Business News

The on-going regeneration of Perry Barr ahead of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has taken another step forward with the approval of plans for a new bus interchange. The scheme is part of the overall £30.9m transport interchange development which includes the neighbouring Perry Barr railway station.

This is also undergoing a major redevelopment and will be the principal station for Alexander Stadium – the focal point of next summer’s games. Plans for the new bus interchange, which have been drawn up by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) with support from Birmingham City Council will see an overhaul of how services pick up and drop off passengers.

New research from Utilita - the UK’s only energy company created to help households use less energy - has today revealed that if consumers have their way, energy companies - or the regulator itself - will be made to backpay green premiums of up to £144 per year to customers as a result of misleading ‘100% renewable energy’ claims.

Almost three in five ‘green’ energy tariff customers - of which there are nine million in the UK - say they would claim back the premiums they have paid over time (58%), and even more said they would take action against their energy supplier if they had been misled about the energy they have received. (61%) The research was conducted by Utilita, the energy company that has taken a stance by not offering a ‘green’ tariff and focusing on innovating state-of-the-art technology that helps homes to reduce energy waste by up to 20 percent, instead. 

The Christmas Day and New Year's Day Trading (Scotland) Act 2007 gives the Scottish Government the power to make an order by statutory instrument to close large shops on New Year's Day. Usdaw has called on the Scottish Government to apply the relevant section of the Act for the last 14 years and welcomed the decision of the Government to consult on this matter.

New Year's Day in Scotland is a special day, but this is not reflected in the experience of many retail workers, who are often required to work on this day. Usdaw surveyed 1,473 of its Scottish members on their experiences of working over New Year 2018/19, and the results were clear:

The region’s entrepreneurs of the future are being encouraged to apply for a place on a programme to take their fledgling business to the next level.

Called E4F New Start (entrepreneurs of the future), the scheme is aimed at supporting young people leaving education, those not in education, training or employment, and people who have lost their job due to the pandemic. The organisers are looking to support those who need help starting up a business that has an element of technology involved, such as ecommerce.

The North West has more fixed speed cameras than any other region of the UK, according to research by car leasing comparison website LeaseLoco. Data on speed camera locations¹ reveals there are 657 roadside fixed speed cameras across the North West - this compares with 137 cameras, a fifth of that number, across the North East.

South East England, with 639 fixed cameras, is the only other region with more than 600 devices. There are just 78 speed cameras across the West Midlands. At a county level, Lancashire (261) has the highest number of fixed speed cameras, 50% more than Greater Manchester (174), which is ranked second for cameras.

New Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistics released this morning show the number of UK workers on payrolls rose by 182,000 between June and July, but UK universities and business warn that the battle is not yet won.

Rosalind Lowe, Head of Policy and Engagement at NCUB said: “Whilst it is positive that the numbers of UK workers on payrolls has risen, now is no time for complacency.

A predicted increase in UK rail fares will send out ‘the wrong signal’ at a time of impending crisis due to climate change, an economist said today.

Steve McCabe, Associate Professor at Birmingham City University, suggested price hikes in train travel “may mean some are tempted to use cars” and that the UK Government should ensure “everyone, especially the poorest, have access to equally good and affordable train travel”.   

Major businesses and corporations are being offered the opportunity to become the official sponsor of the region’s popular new cycle hire scheme. Initially launched in March, West Midlands Cycle Hire is already set to be the UK's biggest outside London once the roll out of its 1,500 bikes is completed later this year, but has the potential to grow even further with the backing of a corporate sponsor 

Around 1,000 bikes are currently available for hire and there have already been nearly 100,000 journeys made by people across the region. Following a competitive tender process Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), has appointed PHAR Partnerships as its exclusive agency with a brief to secure a sponsor.  

A group of fashion students at Birmingham City University are hoping to instil positive wellbeing in visitors to Birmingham’s flagship Selfridges’ store this month through a special installation.

Fashion Business and Promotion students have created a 'Transcendence' installation as part of their visual communication module, which challenges students to consider how physical retail experiences might evolve into immersive experiences.

Sandwell Leisure Trust (SLT) is heralding its latest independently verified success story of generating and delivering £16.5 million of social value back to the borough.

In the last full operational year prior to the impact of Covid-19, the Black Country-based charity (which runs nine leisure facilities for Sandwell Council across the borough) achieved 16.1% local resident attendance figures – the national average is 15.9% - but with seven of its centres sitting in the third or fourth (the highest) quartiles it places them all well above standard for the industry.

Passengers are being thanked for their patience after work to improve future journeys between Rugby and Stafford.

Over the last four weekends more than a mile of new railway track has been laid as part of a £2.6m Network Rail investment. The improved railway lines reopened providing smoother, faster and more reliable journeys for passengers. More than 500 railway workers carried out the essential work over a total of 240 hours.

The 50th new home has now been completed on the once derelict site of the former Harvestime Bakery in Walsall with construction continuing despite the pandemic. The 88-home development by Vistry Partnerships has only been made possible by a £1.5m investment by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) which has been used to clean up the site and make it suitable for housing. 

The scheme is one of a growing number of disused industrial sites that are being redeveloped under the West Midlands Mayor and WMCA’s ‘brownfield first’ regeneration programme, bringing long derelict sites back to life with homes and jobs for local people. Harvestime closed nine years ago and the 4.6-acre site remained derelict until the WMCA stepped in to fund the clean-up and prepare the ground for new housing.

The owners of Wolverhampton city centre’s historic Beatties building have confirmed their plans for its phased remodelling.

SSYS Beatties Ltd purchased the building in 2020 following the announcement of the closure of the department store. They have now started the process of securing a contractor for the first phase of development, which will see around 150 new homes concentrated around the multi-storey car park and modern annex areas of the building,

Full works are set to start this month on building the first new council homes on the Heath Town estate since it was officially opened by HRH Princess Margaret in 1969.

It forms part of a major transformation of the estate, which has seen an extensive demolition programme of vacant buildings, existing residential blocks undergo major improvements by Wolverhampton Homes, and the creation of three new play areas and a football pitch.

Construction think-tank Constructing Excellence Midlands has announced a landmark partnership with innovation exchange platform The Grid to provide access to dedicated digital social platform SciGrid for its members. SCi Grid - which facilitates engagement with social value projects in the construction industry - aims to provide guidance on how firms can achieve Net Zero Carbon, providing guidance on the best practice solutions and current policies, as well as becoming a space for collaborative partners to showcase their industry expertise.

The activity feed on SCi Grid will connect innovative minds, companies and organisations to provide a blend of real life, real time and virtual engagement for the construction industry in the Midlands. The platform will allow industry experts to highlight sustainable construction projects and engage in thought leadership, as well as an opportunity for firms to advertise job opportunities in front of an engaged audience of potential employees.

The City of Wolverhampton Council Leader has reiterated his brownfield development first message ahead of public consultation on the future of housing plans in the region.

The consultation on the latest phase of the Black Country Plan will open on August 16 and Councillor Ian Brookfield is urging people to get involved and help protect greenbelt land in the city. The government projects that the Black Country will need just over 76,000 new homes over the next 20 years.