Oldbury is a town in Sandwell, West Midlands in England. It is a section of the Black Country, and the administrative centre of the borough of Sandwell. The town's name comes from the Old English 'Ealdenbyrig', which signifies that Oldbury was old even in early English times over 1000 years ago. Eald is Old English for 'old', and Byrig is the plural of 'burh' in Old English, with a burh being a fortification or fortified town. In accordance with the 2011 Census, the town has a permanent population of around 13606 people. Oldbury belonged to the ancient parish of Halesowen, a detached part of Shropshire surrounded by Worcestershire and Staffordshire, till the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, when it was included back into Worcestershire after an absence of nine-hundred years. It became an Urban District in 1894, earning Municipal Borough status in 1935. In this time, Oldbury council created a few thousand homes, flats and cottages for some 40 years before its disbandment, the 1000th of which was completed in 1933 at Wallace Road near the border with Rowley Regis. Ever since the 1980s, the town has seen continued expansion, particularly the creation of more retail possibilities. This features Oldbury Green Retail Park, found on the town's ring road, which was developed in the middle of the 1990s. This, as well as the development of the Merry Hill Shopping Centre found about 6 miles away throughout the second half of the 1980s, has added to a decline in the functioning of close-by West Bromwich town centre as a retail centre for residents. For all of your home remodelings, make certain to identify reputable experts in Oldbury to make certain of quality.