Metropolitan Borough of Solihull | |
|---|---|
 Solihull Council House | |
 Coat of Arms of the Borough Council | |
 Shown within theWest Midlands and England | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Historic county | Warwickshire |
| Administrative county | West Midlands |
| Admin. HQ | Solihull |
| Government | |
| • Type | Metropolitan borough |
| • Body | Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council |
| • Leadership: | Leader and cabinet |
| • MPs: | Neil Shastri-Hurst (C) Saqib Bhatti (C) |
| Area | |
• Total | 69 sq mi (178 km2) |
| • Rank | 153rd |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 221,242 |
| • Rank | Ranked 88th |
| • Density | 3,220/sq mi (1,240/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-SOL |
| ONS code | 00CT (ONS) E08000029 (GSS) |
| Ethnicity[1] | 89.1% White (85.8% White British) 6.5% Asian 2.2% Mixed Race 1.5% Black 0.6% Other |
| Website | solihull.gov.uk |
TheMetropolitan Borough of Solihull, often colloquially just calledSolihull,[a] is a metropolitan borough in the east of theWest Midlands county, England. It is named after its largest town,Solihull, from whichSolihull Metropolitan Borough Council is based. Much of the borough is considered to be part of theWest Midlands conurbation, and the borough's area was historically in NorthwesternWarwickshire.[2] ForEurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG32) and is one of seven boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands"NUTS 2 region.
Much of the large residential population in the north of the borough centres on the communities ofChelmsley Wood,Castle Bromwich,Marston Green andSmith's Wood as well as the towns ofKingshurst andFordbridge.[3] In the south are the towns ofShirley and Solihull. The borough also contains the large villages ofKnowle,Dorridge,Meriden andBalsall Common, all of which are outside of the West Midlands conurbation, to its east.
Since 2011, Solihull has formed part of theGreater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership along with neighbouring authoritiesBirmingham,Bromsgrove,Cannock Chase,East Staffordshire,Lichfield,Redditch,Tamworth andWyre Forest.
Solihull probably derived its name from a 'miry or muddy' or soily hill. The parish church was built on a hill of stiff redmarl, which turned to sticky mud in wet weather.
Solihull was anancient parish, covering the town itself and adjoining rural areas, includingShirley.[4] Solihull was made the centre of apoor law union in 1836, covering eleven parishes:Baddesley Clinton,Balsall,Barston,Elmdon,Knowle,Lapworth,Nuthurst,Packwood, Solihull,Tanworth andYardley. Yardley was inWorcestershire and the rest of the parishes were inWarwickshire.[5]
Such poor law unions formed the basis for later local government areas. In 1872 poor law unions also becamerural sanitary districts for the parts of their areas without urban authorities; there were no urban authorities in the Solihull union. In 1894 rural sanitary districts were converted intorural districts with their own elected councils under theLocal Government Act 1894. The 1894 Act split districts which straddled county boundaries, and so Yardley became a separate rural district (which was later absorbed intoBirmingham in 1911), whilst the Warwickshire parishes from the Solihull poor law union became the Solihull Rural District.[6] The 1894 Act also created parish councils forrural parishes, including Solihull.
The Solihull Rural District and the Solihull Parish Council were abolished in 1932. A newurban district of Solihull was created; the parishes of Solihull, Elmdon, Knowle, Nuthurst, Packwood and Sheldon[b] were abolished and most of their combined area became the new urban district, subject to various adjustments to the boundaries with neighbouring parishes.[7] The parts of the old Solihull Rural District not included were added to neighbouring rural districts.
Expansion continued andQueen Elizabeth II granted a charter in 1954 making Solihull into aMunicipal Borough; ten years later it was given the status ofCounty Borough. Reorganisation of boundaries and council responsibilities in 1974 created the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull by the merger of theSolihullCounty Borough and most of theMeriden Rural District, which forms the main rural part of the borough and county. It included Balsall Common, Barston, Berkswell, Bickenhill, Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Elmdon, Fordbridge, Hampton in Arden, Hockley Heath, Kingshurst, Knowle, Marston Green, Meriden, Olton, Smiths Wood, Solihull, Shirley and Temple Balsall.
In 1986 the Solihull borough effectively became aunitary authority when theWest Midlands County Council was abolished. It remains part of the West Midlands forceremonial purposes, and for functions such as police, fire and public transport. There is some support to return the borough to Warwickshire for ceremonial purposes, as was the case when the County of Avon was abolished and Bath was returned to Somerset.[8] There were also complaints that Solihull was not involved in the design of theWarwickshire flag in 2016.[9]
The borough is bordered by theM6 and theM40 and split by theM42 which divides the urban centre of the borough from the rural south and east. The borough's transport links have led to a number of established large businesses being based in the borough, such asLand Rover, theNational Exhibition Centre andBirmingham Airport. A short automatic light transport system links the airport to the nearbyBirmingham International railway station. Around three-quarters of the borough isgreenbelt and a large proportion of that is worked farmland. The borough shares its boundaries withBirmingham to the west and north,Coventry to the east, Warwickshire to both the north and south andWorcestershire to the south west. The borough contains a sizeable rural area known as theMeriden Gap (after the village ofMeriden) which serves as agreen belt separating the Birmingham conurbation from the city of Coventry. Parts of Solihull neighbour the suburbs ofMinworth andHall Green. Parts also lie close to (but not contiguous with) the town ofColeshill and city ofCoventry.
Elections toSolihull Metropolitan Borough Council are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the 51 seats on the council being elected at each election. Since the2011 election The Conservative Party has had a majority on the council.
At the2024 election to the council, the following members were returned:
| Year | Conservative | Green | Liberal Democrat | Independent | Labour | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
For election purposes the council is divided up into the following wards based oncivil parishes. Each ward is represented by three councillors:
The constituent parts of the borough's coat of arms are:
A stylised version of the coat of arms can be seen on the top left of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council's website pages, and the official, heraldic version appears on a dedicated page on the same site – external links below.
Solihull is regarded as having one of the strongest subregional economies in the West Midlands, with a significantly higher nominal GVA per capita and Silhillians enjoying considerably higher disposable income rates than both regional and UK averages.[10][11]
Analysis also shows Solihull as having the lowest (and fastest falling) claimant count forJobseeker's Allowance in the region.[12]
The currentFlybe airline maintains its head office on the second floor of Diamond House on the property ofBirmingham Airport.[13]
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Solihull at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) byOffice for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added4 | Agriculture1 | Industry2 | Services3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1,929 | 12 | 496 | 1,421 |
| 2000 | 2,959 | 8 | 870 | 2,082 |
| 2003 | 4,023 | 8 | 1,121 | 2,893 |
^1 includes hunting and forestry
^2 includes energy and construction
^3 includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
^4 Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
Localities in the borough include:
There is a longer list in the article forSolihull town.
The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Borough of Solihull.
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Our address is: 2nd Floor, Diamond House, Birmingham Airport, Birmingham, B26 3QJ.
52°24′32″N1°46′51″W / 52.40880°N 1.78092°W /52.40880; -1.78092
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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