The scenery of the West Midlands cannot be defined by one feature; highlighting the wild moors would not do justice to the rugged hills, broad valleys and vast countryside.

As Britain’s industrial heart, the main cities grew out of manufacturing hubs in the region’s centre. Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley help make up the ‘Black Country’, so named after the smoke and dirt rising from the many factories.

Spanning 13,000 square kilometres of primarily rural lowlands, the region also includes historical cities and cultural sites, such as Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Castle and St Michael’s Cathedral, all contributors to the growing tourism industry, and industrial heritage sites and large commercial centres in Stoke-on-Trent and Derby.

The diverse economy of the West Midlands, strengthened by its historical roots in manufacturing, has maintained its share of 8.2 per cent of the UK’s Gross Domestic Product throughout the 1990s (HM Customs & Excise figures, 2000). It has also been successful in pulling in foreign direct investment for a range of new projects.

Nearly 2,000 overseas companies have opened offices in the main city centres, employing over 220,000 people.

Manufacturing continues to represent 28.9 per cent of the West Midlands GDP. But despite the sector’s persistent grasp over the regional economy, other industries have found space to grow. The financial and business services sector is the second largest with 17.9 per cent of the region’s GDP, and the wholesale and retail sectors continue to burgeon.

The region lies at the nucleus of the national transport network, although the quality of the infrastructure dips near rural areas. Motorways connect the north of the region with the South East and South West. The efficient rail system links local and long distance services, offering easier business and leisure travel.

Additionally, a new light rail service, the Midland Metro, has made movement between centrally located cities more accessible. The heavily populated conurbations in the area provide improved bus services for their citizens.
Furthermore, the 10-year plan to develop Birmingham International Airport is under way.

But despite the prevalence of well-developed public transportation services, the regional percentage of households with the use of at least one car is slightly higher than that of the national figure, at 72 per cent.

More than £2 billion has been invested in a range of regeneration projects taking place in the West Midlands region, with the city of Birmingham leading the way.

The £530 million Bullring centre opened in 2003, attracting 36 million visitors in its first year. In addition to providing the city’s residents with over 130 shops and restaurants in one locale, the Bullring’s development has also brought about improved public transport and a car park for 3,000 vehicles.

 
The architecturally bold shopping mall is only one part of the wider vision of the Birmingham Alliance, created in 1999 through a partnership between Hammerson PLC, Land Securities Group PLC, and Henderson Global Investors Ltd. The group has already been successful with the Indoor Market, opened in 2000.

Additionally, the Alliance has plans to continue on to a third phase of their development activities in Birmingham’s city centre: the Martineau Galleries. This 14-acre site will include spaces for retail, leisure, office, residential and cultural uses.

But regeneration is also taking place outside Birmingham through Advantage West Midlands, the development agency for the region. Currently involved in over 1,000 projects, the RDA plans to give £20 billion into the region by 2010. 

Set up in 1999 by the government, the goals of Advantage West Midlands are to build sustainable economic growth by promoting competition, efficiency and employment, and to renew the housing stock and foster community progress by developing brownfield and derelict land.

The West Midlands does not fare well across economic and social indicators in comparison with other regions, or the UK overall. Based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation Scores of 2000, which takes into account income, work, health, education, housing and geographic access to services, 69 out of the region’s 790 wards are listed in England’s 10 per cent most-deprived wards.

Two of them, Aston and Sparkbrook, rank as two of the most deprived in the nation. Birmingham and Wolverhampton, in addition to other West Midland cities, rank in the 50 worst districts in terms of both the extent of deprivation and the intensity of deprivation. They are also included in 88 deprived areas that meet the criteria for Neighbourhood Renewal Funding, along with Coventry, Dudley and others.

The West Midlands has seven universities, as well as four other higher education institutions and 50 further education colleges. In terms of education qualifications, 67.3 per cent of people of working age living in the West Midlands are educated at GCSE level or above, as compared to 71.7 per cent for the United Kingdom, as of winter 2003.

The region also has a high percentage of the working-age population without any qualifications at all: 17.6 per cent, whereas the national figure is 14.4 per cent. In addition, for the year 2002/03, the region trailed two points behind the United Kingdom figures for the percentage of males and females in their last year of compulsory education achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C.

A number of the standard health indicators for the West Midlands show unfavourable levels compared to many of England’s other regions. Life expectancy is only slightly lower, but the infant mortality rate is one of the highest in the country. There were 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in the period of 2001-2003; the national average is 5.3.

Other factors also show poor health performance. The rate of teenage pregnancy is the third highest of all regions: in 2000, the conception rate was 48.8 per 1,000 women under 18 years of age, as compared to the national average of 42.

In addition, the percentage of people in the region who quit after attending stop-smoking services for four weeks is considerably below the national average.

Not only does the West Midlands rank badly in health as a region, but health inequalities exist within the area as well. In most deprived areas, life expectancy is lower, mortality from coronary heart disease is higher and infant mortality is higher. Teenage pregnancy is also more significantly more prevalent in the most disadvantaged areas.