Sandwell

Street nameplate on Rutland Road in Smethwick in April 2007, showing painted out "County Borough" lettering.

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;[6] at the same time, West Bromwich had absorbed the boroughs of Tipton and Wednesbury.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10]

Since the council election in 2021, the political composition of the council has been as follows:[13]

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 very first time any part of Sandwell had elected a Conservative MP – or indeed an MP from any party other than Labour.[14] 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:[13]

Ward name	Area	Population (2011 census)	Population density (people per hectare)	Ref.
Abbey	211 hectares (0.81 sq mi)	11,752	55.6	[15]
Blackheath	260 hectares (1.0 sq mi)	12,292	47.3	[16]
Bristnall	231 hectares (0.89 sq mi)	12,151	52.5	[17]
Charlemont with Grove Vale	522 hectares (2.02 sq mi)	11,964	22.9	[18]
Cradley Heath and Old Hill	403 hectares (1.56 sq mi)	13,365	33.6	[19]
Friar Park	299 hectares (1.15 sq mi)	12,625	42.3	[20]
Great Barr with Yew Tree	346 hectares (1.34 sq mi)	12,597	36.4	[21]
Great Bridge	325 hectares (1.25 sq mi)	12,962	39.9	[22]
Greets Green and Lyng	412 hectares (1.59 sq mi)	11,769	28.6	[23]
Hateley Heath	309 hectares (1.19 sq mi)	14,227	46.1	[24]
Langley	290 hectares (1.1 sq mi)	12,969	44.8	[25]
Newton	276 hectares (1.07 sq mi)	11,558	41.8	[26]
Oldbury	621 hectares (2.40 sq mi)	13,606	21.9	[27]
Old Warley	267 hectares (1.03 sq mi)	11,915	44.6	[28]
Princes End	278 hectares (1.07 sq mi)	12,981	46.7	[29]
Rowley	407 hectares (1.57 sq mi)	11,784	29.0	[30]
Smethwick	222 hectares (0.86 sq mi)	14,146	63.6	[31]
Soho and Victoria	321 hectares (1.24 sq mi)	15,042	46.9	[32]
St. Pauls	437 hectares (1.69 sq mi)	14,226	32.6	[33]
Tipton Green	341 hectares (1.32 sq mi)	12,834	37.6	[34]
Tividale	291 hectares (1.12 sq mi)	12,616	43.4	[35]
Wednesbury North	352 hectares (1.36 sq mi)	12,682	36.0	[36]
Wednesbury South	485 hectares (1.87 sq mi)	12,510	25.8	[37]
West Bromwich Central	652 hectares (2.52 sq mi)	13,290	20.4	[38]

Sandwell College in West Bromwich

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.[39] 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.[39] In 2004, a debt-ridden Sandwell College was subject to a police investigation.[40]

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

• 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[41]
• Holly Lodge High School
• Warley Woods

Sandwell is twinned with:[42]

• Le Blanc Mesnil, France
• Amritsar, India
• Zalau, Romania

• Wednesbury Central railway station
• Wednesbury bus station
• Wednesbury Town railway station
• Healthcare in West Midlands

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell.

• Sandwell MBC
• Research Sandwell
• Sandwell Trends – a Local Intelligence System for Sandwell
• Sandwell Building Schools for the Future
• Sandwell Lions Club