A £2.2 million Care and Support Specialist Housing (CASSH) Scheme to deliver ten bespoke council houses for families with an adult wheelchair user has been completed.

The council is eager to ensure people in the City of Wolverhampton live independent lives in their own homes.

Four two-and-three-bedroom homes were finished at Lawnside Green, Stowlawn, in July last year, followed by two three-bedroom bungalows at Fifth Avenue, Low Hill, in September.

The final phase has seen four three-bedroom homes recently completed at Dale Street/Russell Street, Graisley, with the tenants now moving in.

The former Heantun Housing Association (HHA), now part of Accord, has a successful track record of designing and delivering family-sized wheelchair housing in the city, and managed the builds on behalf of the council.

The units are part funded by £450,000 of a £900,000 Government Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) grant.

The remainder of the grant has been used by HHA in addition to its own funding to develop a further ten wheelchair accessible homes, which it owns and manages.

Councillor Peter Bilson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Housing and Assets, said: "This is good news for our residents and is the first house building project of this kind for the city council.

“It is enabling people to lead independent and fulfilling lives at home with their families.

“It is vital we are responsive to the range of needs represented on our housing register, and we are determined to do more.”

The properties are fully wheelchair accessible, have height-adjustable hob and sink sections in the kitchen, shower areas in bathrooms suitable for wheelchair users or adults with other disabilities, and allow for the fitting of a hoist if required, as well as any other adjustments suggested by the client’s Occupation Therapist.

Sara Woodall, Accord’s Executive Director of Communities, said: “We were delighted to be part of bringing these self-contained houses and bungalows to Wolverhampton, and it is heartening to see that they have been situated within established residential communities, and have been supported by local Tenant and Resident Associations.”

The RSPCA is poised for a huge increase in the number of calls to its emergency hotline as more hot weather arrives this July - the worst month for incidents of dogs being left in hot cars.

The animal welfare charity - which works alongside 11 other animal charities and organisations to raise awareness of the dangers of leaving pets in hot cars - is predicting a peak in reports of animals suffering in the heat during the month of July - after receiving a huge 2,065 calls in June.

Each year, the RSPCA receives thousands of calls from concerned members of the public reporting animals in hot environments and pets suffering from heat exposure - the majority of which concern dogs left in hot cars. Last year, there were 7,187 reports to the charity’s emergency hotline - with 23% of all those calls coming in just one month.

Every year, the charity sees a surge in calls in July - with call-handlers dealing with more than 1,600 calls in the peak summer month in 2016, 18% more reports than any other month.

The majority of calls relate to dogs - often left in cars, caravans or vans on warm days - but the charity also receives concerns about other animals suffering in the heat, from horses to farm animals to fish.

The RSPCA encourages owners to take extra care of their pets in the hot weather. Animals need constant access to fresh water and shade, and dog walkers should avoid exercising their pets during the hottest part of the day.

The charity’s key aim, through the Dogs Die in Hot Cars campaign, though, is to raise awareness of the dangers of leaving pets in hot environments such as vehicles, conservatories and outbuildings during the warm weather. If anyone sees an animal in distress in a hot car, the advice is to call 999.

Despite this advice, the UK’s oldest and largest animal welfare charity continues to receive thousands of calls every year about incidents of animals shut in confined spaces in the warm weather. In a bid to get the message out to more people, the RSPCA is revealing the country’s worst counties for leaving dogs in hot cars (based on numbers of calls in 2016)

It’s important to remember not to leave any animal in a car or caravan, or in a conservatory or outbuilding, where temperatures can quickly rise, even when it doesn’t feel that warm outside. For example, when it’s 22C outside, within an hour the temperature can reach 47C inside a vehicle, which can result in death.

In an emergency, the group’s advice is to call 999 to report a dog in a hot car to police. As a charity, the RSPCA may not be able to attend quickly enough and, with no powers of entry, we’d need police assistance at such an incident.

According to data collected by card seller, Clintons, sales of cards for those in their seventies and above increased by 116% last year. To add onto this, it is expected that more than 100,000 cards will be sold to those celebrating landmark 90^th, 95^th and 100^th birthdays in 2017 as well. This news comes after a family in Norfolk were the first family in the whole of Britain to celebrate the lives of six generations in one year.

With there being half a million people in the UK aged 90 and above, and 14,570 centenarians (a 65% increase in the last decade) these figures should come as no surprise. It is believed that an estimated 1,000 of these 14,570 are aged 105 or over, double the figure in 2005.  It is believed that there are currently 14 million grandparents in the UK, 1.5 million of whom are under 50, with a large proportion of this group believed to become great-grandparents within the next few years.  The increase in the number of people aged over 105, means that the Queen who sends out a card and a letter to each person over this age, has quite the task before her.

Tim Fairs, VP of marketing at Clintons said: “Most people of my generation have no memory of their great-grandparents, yet today many play an active role in family life.  It’s great that younger generations have access to the love, experience and history of their elderly relatives and it’s fascinating that demographics are shifting so rapidly.  The Queen already has quite a task signing all those letters and cards each year.”

With people living longer due to better living standards and improved quality of healthcare, the growing number of people living into their nineties and beyond should not come as a surprise. And with many people living to such ages, the chances for greater family connection and bonding is greater than it has ever been. Clintons plays a huge part in establishing family connection through the sales of their birthday cards, and also helps play a role in showing off some of the societal trends that are beginning to emerge.

Recent data has shown that more cards are bought for senior mums than dads but twice the number of cards are sold to Husband than Wife over the age of 70.  And Clintons continues to lead the way in catering to this trend selling a range of cards for Mums, Dads, same-sex families and one child families.

The 2017 ASTW Awards of Excellence received record-breaking entries this year in a total of 19 categories.

The full list of finalists for the awards, which will be presented at a gala event to be held at Novotel Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday 19 August, 2017 as part of the ASTW Conference and AGM can be found on the ASTW website.

"The ASTW would like to thank the judges, who are non-members from the national and international travel writing industry, and all of the sponsors involved in the awards this year, and who support the ASTW on an ongoing basis."

School children in Wolverhampton have been caught up in the wolf mania sweeping the city. Pupils from 35 primary schools, community groups and artists have designed 70 mini wolves as a spin-off from the Wolves in Wolves public art project.

The colourful mini wolves will form part of an exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery from Saturday, July 8 to Sunday, September 17.

The Lichfield Street gallery is also the starting point for the Wolves in Wolves trail, which has been organised by the council in partnership with disability arts charity Outside Centre and Enjoy Wolverhampton.

The Mini Wolves project has been funded by the Big Lottery programme ‘#BigCelebration’.

Dr Paul Darke of Outside Centre said: “The Mini Wolves project is about celebrating Wolverhampton, its sculpture, arts, heritage, community and people. Outside Centre is grateful to the Big Lottery for enabling us to stage this exhibition.

“Each mini wolf is unique and reflective of the school or group they are from, or the artistic vision of the individual artist.

“Schools were also able to create their own map trail around their school - some of which will be on display as part of the exhibition.

“We are grateful to all those who have participated from the city’s schools, as well as the groups and artists.”

Councillor John Reynolds, Cabinet Member for City Economy, added: “The Mini Wolves exhibition is a wonderful extension of the Wolves in Wolves project.

“It is brilliant to see so many schools getting involved, as well as the organisations and artists.

“Overall, it is an exciting project that will help put the city on the map as a cultural centre and I would urge families to get along to the art gallery to see the mini wolves pack.

“From there they can take to the Wolves in Wolves trail, get active, discover the city and what it has to offer.”

The schools involved are Berrybrook Primary School, Braybrook Centre, Bushbury Hill Primary School, Christ Church Junior School, Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Dunstall Hill Primary School, Edward The Elder Primary School, Elston Hall Primary School, Graiseley Primary School, Green Park School, Hill Avenue Primary School, Lanesfield Primary School, Long Knowle Primary School, Loxdale Primary School, Northern House School, Oak Meadow Primary School, Palmers Cross Primary School, Parkfield Primary Schools, Penn Fields School, Penn Hall School, Perry Hall Primary School, Spring Vale Primary School, St Andrew’s Church of England Primary School, St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, St Luke's Church of England Aided Primary School, St Michael's Catholic Primary School, St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, St Stephens Church of England Primary School, Uplands Junior School, Villiers Primary School, Warstones Primary School, West Park Primary School, Windsor Nursery School, Woden Primary School, Wodensfield Primary School.

Community groups like the The Way, Beacon Centre, City of Sanctuary, Howling Wolves Choir, Wolverhampton Homes, The Haven and Suicide Prevention Stakeholders Forum have also contributed.

The artists involved have long standing links to the city – they live here, trained here or work here.

They include Jasyn Lucas, Nigel James Kilworth, Bhinder Chopra, Harriet and Wilfred Davies, Alex Vann, Claire Rollerson, Helen Brown, Simone Kilworth, Ann Whitehurst, Aimee Millward, Charlie Kelly, Luke Westward, Laura Hickman, Natalie Hawkins, Roy Grew, Julie Fletcher, Pam Fletcher, Rebecca Broomhall, Marie Sewell, Kesia Pennington-Yates, Jo Burgess, Luke Westward, Katie Keith, Jo Burgess, Jemima Mantle, Danielle Robotham, Ricki Hall, Kate Penman, Jade Secker, Ryan Taylor, Carrick Siddell and Meg Gregory.

After months of keeping quiet behind the scenes, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity and Wild in Art have announced that over 230 beautifully decorated sun bear sculptures are ‘pre-bearing’ to prowl on to the streets, parks and open places of Birmingham for the region’s largest ever free public art trail, The Big Sleuth.

For 10 weeks this summer, the sleuths of colourful 5ft-tall bears and 3ft-tall bear cubs will inhabit Bear-mingham and its surrounding areas Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, Sandwell and at Resorts World from Monday, 10 July.

The Big Sleuth, so called because ‘sleuth’ is the name of a group of bears, as well as a detective, unites 100 bears individually created by artists, with 137 bear cubs designed as part of The Big Sleuth Learning Programme.

Each striking sun bear on the trail tells a different story including designs from celebrities and artists, such as the very well respected artists Temper and Reuben Colley, pop-rock band star Bradley Simpson from The Vamps, actor Adil Ray A.K.A Citizen Khan, Birmingham Bears and England cricketer Chris Woakes, adventurer Bear Grylls, and a special Peaky Blinders bear endorsed by the show’s writer Steven Knight.

The trail will attract thousands of residents and tourists to the region, inspiring civic pride and the opportunity for people to spend time together and get active whether it is walking, running or cycling. At the end of the trail, the large bears together with the special celebrity bear cubs will be auctioned off in October to raise vital funds for Birmingham Children's Hospital Charity.

“We’re so excited that The Big Sleuth is finally here, we have been planning the bear’s arrival since the owls left and we can’t bear-lieve it’s finally here!” commented Louise McCathie, Director of Fundraising at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. "We hope The Big Sleuth will encourage people to come together to walk, jog, run or cycle the free trail, and consider downloading The Big Sleuth app which allows you to track your trail, collect bears, unlock rewards and/ or take part in our Super Sleuth Challenges, which will raise money for our hospital.”

Sally-Ann Wilkinson, Director of Wild in Art, said: “We’re delighted that this year’s exciting trail is here. The Big Sleuth brings together business and creative sectors with schools and local communities to celebrate Birmingham’s rich culture and heritage, and will leave lasting memories across the region for generations to come.”

The Big Sleuth’s predecessor, The Big Hoot, raised over £500,000 for the charity at auction, and The Big Sleuth aims to do the same. All proceeds will go towards helping the children and young people treated at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. You can support the hospital by texting SLEUTH to 70007 to make a one off £3 donation or download The Big Sleuth app to kick start your fundraising and track your trail, collect bears and unlock rewards.