West Midlands (region)

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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	£17,161 (7th)
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.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Transport 1.1.1 Road 1.1.2 Transport policy 1.2 Towns and cities 2 Regional Assembly 3 Demographics 4 Local government 4.1 Demography 5 Economy 5.1 Herefordshire 5.2 Shropshire 5.3 Staffordshire 5.4 Warwickshire 5.5 West Midlands conurbation 5.6 Worcestershire 6 Education 6.1 School league tables 6.2 Universities 7 Local media 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Geography

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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

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] Transport policy

As part of the transport planning system the Regional Assembly is under statutory requirement to produce a Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) to provide long term planning for transport in the region. This involves region wide transport schemes such as those carried out by the Highways Agency and Network Rail.^[1]

Within the region the local transport authorities carry out transport planning through the use of a Local Transport Plan (LTP) which outlines their strategies, policies and implementation programme.^[2] The most recent LTP is that for the period 2006-11. In the West Midlands region the following transport authorities have published their LTP online: Herefordshire^[3], Shropshire U.A.^[4], Staffordshire^[5], Telford and Wrekin U.A.^[6], Warwickshire^[7], West Midlands (county)^[8] and Worcestershire^[9]. The transport authority of Stoke-on-Trent U.A. publishes a Joint Local Transport Plan in partnership with Staffordshire County Council to cover the North Staffordshire Major Urban Area, which includes Stoke-on-Trent and the more urban parts of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands.^[10]

[edit] Towns and cities

Bold indicates city status.

Major towns and cities in the West Midlands region include ^[11]:

Population > 750,000 Birmingham, WMS Population > 250,000 Coventry, WMS Stoke-on-Trent, STS Wolverhampton, WMS Population > 100,000 Dudley, WMS Walsall, WMS Telford, SHR West Bromwich, WMS Sutton Coldfield, WMS Population > 70,000 Newcastle-under-Lyme, STS Nuneaton, WAR Redditch, WOR Shrewsbury, SHR Solihull, WMS Tamworth, STS Worcester, WOR

Population > 50,000 Burton-upon-Trent, STS Cannock, STS Halesowen, STS Hereford, HER Kidderminster, WOR Rugby, WAR Stafford, STS Stourbridge, WMS Other Notable Leamington Spa, WAR Leek, STS Lichfield, STS Stratford-upon-Avon, WAR Warwick, WAR

[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 U.A.
	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	Shropshire (290,900)	Telford (138,241)
Herefordshire	177,800	82/km²	N/A[12]	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

[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 UK (petrol), National Grid plc, Calor, Volvo Group UK and a large data centre of 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 as is AGCO Limited UK, who own Massey Ferguson; the large factory at Coventry closed in 2002. 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, Nationwide Autocentres, and Enterprise Inns are in Solihull. Carillion and Tarmac are in Wolverhampton, with Poundland in Willenhall. Hampson Industries is in Brierley Hill.

[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. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)

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:

• 1. King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Kings Heath (1189)
• 2. Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls
• 3. King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, Kings Heath
• 4. King Edward VI School Stratford-upon-Avon
• 5. King Edward VI Five Ways, Bartley Green
• 6. King Edward VI Handsworth
• 7. Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall
• 8. Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls
• 9. Newport Girls High School
• 10. King Edward VI College, Stourbridge
• 11. King Edward VI Aston
• 12. Wolverhampton Girls' High School
• 13. Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield
• 14. Thomas Telford School, Telford
• 15. Queen Mary's High School, Walsall
• 16. Adams' Grammar School, Newport, Shropshire
• 17. Hereford Sixth Form College
• 18. St. Joseph's College, Stoke-on-Trent
• 19. Rugby High School for Girls
• 20. Moorlands Sixth Form College, Cheadle, Staffordshire (935)

[edit] Universities

There are nine universities in the region:

• Aston University, 8,915 students
• Coventry University, 19,495 students
• Keele University, 12,720 students
• Staffordshire University, 15,200 students
• Birmingham City University, 25,010 students
• University of Warwick, Coventry 30,380 students
• University of Birmingham, 30,725 students
• University of Wolverhampton, 24,020 students
• University of Worcester, 7,655 students

There are also three university colleges:

• Harper Adams University College, 2,200 students
• Newman University College, 2,600 students
• University College Birmingham, 13,970 students

[edit] Local media

• The West Midlands region of the BBC is based at the Mailbox in Birmingham. From there, the regional programme Midlands Today is produced. ITV Central broadcasts from Birmingham, with its Central Tonight regional programme.
• BBC Radios WM, Coventry & Warwickshire, Stoke, Hereford & Worcester and Shropshire.
• Commercial radio stations: BRMB, Beacon Radio in Wolverhampton, Mercia FM in Coventry, Touch FM (Burton, Lichfield and Tamworth) in Tamworth, Touch FM (Coventry), Touch FM (Stratford-upon-Avon), Kerrang! 105.2 in Birmingham, Galaxy Birmingham, Smooth Radio 105.7 in Birmingham, 107.1 Rugby FM, The Severn (north Shropshire), 107.2 The Wyre in Kidderminster, 107.7 The Wolf in Wolverhampton, Wyvern FM in Worcester, 100.7 Heart FM in Birmingham, and Signal 1 from Stoke.
• Newspapers - the Birmingham Post, Birmingham Mail, Express & Star in Wolverhampton, Burton Mail, Shropshire Star, Worcester News, The Sentinel in Stoke-on-Trent and Coventry Evening Telegraph.
• Websites - Channel 4's 4Talent network has a hub in the West Midlands dealing with rising media talent from the region: [1]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Advantage West Midlands - Regional Development Agency
• Government Office for the West Midlands
• West Midlands Regional Assembly
• Government's list of councils in the West Midlands
• MLA West Midlands - Museums, Libraries and Archives Regional Agency
• NHS West Midlands - The regional Strategic Health Authority for the West Midlands
• West Midlands NO! - campaign against regional government in the West Midlands

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: West Midlands

v • d • e The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland England • Wales • Scotland • Northern Ireland Regions of England: East of England • East Midlands • London • North East • North West • South East • South West • West Midlands • Yorkshire and the Humber

v • d • e Districts of the West Midlands Region Birmingham · Bromsgrove · Cannock Chase · Coventry · Dudley · East Staffordshire · Herefordshire · Lichfield · Malvern Hills · Newcastle-under-Lyme · North Warwickshire · Nuneaton and Bedworth · Redditch · Rugby · Sandwell · Shropshire · Solihull · South Staffordshire · Stafford · Staffordshire Moorlands · Stoke-on-Trent · Stratford-on-Avon · Tamworth · Telford and Wrekin · Walsall · Warwick · Wolverhampton · Worcester · Wychavon · Wyre Forest Counties with multiple districts: Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire