Borough of Solihull
Geography
Status:	Metropolitan borough
Region:	West Midlands
Ceremonial County:	West Midlands
Area: - Total	Ranked 198th 178.29 km²
Admin. HQ:	Solihull
ONS code:	00CT
Demographics
Population: - Total (2002 est.) - Density	Ranked 65th 199,595 1,119 / km²
Ethnicity:	94.6% White 2.5% S.Asian
Politics
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council http://www.solihull.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:	Conservative
MPs:	Caroline Spelman, John Taylor

The Metropolitan borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is named after its main town of Solihull, which forms part of the Birmingham urban area.

The borough also contains the area of Castle Bromwich which used to be part of Birmingham. It also contains a sizeable rural area known as the Meriden Gap (after the village of Meriden) which serves as a green belt separating the Birmingham conurbation from Coventry.

The borough includes Birmingham International Airport, the National Exhibition Centre, and Birmingham International railway station.

Until 1974 the area now covered by the borough of Solihull used to be part of Warwickshire. The area became a metropolitan borough of the newly created West Midlands county on April 1st 1974. The borough was formed by the merger of Solihull County Borough and Meriden Rural District, which forms the main rural part of the borough and county.

Places in Solihull

Localities in the borough include:

• Balsall , Balsall Common, Barston , Bentley Heath , Berkswell , Bickenhill , Blossomfield
• Catherine-de-Barnes , Castle Bromwich, Chelmsley Wood, Cheswick Green , Coleshill Heath
• Dickens Heath , Dorridge
• Elmdon Heath
• Fordbridge
• Hampton-in-Arden
• Kingshurst , Knowle
• Lyndon
• Marston Green , Meriden, Monkspath Street
• Olton
• Packwood
• St Alfphege , Sharmans Cross , Shirley, Silhill , Smith's Wood , Solihull
• Temple Balsall
• Whitlock's End