A major milestone in Haringey’s ambitious plans for Tottenham was reached today with the signing of the development agreement for the High Road West scheme with leading developer, Lendlease.

The High Road West development, opposite Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium, will deliver benefits for the borough including:

• More than 2,500 high quality homes, with at least 750 affordable homes for local people
• 191 high-quality council homes which will be managed by Homes for Haringey, meeting the aspirations of the Resident Charter agreed with local residents
• A cutting edge new library and learning centres
• A refurbished community hub with new facilities at the Grange
• A new civic square for community activities and cultural events, flanked by new shops, restaurants and cafes
• New green spaces including gardens, children’s play area and outdoor gym
• More than £10million social and economic support for businesses and residents
• Investment in the town centre and community events
• Thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of new jobs following development
• A new industrial space to support businesses from the existing Peacock Industrial Estate
• A new district energy centre

‘Tottenham is London's most dynamic and important regeneration area and this is an exciting landmark in our ambitious plans to bring thousands of new homes and jobs to the area in the next two decades. This regeneration scheme has been strongly supported by tenants with local people heavily involved in shaping the plans for High Road West. Its welcome news that getting started on the scheme has taken a big step forward today.’

People needing help from food banks in Sandwell are benefiting from a Christmas collection organised by council staff.

Crates of donated food are going to West Bromwich Food Bank, with £520 raised in cash donations going to Breaking Bread Food Bank in Wednesbury and The Well Food Bank in Tipton.

The council’s education benefits office has organised a collection for several years on the first floor of Sandwell Council House, Oldbury. This year, the team expanded its collection and received donations from across the Council House as well as council offices at Jack Judge House, Oldbury, and Providence Place, West Bromwich.

Items donated by council staff and their families range from pasta, sauce and tins to Christmas puddings and chocolates.

Local companies Clarke Transport’s head office in Oldbury and FCL Global Forwarding Ltd in Smethwick also supported the initiative.

Councillor Steve Trow, cabinet member for core council services, said: “I want to say a big thank you to the council staff who organised this collection and to everyone who donated items or money. Staff in the education benefits office work day in, day out with families who need help and support, so they really understand how difficult some local families are finding it to make ends meet. Their effort over several years to collect items and raise money makes a real difference to local people.

“We also thank the many fantastic volunteers at food banks in Sandwell who support local families all year round.”

Keith Turner, from Elim West Bromwich Community Church, which runs the West Bromwich Food Bank, said: “We would like to say a big thank you to the education benefits office for organising the food collection this Christmas.

“They collected a massive 320 kilos of donations which will make a real difference to residents of West Bromwich and Sandwell who are in crisis, often through no fault of their own. The seasonal donations will also help to make their Christmas a little happier. Thank you again to all who contributed.”

The Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills (ECMS) has helped a local engineering company create the right pattern for plugging its skills gap by taking on a new apprentice.

The ECMS is a new employer-led training facility for the Black Country, designed to enhance productivity in the region’s high value manufacturing sector by providing specialist training and helping to close skills gaps identified by employers.

Following a visit to The Skills Show in November, Christopher Ravenall, 20 from Castle Bromwich, was introduced to Elkington Brothers Ltd, a pattern and toolmaking firm based in Great Barr, Sandwell.

James Kelly, Managing Director at Elkington Brothers Ltd, said:  “We have an ageing workforce and an ever-increasing skills gap but we’ve struggled historically to find a course suitable for new apprentices.  We’ve worked closely with the ECMS in relation to developing relevant course content and an apprenticeship which covers the depths needed for pattern and tool making.

“Since the recession, demand for our products is on the increase and we’re looking to diversify into the rail and aerospace industries so ensuring that the workforce has the skills needed is a priority for the business.”

Christopher said:  “I didn’t have that much luck going through the traditional education system so thought that an apprenticeship would be a good alternative route to take.  My father is a toolmaker and I’m really keen to learn as much about the industry and engineering as I can in order to have the brightest future.”

Trevor Codner, Business Development Manager at the ECMS, said:  “We work with a variety of employers to find the right apprentices for them, and we work with our partners to ensure that the courses are fit for purpose in relation to the skills that are needed in the industry.

“Christopher was desperately looking for an opportunity and we were able to match him, not only to an apprenticeship that he was interested in, but we also found a suitable employer where he’s now working full-time.”

Set to open in January 2018, the ECMS Hub will be based at the University of Wolverhampton’s £100 million Springfield Campus and will deliver skills training, through short courses and apprenticeships, at four Spokes across the Midlands.

ECMS is a collaboration between the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership, University of Wolverhampton, Dudley College, Cast Metals Federation, Confederation of British Metalforming and the Institute of Cast Metals Engineers.

Employers or potential apprentices should contact Trevor Codner at the ECMS on 0800 953 3222 or 01902 321663.

The 29th of December will once again be the best day for Brits to re-sell any Christmas gifts that aren’t right for them and make self-improvement purchases ahead of the new year, according to data* by online marketplace eBay.

Christened ‘Boxing Up Day’, the 29th of December is the day each year when Brits pack up the Christmas gifts that haven’t quite hit the mark and list them for re-sale on eBay.

This modern-day Christmas tradition returns, as data** shows households across the UK are set to receive more than £850million worth of gifts that aren’t right for them. One in five of Brits stated that they would use the money they make from re-selling Christmas gifts to fund their new year goals,  with the average person set to spend £511*** in January on items including new clothes, DIY, hairstyles and fitness equipment.

The biggest motivator for these self-improvement purchase decisions is weight-loss (30%), followed by stress relief (12%) and making new friends (10%).

Between 9pm and 10pm on 29th of December is the best time to re-sell gifts on eBay as the online marketplace sees a peak in searches - one every eight seconds - as a third of Brits admit Christmas fatigue has set in and 81% said they are fully focused on the year ahead by this point in the festive break.

This year the analysts at eBay have trawled through all the data from 2016 to create a list of the best items to re-sell on the 29th of December, based on best sellers from last year between 27th – 30th December, that can support new projects:

1. DVDs and blu-rays (30,404)
2. Home Décor e.g lamps, vases and soft furnishings (18,062)
3. DIY materials e.g. powertools (15,831)
4. Mobile smart phones (15,312)
5. Furniture e.g. sofas, coffee tables and chairs (11,250)
6. Women’s Handbags (9,594)
7. Appliances e.g. blenders, sandwich makers and electric steamers (9,496)
8. Women’s Shoes (9,417)
9. Men’s shoes (6,760)
10. Women’s fragrances (3,144)

Eight out of ten of us believe that Christmas is the perfect time to declutter, making space by getting rid of stuff they no longer need, with one in three admitting it’s a cathartic exercise that leaves them feeling more positive about the year ahead.

With more than 23million buyers on eBay every month and last year Brits bought more than one million items on the site between 27 – 30 December at a rate of 173 products per minute, or three every second.

Will Weightman, Senior Director, Consumer Selling, eBay UK says, “The period between Christmas and the New Year is an incredibly busy listings period on the site. Normally at this time of year people are looking for ways to make a bit of extra cash and fund the things they want to do in the new year.”

Could the traditional Christmas pudding soon be in danger of being consigned to history and replaced by a sponge alternative?

For the first time Tesco has this year more festive sponges on offer than Christmas puddings – 12 sponges compared with 10 traditional puddings.

The change has come because younger diners, and Millennials in particular, prefer sponges as they are easier to digest compared with heavier, fruited puddings.

In 2013 five times as many shopper bought Christmas puds compared to sponges. Now, it's only twice as many, and that gap is predicted to narrow even more this year.

Last Christmas Tesco saw demand for sponge alternatives grow by nearly 10 per cent on the previous year while sales of traditional puds remained stable. This year it is expecting even more customers to be in favour of sponges.

Tesco seasonal bakery buyer Vicky Smith explained:

“These sponge alternatives are proving popular as tastes are changing, particularly with younger people who are generally not so keen on fruited puddings.

“There is also more innovation to be found in sponges as shapes and centres can be different – such as our finest*Orange Liqueur Sponge with Belgian Chocolate Sauce, that you pour into the middle and let it gently cascade out.

“Another top seller in the run up to Christmas this year is our finest* Gingerbread and Butterscotch Melt Pudding.

“Along with sprouts, pudding is now the most divisive part of the festive feast – the choice between a traditional Christmas pud or a modern alternative.

“But if demand carries on at its present rate it might not be too long before the festive sponge takes over completely.”

Work is progressing well on Wolverhampton city centre’s new Jaguar Land Rover showroom.

The steel framework for the £14 million development on Penn Road - close to Ring Road St Mark’s – is set to start going up in January.

The Jardine Motors Group dealership is expected to create around 70 jobs and is planned to open in Autumn 2018.

New artist’s impressions show what the finished showroom will look like.

“Nick Morgan, Jardine Motors Group Construction Manager, said: “The development is moving ahead at great speed now.

“The teams at SRA Architects, Speller Metcalfe and City of Wolverhampton Council have worked hard to ensure the success of the project and to enable Jardine Motors Group to deliver the best customer experience possible.”

Councillor John Reynolds, City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Economy, added: “It is great news for the city centre to see this development project moving forward.

“This is a major development in this area – regenerating a redundant site which lies in a prominent position on one of our gateways to the city centre.

“Attracting this type of development shows what an aspirational city we are.

“Jaguar Land Rover is a global leader who chose to build a major production base on the i54 site we developed in collaboration with South Staffordshire Council and Staffordshire County Council.

“Cars that have been part-produced in the city could be sold from the Penn Road site in the future.”

The new dealership will cover four acres and will include a showroom and a service centre.