MP wants Black Country on the map

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An MP has started a Parliamentary petition calling for the Black Country to appear on Ordnance Survey (OS) maps.

Lynda Waltho tabled the early day motion asking the OS to mark the region in its own right, rather than referring to it as part of the West Midlands.

An OS spokesman said the Stourbridge MP's idea would be considered.

The industrial Black Country includes many towns and villages west of Birmingham but its exact boundaries are frequently debated.

Traditionally it is seen as the area where the coal seam came to the surface and includes West Bromwich, Oldbury, Blackheath, Cradley Heath, Old Hill, Bilston, Dudley, Tipton, Wednesfield and parts of Halesowen, Wednesbury and Walsall.

It roughly corresponds with the boroughs of Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley, although Wolverhampton itself, Smethwick and Ms Waltho's own constituency of Stourbridge are often considered to be outside its boundaries.

"We want to put the Black Country on the map - literally"
Lynda Waltho

Ms Waltho said the Black Country Chamber of Commerce also wanted to see the maps renamed to help market the area to visitors.

She added: "There was a real momentum that was built up between the local authorities when we were going for the Black Country Urban Park bid for heritage lottery money, and this campaign's come out of that enthusiasm.

"We are a proud people and we have a proud heritage and want other people to recognise that.

"We want to put the Black Country on the map - literally."

Ms Waltho said she also wanted to see the record of Parliament, Hansard, refer to the Black Country in capital letters rather than "black country".

The OS spokesman said: "We are more than happy to hear from anyone who wants to make a suggestion, especially if it has the consensus of all the local authorities.

"However, we need to balance content with the usability of a map. We would not want to have too many words on it which would make it hard for people to use it."

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