Sandwell
| Borough of Sandwell | |
|---|---|
 .svg) |
|
| status | Metropolitan Borough |
| region | West Midlands |
| Ceremony county | West Midlands |
| Trad. county | Staffordshire |
| Administrative headquarters | Oldbury |
| surface | 85.58 km² |
| Residents | 327.378 |
| was standing | 2018 |
| ONS code | 00CS |
| Website | www.smbc.sandwell.gov.uk |
Sandwell is a metropolitan borough in metropolitan county West Midlands in England . The administrative seat is the city of Oldbury . By far the largest city with around 137,000 inhabitants is West Bromwich . Other significant places in the borough are Blackheath , Rowley Regis , Smethwick , Tipton and Wednesbury .
The borough lies exactly between Birmingham in the east, Wolverhampton in the northwest, Walsall in the north and Dudley in the south and west. Historically, it is located in the heart of of heavy industry and coal mining dominated the Black Country .
history
Sandwell was formed on April 1, 1974 as part of a far-reaching local government reform and was formed from the merger of the County Borough of Warley and West Bromwich, which had previously belonged to the County of Staffordshire . Because of the historical rivalry between West Bromwich and Smethwick (the center of Warley), Oldbury was chosen as the county seat.
In 1986, Sandwell became a de facto unitary authority when the central government dissolved the higher-level administration of the West Midlands . Sandwell remained part of the West Midlands for ceremonial purposes , as well as for individual higher-level functions such as police, fire services and public transport.
The county council has considered changing its name several times in the past because many outside the West Midlands do not know exactly where Sandwell is. But since no city really dominates the district, it was not possible to agree on a new name.