123-538: West Bromwich ( / ˈ b r ɒ m ɪ tʃ / BROM -itch ), commonly known as West Brom , is a market town in the borough of Sandwell , in the county of the West Midlands , England. Historically part of Staffordshire , it is 7 miles (11 kilometres) northwest of Birmingham . West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country , in terms of geography, cultures and dialect . West Bromwich had
246-681: A Methodist and attending the Wednesbury Methodist meetings, where fellow Methodists – many of them colliers and drovers – knew him as "Brother Earl". West Bromwich Town Hall , situated in the centre of the High Street, is a Grade II listed building. It was built between 1874 and 1875 in brick and stone to an Italian Gothic design, and its interior reflects the Victorian interest in Gothic and Medieval architecture. Its Grand Organ, built in 1862,
369-699: A deck and by 1975, and they were declared unsuitable for families with children, the elderly and the disabled. In 1975, 96.3% of the residents wanted to leave. 643 families petitioned to be rehoused. They were demolished between 1991 and 1994. Proportion of houses and flats built by local authorities and New Towns in England and Wales, 1960–80 (a) Notes: (a) Tenders approved. (b) Including maisonettes. While some tower blocks have been demolished, many that occupy convenient city centre sites (such as The Sentinels in Birmingham, Trellick Tower and Great Arthur House on
492-626: A formal place of worship in West Bromwich since the opening of the Shree Krishna Mandir in 1974, in a converted church once called Ebenezer Congregational Chapel, which had closed in 1971. It was damaged by fire on 8 December 1992, the same date that a Mandir in Birmingham and another in Coventry were damaged in arson attacks. It was believed to have been connected to religious violence in India that
615-420: A growing desire by many towns and cities to retain population (and thus rental income and local rates) within their own boundaries (rather than "export" people to New Towns and "out of boundary" peripheral estates) led to this model being adopted; abandoned inner-city areas were demolished, and estates of high-rise apartments blocks proliferated on vacant sites. Whole working class communities were scattered, and
738-554: A high vacancy rate for commercial and industrial units. Many local towns, particularly Dudley, lost many of their major stores around the time that the Merry Hill Shopping Centre which was developed at Brierley Hill during the second half of the 1980s as businesses looked to take advantage of the Enterprise Zone incentives that the centre offered. West Bromwich's fortunes as a retail centre were seriously affected by
861-492: A housing association, in 2004; this represented the second largest stock transfer in British history. Housing rented from the council accounted for about 28% of the district and around 40% of the actual city of Wakefield. Many districts of the country have less than 10% of housing rented from the council; the national average stood at 14%. On 16 May 1968, the problems associated with tower blocks were brought into sharp focus after
984-820: A large percentage of Edwardian and late Victorian private houses. A number of types of system building used in flats have serious flaws. They were initially very popular with tenants due to their generous space standards, and with councillors and housing officials due to their speed of construction – but have suffered problems, especially poor protection from damp and weather ingress, as well as other design defects and poor management. Also, studies such as Family and Kinship in East London found that people moving to such estates lost their old social networks and failed to develop new ones. As noted by one study: "There was, however, one way in which slum clearance rather than enhancing housing standards actually threatened to reduce them:
1107-512: A local authority, though the terms are largely used interchangeably. Before 1865, housing for the poor was provided solely by the private sector. Council houses were then built on council estates, known as schemes in Scotland, where other amenities, like schools and shops, were often also provided. From the 1950s, blocks of flats and three-or-four-storey blocks of maisonettes were widely built, alongside large developments of terraced housing, while
1230-658: A new impetus, when the poor physical health and condition of many urban recruits to the army was noted with alarm. This led to a campaign under the slogan "Homes fit for heroes". In 1919, the Government first required councils to provide housing, built to the Tudor Walters standards, under the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (Addison Act), helping them to do so through the provision of subsidies. London County Council embraced these freedoms and planned eight 'cottage estates' in
1353-520: A population of 103,112 in the 2021 Census . Initially a rural village, West Bromwich's growth corresponded with that of the Industrial Revolution , owing to the area's natural richness in ironstone and coal, as well as its proximity to canals and railway branches. It led to the town becoming a centre for coal mining , brick making , the iron industry and metal trades such as nails, springs and guns. The town's primary economy developed into
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#17328373819741476-469: A selective uptake, with middle-aged and married skilled workers with mature children being the most likely to purchase their homes. In effect, those in extreme poverty did not have the option to avail the offer, exacerbating the social and economic inequalities prevalent in the sector. Furthermore, the price of private increased due to the rent deregulation policies that were implemented simultaneously. This made it increasingly difficult for those excluded from
1599-556: A shift in their focus from providing affordable homes to generating returns for investors. Financialization also led to an increase in buy-to-let mortgages, resulting in higher private tenancy levels and rising costs. The design and character of a council estate is related to the government initiative that allowed it to be built. The estates of the Addison Act are mixed tenure estates with generously proportioned semi-detached houses designed to be fit for heroes, albeit only affordable by
1722-548: A steady nationwide decline in this sector since the 1970s. Sandwell General Hospital (on the site of the former Hallam Hospital) is located near the town centre. It is currently part of the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust , one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the United Kingdom. William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth had his seat at Sandwell Hall . Legge was unusual as an aristocrat of this period by being
1845-508: Is Sandwell Valley , which contains Sandwell Valley Country Park and Sandwell Valley RSPB nature reserve . The 660 acre country park is located on the River Tame , in the middle of the urban conurbation between Birmingham and West Bromwich. The RSPB nature reserve is adjacent, and attracts over 150 different bird species. There are also two farms on the site that are open to the public: Sandwell Park Farm and Forge Mill Farm. West Bromwich
1968-579: Is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England . The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory , and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation . Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council defines the borough as the six amalgamated towns of Oldbury , Rowley Regis , Smethwick , Tipton , Wednesbury and West Bromwich . Rowley Regis includes the towns of Blackheath and Cradley Heath . Sandwell's Strategic Town Centre
2091-637: Is a culturally diverse area with many places of worship for several different religions. At the time of writing (2023), The Church of England provides the most places of worship across the geographically wider West Bromwich Deanery (taking in West Bromwich, Hill Top, Stone Cross, Carter's Green, Holy Trinity, All Saints, St Andrew's, St Francis, Friar Park and others) which contains nine Anglican churches. Other Christian denominations are present, including Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist , Methodist , Baptist , Elim Pentecostal , Assemblies of God and other independent churches. The deanery of West Bromwich
2214-523: Is also home to parts of Sandwell Valley Country Park and Sandwell Valley RSPB nature reserve . West Bromwich was first mentioned as Bromwic (' broom village') in the Domesday Book of 1086. It is believed that it may have originally been part of the Handsworth parish. A Benedictine priory existed in West Bromwich from the 12th century around which the settlement of Broomwich Heath grew. In 1727,
2337-459: Is considered to be of historic importance for its musical and technical qualities. West Bromwich Manor House , Hall Green Road, was built by the de Marnham family in the late 13th century as the centre of their agricultural estate in West Bromwich only the Great Hall survives of the original complex of living quarters, agricultural barns, sheds and ponds. Successive occupants modernised and extended
2460-570: Is designated as West Bromwich, the largest town in the borough, while Sandwell Council House (the headquarters of the local authority) is situated in Oldbury. In 2019 Sandwell was ranked 12th most deprived of England's 317 boroughs. 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
2583-462: Is divided into 24 electoral wards , with each one represented by 3 councillors on the borough council: Sandwell is home to nearly 100 primary schools, 25 secondary schools, 4 special schools and 1 college. Sandwell College , the only further education college in the borough, was opened in September 1986 following the merger of Warley College and West Bromwich College. It was originally based in
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#17328373819742706-472: Is not being built to replace it and waiting lists for social housing have become very long, up to 18 years. Over a million people are on the social housing waiting list and a quarter of people on social housing waiting lists have been there for 5 years or more. The number of social homes is at a record low, over 100,000 households were on council waiting lists for over 10 years. Council houses sold under right to buy are typically sold at half market value, some of
2829-737: Is now served by the West Midlands Metro light rail (tram) system with West Bromwich having seven tram stops: The Hawthorns , Kenrick Park , Trinity Way , West Bromwich Central , Lodge Road West Bromwich Town Hall , Dartmouth Street and Dudley Street Guns Village . The nearest main-line railway station is now Sandwell & Dudley railway station , approximately one mile (two kilometres) away in Oldbury town centre. Though services to Stourbridge Junction , Worcester Shrub Hill , Worcester Foregate Street , Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street call at The Hawthorns railway station . There
2952-521: Is owned by local authorities. Increasingly the stock is managed on a day-to-day basis by arms-length management organisations rather than directly by the authority, and by housing associations . Public housing became needed to provide " homes fit for heroes " in 1919, then to enable slum clearance . Standards were set to ensure high-quality homes. Aneurin Bevan , a Labour politician, passionately believed that council houses should be provided for all, while
3075-620: Is that it is used regularly by people of many ethnicities, unlike other mosques in West Bromwich which are primarily used by people of one ethnicity. There are also a large number of Sikhs in the area. There are many Gurudwaras . Sikhs have settled in the area since 1950, when the first influx of immigrants came. The oldest Gurdwara in West Bromwich is the Gurdwara Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji on High Street. Other Gurdwara's include Guru Nanak Gurdwara on Edward Street and Gurdwara Sachkhand Ishar Darbar on Vicarage Road. Hindus have had
3198-564: Is under the Anglican Diocese of Lichfield . West Bromwich has four mosques. With two on Dartmouth street, one serving the Bangladeshi sunni community and the other, the Pakistani sunni community. The reason for the separate mosques is due to historic differences in opinions between imams of the berelvi community (Pakistani) and other sunni denominations. The largest mosque in West Bromwich is
3321-458: 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. The borough covers an area of 86 square kilometres (33 sq mi). At the 2011 census, it had a population of 309,000. The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell
3444-559: The FA Cup and qualified for European competitions on several occasions. Attendances were high during this era, but slumped during the 1980s when the club's on-the-field fortunes began to decline and culminated in relegation in 1986, at a time which the local economy had already suffered a sharp decline. Albion did not play in the top flight again until 2002, and remained a regular presence in the FA Premier League until 2018, during which time
3567-518: The Football League . It won the league championship in 1920 and has won the FA Cup five times, most recently in 1968 , and won the League Cup in 1966 . Albion were based in and around the centre of West Bromwich during their formative years, but moved further out of the town in 1900 when they switched to their current ground, The Hawthorns . All traces of the original structures are long gone;
3690-819: The Golden Lane Estate in London) remain extremely popular with residents and have even been subject to an element of gentrification , caused by the onward sale of leases purchased by original tenants under the right to buy scheme to more affluent purchasers. In 1988, the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher set up the first of six housing action trusts designed to regenerate some of Britain's most deprived council housing areas, which involved refurbishment or demolition of council properties in these areas, as well as improved community facilities and scope for new private and social housing developments. The North Hull HAT
3813-506: The Greets Green area. Its exact date of origin is uncertain, but in 1634 it was owned by the Turtons. John Wesley preached there twice in the late 1700s. Reuben Farley gave it to the town as a museum, with the formal opening on 25 July 1898. In 1949 it was protected as a Grade II* Listed Building. In August 2009, The Public arts centre designed by architect Will Alsop fully opened. By 2013,
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3936-623: The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 ( 53 & 54 Vict. c. 70), which encouraged the London authority to improve the housing in their areas. It also gave them the power to acquire land and to build tenements and houses (cottages). As a consequence, London County Council opened the Boundary Estate in 1900, a 'block dwelling estate' of tenements in Tower Hamlets . The Housing of
4059-526: The Indian subcontinent , although a significant number of Afro-Caribbean immigrants also settled in West Bromwich. The majority of these immigrants settled in the older parts of the town that were mostly made up of Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses. The local road network was also greatly increased during the 1960s and 1970s. West Bromwich is at the extreme northern end of the M5 motorway , with junction 1 serving
4182-547: The Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter. Radio stations for the area are: Local newspapers for the area are: The six towns that comprise Sandwell and localities within each include: Sandwell is twinned with: Public housing in the United Kingdom Public housing in the United Kingdom , also known as council housing or social housing , provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when
4305-554: The council election in 2021 , the political composition of the council has been as follows: 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
4428-450: The financialization of housing in the UK has contributed to issues in the public housing sector. Under the wider neoliberal agenda, the deregulation of mortgage finance and the liberalisation of credit was implemented, creating systemic risks as 'sub-prime borrowers ' bought homes with loans they could not realistically pay back. In the U.K, financialization became increasingly prominent after
4551-625: The 1950s and 1960s, the number of high-rise dwellings rose significantly. In 1953, just 23% of public-sector approvals were for flats, with only 3% high-rise (defined as blocks of six stories or more). By 1966, however, high-rise housing accounted for 26% of all homes started. A National Dwelling and Housing Survey carried out in 1977 also found higher levels of housing satisfaction amongst owner occupiers than council housing tenants. The survey found that 90% of owner occupiers were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their accommodation and only 4% "dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied", while for council tenants
4674-522: The 1950s, council house provision was shaped by the New Towns Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6 . c. 68) and the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 of the 1945–51 Labour government. Simultaneously, this government introduced housing legislation that removed explicit references to housing for the working class and introduced the concept of "general needs" construction (i.e., that council housing should aim to fill
4797-488: The 1960s and to some degree the 1970s saw construction of many high-rise tower blocks . Flats and houses were also built in mixed estates. Council homes were built to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at reasonable rents to primarily working-class people. Council housing in the mid-20th century included many large suburban council estates, featuring terraced and semi-detached houses, where other amenities like schools and shops were often also provided. By
4920-433: The 1990s as securitization and foreign finance were introduced in the housing sector. One of the key mechanisms of financialization was securitization, which allowed investors' mortgages to be sold as packages in the market, encouraging the imperative of profitability. Housing associations, which previously relied on government grants and private donations, could now access capital markets and sell bonds. However, this led to
5043-408: The 2021 Census was recorded as: The climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb ". (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). The town's football club is West Bromwich Albion . The club was founded in 1878 and in 1888 it became one of the 12 founder members of
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5166-454: The Conservative politician Harold Macmillan saw council housing "as a stepping stone to home ownership". The Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher introduced Right to Buy in 1979, with the millionth council house being sold within seven years. In time, the transfer of public housing stock to private ownership reached the point where councils had to rent back their own houses to house
5289-544: The Labour government of Tony Blair tightened the rules (reducing the maximum discount in areas of most housing need), it did not end the right-to-buy. Labour did relax the policy forbidding reinvestment of sales proceeds. Following its election in 2015, the Conservative government has announced proposals to extend the Right to Buy to housing association tenants. Social housing is being sold off under right to buy, new social housing
5412-620: The Madinatul Uloon Al-Islamiyah Madrasa on Moor street which accommodates all Muslim Sunni denominations and follows the Deobandi school of thought. The fourth mosque opened in 2016 and follows the Bangladeshi fultoli teachings. The Bangladeshi mosque on Dartmouth street (the Jami Masjid and Islamic Centre) is currently fundraising to rebuild a purpose-built mosque to accommodate more worshippers. Currently, they have obtained
5535-458: The Manor House until it was described in 1790 as "a large pile of irregular half-timbered buildings, black and white, and surrounded with numerous out-houses and lofty walls." The Manor House was saved from demolition in the 1950s by West Bromwich Corporation which carried out an extensive and sympathetic restoration of this nationally important building. The Oak House is an historic building in
5658-533: The Merry Hill development. This contributed to the closure of its Marks and Spencer store on 25 August 1990, along with the Dudley store, to be replaced by a new store at Merry Hill, with most of the staff at the new store being transferred from either West Bromwich or Dudley. British Home Stores also pulled out of the town around the same time, and a new store at Merry Hill which opened in November 1989 and also spelled
5781-421: The Working Classes Act 1900 extended these power to all local councils, which then began building tenements and houses. In 1912, Raymond Unwin published a pamphlet Nothing gained by Overcrowding . He worked on the influential Tudor Walters Report of 1918, which recommended housing in short terraces, spaced 70 feet (21 m) apart at a density of 12 per acre (30/ha). The First World War indirectly provided
5904-476: The adoption of system-building by many local authorities across the UK in the 1960s. Nonetheless, space standards in council homes (based on those prescribed by the Parker-Morris Report remained above those of many privately built dwellings at the time. The earliest council estates were built within the borough boundaries on low value land that was walking distance from the places of employment. When that
6027-549: The borders of West Bromwich township. As with many other parts of the Midlands , West Bromwich was hit badly by the recessions of the mid-1970s and early 1980s, resulting in mass unemployment across the town, exceeding 20% in some districts. Queen's Square shopping centre opened in the town centre in 1971, providing shoppers with a 60-unit indoor shopping centre and an 850-space multi-storey car park . It cost £3million to build. The smaller King's Square shopping centre also opened in
6150-489: 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
6273-573: The building by experimented prefabricated methods, of large impersonal estates of high-rise buildings, lacking many of the amenities common in similar developments on the continent." The last major push in council home provision was made under the Wilson government of 1964. The energetic Minister of Housing Richard Crossman accepted the truth that the provision rate was too slow and instructed authorities to exercise their compulsory purchase powers and construct large overspill estates. In Birmingham he forced
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#17328373819746396-515: The building of Castle Vale and the 15,590 dwelling Chelmsley Wood estate, Solihull . Laws restricted councils' investment in housing, preventing them subsidising it from local taxes, but more importantly, council tenants were given the Right to Buy in the Housing Act 1980 offering a discount price on their council house. Proposed as policy by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and carried out under
6519-567: The bulk of Tipton and Wednesbury , while a small part of the south-eastern section of the town was absorbed into the new Warley County Borough which was centred on neighbouring Oldbury , Smethwick and Rowley Regis . The actual town boundaries of West Bromwich were also altered at this time, placing the Friar Park estate in Wednesbury, while the Hateley Heath area of Wednesbury was now within
6642-445: The club attracted a level of average attendance not seen since the late 1970s. The archives for West Bromwich Borough are held at Sandwell Community History and Archives Service . The town is divided into two constituencies: Tipton and Wednesbury and West Bromwich . West Bromwich is served by Sarah Coombes ( Labour Party ), who was elected on 4 July 2024 Tipton and Wednesbury is served by Antonia Bance ( Labour Party ), who
6765-465: The decline of the last 35 years. West Bromwich's road links were further enhanced in 1995 on the completion of the Black Country Spine Road which also by-passes Wednesbury and the east of Bilston . The completion of this new road opened up several square miles of previously inaccessible land, and has allowed several major businesses to set up along the route. This has helped relieve some of
6888-585: The economic rent was 30/- a week but had to be let at 12/6d". The provision of local authority housing varied throughout the UK; in the period 1919–39 67% of the houses built in Scotland were in the public sector , compared to 26% in England. Source: The Addison Act provided subsidies solely to local authorities and not to private builders. Many houses were built over the next few years in 'cottage estates'. The Housing, &c. Act 1923 ( Chamberlain Act ) of 1923 stopped subsidies going to council houses but extended
7011-413: The end of the 19th century, West Bromwich had established itself as a prominent area to match older neighbouring towns including Dudley and Walsall . In 1888, West Bromwich became a county borough , incorporating the village of Great Barr . It was expanded in 1966, acquiring most of the boroughs of Tipton and Wednesbury as well as a small section of Coseley urban district , before joining with
7134-514: The end of the Dudley store. The town lost another big retail name in 2005 when the Littlewoods store closed as part of the retailer's decision to switch wholly to online shopping; the unit has since been taken over by New Look . Retail developments around Oldbury, beginning with the SavaCentre hypermarket in 1980, have also affected trade in West Bromwich. The recession beginning in 2008 has pushed
7257-551: The end of the war, the local council started building new homes to rehouse people from the rundown town centre. However, there are still many late 19th century and early 20th century buildings around the centre of West Bromwich. The first Council housing in West Bromwich was built in 1920 on the Tantany Estate to the north of the town centre. Within 20 years, several thousand council houses had been built by West Bromwich County Borough Council. The largest developments were mostly in
7380-534: The engineering, manufacturing and the automotive industry through the early 20th century. During the Second World War , West Bromwich experienced bombing from the German Luftwaffe . It also suffered heavily during recessions in the mid 1970s , early 1980s and late 2000s . The town is known for its football club West Bromwich Albion , who have played in the town since the club's formation in 1878. It
7503-543: The equivalent figures were 74% and 14%, respectively. Subsequent research at the London School of Economics has tried to cast doubt on claims that only high rise developments could accommodate the population density required for these policies. The post-war governments considered the provision of as much new housing as possible to be a major part of post-war policy, and provided subsidies for local authorities to build such housing. The Conservatives competed with Labour for
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#17328373819747626-501: The first experience of private garden space (usually front and rear). The quality of these houses, and in particular the existence of small gardens in England and Wales, compared very favourably with social housing being built on the European continent in this period. The 1951 Conservative government began to re-direct the building programme back from "general needs" towards "welfare accommodation for low income earners" The principal focus
7749-420: The focus of an intense regeneration programme, resulting in a dramatic drop in crime on the estate. In London, many council estates are being demolished and replaced with luxury housing, resulting in a net loss of social housing . Campaigners fear almost 8,000 homes could be lost during the decade following 2018. Among estates for regeneration, over 80 will be partly or completely demolished. In recent years,
7872-404: The future to offer higher education to adults who desire to pursue Islamic studies at a higher level. The premises consists of two large prayer halls and an assortment of classrooms. This mosque is regularly attended by mostly people of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Arab ethnicity (in order of proportions of worshippers from each ethnicity) – but what sets this mosque apart from others in West Bromwich,
7995-512: The homeless. Even in the stable medieval model of landowner and peasant, where estate workers lived at the landowner's whim in a tied cottage, the aged and infirm needed provision from their former employer, the church or the state. The documented history of social housing in Britain starts with almshouses , which were established from the 10th century, to provide a place of residence for "poor, old and distressed folk". The first recorded almshouse
8118-610: The land they require for this rebuild but are lacking crucial funding required for the ambitious multi-million pound rebuild. The Jami Masjid and Islamic Centre was the first mosque in the area, of Bangladeshi origin. Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiyah, located at Moor street is based at an abandoned church and was converted into a functioning mosque in 2001. The mosque also functions as a madrasa , meaning that it offers taught classes and hosts Islamic events including an annual jalsa (Islamic gathering). It currently (and since 2003) offers Islamic evening classes to hundreds of children and has plans in
8241-433: The late 1970s, almost a third of UK households lived in social housing. Since 1979 council housing stock has been sold to private occupiers under the Right to Buy legislation, and new social housing has mainly been developed and managed by housing associations . A substantial part of the UK population still lives in council housing; in 2010, about 17% of UK households. Approximately 55% of the country's social housing stock
8364-451: The line of the radial roads. This marked a further movement out of the city, first by the middle classes and then the blue-collar workers, leaving just the poorest layer of society living in the urban area. The first Labour government was returned in 1924. The Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1924 (Wheatley Act) restored subsidies to municipal housing but at a lower level, it failed to make any provision for lower paid, who were living in
8487-462: The main roads leading into the town until the following morning. The town has enjoyed something of an economic revival since 11 July 2013, when, after a large scale demolition of an area including the school known as Cronehills, the New Square shopping and entertainment complex opened in the town centre on land adjoining the existing Queen's Square shopping centre. Hundreds of jobs have been created and
8610-508: The maisonette blocks and more than 100 bungalows. Community facilities on the estate were also improved, and the main shopping centre was completely redeveloped. One of the most ambitious post-war council housing developments, the complex of estates at Broadwater Farm (shown above), became a national symbol of perceived failures in the council housing system following the Broadwater Farm riot in 1985. Since then, Broadwater Farm has been
8733-541: The money from the sale has to go to the Treasury. Councils can replace only one in three of homes sold under right to buy. The Housing Acts of 1985 and 1988 facilitated the transfer of council housing to not-for-profit housing associations. The 1988 Act redefined housing associations as non-public bodies, permitting access to private finance, which was a strong motivation for transfer as public sector borrowing had been severely constrained. These housing associations were also
8856-592: The most notable HAT was the one founded in 1993 to regenerate the Castle Vale estate in Birmingham , which had been built in the 1960s. The original master plan for the redevelopment of Castle Vale saw 17 out of 34 tower blocks on the estate earmarked for demolition, as well as 24 of the estate's 27 maisonette blocks, but by the time of the HAT's demise in 2005 all but two of the 34 tower blocks had been demolished, as well as all of
8979-446: The most prosperous workers. The generosity changed in the 1930s, with the push to eliminate the slums. Aneurin Bevan 's new towns and estates planned to the Tudor Walters standards were designed to be the pinnacle of housing to which all classes would aspire. This gradually changed through the 1950s and 1960s, partly due to the increase in private housebuilding under Harold Macmillan , as well as due to dropping standards, especially with
9102-466: The name. 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. Since
9225-635: The needs of a wide range of society). In particular, Aneurin Bevan , the Minister for Health and Housing , promoted a vision of new estates where "the working man, the doctor and the clergyman will live in close proximity to each other". While a number of large cities tentatively erected their first high-rise developments (e.g., Aston Cross in Birmingham , Churchill Gardens in Westminster ), in England and Wales homes were typically semi-detached or in small terraces . A three-bedroom semi-detached council house
9348-541: The neighbouring county borough of Warley (which contained the towns of Rowley Regis , Oldbury and Smethwick ) in 1974 to form the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell . Charlemont Hall, built during the 1750s, stood on the west side of the present Charlemont Crescent, in the Charlemont and Grove Vale district of the town. Charlemont Hall was described c. 1800 as "a lofty neat-looking house of brick, faced with stone, with iron palisades etc. in front." An east wing
9471-508: The neighbouring area of Halesowen which is situated within Dudley's borders. This was the first time any part of Sandwell had elected a Conservative MP – or indeed an MP from any party other than Labour. 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
9594-400: The newly built Eaton Valley Primary School, which opened in September 2009. The police station relocated to a brand new building the other site of the ring road. Major works started on the site during October 2011 and the development was completed by late spring 2013. Dartmouth Park , opened in 1878 by William Legge, 5th Earl of Dartmouth , lies to the east of the town. Beyond Dartmouth Park
9717-675: The north of the town, including the Charlemont Farm Estate around Walsall Road, and the Friar Park Estate near the border with Wednesbury. The town suffered significant damage from air raids in World War II , with 58 civilian deaths, most in the raids of 19 November 1940 around Oak Road and Lombard Street to the west of the town centre. There were a few other less severe raids during the war on parts of West Bromwich including Stone Cross and Tantany, with no fatalities. This occurred on
9840-410: The number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. Dwellings built for public or social housing use are built by or for local authorities and known as council houses . Since the 1980s non-profit housing associations became more important and subsequently the term "social housing" became widely used, as technically council housing only refers to housing owned by
9963-588: The occurrence of such an explosion. The same year Manchester started the construction of the Hulme Crescents . Thirteen tower blocks connected by aerial walkways and the four long curving south facing blocks of flats and maisonettes connected by walkways and bridges. Five thousand homes were constructed in eight years. Three thousand of these were the deck access flats, almost immediately the constructional problems became apparent: they leaked, ducting failed and they were too expensive to heat. A child died falling from
10086-559: 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. The area is served by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central . Television signals are received from
10209-565: The partial collapse of Ronan Point , a system-built tower block in Newham , east London, as a consequence of a gas explosion. A similar incident caused significant damage to one side of a block in Manchester . Although these incidents were due to a series of failures (not least being the illegal connection of gas cookers by unqualified friends of tenants ), subsequently all system-built tower blocks were usually built with "all electric" heating, to prevent
10332-479: The peripheries of London: Becontree , St Helier , Downham for example; seven further followed including Bellingham . Houses were built on green field land on the peripheries of the urban area. The war had caused house building costs to rise enormously: Sir Ernest Simon reported to the Manchester Housing Committee in 1910 that "houses that had cost £250 to build pre war were then costing £1,250, so
10455-436: The policy to afford alternatives, leaving them with the least desirable residual sector of social housing. Over time, changes were made to the Right to Buy policy, especially for specific regions but overall, the policy reinforced the stigmatized position of public/social housing as a 'last resort', moving away from the previous welfare-statist ideals. The "right to buy" was popular with many former Labour voters and, although
10578-504: The popular vote over who could build more houses, abandoning Bevan's principle that numbers weren't enough – that the homes had to be spacious and well built, too. The use of system building methods was later seen as possibly being a short-sighted, false economy, as many of the later houses are in a poor state of repair or have been demolished. On many estates, older council houses, with their largely superior build quality, have outlived them – more incredibly, they have even been outlasted by
10701-404: The present structures were added to the stadium in 1979, 1994 and most recently 2001. At an altitude of 551 feet, The Hawthorns is the highest football ground (above sea level) in the country. Engineering and chemicals are important to the town's economy, as it played a crucial part in the Industrial Revolution during the 19th century and still retains many manufacturing jobs to this day, despite
10824-404: The providers of most new public-sector housing. By 2003 36.5% of the social rented housing stock was held by housing associations. In some council areas referendums on changing ownership were won by opponents of government policy, preventing transfers to housing associations. The Wakefield district council found itself unable to maintain its supply of council housing and transferred it all to
10947-436: The recently opened Central Campus in the town. A large portion of the town centre was procured by Tesco for the development of a Tesco Extra store and shopping centre called New Square, West Bromwich which has been built on top of the old hospital. In the early 2000s the tenants of homes and businesses have slowly moved out of the site to make way for the development. Cronehills Primary School (staff and pupils) relocated to
11070-541: The remit of Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Heseltine , the Right To Buy scheme allowed tenants to buy their home with a discount of 33–50% off the market value, depending on the time they had lived there. Councils were prevented from reinvesting the proceeds of these sales in new housing, and the total available stock, particularly of more desirable homes, declined. The policy resulted in
11193-591: The same night as the Birmingham Blitz , which resulted in thousands of casualties, as well as the less severe raids on nearby Dudley and Tipton . The first major postwar council housing development was the Harvills Hawthorn Estate near Hill Top, which was completed in 1948. Mass immigration from the Commonwealth took place in West Bromwich during the 1950s and 1960s, with most of these hailing from
11316-455: The subsidies to private builders. Following the line of the railways, predominantly private estates were built on cheap agricultural land; building houses that the professional classes with an income of £300–500 a year were able to afford. These pattern-book houses, put up speculatively by companies such as Wimpey , Costain , Laing and Taylor Woodrow , were mocked by Osbert Lancaster as " By-pass Variegated ". Large council estates following
11439-644: The tenants either relocated themselves to neighbouring overcrowded properties or became isolated away from friends in flats and houses, on estates without infrastructure or a bus-route. Glasgow led the way and others followed. Tower blocks became the preferred model. The councils visited Marseille and saw the results of Charles Édouard Jenneret 's (Le Corbusier's) vision. The argument was advanced that more generously sized dwellings could be provided this way, that communities could be re-housed close to existing employment opportunities and there would be far less disruption to local shopping and leisure patterns. During
11562-475: The town became a stop on the coaching road between London and Shrewsbury and the beginning of its growth dates from this time. The prefix 'West' serves to distinguish it from the village of Castle Bromwich , around 8 miles (13 km) to the east on the other side of Birmingham. In the 19th century, coal deposits were discovered, ensuring that the town grew rapidly as an industrial centre, with industries such as spring, gun and nail making developing. Well before
11685-489: The town centre further into decline, a notable casualty being the Woolworths store which closed on 30 December 2008 as a result of the retailer going into liquidation; the building was not re-occupied until Home Bargains took it over in 2012. Several more factories have closed in more recent years as manufacturers look to countries where the labour is cheaper, but West Bromwich remains a relatively busy industrial area despite
11808-431: The town has attracted retailers including Next, JD Sports, Primark and Bank Fashion , as well as an Odeon cinema , several food and drink outlets, and a Tesco Extra superstore. The mixed success of West Bromwich Albion F.C. has also had a significant impact on the town's economy, particularly during the club's successful era of the 1960s and 1970s when it frequently competed in the top division of English football, won
11931-404: The town in 1971. On 8 December 2011, 40 years after the opening of Queen's Square, Sandwell Council announced that Queen's Square would be refurbished at a cost of £5million. By this stage, the centre was falling into disrepair and only 33 of the 61 available units were occupied. Once again, West Bromwich had been hit hard by another recession , with local unemployment running high again, as well as
12054-518: The town on the A41 road . Traffic passing through West Bromwich on the main route from Wolverhampton to Birmingham was soon diverted along the new dual carriageway, the Northern Loop Road (also known as The Expressway ), after its opening in 1972, with another dual carriageway being built to link The Expressway with neighbouring Oldbury . West Bromwich County Borough was expanded in 1966 to include
12177-473: The town. A temporary board of health was set up and a hospital opened in the former Revivalist chapel in Spon Lane. The natural gradual slope of the land provided drainage within the soil, however, urbanisation made this increasingly difficult and drainage along the streets was described as inadequate. The West Bromwich Town Improvement Commissioners was established in 1854, and they tackled the drainage problem in
12300-562: The town. They appointed members to new titles and in the 1880s bought land in Friar Park for a sewerage farm. Under the Reform Act 1832 , West Bromwich became part of the new southern division of Staffordshire , and under the Reform Act 1867 it was transferred to the parliamentary borough of Wednesbury. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885 , the borough of West Bromwich became a parliamentary borough returning one member. In 1885, it
12423-524: The unemployment problems in West Bromwich, although most parts of the town still have the highest unemployment rates in the West Midlands. West Bromwich was among the many towns and cities in England affected by the widespread rioting in August 2011. On 9 August, shops closed their doors early to combat looting and vandalism; this was followed by widespread acts of vandalism and violence followed. Police closed
12546-447: The venue was attracting nearly 400,000 visitors a year and was bringing leading national and international artists to the town. Originally beset by problems before opening, in May 2013, it was revealed that Sandwell Council were considering borrowing a substantial amount of money to repurpose the £70 million building and lease it to Sandwell College to provide a new sixth form centre to complement
12669-498: The workhouse. The workhouse provided for two groups of people – the transient population roaming the country looking for seasonal work, and the long-term residents. The two were kept separate where possible. The long-term residents included single elderly men incapable of further labour, and young women with their children—often women who had been abandoned by their husbands, single mothers and servant-girls who had been dismissed from residential positions. The pressure for decent housing
12792-475: The worse conditions, and could not afford to pay the higher rents of the new houses, or travel to or from them to work. They continued in substandard housing circling the urban core; in Manchester, for example, this 'slum belt' was about half a mile wide. While new council housing had been built, little had been done to resolve the problem of inner-city slums , which could also be found in many smaller towns. This
12915-564: Was added in 1855. The last occupant was the widow of Thomas Jones, town clerk of Wednesbury 1897–1921. The house was demolished in 1948, and is now covered by a number of smaller detached homes. Much of the surrounding area was developed during the 1960s as the Charlemont Farm housing estate, which is a mix of private and council housing . The population of West Bromwich suffered heavily in the Cholera epidemic of 1831 which spread northwards into
13038-488: Was an isolated instance. The first council to build housing as an integrated policy was Liverpool Corporation , starting with St Martin's Cottages in Ashfield Street, Vauxhall , completed in 1869. The Corporation then built Victoria Square Dwellings, opened by Home Secretary Sir Richard Cross in 1885. That year, a royal commission was held, as the state had taken an interest in housing and housing policy. This led to
13161-455: Was elected on 4 July 2024. Betty Boothroyd had previously served as the constituency's MP and she was the first female Speaker of the House of Commons . At the 2021 census, West Bromwich's built-up area population was recorded as having a population of 103,112. Of the findings, the ethnicity and religious composition of the wards separately were: The religious composition of the built-up area at
13284-581: 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
13407-594: Was founded in York by King Æthelstan ; the oldest still in existence is the Hospital of St. Cross in Winchester , dating to c. 1133. The public workhouse was the final fallback solution for the destitute. Rural poverty had been greatly increased by the inclosure acts leaving many in need of assistance. This was divided into outside relief, or handouts to keep the family together, and inside relief, which meant submitting to
13530-466: Was held by Labour except for the period between 1931 and 1935 when it held by the National Unionists . By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, many of the older houses built to house workers during the Industrial Revolution were becoming unfit for human habitation Sanitation was inadequate, decay was rife, and the homes were becoming a danger to the health and safety of their inhabitants. After
13653-636: Was held by the Liberal Party but from 1886 to 1906 it was held by the Conservative Party before being held by the Liberal Party again until 1910 when the Conservative Party regained the area which they held until 1918 under the representation of Viscount Lewisham . In 1918, it was won by Labour who held it until 2019, when Nicola Richards [1] was elected as MP. Prior to that the constituency
13776-539: Was in poor condition before its outbreak. Before the war many social housing projects, such as the Quarry Hill Flats in Leeds were built. However, the bomb damage meant that much greater progress had to be made with slum clearance projects. In heavily bombed cities like London, Coventry and Kingston upon Hull , the redevelopment schemes were often larger and more radical. In the immediate post-war years, and well into
13899-613: Was increased by overcrowding in the large cities during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century; many social commentators (such as Octavia Hill ) reported on the squalor, sickness and immorality that arose. Some industrialists and independent organisations provided housing in tenement blocks , while some philanthropist factory owners built entire villages for their workers, such as Saltaire (1853), Bournville (1879) and Port Sunlight (1888). The City of London Corporation built tenements in Farringdon Road in 1865, but this
14022-566: 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. 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
14145-466: Was on inner-city slum clearance , completing the job that was started in the 1930s. Harold Macmillan 's task, as Minister for Housing, was to deliver 300,000 houses a year. These were 700 square feet (65 m ), 20% smaller than a Tudor Walters Bevan house, usually built as a two-bedroom terrace called "The Peoples House". From 1956, with the Housing Subsidy Act 1956 the government subsidy
14268-528: Was previously a railway station on Newton Road, which was located a mile away from the town centre; it was on the Grand Junction Railway that ran from Birmingham New Street to Stafford via Wolverhampton High Level and Walsall . This station closed in 1945 and, although it moved twice between 1863 and 1902, only the line remains in use for the services from Walsall to Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Liverpool Lime Street . Sandwell Sandwell
14391-469: Was restricted to only new houses built to replace those removed by slum clearance, and more money was given to tower blocks higher than six stories. With this subsidy, neighbourhoods throughout the country were demolished and rebuilt as mixed estates with low and high-rise building. At the same time the rising influence of modernist architecture, the development of new cheaper construction techniques, such as system building (a form of prefabrication ), and
14514-474: Was set up to regenerate a large area of predominantly interwar council housing in the north of Hull , Humberside . Liverpool HAT covered 67 of the worst tower blocks on Merseyside ; 54 of these blocks were demolished and replaced by new public or private sector housing developments, while the remaining 13 blocks were refurbished. Stonebridge HAT in Harlesden , London, was the final HAT to cease to exist when it
14637-560: Was spreading into communities in Britain. In 1875, being locked out of a packed Evangelist meeting in Birmingham caused John Blackham of Ebenezer Congregational Church to start the Pleasant Sunday Afternoon Movement. West Bromwich railway station was opened by the Great Western Railway on its route between Birmingham Snow Hill and Wolverhampton Low Level on 14 November 1854. The trackbed of that line
14760-464: 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. The Sandwell Borough
14883-503: Was to change with the Housing Act 1930 ( Greenwood Act), which required councils to prepare slum clearance plans, and some progress was made before the Second World War intervened. During the Second World War almost four million British homes were destroyed or damaged , and afterwards there was a major boom in council house construction. The bomb damage from the war only worsened the condition of Britain's housing stock, which
15006-755: Was typically built on a square grid 21 feet (6.4 m) on the side, with a maximum density of houses of no more than 12 per acre (30/ha), that is to say around 337 square metres (403 sq yd) per house. As a result, most houses had generous space around them. The new towns and many existing towns had countless estates built to this basic model. In Scotland , the tradition of tenement living meant that most homes of this period were built in low-rise (3–4) storey blocks of flats . For many working-class people, this housing model provided their first experience of private indoor toilets, private bathrooms and hot running water, as well as gardens and electric lighting. For tenants in England and Wales it also usually provided
15129-561: Was wound up in 2007, mostly covering an area of council housing built during the 1960s and 1970s. Waltham Forest HAT in South London covered several council estates, mostly built during the 1960s, and lasted until 2002, with the final phase of the regeneration being completed several years later by English Partnerships . Tower Hamlets HAT involved the regeneration of three council estates, mostly consisting of flats, in East London . Perhaps
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