midlands region include [1]:

Population > 750,000

Population > 250,000

Population > 100,000

Population > 70,000

Population > 50,000

Other Notable

[edit] Regional Assembly

The official representative body of the region is the West Midlands Regional Assembly which has limited administrative functions such as regional planning and economic development. The assembly is not an elected body, but is made up of members appointed from local councils across the region, and members from regional interest groups such as business and environmental groups and trade unions, known as a quango. It is based on Edward Street in Birmingham, near the National Indoor Arena.

[edit] Demographics

For top-tier authorities in the West Midlands, Stoke on Trent has the highest teenage pregnancy rate. For council districts, Nuneaton and Bedworth in Warwickshire has the highest rate closely followed by Tamworth. For top-tier authorities, Shropshire has the lowest rate, and for council districts Malvern Hills has the lowest rate.

[edit] Local government

The official region consists of the following subdivisions:

Ceremonial county County/ unitary Districts
Herefordshire
Shropshire Shropshire † a.) Bridgnorth, b.) North Shropshire, c.) Oswestry, d.) Shrewsbury and Atcham, e.) South Shropshire
Telford and Wrekin U.A.
Staffordshire Staffordshire † a.) Cannock Chase, b.) East Staffordshire, c.) Lichfield, d.) Newcastle-under-Lyme, e.) South Staffordshire, f.) Stafford, g.) Staffordshire Moorlands, h.) Tamworth
Stoke-on-Trent U.A.
Warwickshire † a.) North Warwickshire, b.) Nuneaton and Bedworth, c.) Rugby, d.) Stratford-on-Avon, e.) Warwick
West Midlands * a.) Birmingham, b.) Coventry, c.) Dudley, d.) Sandwell, e.) Solihull, f.) Walsall, g.) Wolverhampton
Worcestershire † a.) Bromsgrove, b.) Malvern Hills, c.) Redditch, d.) Worcester, e.) Wychavon, f.) Wyre Forest

Key: shire county = † | metropolitan county = *

[edit] Demography

Ceremonial County Population Population Density Largest local authority Largest settlement
West Midlands (region) 5,267,337 405/km² Birmingham (1,006,500) Birmingham (970,892)
West Midlands (county) 2,600,100 2,884/km² Birmingham (1,006,500) Birmingham (970,892)
Staffordshire 1,062,500 391/km² Stoke-on-Trent (240,636) Stoke-on-Trent (259,252)
Worcestershire 552,900 318/km² Wychavon (116,300) Worcester (93,400)
Warwickshire 522,200 264/km² Warwick (132,900) Nuneaton (70,721)
Shropshire 451,100 129/km² Telford & Wrekin (161,900) Telford (138,241)
Herefordshire 177,800 82/km² N/A[2] Hereford (50,400)

The West Midlands' population accounts for almost 11% of England's overall population. 49.36% of the region's population resides in the West Midlands county, 20.17% in Staffordshire, 10.49% in Worcestershire, 9.91% in Warwickshire, 8.56% in Shropshire, and 3.37% in Herefordshire.

[edit] Economy

Urban Birmingham, Centenary Square.

[edit] Herefordshire

Bulmers Cider is in Hereford.

[edit] Shropshire

Müller Dairy Ltd is based in Market Drayton. The PDSA is based in Telford. The MoD have a significant depot at Donnington.

[edit] Staffordshire

The brewing companies such as Coors Brewers are in Burton on Trent, as well as Marmite, Marston's, and Punch Taverns. JCB is based in Staffordshire. Michelin Tyres are made in Sideway in Stoke-on-Trent, with Royal Doulton and Wedgwood based in Barlaston. RoadChef are at Norton Canes, near Cannock. Armitage Shanks is in Rugeley. Areva T&D (UK) (formerly owned by Alstom) is based in Stafford as well as a factory of Bostik.

[edit] Warwickshire

ConocoPhillips UK, JET (petrol), Calor, Volvo Group UK and IBM are in Warwick. BMW have their main European four-cylinder engine plant at Hams Hall near the M42. Codemasters is in Leamington Spa. ALDI UK is in Atherstone. Holland & Barrett, the health food chain, and Adams Childrenswear are based in Nuneaton. Aston Martin and Land Rover have their headquarters in Gaydon. Morgan Est is in Rugby. NFU Mutual is in Tiddington near Stratford and the NFU is in Stoneleigh. The British Horse Society is in Kenilworth.

[edit] West Midlands conurbation

Nationally famous companies in the West Midlands include Cadbury's in Bournville, Birmingham. Mitchells and Butlers, the pub chain company, CrossCountry, and National Express are in Birmingham. Small-scale production of MG cars was started again by Nanjing Automobile Group on part of the former MG Rover Group site at Longbridge in 2008. H. Samuel, the jewellers, is in Hockley of the Jewellery Quarter. RoSPA is based in Edgbaston, Dollond & Aitchison are in Aston, Goodyear Tyres and Dunlop Tyres are in Erdington, and Severn Trent (water) in Sheldon. AGA Consumer Products Ltd is in Shirley. Daihatsu UK is in West Bromwich. E.ON UK (former Powergen), Jaguar Cars and Volvo Cars UK, Peugeot UK (head office), Jewson, the Learning and Skills Council, and Thomson Holidays are in Coventry. The main Land Rover factory and Enterprise Inns are in Solihull. Carillion and Tarmac are in Wolverhampton, with Poundland in Willenhall.

[edit] Worcestershire

Halfords and GKN are in Redditch. Lea & Perrins is in Worcester.

[edit] Education

 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)
King Edward VI Aston School
Adams' Grammar School
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College

Birmingham (8), Walsall (2), Wolverhampton (1), Warwickshire (6), Stoke on Trent (1), and Telford and Wrekin (2) have selective schools. The other counties or metropolitan boroughs do not—being completely comprehensive. Virtually all of the grammar schools are in the top twenty schools for the West Midlands. Competition for these schools can be high, with their excellent records. At GCSE, the best performing area is Solihull, followed closely by Shropshire. Herefordshire is also above the England average. The worst performing area is Sandwell, followed by Stoke-on-Trent. Wolverhampton and Walsall also do not perform well. For a metropolitan borough, Dudley performs higher than many in Birmingham. At A level, the best performing area is Herefordshire, followed by Shropshire. All the other areas of the West Midlands perform under the UK average. Solihull does not perform as well at A level as it does at GCSE.

[edit] School league tables

Below is a list of the top twenty state schools in the West Midlands by 2008 A level results:

[edit] Universities

University of Birmingham
University of Warwick

There are nine universities in the region:

There are also three university colleges:

[edit] Local media

[edit] References

  1. ^ Office for National Statistics - Key Statistics for Urban Areas Population data
  2. ^ County of Hereford forms single local government unit (Unitary Authority)

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: West Midlands
v • d • e
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
v • d • e
Districts of the West Midlands Region
Counties with multiple districts: Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Midlands_(region)"
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