The County of Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a largely rural county, with four main towns: Bromsgrove,

Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester City – lying between the Cotswolds, Welsh

Border and Birmingham. There are four further substantial market towns of Malvern, Pershore, Evesham and

Droitwich.

The major motorway network of the M42, M5 and M6 provide excellent links and intersect the county. Local leisure facilities are well developed and the area has easy access to Birmingham where the National

Indoor Arena, International Convention Centre with the Birmingham Symphony

Hall and National Exhibition Centre are located. Stratford and the Royal Shakespeare Company are on the doorstep.

Worcester City lying on the banks of the River Severn has the world famous cathedral, County Cricket Ground,

Worcester Warriors Rugby Club, and is home to the Royal Worcester Porcelain

Museum and Elgar’s Birthplace Museum. The Malvern Hills (an Area of Outstanding

Natural Beauty) and the Wyre forest are in the locality.

Worcestershire has many sites of historical interest and natural beauty. The economy of the country is based on agriculture, horticulture, light engineering and increasingly service industries.

There is a wide range of high quality state and private schools serving the county, and the University of Worcester is continuing to develop and expand, recently opening a multi-million pounds Sport Centre and a brand new £1 million Digital Arts Centre.

Worcestershire is located in the south of the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority and NHS Worcestershire is the Primary Care Trust. The health of the people of Worcestershire is generally better than the national average. Life expectancy differs across the county but overall is above the national average for men and close to it for women.

Worcestershire is quite affluent and is ranked 121 out of 152 PCTs in England accordingly to the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007 in which 1 is the most deprived. However, there are seven areas which fall within the top 10% most deprived nationally: three in Worcester City, two in Wyre Forest and two in Redditch.