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3.2 West Midlands Study Area
The West Midlands Metropolitan Area (WMMA) is located in central England and comprises the local authorities of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton, with its centre being the City of Birmingham. It is bounded by the counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire.
Birmingham, Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Solihull form the largest conurbation in England outside of London. Coventry is separate from the main urban area surrounding Birmingham, a stretch of green belt land (approximately 15 miles across, known as the ‘Meriden Gap’) exists between the Birmingham conurbation and Coventry, which retains a strongly rural character. Smaller green belt areas between Birmingham, Walsall and West Bromwich include Barr Beacon and Sandwell Valley.
The powers of the West Midlands County Council were devolved to the metropolitan borough councils when the county was abolished in 1986. However, several joint authorities exist to run some services on a county-wide basis, including the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive, Centro, which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating public transport across the county.
The county area covers 902km² and has a population of 2,575,768 (2001 census).
The WMMA is well served by roads having excellent links with London and the rest of Great Britain using the Motorway and Trunk Road Network (M6, M40, M42, M5, M54, M69 and M1). The rail network also serves the West Midlands very well, including links to London, and West Coast mainline services. There is also an international airport in Birmingham.