Уолсолл: административное деление и социально-экономический обзор

the individual settlement

The Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Darlaston, Pelsall and Willenhall. The borough had an estimated population of 254,500 in 2007. The borough was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It is bounded on the west by the City of Wolverhampton, the south by the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, to the south east by the City of Birmingham, and by the Staffordshire districts of Lichfield, Cannock Chase and South Staffordshire to the east, north and northwest respectively. Most of the borough is highly industrialised and densely populated, but areas around the north and east of the borough are open space.

The residents of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall are represented in the British Parliament by Members of Parliament (MPs) for three separate parliamentary constituencies. Since the 2017 General Election, Walsall North has been represented by Eddie Hughes MP (Conservative), Walsall South by Valerie Vaz MP (Labour) and Aldridge Brownhills by Wendy Morton MP (Conservative). The borough is part of the West Midlands constituency in the European Parliament. Prior to Brexit in 2020, the West Midlands region elected seven MEPs.

In 1974, Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council was created to administer the new metropolitan borough. Elections to the council take place in three out of every four years, with one third of the seats being contested at each election. Between its formation in 1974 and the 2003 election, the council varied between control by the Labour Party, and where no one party had an overall majority. From 2003 to 2011 the Conservative Party then held a majority of councillors. At the 2011 election the Conservative Party lost five seats, while Labour gained eight, and afterwards no party held a majority. At the 2019 election, the Conservative Party regained control of the council.

Walsall MBC Compared2001 UK CensusWalsall MBCWest Midlands countyEnglandPopulation (16–74)180,6231,807,91835,532,091Full time employment39.1%38.6%40.8%Part time employment11.9%11.1%11.8%Self employed6.0%5.7%8.3%Unemployed4.4%4.6%3.3%Retired14.8%13.5%13.5%Source: Office for National Statistics
At the time of the 2001 census, there were 105,590 people (41.7%) in employment who were resident within Walsall Metropolitan Borough. Of these, 18.60% worked within the wholesale and retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles; 26.44% worked within manufacturing industry; and 9.85% worked within the health and social work sector. At the 2001 UK census, Walsall Metropolitan Borough had 180,623 residents aged 16 to 74. 2.3% of these people were students with jobs, 6.0% looking after home or family, 6.8% permanently sick or disabled and 2.4% economically inactive for other reasons. These figures are roughly in line with the averages for England, though Metropolitan Borough of Walsall has a higher rate of people who are permanently sick and disabled, where the national average is 5.3%. The entire borough is within the Birmingham Larger Urban Zone. Average house prices in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall were fourth out of the metropolitan boroughs in the West Midlands county, with the average house price within the borough being £131,131 during the period April – June 2009, compared with the average across the Metropolitan County of £128,142. Following transfer from the council in 2003, social housing in the area is primarily managed by WATMOS (consisting of eight Tenant management organisations), and the Walsall Housing Group.

The A34 trunk road runs directly through the middle of Walsall
An elevated section of the M6 Motorway built in 1968 half circles around Walsall to the West of the town. There can be increased congestion on the local A roads whenever the motorway is temporarily closed or in a state of serious delay as road users try to bypass the problem. Junctions (North to South) 11, 10, 9 and 7 allow access to and from various parts of the town. The M6 and M5 join at junction 8. The A454 runs through Walsall on its way to Sutton Coldfield from Bridgnorth.

45% of pupils in the Borough of Walsall achieved five GCSEs with grades of A* C, below the national average of 56%. The borough's education format is a traditional 5–7 infant, 7–11 junior and 11 16/18 secondary school system, with some infant and junior schools being combined single site primary schools, while others have infant and junior schools on separate sites. The towns of Walsall, Bloxwich, Darlaston and Willenhall have always used these age ranges, but the Aldridge, Brownhills and Streetly areas (which became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in 1974) adopted 5–9 first, 9–13 middle and 13 16/18 secondary schools in September 1972. However, this system was discontinued and replaced with the traditional age ranges in September 1986 to fit in with the other schools in the Walsall borough.

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Walsall.

Professor Rashid Gatrad: 29 January 2014. Neville John Holder: 24 June 2014. Ian Shires: 17 November 2021.

The South Staffordshire Regiment: 1946. The Staffordshire Regiment: 1959. The Mercian Regiment: 2007.