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Black Country awarded Unesco geopark status

Phil Riley View of canals and Red House Glass ConePhil Riley
The Red House Glass Cone in Stourbridge's Glass Quarter produced glassware until 1936

The Black Country has been awarded Unesco global geopark status, recognising it as an area of outstanding geological heritage.

Unesco said the area had been recognised due to its cultural heritage and the partnerships committed to conserving, managing and promoting it.

It encompasses sites in Dudley, Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Walsall and becomes the UK's eighth Unesco geopark.

Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley said it was "momentous" for the region.

The role the region played in the Industrial Revolution was at the heart of the bid for status which was backed by partners including Natural England, the Canal and River Trust and the Wildlife Trust For Birmingham and the Black Country.

Phil Riley Dudley CastlePhil Riley
The geopark area includes Dudley Castle
Phil Riley Bumble Hole local nature reservePhil Riley
The Bumble Hole local nature reserve geosite is a classic coal mining landscape of the Black Country

Mr Harley said: "Our region is renowned for being a driving force during the Industrial Revolution and this status recognises the importance our geological heritage played at the time and how it defined this area. It also marks the start of an exciting new chapter."

Colin Prosser Saltwells Nature ReserveColin Prosser
Saltwells local nature reserve is one of the UK's largest urban nature reserves
Phil Riley The Miner, Brownhills, WalsallPhil Riley
The Brownhills Miner sculpture commemorates miners who worked in the town
Phil Riley Sandwell Valley RSPB reservePhil Riley
The Sandwell Valley RSPB reserve, once used by the nearby colliery, now provides homes to a variety of wildlife

More than 40 geosites have so far been selected within the geopark, including Dudley and Wolverhampton Museums, Wren's Nest National Nature Reserve, Sandwell Valley, Red House Glass Cone, Bantock Park and Walsall Arboretum.

Ambassador Matthew Lodge, UK Permanent Delegate to Unesco, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said the announcement "ensures that this remarkable site will continue to inspire the million people who call the landscape home, as well as local and international visitors in the years to come".

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