Sandwell is a

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropoli ...

of the West Midlands county in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The borough is named after the

Sandwell Priory Sandwell Priory was a small medieval Benedictine monastery, near West Bromwich, then part of Staffordshire, England. It was founded in the late 12th century by a local landowner and was only modestly endowed. It had a fairly turbulent history and ...

, and spans a densely populated part of the

West Midlands conurbation The West Midlands conurbation is the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the towns of Sutton Coldfield, Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge and Halesowen in the English West ...

. According to

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council was created in 1974 to administer the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands county of England. The council offices are located at the Council House, Freeth Street, Oldbury tow ...

, the borough comprises the six amalgamated towns of Oldbury,

Rowley Regis Rowley Regis ( ) is a town and former municipal borough in Sandwell in the county of the West Midlands, England. It encompasses the three Sandwell council wards of Blackheath, Cradley Heath and Old Hill, and Rowley. At the 2011 census, the com ...

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bu ...

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of ...

, and

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography ...

, although these places consist of numerous smaller settlements and localities. Sandwell's Strategic Town Centre is designated as West Bromwich, the largest town in the borough, while Sandwell Council House (the headquarters of the local authority) is situated in Oldbury. In 2019 Sandwell was ranked 12th most deprived of England's 317 boroughs. Bordering Sandwell is the

City of Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

to the east, the

Metropolitan Borough of Dudley The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stou ...

to the south and west, the

Metropolitan Borough of Walsall 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 ...

to the north, and the

City of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians" ...

to the north-west. Spanning the borough are the parliamentary constituencies of

West Bromwich West West Bromwich West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Shaun Bailey, a member of the Conservative Party. Members of Parliament Constituency profile Wednesbury and Tipton are economic cen ...

West Bromwich East West Bromwich East is a constituency that is represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Nicola Richards of the Conservative Party, who was first elected at the 2019 United Kingdom general election. Members of Parliament ...

, Warley, and part of

Halesowen and Rowley Regis Halesowen and Rowley Regis is a constituency in the West Midlands represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by James Morris, a Conservative. Members of Parliament Boundaries Halesowen and Rowley Regis straddl ...

, which crosses into the Dudley borough. At the 2011 census, the borough had a population of 309,000 and an area of .

History and culture

The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell was formed on 1 April 1974 as an

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal ** Pan am ...

of the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent t ...

s of Warley ( ceremonially within Worcestershire) and

(ceremonially within Staffordshire), under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. Warley had been formed in 1966 by a merger of the

of Smethwick with the

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in ...

s of Rowley Regis and Oldbury; at the same time, West Bromwich had absorbed the boroughs of Tipton and Wednesbury. For its first 12 years of existence, Sandwell had a two-tier system of local government; Sandwell Council shared power with the

West Midlands County Council West Midlands County Council (WMCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for the West Midlands county, a metropolitan county in England. History The WMCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 19 ...

. In 1986 the county council was abolished, and Sandwell effectively became a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governme ...

. The borough is divided into 24

Wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

and is represented by 72 ward

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s on the borough council. The borough was named after Sandwell Priory, the ruins of which are located in

Sandwell Valley Sandwell Valley is an area of green belt in the county of West Midlands, England, on the border of Birmingham and West Bromwich, with Walsall at its northern end. It is a valley on the River Tame of which are owned by Sandwell Metropolitan B ...

. The local council has considered changing its name in the past over confusion outside the West Midlands as to the whereabouts of the borough, and in June 2002 a survey of borough residents was carried out. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed favoured retaining the name Sandwell. Landmarks and attractions in Sandwell include

Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery is a purpose-built Victorian art gallery in Wednesbury in the West Midlands of England. It is notable for its Ruskin Pottery collection and for hosting the first public display of the Stuckism art movement. B ...

Bishop Asbury Cottage Bishop Asbury Cottage () is a 17th-century cottage on Newton Road, Great Barr, England, known for being the boyhood home of Francis Asbury (1745 – 1816), one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church (now The United Methodist ...

West Bromwich Manor House Bromwich Hall - The Manor House Museum is an important, Grade I listed, medieval domestic building (a hall house) built by Richard de Marnham around 1270 as the centre of his agricultural estate in West Bromwich. Only the Great Hall survives o ...

Oak House, West Bromwich The Oak House is a timber framed building dating from the sixteenth century located in Greets Green, West Bromwich, England. The original owners of Oak House are not known, but the family most closely associated with it are the Turtons who wer ...

, and

Sandwell Valley Country Park Sandwell Valley Country Park is a country park, run by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, in Sandwell Valley, on the River Tame in the middle of the urban conurbation between Birmingham and West Bromwich in West Midlands, England. Locati ...

. It is also the home of

West Bromwich Albion F.C. West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has p ...

Sandwell used to be a popular hotspot for car cruising. In 2015 a High Court order was introduced to ban car cruising in the area. An extension has been secured to run until at least 2021.

Demographics

Religion 2021

Politics

Since the council election in 2021, the political composition of the council has been as follows: From the borough's creation in 1974 until 2010, all

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members oft ...

(MPs) within its boundaries were Labour. However, in the 2010 general election, Conservative party candidate James Morris was elected to the

seat which incorporates the Sandwell communities of

, Blackheath and

Cradley Heath Cradley Heath is a town in the Rowley Regis area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England approximately north-west of Halesowen, south of Dudley and west of central Birmingham. Cradley Heath is often confused with the ...

, and the neighbouring area of

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of West Midlands, England. Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, the town is around from Birmingham city centre, and fro ...

which is situated within Dudley's borders. This was the very first time any part of Sandwell had elected a Conservative MP – or indeed an MP from any party other than Labour. In the December 2019 general election, however, Conservative candidates

Nicola Richards Nicola Faye Richards (born 19 December 1994) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich East since the 2019 general election. She is a member of the Conservative Party. Early life and career Ric ...

and

Shaun Bailey Shaun Bailey may refer to: * Shaun Bailey, Baron Bailey of Paddington (born 1971), member of the London Assembly, life peer, and former journalist * Shaun Bailey (West Bromwich MP) (born 1992), British Conservative politician * Shaun Bailey (cricket ...

were elected to represent

and

respectively. This was the first time since the borough's creation that

has returned any Conservative MPs to Parliament, and the first time that a constituency fully within the boundaries of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council has been represented by a Tory MP. The election of both Richards and Bailey has been marked as a significant milestone in the political history of the borough and marked the end to decades of control by Labour MPs.

Wards

The Sandwell Borough is divided into 24

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and distr ...

, with each one represented by 3 councillors on the borough council: Central Campus, Sandwell College, West Bromwich

Education

Sandwell is home to nearly 100 primary schools, 25 secondary schools, 4 special schools and 1 college. The sole

further education college Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

in the borough,

Sandwell College Sandwell College is the only College of Further Education in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It predominantly serves Sandwell, West Birmingham and adjacent areas of Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Following seven years of growth in student ...

was opened in September 1986 following the merger of

Warley College Warley College, originally called Warley College of Technology, was a college of further and higher education which served the vicinity of Oldbury in the West Midlands of England. It was formed in 1968 by the amalgamation of Oldbury College of ...

and West Bromwich College. It was originally 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 2012. In 2004, a debt-ridden Sandwell College was subject to a police investigation.

Localities

The six towns that comprise Sandwell and localities within each include: ** Oldbury ***

Brandhall Brandhall is a suburb of Oldbury in the south of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, bordering Birmingham and Halesowen. The development of the area commenced during the 1930s with the construction of several hundred private h ...

*** Langley Green ***

Oakham Oakham is the county town of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, east of Leicester, south-east of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. It had a population of 10,922 in the 2011 census, estimated at 11,191 in 2019. Oakham is to the west ...

*** Rood End **

*** Blackheath ***

***

Old Hill Old Hill is a small village in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands, England, situated around north of Halesowen and south of Dudley. Initially a separate village it is now part of the much larger West Midlands conurba ...

***

Tividale Tividale is a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands. It straddles the borders of the towns of Dudley, Tipton, Oldbury. History Tividale Park has been known as Derygate (Deer Gate) Park; it can be traced back as ...

***Albion Estate *** Black Patch & Soho *** Bearwood ***

Cape Hill Cape Hill is an area in Smethwick, Sandwell, West Midlands. It is centred on the road of the same name and includes the adjoining streets. Cape Hill starts at Waterloo Road near Shireland Collegiate Academy and ends at the High Street near Victori ...

*** Londonderry ***North Smethwick ***

Uplands Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

*** West Smethwick **

***

Dudley Port Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Worcestershire, t ...

*** Great Bridge ***

Horseley Heath Horseley Heath is a residential area of Tipton, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated around the main A461 road which links the major townships of Dudley and Walsall, and stands on the banks of the River Tame. Tipton was one of the mos ...

***

Ocker Hill Ocker Hill is a residential area of Tipton in the West Midlands of England. Details It is situated in the northern part of the town, on the main A461 road between Dudley and Wednesbury. The area was first developed during the first half of the ...

***

Princes End Princes End is an area of Tipton, West Midlands, England, near the border with Coseley (of which approximately half of the area was part of until 1966), which was heavily developed during the 19th century with the construction of factories. ...

*** Summer Hill *

***

Charlemont and Grove Vale Charlemont with Grove Vale is a political ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the English Midlands constituency of West Bromwich East. This Sandwell ward population as taken at the 2011 census was 11,964. The ward is made up o ...

***

Great Barr Great Barr is now a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as Perry Barr, which is still the name of an adjacent Birm ...

(although some areas are part of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

) ***

Guns Village A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, ...

*** Hamstead ***

Hill Top A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

***

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

***

Stone Cross Stone crosses (german: Steinkreuze) in Central Europe are usually bulky Christian monuments, some high and wide, that were almost always hewn from a single block of stone, usually granite, sandstone, limestone or basalt. They are amongst ...

***

Yew Tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus ...

***

Greets Green Greets Green (usually pronounced 'Grits Green') is a residential area of West Bromwich in the West Midlands of England. The appropriate Sandwell ward is called Greets Green and Lyng. The population taken at the 2011 census was 11,769. It was most ...

***

Hateley Heath Hateley Heath is a residential area of West Bromwich, West Midlands.The population of the Sandwell ward taken at the 2011 census was 14,227. History Although the first major housing developments around Hateley Heath took place in the Heath Lane ...

***

Friar Park Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, built in 1889. It was originally owned by eccentric lawyer Sir Frank Crisp and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatle George Harrison. ...

Local places of interest

The Public, West Bromwich The Public was a multi-purpose venue and art gallery in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, at the forefront of a regional regeneration programme which was – by late 2013– to also bring Europe's biggest Tesco, a multiplex cinema, restau ...

Sandwell Aquatics Centre Sandwell Aquatics Centre is an indoor facility located in Londonderry, Smethwick, West Midlands, England. It contains an Olympic-size swimming pool (one of only two in the West Midlands region), a 10-metre diving board with 25 metre pool (the on ...

* RSPB Sandwell Valley *

Sheepwash Urban Park Sheepwash Urban Park is a Local Nature Reserve (LNR), situated in Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, in the West Midlands conurbation of the United Kingdom. It forms part of the Black Country Urban Forest. Location The park is located to the sout ...

The Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of Championship club West Bromwich Albion since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the clu ...

Sandwell General Hospital Sandwell General Hospital is an acute teaching hospital of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust in West Bromwich, England and provides an extensive range of general and specialist hospital services. History The hospital start ...

Holly Lodge High School Holly Lodge High School College of Science is a secondary school located in Smethwick, West Midlands, England. Admissions It is located on Holly Lane on the middle point between Smethwick and Oldbury, near West Smethwick Park and West Park R ...

Warley Woods

Twin towns and cities

Sandwell is twinned with: *

Le Blanc Mesnil () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris, between Charles de Gaulle Airport and le Bourget Airport. Name The name Le Blanc-Mesnil was recorded for the first time in the 11th centu ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Maj ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

* Zalau,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

References

External links

Sandwell MBCResearch SandwellSandwell Trends – a Local Intelligence System for SandwellSandwell Building Schools for the FutureSandwell Lions Club
{{Authority control Metropolitan boroughs of the West Midlands (county) NUTS 3 statistical regions of the United Kingdom Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership