Community News

The e-scooter trial in Birmingham will be paused on Wednesday, 1 March following the end of the current contract with Voi.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) launched an open tender for the new contract last summer and the procurement process is yet to conclude following bids from a number of interested providers.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that all primary school children in the city will get free school dinners for a year from September, with his £130m plan set to offer all children, regardless of the amount of money their parents earn, a free lunch at school.

One charity, the Children's Food Campaign, said it's "utterly delicious news!", saying it will help London children "concentrate, play and learn."

A member of staff at a Brent dentist was accused of performing procedures on patients that they weren’t qualified to carry out. The practice has had its licence suspended for six months by the health watchdog following a damning inspection report.

Chronos London Dental Care on Chamberlayne Road, which provides both NHS and private dental services, was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on January 6.

Severn Trent is offering free trees to landowners of between 2.2 and 5 acres across its region. The water company is asking interested landowners to get in touch by the end of March to access the exciting offer, which will see Severn Trent assist with pre-planting planning and maintenance costs over 10 years. 

An “incredible, gifted” police officer has been recognised by Birmingham's top bars and clubs for his vital contribution to the city’s successful night-time economy. Sgt Dale Harwood, a member of West Midlands Police’s city centre policing team, was presented with a special Wonders of Westside award, otherwise known as the WOWs.

The Kerbside is commonly known as the part of the road where cars are parked and is the largest public space controlled by Lambeth Council, in London, with an area equivalent to 1,158,000m2 – or 194 football pitches. The Kerbside Strategy will commit Lambeth Council to reclaiming at least 25 percent of this space from vehicle parking and introduce sustainability measures to fulfil a key pledge set out in the Climate Action Plan (CAP).

It was ‘flipping’ fantastic fun as Worcester Cathedral celebrated its legendary annual pancake race this week.

With Shrove Tuesday falling during half term, the choristers donned their cassocks, grabbed their frying pans and headed to the Cathedral’s medieval cloisters a little early this year.

Councillors are being recommended to approve a “significant” increase in the amount the City of Wolverhampton Council pays to adult social care providers of between 11.85% and 20.36% in the next financial year.

A report goes before Cabinet (Resources) Panel today with councillors recommended to approve the proposed increase to 'ensure sufficiency and sustainability across adult social care markets'.

Residents across Haringey are sharing their views and experiences on how and why they recycle and reuse household items in a bid to increase the recycling levels across the borough. 

Tackling climate change is important to residents in Haringey and the one thing that all can do is to improve recycling, reusing and reducing in the borough.

Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu’s agent says the former Chelsea stars’ body was found under rubble of the building he lived in, in Turkey, after last week’s massive earthquakes.

Atsu, who joined Turkish club Hatayspor last year, had been missing since the February 6 earthquakes devastated parts of both Turkey and Syria. Search teams recovered Atsu’s body in the ruins of Ronesans Residence, a luxury 12-storey building where he had been living, in the city of Antakya in Hatay province.

The Interim High Court order banning street cruising across Birmingham stays in force until trial, after a review of the order was heard at the Birmingham High Court on 13 February 2023. The injunction prohibits drivers, and riders/passengers participating in a street cruise anywhere in Birmingham.

Any driver or rider or passenger breaching the order could be arrested immediately, and could face up to two years in prison, a fine, or have their assets seized.

Haringey council has made almost £2m in four months from driving penalties in Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) zones.

The north London council handed out more than 60,000 penalty charge notices between September and December 2022.

Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Enki Medical practice, Birmingham: MBE for services of raising the quality of patient care & Healthcare across Birmingham, particularly the Handsworth community.

Paulette Bolton AKA “Birmingham’s Phenomenal Woman” as she is affectionately called, was an extraordinary nurse who single-handedly revolutionised the National Health Service and improved the quality of patient care in Birmingham UK.

Throughout Paulette's long career spanning over 55 years, not to mention her extensive voluntary work; she has become a role-model to countless health professionals, disadvantaged young people & community members. Not only was Paulette the first afro-Caribbean nurse to ever be appointed as a Nurse Representative on the Board of the Ladywood Primary Care Group and the only nurse and female on the PCG Board when she was re-elected. Paulette was also one of the first Nurse Practitioners to qualify in the whole Heart of Birmingham Primary Care Group.

She played a pivotal role in helping to establish Enki Medical Practice from an initial size of 200 patients to well over 5,000 and then went on to become the first Advance nurse practitioner to ever join Enki Medical Practice. She went on to become one of the first ever Nurse Prescribers in Birmingham. She also campaigned tirelessly for the rights of nurses and improved treatment of people who suffered with drug addiction, homelessness and mentally illness.

What makes Paulette’s achievements all the more remarkable is her selfless compassion for others and extra-ordinary strength of character to survive against enormous odds. Paulette was born in West Moreland, Jamaica in 1951 during the year of a great hurricane. She was raised by her grandmother and sadly had to leave school at the tender age of nine to care for her on a full time basis when she became very ill. Following the death of her grandmother when Paulette was just 10 years old she found herself all alone in the world.

To make matters worse, Paulette left Jamaica with very little formal education. However she refused to give up and taught herself to read and write. When she arrived in England as a 15 year old girl during the 1960s she along with many other Caribbean people were met with suspicion, coldness and outright racial hostility. But she did not let this stop her and entered nursing in 1969.

Paulette dedicated her entire working life to drastically improve the quality of patient care within the most deprived areas of the Birmingham community and in 2020 Paulette was awarded an MBE and recognised in the Queen's Honours. Paulette sadly passed away peacefully after a short illness on 23/01/23 and this immeasurable loss is felt by thousands who loved her dearly across Birmingham and beyond.

“Paulette transformed a small general practice troubled by technical operational challenges & professional rivalries into a thriving highly effective new health centre. This health centre continues to flourish today in its primary care initiatives & responsibilities. This is an example of how Paulette was fundamentally able to change health care for the better. She made sure that the community in the area moved from having a sparse threatened service, to that of having the best facilities & health care possible." Dr Hilary Paniagua, Head of Doctoral studies & Research Fellowship

A vintage shop has acquired a collection of historic Valentine's Day cards, dating as far back as 1880. The hand-made paper-lace cards are for sale at Snoopers Paradise in Kensington Gardens, Brighton.

Cards for wives, husbands, secret crushes, boyfriends, girlfriends, children and even an Edwardian baby’s first Valentine can be found at the eccentric store in North Laine. Some have panels which lift to reveal hidden messages of love.

Valentine's Day week provides many opportunities for lovers to show their emotions and love. This week, couples all over the world are celebrating by expressing their love and admiration for the person they admire.

During Valentine's Day week, people exchange gifts to express their love for their lovers, such as chocolates, flowers, or something meaningful.

DateinaDash, London’s most loved speed dating company is back at the top of their game with a truly unique dating game this Valentines. For only £15 a ticket, rock up in the capital and play a non-violent version of the ever-popular Squid Game in real time!

The dystopian South Korean Netflix series is their most-watched show ever which sees people from all walks of life playing deadly games for cash. However, there’s no need to panic.