About the West Midlands

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY – A SENSE OF PLACE

The history of the West Midlands is characterised by diversity, innovation and by an instinct that is well disposed to change. To an extent this is reflected in the contrasting and diverse landscapes of the region. The south of the West Midlands is characterised by gently rolling hills, sweeping from the creamy limestone of the Cotswolds, through the Vale of Evesham and on to the modest clay land slopes of Arden Warwickshire. To the north, around Stoke-on-Trent, into the Staffordshire Moorlands and the Peak District the steep peaks and plunging valleys complete England’s transition from south to north.

The West Midlands has supported the Arts, by any standards William Shakespeare is an exceptional contribution to international literature, but it is in commerce and industry where the region’s real talents have been proven and it is industry that defines so much of the West Midlands’ contemporary landscape and architecture. The Black Country, the East Shropshire, North Staffordshire and North Warwickshire coalfields bear witness to the region’s importance in the industrial age. Birmingham’s status as second-city is in part due to its tremendous capacity for technological advancement (the ‘City of a thousand trades’) but also for the social dynamism and capacity for change that Joseph Chamberlain pioneered, an instinct that the city proudly maintains to this day. Corporation Street, the Council House and the Victoria Law Courts are outstanding examples of Chamberlain’s inclination for civic pride and for moving ‘Forward.’ That spirit survives in the Selfridges store, Millennium Point and the Ikon Gallery which all point to new directions in an ever-evolving urban landscape.

Ludlow, one of Europe’s finest medieval planned towns, the Iron Bridge, Ditherington Flax Mill in Shrewsbury and Telford new town each in its own way illustrates the region’s historic ability to be at the forefront of engineering, planning and architectural thinking.

The region is wealthy in its materials and resources. The clay of north Staffordshire, iron ore of the Peak District and the coal of Shropshire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire were the catalysts for industrial and scientific innovation and development, as were the local men who stimulated the industrial age: the Darbys, Wedgwoods and Darwins.

The West Midlands’ status as a commercial centre may stem from its unrivalled position as the nation’s crossroads. From Watling Street to the Birmingham Canal Navigations to the M6  (Toll) the region is vital to England and the UK’s capacity for communication, trade and travel while historically the River Severn provides a link with Bristol and global markets. The ceramics industry of north Staffordshire was boosted by the opportunities the canal network offered while since the mid-nineteenth century Birmingham has been a major hub in the national rail network.

Excellent transport and communications links remain and set the tempo for the region’s modern day prosperity.

THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT IN THE WEST MIDLANDS

The population of the region is 5.27 million people, the fifth largest population of the nine English regions.

The West Midlands covers 13,004 sq.km (410 people per sq. km).

The Gross Domestic Product of the region in 2002 was £63,500M

The West Midlands contains 35,660 listed buildings

There are 731 Conservation Areas
 
The region also includes 1,432 scheduled ancient monuments
 
In addition there are 6 registered battlefields, 143 registered parks and gardens and 1 World Heritage Site (Ironbridge)

THE ROLE OF ENGLISH HERITAGE IN THE WEST MIDLANDS

Our role is to:

• provide statutory and other advice on the management of the historic environment
• work with other organisations to develop policy and secure nbenefits for the historic environment
• encourage lifelong learning through our education service to schools and other appropriate organisations
• give grants for secular buildings, places of worship, ancient monuments, archaeological investigations and conservation led regeneration schemes
• maintain and conserve 29 historic properties in our care
  
• raise income from our properties and other activities including events and membership recruitment
• contribute to national research programmes

It is within this context that English Heritage operates. In the West Midlands we want to identify, protect and conserve the best of the old, and to enhance it where we can. We also want to make our heritage accessible, understandable and available to everybody who cares the built environment. We also want to be involved in the decisions that are taken about the future of the West Midlands, not because we wish to oppose all new development, but because we can contribute in a variety of ways to its continual and rapid evolution.

PARTNERSHIPS

To secure the future of England’s towns and countryside English Heritage depends on the active commitment and assistance of innumerable private owners, voluntary associations and public bodies. In the West Midlands we are therefore:

Directing resources to the Regional Cultural Consortium (West Midlands Life) and we will continue to offer our support and expertise. In particular, we will be seeking to promote the enormous role the historic environment can play in the cultural, recreational and economic activities of people who visit the region as well as those who live and work here.
We have taken a lead role in setting up the Historic Environment Forum (HEF), a regional action and consultation group which includes members of the historic environment sector. HEF offers an important forum for discussing areas of concern within the sector and for pooling resources to tackle key issues. By 2005 HEF will have delivered an effective regional lobbying mechanism that will help sector members to put across the key arguments to local, regional and national decision-makers.
HEF will also play a crucial role in influencing the direction and contents of the West Midlands State of the Historic Environment Report (SHER). SHER is an annual audit of the assets of the historic environment with a regional dimension. As well as collating valuable statistics SHER will look thematically at a particular issue. In 2003 the theme will be Housing and in 2004 we expect the theme to be Rural affairs.
We are working in partnership with the Countryside Agency, English Nature and the Environment Agency as well as Groundwork West Midlands, Advantage West Midlands and the regional Government Office, developed and is seeking regional approval for an Environmental Capital Action Plan (ECAP). Essentially ECAP is an attempt to distribute European funding to projects that can deliver sensitive environmental enhancement whilst at the same time generating or safeguarding economic investment. If our bid is successful then English Heritage will take the lead role in delivering and implementing the Action Plan.
Partnership working is an essential part of our day to day activities and we intend to expand the networks and partnerships that that we have already established. We will dedicate resources to developing new working relationships with groups outside the sector especially those groups that have a direct or indirect in protecting, enhancing and promoting the historic environment, for example business and commercial groups, tourist associations and other community forums.