59-642: Coseley ( / ˈ k oʊ z l i / KOHZ -lee ) is a village in the Dudley district, in the county of the West Midlands , England. It is situated three miles (five kilometres) north of Dudley itself, on the border with Wolverhampton and Sandwell . It falls within the Tipton and Wednesbury parliamentary constituency . Coseley was originally a village in the ancient manor of Sedgley . In 1867, it joined with Brierley and Ettingshall to break away from
118-529: A grammar school established in 1552, converting to a sixth form centre in 1976. A small number of secondary schools in the borough offer sixth form facilities, while several others did so until the beginning of the 1990s when the local authority decided to concentrate post-16 education in further education colleges. In March 2011 Eton College and Star Academies announced their intention to open one of three sixth form colleges in Dudley, subject to funding through
177-548: A 40-year period from the mid-1920s which changed the face of the area. Most of these were built around Woodcross, Lanesfield, Wallbrook, and Brierley. Coseley gained a cinema , on the corner of Mason Street and Birmingham New Road , during the 1930s, part of the Clifton chain, but this closed in January 1963 as a result of the postwar decline in cinema audiences brought on by the rising popularity of home television. The building
236-673: A Green Flag Community Award. Despite not being in the bounds of Dudley borough, Himley Hall and Park is owned and run by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. In addition to the 180 acres of ‘ Capability’ Brown landscaped parkland, the Hall has a gallery exhibition space and is a wedding venue. Large public and private sector developments have taken place in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley since its creation in 1974. The closure of Round Oak Steelworks in December 1982 paved
295-589: A Nursery Unit (24 Primary Academy ); 19 Secondary (of which 15 are Secondary Academy Schools) and 7 Special Schools . Pupils transfer to secondary school at the age of 11, although between 1972 and 1990 pupils in the north of borough transferred to secondary school at the age of 12, and from 1972 to 1982 there was a three-tier education system in Halesowen where pupils entered first school at 5, middle school at 9 and secondary school at 13. The borough had well over 30 secondary schools on its creation, although this
354-716: A comprehensive school). The sole independent school in the borough is the Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School in Stourbridge, which follows the Steiner Waldorf curriculum. The Old Swinford Hospital school in Stourbridge is one of only 34 state-funded boarding schools in England, with education being funded by the local education authority (LEA). The main NHS hospital serving the borough
413-461: A focus on higher level engineering courses, it partners Dudley College of Technology , University of Wolverhampton , University of Worcester , In-Comm Training Services Limited and Avensys UK Limited. A Higher Education Centre for Health & Care is proposed as a partnership between Dudley College of Technology and University of Worcester and expected to be open for Autumn 2024. There are 104 Dudley Council schools: 78 Primary, 40 of which include
472-653: A number of homes for private sale. In November 2021 Dudley Council was named homebuilder of the year (organisations with 16,000 homes or more category) at the Inside Housing UK Housing Awards. There are two further education colleges in the Dudley Borough: Dudley College of Technology , Halesowen College . The borough is also home to the King Edward VI sixth form college in Stourbridge, originally
531-581: A regular schedule. These include: In October 2006 a volleyball club was started in Coseley, which competes in the West Midlands Volleyball League. Coseley Volleyball Club initially trained and played matches at Dudley Leisure Centre, but from 25 February 2007 moved to Coseley Leisure Centre. Coseley also has a cricket club which has been in existence on a site on Church Road since 1870. They currently have 3 teams playing in
590-550: A research facility for the development of VLR technologies and projects. The centre will redevelop the former Dudley Railway Station and reconnect the town with the National Rail Network. The DY5 Business and Innovation Enterprise Zone was launched in 2017 with the ambition to create 7,000 new jobs over 25 years. The zone is centred around the Brierley Hill area. The Dudley Townscape Heritage programme
649-502: A shift in focus towards the service sector (accounting for 79.1% of employment) and tourism . Despite this, there are still numerous large industrial sites around the borough, such as the Pensnett Trading Estate , with the manufacturing industries making up 15.3% of employment. Tourism is of increasing importance to the local economy, with approximately 6,600 people employed within the sector. Attractions such as
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#1732772581901708-506: A subsequent second phase of the factory (at the other side of a now-defunct railway line) was actually situated in Tipton, as were its offices in Sedgley Road West, which had been taken over by Tipton Urban District Council by the end of the 1930s. Bean ceased production of passenger cars in 1929, and for the next two years switched to commercial vehicles. After 1931, Bean switched ventures again – this time to making car parts. It
767-430: A £4million scheme. The former Sessions Court in the same complext of buildings been converted into Brookes Bistro restaurant. Named for Brooke Robinson who was a former MP and coroner for Dudley and left a bequest which led to the building for the former Museum and Art Gallery , Town Hall and Coroners Court. Relatively little new council housing has been built in the borough since the early 1980s, with almost all of
826-666: Is Russells Hall Hospital , situated to the south of Dudley town centre. Following a major expansion of the hospital in 2005, all inpatient services were transferred to the site from smaller hospitals around the borough, resulting in the closure of Wordsley Hospital , and the downgrading of the Guest Hospital and Corbett hospitals into outpatient centres. Psychiatric care is offered at the Bushey Fields Hospital , located adjacent to Russells Hall Hospital. Coseley Urban District Coseley Urban District
885-534: Is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands , England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972 , through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stourbridge and Halesowen . The borough's main settlement is Dudley but it also includes the outlying towns of Brierley Hill , Halesowen , Kingswinford , Lye , Netherton , Sedgley , and Stourbridge . The borough borders Sandwell to
944-471: Is on ongoing programme of work improving historical buildings in Dudley town centre. Phase 1 ran from 2008-2015, phase 2 from 2017-2023. Phase 2 started following a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £1.2 million. As part of the programme historic buildings were identified, repaired or restored. Heritage trails and open days were also developed. In addition, further development of the former Dudley Museum and Art Gallery site has been proposed as part of
1003-625: The Black Country Living Museum and Dudley Zoo bring in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Brierley Hill is one of the largest shopping centres in the UK and is the main retail centre of the borough, with an average of 23.5 million visitors a year, and houses branches of several large retailers including Primark , Marks & Spencer , and Next . Other large employers in
1062-640: The Department for Education’s Free Schools Programme. Since the University of Wolverhampton closed its Dudley campus in 2002, the metropolitan borough is the largest district in the UK without its own university. Several projects in the Castle Hill area of the Dudley are now linking with local universities. The Black Country & Marches Institute of Technology opened in September 2021, with
1121-401: The Local Government Act 1985 , and Dudley effectively became a unitary authority . Dudley Council has its main offices in Dudley town centre (where Dudley Council House is located), along with additional smaller offices throughout the borough. The council is made up of 72 councillors representing 24 wards . On its formation in 1974, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley was controlled by
1180-708: The Local Government Commission for England , it was divided between the County Boroughs of Dudley , Wolverhampton and West Bromwich . Most of the historic Ettingshall village was placed in Wolverhampton, while Brierley was roughly half split between Wolverhampton and West Bromwich, and the main Coseley area became part of Dudley. In 1974, these became part of the newly created West Midlands metropolitan county The former Coseley Urban District Council offices became redundant with
1239-780: The West Coast Main Line provides a direct rail link to Wolverhampton and Birmingham . The station is currently operated by West Midlands Trains . The area was served by Deepfields & Coseley railway station from 1852 until replaced by the current station in 1902. The former Coseley Urban District had two stations on the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton railway line: Daisy Bank and Princes End and Coseley , both of which closed in 1962. Bus services in Coseley are operated by Diamond , National Express and Banga Buses. Services travel to Sedgley, Dudley, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Moseley and Bilston on
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#17327725819011298-566: The West Midlands . However, the north of the Brierley area and most of Ettingshall were merged into the Wolverhampton County Borough instead, while a smaller area bordering Tipton was transferred into the expanded borough of West Bromwich , in turn becoming part of Sandwell in 1974. Numerous council housing estates were built by Coseley Urban District Council. Some of the first council estates to be built during
1357-606: The 1920s and 1930s included Ward Grove at Lanesfield, Hartland Avenue at Hurst Hill, Norton Crescent at Wallbrook and the Batmanshill Road estate near Princes End. The first sections of the Woodcross Estate were built in the 1930s, but most of Woodcross was built in the 1950s, along with a further housing estate at Hilton Road in Lanesfield and in the south of the district at Central Drive. A large section of
1416-496: The 1920s to replace sub standard older housing and by 1962 had built over 2,000 properties, mostly houses but also flats and bungalows. The largest developments were at Woodcross and Lanesfield on new housing estate, while large sections of the Wallbrook , Princes End and Hurst Hill areas were redeveloped with new housing during the 1950s and 1960s. Coseley urban district ceased to exist in 1966 when, under recommendations of
1475-575: The 1960s. A by-pass was opened on 23 August 1989, incorporating a widened section of Green Street, to relieve congestion in the town centre. Coseley was originally part of Staffordshire . Coseley was formerly a chapelry in the parish of Sedgley , in 1894 Coseley became an urban district, on 30 September 1903 Coseley became a civil parish , being formed from the part of Sedgley parish in Coseley Urban District . Coseley had unsuccessfully bid for borough status in 1937. On 1 April 1966,
1534-515: The 2021 festival postponed to 2022 due to the covid-19 pandemic. The Caste Hill area of Dudley is also a hub of visitor attractions including the Black Country Living Museum and the Canal and Tunnel Trust. Dudley Zoological Gardens , which is also in this area, is the second most visited paid visitor attraction in the West Midlands. The Archives and Local History Centre is now also
1593-443: The Coseley section was not demolished until the summer of 2008. The land has yet to be redeveloped. The former Newey Goodman site, which was divided into industrial units after the company was broken up during the 1990s, was completely abandoned by 2014, but remains undeveloped. Cannon Industries, famous for producing gas and electric cookers, was based in Coseley from 1861 until the closure of its Havacre Lane factory in 1993. However,
1652-761: The Council and serves for the whole of the Municipal Year until the next Annual Meeting. As part of the West Midlands Combined Authority , Dudley is also served by the Mayor of the West Midlands . The 24 wards of the Dudley Borough are each represented by 3 councillors. At the 2021 Census , the total population of Dudley Metropolitan Borough was 323,488, an increase of 10,563 from the 2011 Census . The population density
1711-640: The Crestwood School since adopting comprehensive status), King Edward VI Boys Grammar School in Stourbridge (which is now a mixed sixth form college), Stourbridge Girls High School (which merged with the Boys Grammar School and Valley Road Secondary Modern School to form Redhill School), Halesowen Grammar School (which merged with Halesowen Technical School to form Earls High School) and High Arcal Grammar School in Sedgley (which survived as
1770-630: The Labour Party. Since then the controlling party has frequently changed, sometimes with no political party having a clear majority. Following the local elections in May 2024 the council returned to no overall control. The Mayor of the Borough acts as the Borough's first citizen attending many civic and ceremonial functions to represent the Council. They are elected at the Annual Meeting of
1829-699: The Staffs Club Championship on a Saturday, and two teams that play in the Worcester Borders Sunday League. A Youth section has also been recently introduced. At the end of the 1950s, plans were announced to build a public swimming pool in Coseley. A site to the east of the centre, in Peartree Lane, was identified, and work began on the site on 25 August 1962, the foundation stone being laid by local councillor and future Mayor of Dudley , John T. "Jack" Wilson. It
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1888-525: The Wallbrook area was redeveloped with houses and three- and four-storey blocks of flats and maisonettes during the 1950s and 1960s. This includes the area around Spencer Avenue and Chaucer Close, which is now affected by high levels of crime, particularly graffiti, vandalism and drink-fuelled anti-social behaviour. The Coseley Urban District Council Offices were opened in 1897 on the corner of Green Street and School Street, and remained in that building until
1947-644: The borough include JCDecaux UK, which has its Birmingham area office in Halesowen , Rentokil Initial , and Midtherm Engineering . Dudley borough has an increasing tourism offer, with attractions such as the Black Country Geopark being recognised in 2020 and the Stourbridge Glass Museum due to open in 2022. Tourism and the visitor economy is an important sector to the borough, supporting approximately 8,000 jobs. Many of
2006-535: The borough stood at 3.8%, slightly higher than the national average of 3.5%. 41.1% of those aged 16 and over were economically inactive, consisting of 24.3% retired, 5.2% looking after homes or family, 4.5% long-term sick or disabled, 4.2% students and 3.0% other economically inactive. A part of the Black Country , Dudley traditionally has been an industrial centre of manufacturing , quarrying , and mining , although this has declined in more recent years, with
2065-614: The borough's tourist attractions draw on the industrial heritage of the area. For example, the Red House Glass Cone is an original structure from the 18th Century glass making industry in Stourbridge. The site includes designer-maker studios, galleries and hot glass studio. The Stourbridge Glass Quarter locality is also home to The Lace Guild , Glasshouse Heritage Centre and hosts the International Festival of Glass every 2 years, most recently in 2019 with
2124-499: The bulk of the factory buildings were retained as Cannon Business Park, a mix of industrial and commercial ventures. The original factory in Darkhouse Lane lay abandoned for many years but was demolished in 2018 and the site redeveloped for housing. The access road to the new housing development has been named Cannon Park Way. The main "high street" in Coseley is Castle Street. Most of the current buildings have been built since
2183-462: The bus station was rebuilt and a section of the 1960s shopping area demolished to make way for a new Asda superstore. A similar redevelopment of Stourbridge town centre in 2011/12 saw most of the Crown Centre completely rebuilt to incorporate a new Tesco superstore. There are currently several major regeneration projects throughout the borough. Significant infrastructure projects include
2242-568: The dissolution of the Urban District Council in April 1966. They were demolished in about 1970. Lanesfield , Woodcross , and Ettingshall were all part of Coseley until 1966, when being incorporated into the borough of Wolverhampton. Part of Princes End was also in Coseley until this date, then being transferred into the borough of West Bromwich ( Sandwell from 1974) and the township of Tipton . Coseley railway station on
2301-551: The east, the city of Birmingham to the south east, Bromsgrove to the south in Worcestershire , South Staffordshire District to the west, and the city of Wolverhampton to the north. The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley was created in 1974 from the existing boroughs of Dudley , the Municipal Borough of Stourbridge and the Municipal Borough of Halesowen. This followed an earlier reorganisation in 1966, as per
2360-506: The estate were demolished as part of the regeneration. Since 2017 small developments of council housing have been built, including bungalows, housing and low-rise flats. Some properties have been designed to accommodate those with specific physical needs or those in need of supported living. The homes have been built across the borough ( Brierley Hill , Coseley , Dudley , Halesowen , Kingswinford , Lower Gornal , Sedgley and Stourbridge ). During this period Dudley Council have also built
2419-739: The home of the council run Dudley Museum . The museum is also the headquarters of the Black Country Geopark . Along with sites recognised as part of the Geopark, the borough has seven nature reserves and many parks contributing to its green spaces. In 2021, the Green Flag award was obtained by seven of the boroughs sites ( Buffery Park , Huntingtree Park, Mary Stevens Park , Priory Park , The Leasowes , Wrens Nest National Nature Reserve and Saltwells National Nature Reserve ). Mary Stevens Park and Priory Park were also awarded Green Heritage Site status, with Abbey Road Allotments recognised with
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2478-833: The last separate infant and junior schools to merge being Red Hall in Lower Gornal in January 1997. There are no grammar schools in the borough, with all state schools being comprehensive , a system which has been universal in the borough since the mid-1970s. The former grammar schools in the borough were Dudley's Boys Grammar and Girls High Schools (merged with Park Secondary Modern School in 1975 to form The Dudley School, which in turn merged with The Blue Coat School to form Castle High in 1989), Sir Gilbert Claughton Grammar School in Dudley (which adopted comprehensive status in 1975 before closing in 1990), Brierley Hill Grammar School (actually situated in Kingswinford; it has been known as
2537-546: The new Dudley Transport Interchange and the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill West Midlands Metro extension. The 11km metro extension will connect Dudley, Merry Hill and Brierley Hill with the metro network and so to the proposed HS2 line. The first phase to Dudley town centre is expected to open for passenger services in 2024. The second phase will then extend to Brierley Hill, terminating in Cottage Street in
2596-616: The new social housing developments since then being built by housing associations . Most of the older private housing in the borough has been renovated rather than demolished during this time. However, there have been a number of redevelopment programmes involving 20th century council housing. In July 1999, four of the borough's tower blocks (two at Eve Hill in Dudley and two at Tanhouse in Halesowen) were demolished on consecutive weekends in controlled explosions. Two years later, two more tower blocks at Queens Cross in Dudley were demolished using
2655-556: The number of secondary schools in the borough fall to 21, dropping to 20 with the closure of Pensnett High School in July 2012, and to 19 when the Coseley School closed five years later. When the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley was formed, many primary schools were existed as separate infant and junior or first and middle schools, but by 1990 virtually all of the separate schools had been merged to create full circle primary schools,
2714-442: The parish of Sedgley and formed Lower Sedgley Local Board District . In 1875, the name was changed to Coseley Local Board District by order of the board and, in 1895, became Coseley Urban District . At this stage, most of the Coseley area was occupied by industrial and agricultural land; it was known during this time for its Carboniferous fossils. Coseley Urban District Council built several thousand council houses and flats over
2773-577: The provisions of the Local Government Act 1958 , which saw an expansion of the three boroughs from the abolition of the surrounding urban districts of Amblecote , Brierley Hill , Coseley , and Sedgley ; and the municipal boroughs of Tipton , Oldbury , and Rowley Regis . Initially the borough had a two-tier system of local government, with the borough council sharing power with the West Midlands County Council . In 1986 metropolitan county councils were abolished under
2832-594: The same method. Four tower blocks in Netherton are scheduled for demolition in 2017/18. In 2009, 266 homes on the predominantly 1930s Priory Estate in Dudley were demolished and the land later redeveloped with new housing. In the mid-1990s, the neighbouring Wren's Nest Estate underwent extensive refurbishment as well as improved community facilities in a multimillion-pound project funded by the European Single Budget . Four blocks of low-rise flats on
2891-558: The south of Coseley became part of the County Borough of Dudley , part also went to the County Borough of Wolverhampton , the County Borough of West Bromwich and the County Borough of Walsall . The parish was also abolished on 1 April 1966 and merged with Dudley, Wolverhampton, West Bromwich and Walsall. In 1961 the parish had a population of 39,535. In 1974 it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in
2950-484: The town centre following an additional £60million funding from central government. Regeneration projects around the Castle Hill area are combining innovation and education. The Black Country and Marches Institute of Technology opened in September 2021 and focuses delivery on higher level courses in manufacturing and engineering, medical engineering, modern construction methodologies and digital technologies. The Very Light Rail (VLR) National Innovation Centre will provide
3009-452: The town centre of Dudley from a merger of The Dudley School and Blue Coat School ; this new school also took in some of the former Gilbert Claughton and Mons Hill pupils. The 1980s had also seen the closure of some the borough's less popular and smaller primary schools, with the older buildings mostly being demolished and the more modern ones being converted for community use. The closure of Cradley High School in Halesowen in July 2008 saw
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#17327725819013068-561: The way for the creation of the Merry Hill Shopping Centre on nearby farmland between 1985 and 1989. The Waterfront leisure and commercial complex was developed on the site of the steelworks itself between 1989 and 1995. Pensnett Trading Estate in Kingswinford has been developed since the 1960s for mostly light industry and services. A major redevelopment of Halesowen town centre took place in 2007/08, when
3127-408: Was 3,320.4 residents per square km compared to the West Midlands region population density was 457.8 residents per square km. 84.9% of Dudley's population identified as White, with 82.4% identifying as White British , 0.3% as White Irish , and 2.1% as Other White. The second largest ethnic group was Asian and British Asian , making up 8.4% of the population (an increase from 2011 where the figure
3186-423: Was 6.1%). Black and Black British people comprised 2.5% of the population of the borough (an increase from 2011 where the figure was 1.5%). Statistics on religious beliefs show that 49.3% of the population identify as Christian (65.3% in 2011), with the second largest religious group being Muslim , at 6.2% (4.1% in 2011). 36% identified as having no religion. Unemployment amongst those aged 16 and over in
3245-591: Was a key supplier for the largest independent British carmaker – British Motor Corporation , British Leyland , Austin Rover , Rover Group and most recently MG Rover – until the business closed due to financial problems in October 2005. Its demise was largely blamed on the closure of its key client MG Rover six months earlier. The Tipton part of the Bean site was demolished shortly afterwards and developed for housing, but
3304-464: Was a local government district in Staffordshire which was created in 1894. It was made up of the villages of Brierley (now Bradley ), Ettingshall and Coseley , which had previously been part of the ancient manor of Sedgley - the western section of which formed Sedgley Urban District . The urban district council was based at a building in the town centre. It began building houses in
3363-426: Was later demolished and a veterinary surgery now occupies the site. Since 1927, Coseley has had a direct road link with Birmingham and Wolverhampton. The Birmingham New Road , a dual carriageway, was laid out at this time. Bean Cars opened a factory at Coseley in 1919, with another being in operation in central Dudley. The new factory was situated in the south-east of the district near the border with Tipton, and
3422-571: Was opened on 30 November 1963 by fellow councillor John Pointon. A "Supachute" slide was added in the late 1980s, but over the following 20 years the building's condition gradually deteriorated, resulting in closure by Dudley Council in August 2009, with demolition taking place in March 2010. There have been no secondary schools in Coseley since The Coseley School closed in 2017. Metropolitan Borough of Dudley The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
3481-457: Was quickly reduced as a result of the introduction of the comprehensive system a year later, which resulted in a number of schools being merged or closed. By September 1990, however, the number of secondary schools in the borough had fallen to 22 as a result of the closure of Gilbert Claughton and Mons Hill Schools and the merger of High Park and Longlands Schools in Stourbridge to form Ridgewood High. A year earlier, Castle High had been formed in
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