Sandwell

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.

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

At the 2011 census, the borough had a population of 309,000 and an area of 86 sqkm.

History and culture
The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell was formed on 1 April 1974 as an amalgamation of the county boroughs of Warley (ceremonially within Worcestershire) and West Bromwich (ceremonially within Staffordshire), under the Local Government Act 1972. Warley had been formed in 1966 by a merger of the county borough of Smethwick with the municipal boroughs 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. In 1986 the county council was abolished, and Sandwell effectively became a unitary authority. The borough is divided into 24 wards and is represented by 72 ward councillors on the borough council.

The borough was named after Sandwell Priory, the ruins of which are located in Sandwell Valley. Gaining widespread acceptance for the identity of Sandwell and unifying the distinct communities within the borough has been a protracted affair. The local council has considered changing its name over confusion outside the West Midlands as to the whereabouts of the borough. A survey of borough residents in June 2002 found that 65 per cent of respondents favoured retaining the name.

Landmarks and attractions in Sandwell include Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery, Bishop Asbury Cottage, West Bromwich Manor House, Oak House, West Bromwich, and Sandwell Valley Country Park. It is also the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C.

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.

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 (MPs) within its boundaries were Labour. However, 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 was the 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 and Shaun Bailey were elected to represent West Bromwich East and West Bromwich West respectively. This was the first time since the borough's creation that West Bromwich 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, with each one represented by 3 councillors on the borough council:



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

The sole further education college in the borough, Sandwell College was opened in September 1986 following the merger of Warley College 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.

Television
The area is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central with television signals are received from the Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter.

Radio
Radio stations for the area are:

BBC Local Radio

 * BBC Radio WM

Independent Radio

 * Heart West Midlands
 * Smooth West Midlands
 * Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands
 * Capital Midlands
 * Free Radio Birmingham
 * Free Radio Black Country & Shropshire

Community Radio

 * Black Country Radio

Newspapers
Local newspapers for the area are:
 * Express & Star
 * Oldbury Weekly News
 * Smethwick Telephone
 * Tipton Herald
 * Wednesbury Herald
 * West Bromwich Chronicle

Notable people

 * See Category:People from Sandwell (district)

Localities
The six towns that comprise Sandwell and localities within each include:
 * Oldbury
 * Brandhall
 * Langley Green
 * Oakham
 * Rood End
 * Rowley Regis
 * Blackheath
 * Cradley Heath
 * Old Hill
 * Tividale
 * Smethwick
 * Albion Estate
 * Black Patch & Soho
 * Bearwood
 * Cape Hill
 * Londonderry
 * North Smethwick
 * Uplands
 * West Smethwick
 * Tipton
 * Dudley Port
 * Great Bridge
 * Horseley Heath
 * Ocker Hill
 * Princes End
 * Summer Hill
 * West Bromwich
 * Charlemont and Grove Vale
 * Great Barr (although some areas are part of Birmingham and Walsall)
 * Guns Village
 * Hamstead
 * Hill Top
 * Newton
 * Stone Cross
 * Yew Tree
 * Greets Green
 * Hateley Heath
 * Wednesbury
 * Friar Park

Local places of interest

 * The Public, West Bromwich
 * Sandwell Aquatics Centre
 * Sandwell Priory
 * Sandwell Valley
 * Sandwell Valley Country Park
 * RSPB Sandwell Valley
 * Sheepwash Urban Park
 * The Hawthorns
 * Sandwell General Hospital
 * Sandwell College
 * Holly Lodge High School
 * Warley Woods

Twin towns and cities
Sandwell is twinned with:


 * 🇫🇷 Le Blanc Mesnil, France
 * 🇮🇳 Amritsar, India
 * Zalau, Romania