and North of the village respectively. Before the decision was taken to rebuild Wembley Stadium in north London, Bickenhill was a contender to be the site of the new national stadium, indeed the supposed forerunner. National posters on behalf of the Wembley bid proclaimed, 'One day I'll play at Bickenhill...', in a tongue-in-cheek offensive against the proposal. Solihull's landfill site is located in Bickenhill, and that of North Warwickshire in Little Packington, visible from the village. Parish The parish of Bickenhill and Marston Green covers the village of Bickenhill itself and the town of Marston Green. Also in the parish are Birmingham Airport, the National Exhibition Centre, and the National Motorcycle Museum. In the 2011 census the parish population was 7,153, an increase from the 2001 Census figure of 6,583. Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council maintain a waste recycling centre in the parish. The civil parish was renamed from Bickenhill to Bickenhill and Marston Green in 2014. The parish is crossed by two major roads: the M42 and the A45. The A45 is referred to locally as the Coventry Road. Village The village of Bickenhill is south of the A45 road (whereas the rest of the parish is north of the A45). The Church of England parish church of Saint Peter is Norman and as built in 1140. The toponym 'Bickenhill' is derived from the Old English for 'projecting hill'. The majority of the older houses in Bickenhill village are Georgian or Victorian. The village boasts Páirc na hÉireann, the primary venue for Gaelic games in the West Midlands. It boasts three full-size Gaelic Athletic Association pitches with eight changing rooms, bar area and car-parking. Local villages include Catherine-de-Barnes, Hampton-in-Arden and Meriden. Governance The two main local authorities responsible for the parish are Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Bickenhill Parish Council. The Parish Council is responsible for maintaining facilities such as churchyards, cemeteries and parks in the parish and its offices are located at a park near Marston Green. Bickenhill ward elects three councillors to the metropolitan borough council. Further reading References Villages in the West Midlands (county) Solihull Conservation areas in England