Sandwell



Sandwell is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. According to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, the borough comprises the six towns of Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury, and West Bromwich, although these places consist of numerous smaller settlements and localities. Though West Bromwich is the largest town in the borough and its designated Strategic Town Centre, Sandwell Council House (the headquarters of the local authority) is situated in Oldbury.

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 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. The local council has considered changing its name in the past over confusion as to the whereabouts of the borough outside the West Midlands, 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, Bishop Asbury Cottage, West Bromwich Manor House, Oak House, West Bromwich, Sandwell Valley Country Park, and The Public. It is also the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C..

Politics
Most of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council's councillors are members of the Labour Party. Since the council election in 2012, the political composition of the council has been as follows:

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.

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.

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

Local places of interest

 * The Public, West Bromwich
 * 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

Twin towns and cities
Sandwell is twinned with:


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