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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.