Birmingham is at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation. On Facebook, BirminghamWorld asked whether Redditch, Bromsgrove, Wythall, Hollywood and Solihull should form part of a Greater Birmingham to a strong response, so I'm here in the city centre to ask the same.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Um, I can't say they're great at Birmingham. I don't know if it's necessary. I don't know if
00:06 people really want it or not. I think the people who live out in Redditches and Bromsgrove and
00:11 places like that, I think they probably feel that that's where they're from. They're not
00:14 necessarily from Birmingham. They're from Worcestershire or whatever that would be,
00:18 and they've got their own identity. Um, I don't see what it would bring. I don't know why it's
00:23 better for Manchester to have that greater Manchester area. It's improved them as a city,
00:28 I guess, if that's helped because Manchester's grown a lot more, whereas we haven't so much.
00:32 I think it's good if we can connect them, like with the trams and things like that,
00:36 to make it easier to get to Wolverhamptons and places a bit further away. But, um, it's not
00:41 something I've ever really thought about. I think Birmingham is what Birmingham is. The black
00:45 country is what that is. I don't think we need to expand it under one name. Yeah, I've been very
00:52 supportive of that. It's quite good to have the central Birmingham and then you've sort of got
00:56 the peripheries, you know, it's got a, it unites with Birmingham, but it's actually cast a sort of
01:02 a separate air in its own entity, but still has those strong links, because I feel that that's
01:06 what's happening anyway with places like Solihull and that sort of thing, because I think they are
01:12 so close to Birmingham and I think they can share a lot of resources. As far as the black country's
01:17 concerned, it is its own entity in a funny way, because it's got its own identity, its own accent.
01:22 You know, I've been following the story of the crooked house, which is really
01:27 interesting and you sort of see that whole community spirit rising forth, because, you
01:32 know, something like that's deemed as a bit of an insult on the black country. So I think,
01:37 I do think the black country is a bit special, but in its own right.
01:40 Yeah, I think it's a really good idea. I'm a Londoner, so, well, I grew up on the border
01:46 on the border of London, sort of, Kent, South East London border, and them counties got bigger,
01:51 and it's been better for it. So I think overall, yeah, I think it'd be a good thing. Also,
01:55 from a tourist perspective as well, and yeah, as a southerner, I do count black country as a part
02:00 of Birmingham. I know it's not, I know it's a little bit uneducated, but from tourists as well
02:04 coming in, it could only be a good thing all round. So I'm all for it. Yeah, definitely.
02:08 Yeah, I've, yeah, because I live in the Hollywood Whistle, Solihull area, so I'd rather be classed
02:17 as Birmingham and the black country. Yeah, yeah, that is classed as, that's right, Birmingham.
02:25 So bringing the local outer communities all together, involving a better transport system
02:33 for people who can't drive, that would be fantastic. Because some of the outer reaches
02:37 of Birmingham can be a nightmare on the bus, if those with disabilities and the like. So if
02:42 everyone was to merge together, that'd be fantastic, especially with a better bus service
02:47 for the outer reaches of all the little towns and villages that are on the outskirts of Birmingham,
02:51 that'd be fantastic. And a more frequent service on, especially at weekends, a bit later on in the
02:58 evenings, because it can be a nightmare. You might come into town where you can't get out of town,
03:02 which is a right ache.