Birmingham is officially in the North

Often, people are very proud of their Northern/Southern heritage but sometimes it seems difficult to place Birmingham. Alas, it seems we finally have the answer.

It’s Northern. Or, according to a study done by the University of Sheffield it is, but only just. The study has devised a line which they believe best represents the North South Divide, and Birmingham sits just above it.

Warwick however, is in the South, showing how close cut this line is. The University of Sheffield highlight the fact that it fluctuates between even fields and houses.

The study conducted by Professor Danny Dorling, uses an array of factors including; house prices, visual changes in the built environment, physical and historic boundaries, cultural and political differences and different life expectancy rates. He does, however, suggest that this line is not a permanent one and will change based on new transport connections and states that the factors affecting the line are incredibly complex.

Interestingly, in some aspects, there is an obvious divide between the North and South. For example, south of the line there is a whole extra year of life expectancy.

This new fangled line will almost certainly be a topic of controversy over the coming weeks, and fuel the fire of the North South debate.