Topic summary

Sandwell

Sandwell

Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after 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 includes part of Great Barr, Birmingham.

Sandwell's Strategic Town Centre 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 2025, Sandwell was ranked the ninth most income deprived local authority district in England.

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 the City of Wolverhampton to the north-west. Spanning the borough are the parliamentary constituencies of West Bromwich, Smethwick, the majority of Tipton and Wednesbury and also part of Halesowen, which both cross 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.