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.
Geography
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.
Transport
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
Tewkesbury 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.
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.