The Meriden Gap is a mostly rural area located in the West Midlands

West Midlands (county)

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

 between Solihull

Solihull

Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...

 and Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

. It serves as a green belt

Green Belt (UK)

In United Kingdom town planning, the green belt is a policy for controlling urban growth. The idea is for a ring of countryside where urbanisation will be resisted for the foreseeable future, maintaining an area where agriculture, forestry and outdoor leisure can be expected to prevail...

 which separates the latter from the large West Midlands conurbation

West Midlands conurbation

The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....

, which includes Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 and Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

. The 'Gap' takes its name from the village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 central to the area, Meriden

Meriden, West Midlands

-External links:*****...

. The majority of the gap falls within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull

Metropolitan Borough of Solihull

The Metropolitan Borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands, in west-central England. It is named after its largest town, Solihull, from which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is based. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary...

 with a small amount falling within Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

 and some of the northern part being in the Metropolitan Borough of Coventry.

The gap is largely covered by the Meriden

Meriden (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...

 parliamentary constituency.

Urban pressure

The area is under pressure from housing and business developments in the surrounding urban areas.

The planned expansion of Birmingham International Airport

Birmingham International Airport (UK)

Birmingham Airport , formerly Birmingham International Airport is an airport located east southeast of Birmingham city centre, at Bickenhill in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull within the West Midlands, England...

 outlines the need for construction upon the greenbelt to allow the expansion to happen. Despite opposition to the expansion plans, the proposal was granted approval. There has been a long running public Inquiry into the need for a motorway service area between J3a and J7 on the M42 motorway

M42 motorway

The M42 motorway is a major road in England. The motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre and Tamworth on the way. The section between the M40 and M6 road forms...

 which is expected to conclude in the summer of 2008. The Government has called in the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy

Regional Spatial Strategy

Regional spatial strategies provided regional level planning frameworks for the regions of England outside London. They were introduced in 2004...

Phase Two Revision as it does not believe that this will provide sufficient housing to meet predicted demands, which may also lead to additional housing being built on green belt.