Community News

The West Midland’s commitment to the environment has reached another major milestone as over 200,000 trees have now been planted and registered on the Virtual Forest by organisations and individuals across the region. Since January 2020, West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has been encouraging residents and businesses to get involved in tree planting through its Virtual Forest initiative.

As the country goes into full-on celebration mode for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, spare a thought for the people who are going to be clearing up after all those street parties.

One British waste and recycling company has been crunching the numbers, and expects the country to get through enough beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks for the empties to stretch right around the planet.

Air quality in central Birmingham has improved since the Clean Air Zone was implemented a year ago and has seen a significant fall in the percentage of most polluting vehicles entering the city centre. This reduction in the most polluting traffic – falling from 18.7 per cent on 1 June 2021 to 9.2 per cent in April 2022 – has contributed to an overall reduction in the levels of nitrogen dioxide by 13 per cent in the first six months of the scheme.

Following the stars and royals shining at the star-studded Platinum Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace on Saturday and the Queen showing great humour - as she shared a pot of tea with Paddington Bear in a pre-filmed, heart-warming sketch - the Platinum Pageant, along The Mall yesterday, was the last of the official events of a fantastic weekend of celebrations for 70 years of service by Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen was praised for staying the course as royals joined dignitaries at a thanksgiving service for the Platinum Jubilee at St Paul's Cathedral. Referring to her love of horse racing, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said: “She is still in the saddle, even though she was not able to attend.”

The City of Wolverhampton is gearing up for a free event for all the family to mark the national Armed Forces Day celebrations taking place later this month.

Armed Forces Day, on Saturday 25 June, is a chance for people to show their support for the entire armed forces community – including those currently serving, their families, veterans and cadets.

A portrait of Birmingham’s first and only female leader was unveiled to celebrate her outstanding contribution to civic life at a memorial service.

Alderman Theresa Stewart, who served Birmingham City Council as councillor for over 30 years as well Leader (1993-99) and Lord Mayor (2000-01), died on 11 November 2020, aged 90.

Merry Hill Metro Bank is supporting the All Stars Charity Football Match being played on Saturday June 18th at Highgate United FC in Shirley.

In aid of Mary Stevens Hospice, local grab hire company Pegasus is fielding a team against the All Star Legends team which includes former Manchester United players Wes Brown and Keith Gillespie, Ben Thornley, Russell Beardsmore, Lee Hendrie, Danny Webber and more.

Wolverhampton is celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee by officially dedicating tens of thousands of trees which have been planted across the city to the Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC).

More than 30,000 new trees planted in Wolverhampton last winter will form part of the canopy, a UK-wide tree planting initiative to mark the special year.

Front gardens are the gateways to our lives. The places where we embrace loved ones, chat over the fence with neighbours and where more recently we’ve found ourselves celebrating special occasions, clapping for heroes, and enjoying socially distanced tea and cake as part of the VE day commemorations.

Birmingham’s new Lord Mayor, Councillor Maureen Cornish, exchanged keys with creator of Key to the City Paul Ramírez Jonas at Birmingham New Street Station.

They were joined by Mayor of MiniBrum Alicia Adeyanju who exchanged keys with local basketball star Kofi Josephs and Harry Warrender Senior Vice President and Head of UKI. ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions who exchanged keys with the company's longest serving employee Stewart Taylor.

A new lifestyle study released has revealed that Brummies are being pressured to fib about their weekend activities, in order to show a more interesting self-image.

Now that people have their freedom back after two years of regular lockdowns and a long Bank Holiday is coming up, the social pressure is heightened with 79% of Brummies admitting that they regularly tell a white lie on their social media channels to impress their family, friends and colleagues with made-up weekend activities. 

A Staffordshire mum and daughter will be enjoying front row seats at the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in London this Sunday (June 5) to thank them for their tireless fundraising for St Giles Hospice.

Amy Foster and her daughter Ellanor, aged nine, will be seated in the stand directly outside Buckingham Palace to watch the spectacular procession, featuring national treasures and iconic figures from music, film, sport and the arts, including Sir Cliff Richard, Jools Holland and Ed Sheeran.

A lawyer for Windrush victims says the government must publish a report which suggests institutional racism at the Home Office caused the scandal.

The report says UK immigration laws from 1950 to 1981 were designed in part to "reduce the number of Black or Brown people".

University of Birmingham experts joined their Canadian counterparts to lead a series of high-profile public events exploring how researchers can help to solve global challenges.

Organised in partnership with McMaster University, in Hamilton, the events covered research areas including healthy aging and air pollution and celebrated the arrival in Canada of the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay, of which the University of Birmingham is an official partner.

The new Perry Barr Railway Station is set to open its doors to passengers for the first time this Sunday having been taken just a year to completely rebuild. The modern accessible station stands at the heart of a rapidly changing Perry Barr and will be a key gateway for visitors to Alexander Stadium for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games this summer – something celebrated on the station’s sport themed frieze.