Community News

Another open space in Haringey is now officially flying the flag of quality, after the prestigious Green Flag was raised in Queen’s Wood. The Friends of Queen’s Wood gathered with the council, other park users and volunteers to celebrate the raising of the flag, which follows an announcement in the summer that the green space would receive the nationally-recognised status.

More than 300 older people will soon be moving into a £39 million retirement village, thanks to a forward looking partnership between Birmingham City Council, the ExtraCare Charitable Trust, Bournville Village Trust and The Homes and Communities Agency.

Shelter analysis of government statistics reveals that over 2,400 children will wake up homeless this Christmas day in the West Midlands - a rise of 10% in the last year.  And worryingly, with councils feeling the pressure of our affordable housing shortage, the number of families across Britain living in B&Bs – accommodation which is often cramped and unsafe for children – has more than trebled over the last five years.

Housing chiefs and the police have used new powers for the first time to close down a property which has been a hot bed of anti-social behaviour. The City of Wolverhampton Council, supported by West Midlands Police and Wolverhampton Homes, secured a closure order against the property in Parkfields, following concerns over drug use and other issues.

Special guest Sir Lenny Henry CBE was the star at West Midlands housing association Nehemiah UCHA’s 10th birthday celebrations of its retirement scheme Henry Court, Charlton St, Dudley recently. The Dudley-born comedian, actor and writer Sir Lenny opened the retirement housing scheme back in 2005 and the scheme was named in honour of his mum Winifred, who was a member of the congregation of The Church of God of Prophecy, the founders of Nehemiah UCHA.

Thirty-three-year-old Lee of Castle Vale challenged people to nominate middle names for him and then picked the winner out of a box. With more than 100 names ranging from Princess Tallulah and Danger-Mouse to Big Poppa and ‘have a nice day’, the stakes were high.

A new knife surrender bin was unveiled in West Bromwich High Street for people to voluntarily give up weapons and help save lives. The launch came as Sandwell's six-week Safer 6 campaign moves its focus to West Bromwich.

A Wolverhampton charity that encourages people with sight loss to take part in activities such as water ski-ing and rock wall climbing has been awarded a £4,000 grant by the West Brom building society. The Beacon Centre is using the funding to further its ActivEyes programme, which facilitates participation in a variety of leisure and social activities.

Severn Trent is backing a WaterSafe campaign urging homeowners to be ‘lead aware’ to ensure their drinking water stays fresh and healthy. The campaign came during Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (October 25-31), a campaign led by the World Health Organisation to raise awareness of the devastating effects of lead worldwide.

More than 80 people joined #teamJTH to take part in the Morrisons Great Birmingham Run in the name of John Taylor Hospice. And with every mile of the 13.1 route, each competitor knew they were supporting the work of the hospice providing specialist care in Birmingham.

While many lament that there is never enough time in the day, after gaining an extra hour yesterday a quarter of Brits said that if they were given an extra hour in every day they would spend it sleeping, according to a new survey conducted by leading charity Breast Cancer Now.

Wolverhampton City Fairtrade Partnership has been commended for its valuable contribution to the Fairtrade movement. It was awarded second place in best outreach and networking category at the annual Fairtrade Campaign Awards which took place at the Fairtrade Foundation’s national supporter conference in London.

People in Friar Park, Wednesbury North and Wednesbury South wards can have their say on neighbourhood issues at a drop-in session on Thursday 29 October. It will offer people the chance to give feedback on how the council and its partner organisations have met 'ward pledges' agreed last year, and the session will also help set new priorities to improve the area for the year ahead.

A long-serving Wolverhampton councillor and the West Midlands' first Police and Crime Commissioner will be honoured when a popular community centre is renamed in his memory. Bob Jones CBE, who passed away suddenly at the aged of 59 last year, was just 25 when he was first elected as a councillor for the Blakenhall ward, and went on to serve the people of Wolverhampton with distinction for more than three decades.

The Safer 6 campaign team are heading to West Bromwich, bringing a host of safety and crime prevention advice for local people. Sandwell Mayor Councillor Barbara Price will be attending the event to be held outside Poundland on the High Street, by Queen's Square shopping centre from 10.30am to 13.30pm.

The BBC Good Food Show team has been scouring the country since June to find Britain's most outstanding artisan food and drink producers. Managed by Katy Truss, and now in its sixth year, the Producers Award serves to reward the most deserving small, independent artisan producers.