Community News

A West Midlands Metro tram has been named after the late Theresa Stewart, who was during the 1990s the first and so far only woman to lead the UK’s largest local authority.

It is the second time a tram on the Birmingham to Wolverhampton line has been named in her honour – the earlier model was retired from service in 2015 when the fleet was renewed and has since been scrapped. During a long and distinguished career in local politics Theresa Stewart led Birmingham City Council from 1993 to 1999 and was also the Lord Mayor of Birmingham for the year 2000-2001. She died in 2020.

Celebrated British Jamaican photographer and artist Vanley Burke launches his first outdoor sound installation, Reactivating sounds of Blackness, in Handsworth Park, Birmingham. Working with artist Gary Stewart and community interest company, Museum X, Reactivating sounds of Blackness takes people on a journey through a fusion of layered sounds and conversations exploring Black culture and intangible heritage in Britain.

A portrait of Harry and Meghan is to be removed from the Duke of Sussex pub in Waterloo, the hostelry's owners have confirmed.

To mark the royal wedding in 2018, the Duke of Sussex pub in Waterloo commissioned the late Paul Karslake to paint a portrait of the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

More than 100 children and young people in Wolverhampton who are at risk of entering the criminal justice system will be given support to help turn around their lives.

Wolverhampton's Youth Offending Team is taking part in the Turnaround youth early intervention programme led by the Ministry of Justice. It aims to improve outcomes for children and young people who do not currently meet the threshold for statutory support but who may still be at risk of youth offending.

To celebrate the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III this May in London, Percussion Play, the UK based outdoor musical instruments company, has launched a new limited-edition version of the company’s popular outdoor conga drums.

Decorated in the quintessentially British Union Jack flag, the trio of Congas have been appropriately named Coronation Congas and are available to order now, in time for delivery ahead of the coronation.

Leicestershire developer David Wilson Homes has supported Coalville Foodbank with a £2,500 donation towards food and toiletry supplies, and assisting the vital work of volunteers. 

Based at New Life Church, and close to the developer’s head office in Bardon, the foodbank has been operating for roughly 10 years and provides food parcels to local people in need on a referral-only basis.

Yappy.com is on a mission to find the ‘pawfect’ match for your pooch with its brand-new doggy dating service.

New research released by personalised pet brand, Yappy.com has revealed one in three of us are more likely to match with someone on a dating profile if they have a dog in their picture, and 60% of us consider our pups in most of our dating decisions.

To mark World Plumbing Day next Saturday (11 March), WaterSafe, the UK’s register of approved contractors working with drinking water, is warning people in The Midlands not to ignore a leaky loo. Even a small trickle can waste up to 400 litres of water every day and cost the bill payer up to £400 extra per year, meaning homes and businesses are throwing money and water down the drain.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has asked Transport for London (TfL) to look into using ULEZ cameras to charge car users in a 'pay-as-you-drive' scheme in the capital after facing a backlash over the expansion to Outer London. He feels that it could mean millions more into the orbit of paying £12.50 a day for using polluting from August.

AutoFlight, the global eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) pioneer, today announced it had achieved the world’s longest eVTOL flight in history with distance of 250KM/155miles on a single charge of the aircraft’s lithium-ion batteries.

The flight, which took place at AutoFlight’s eVTOL testing facility, consisted of 20 circuits on a predefined flight track, with the plane remotely piloted from the ground by AutoFlight’s Flight Test team.

Shocking new statistics from the charity show that 10,483 calls were received about animals impacted by litter over 2020, 2021 and 2022.

With an average of almost ten reports per day taken by the charity about animals found severely injured, trapped, mutilated, choked or even dead from carelessly discarded litter of all kinds, the RSPCA is urging people to do their bit to protect animals this year and get involved in Keep Britain Tidy’s Great British Spring Clean’s ‘Big Bag Challenge’, starting on Friday 17 March. 

The Ealing Central and Acton MP, Rupa Huq, has been reinstated as a Labour MP, five months after she lost the whip for comments she made about Kwasi Kwarteng.

She described the then-chancellor Mr Kwarteng as "superficially Black", at a Labour Party fringe event in September. Labour suspended the whip, which meant she had to sit as an independent MP.

Twenty-three of 33 councils will raise bills by 4.99%, the maximum increase normally allowed without seeking permission through a referendum. Residents in Croydon will see even bigger rises with the government previously approving a 15% increase.

The council tax portion the mayor sets is expected to rise by almost 10%. Council tax, which is based on the value of a property, funds council-run services such as libraries, refuse collection, youth clubs and street lighting.

The Pension Dashboard Programme launch has just been announced by The Department of Work and Pensions. With this in mind, Lily Megson, Policy Director at My Pension Expert, commented: “The Pension Dashboard Programme is an incredibly ambitious project. And I applaud the government for not rushing to push out an inadequate project; it must be done right.

Celebrate ordinary Brummies doing extraordinary things at the star-studded ceremony on 6 March at the University of Birmingham’s Great Hall. The BirminghamLive Pride of Birmingham Awards with TSB will be hosted by presenter and actress, Kym Marsh.

This year’s awards ceremony will see winners of all ages and from all walks of life being celebrated for their awe-inspiring achievements; whether they have performed outstanding acts of courage, fought seemingly hopeless battles against the odds, displayed boundless compassion, or inspired everyone with their tireless campaigning for others.

Ahead of International Women’s Day (IWD), on March 8, new research has been released the on priorities for female professionals in 2023, with one of Robert Half’s most tenured female leaders now available to share key strategies to help working women advance and employers better support and retain the women in their organization.