Metropolitan Borough of Dudley

The local government structure within North Worcestershire and South Staffordshire – Prior to the West Midlands Order 1965 reorganisation

The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley was created in 1974 from the existing boroughs of Dudley, Stourbridge and Halesowen. This followed an earlier reorganization in 1966, as per 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.[3][4][5]

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 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, and as of the 2016 local government elections, has no party with overall control. The political make-up is as follows:[6] The 2018 election left Labour and the Conservatives tied on 35 seats each, but the Tories re-took control of the council when the last remaining UKIP member defected to the Conservatives. In the time since, one Conservative councillor in the Norton ward has defected to the Labour Party, which means control of the council could quite easily change yet again.

On its formation in 1974, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley was controlled by the Labour Party, who lost control to the Conservatives in 1976. From 1980 to 1982 and again from 1984 to 1986, there was no overall control of the council, with the Conservatives regaining their majority in 1982 before losing it again in 1984. Labour won overall control of the council in 1986 and held it until 1992, when the Conservatives briefly controlled the council with a majority of one, before losing control back to Labour the following September. Then came a nine-year run of Labour overall control which ended in 2003, when no party had overall control and the Conservatives led a minority administration. In 2004, the Conservatives gained control of Dudley MBC and held it for eight years before losing control to Labour. In 2016, Labour lost control of the council, and formed a minority administration - supported by UKIP, which lasted until 2017 when the Conservatives, again supported by Ukip, took over the leadership of the authority. The 2018 local elections left the Conservatives and Labour tied on 35 seats, but the Conservatives regained control shortly after when the authority's only remaining UKIP councillor defected to the Tories.

At the 2011 Census, the total population of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough was 312,925,[32] an increase of 7,770 from the last census;[34] making it the 25th largest government district in England. The population density was 31.9 people per hectare.

90.4% of Dudley's population identified as White, with 88.7% identifying as White British, 0.5% as White Irish, and 1.2% as Other White. The second largest ethnic group was Asian and British Asian, making up 5.6% of the population. Black and Black British people comprised 1.7% of the population of the borough.[33]

Statistics on religious beliefs show that 65.3% of the population identify as Christian, with the second largest religious group being Muslim, at 4.1%. 22% identified as having no religion, while 6.2% did not state a religious belief.[35]

Unemployment in the borough stood at 5.3%, slightly higher than the national average of 4.4%. Of those in the population considered economically active, 38.2% were in full-time employment, 15% were in part-time employment, 7.5% were self-employed, and 2.5% were in full-time education.

Of those economically inactive, 16.2% were retired, 4.6% were looking after homes or family, 4.4% were long-term sick or disabled, and 4.3% were full-time students without employment.[36]

The Merry Hill Shopping Centre is one of the largest shopping centres in the UK

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 a shift in focus towards the service sector (accounting for 79.1% of employment)[37] 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.[37]

Tourism is of increasing importance to the local economy, with approximately 6,600 people employed within the sector.[37] Attractions such as the Black Country Living Museum and Dudley Zoo bring in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.[38]

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 Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, and Next.[39]

Other large employers in the borough include JCDecaux UK, which has its Birmingham area office in Halesowen,[40] Rentokil Initial, and Midtherm Engineering.

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 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 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.

Relatively little new council housing has been built in the borough since the early 1980s, with almost all of 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 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 the estate were demolished as part of the regeneration.

Russells Hall Hospital

The main NHS hospital serving the borough 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.

See also Healthcare in West Midlands.

See List of areas in Dudley

• Evolution of Worcestershire county boundaries
• South Staffordshire Line

• Dudley Borough Wards