Community News

The clean-up at Black Patch Park in Smethwick has begun after a group of travellers were evicted earlier this week. Tonnes of rubbish including more than 300 tyres, rubble, black bags, furniture, beds and double glazed windows were left behind after the group were evicted by bailiffs. Sandwell Council bosses say the bill will run into thousands of pounds – with rubbish costing £110 a tonne to dispose of, plus the cost of cleaning the area, equipment and staff.

Of the many recent Queens Honours List, one of those who fully deserved her calling, and equally a mention, was the British Empire Medal which was so deservedly awarded to football coach, Annie Zaidi. Coventry-based Annie, a coach at Premier League champions, Leicester City and FA ‘Women in Football’ ambassador, was awarded the BEM in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for her services in football coaching. 

One in ten parents in the Midlands say short-term rentals, which result in frequent and stressful house moves, have stopped their children feeling settled. The new research published today by Shelter reveals the worrying impact the country’s broken rental market is having on families. In the past decade, the number of renting families has more than doubled but the law has failed to keep up. Renters only have a secure home for six months after which their landlord can ask them to leave with just two months’ notice and without a reason.

House of Fraser’s much-loved, festive winter wonderland raised an incredible £8,100 to support the pioneering work of Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity. The Christmas grotto, which was located on the fifth floor of the department store, was open from the end of November until Christmas Eve and donated £1.20 from every ticket purchased to the charity’s £3.65 million Star Appeal, to help construct the UK’s first paediatric Rare Diseases Centre.

The public are being invited to participate in a mass walk through Selly Oak on Monday 6^th March, by the national disability charity Sense. The walk, which will involve members of the local community, people with disabilities and local business, will raise awareness of a major new community centre set to open in the area in the summer.

TV presenter Rylan Clark-Neal got up to 'nose' good in a Sainsbury's store in Nine Elms when he pranked shoppers with an animatronic talking Red Nose, for the launch of this year's official Red Nose Day merchandise. Sainsbury's worked with a specialist animatronic company to create the larger-than-life Red Nose character, complete with hidden microphone, moving eyes and mouth. Placed out of sight, Rylan was able to use a remote control to make the Nose come to life, surprising shoppers and colleagues with jokes, banter and even some singing.

Free, cancer advice and support is coming to West Midlands between Tuesday 21 February to Friday 24 February. Macmillan Cancer Support’s mobile service will be visiting the area, with cancer information specialists on hand to answer questions and provide information. The team encourages anyone with worries relating to cancer to stop by, whether you’re living with cancer, or care for someone who is.

A petition calling for the price of University courses to be reduced back to their original £3,000 a year levels from their current £9,000+ a year point has gathered momentum since its creation. The petition on the UK Parliament website states "University fees is too high and the stress of being in dept is what puts individuals off applying for degrees.Now that grants have been removed it makes it difficult for family's who need financial support but can't get that anymore."

Data from the Sexual Relations and Activities Questionnaire within the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing has been collated to examine difficulties with sexual activities and function, attitudes towards sex and details about the current sexual partners of over 50s. The analysis, published by the International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK), University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, gathered information from over 7000 over 50s which found that whilst self-reported difficulties in becoming aroused steadily increase in women aged 50-79, these then decrease after 80 to below the levels seen in 60-69 year olds.

The nation is coming together for the Great British Spring Clean in March, and you can get involved in Haringey. You can set up your own clean-up event in the borough, or check online to see what is already being planned. The Great British Spring Clean, backed by TV wildlife presenter Steve Backshall, will be held on the weekend of March 3-5. Organiser Keep Britain Tidy is urging individuals, clubs, schools and businesses to get involved and be Litter Heroes.

With a network of water pipes that would stretch around the world it’s no wonder Severn Trent Water customers often spot water leaks before Severn Trent itself. That’s why the water company is asking its customers to help tackle leaks and bursts in the cold weather. Malcolm Whittaker has been finding and fixing leaks across the region for over 30 years.  He explained: “The weather has turned cold and we’ll see more ice and frost towards the weekend. 

New rules allowing EU citizens with subscriptions for online music, games, films and TV shows to access this content while traveling to another EU country have been welcomed by local MEP Daniel Dalton. Mr Dalton was one of the first MEPs to demand this issue be investigated and refreshed, “I always found it bizarre that consumers buying an online sports or entertainment package in the UK found themselves geo-blocked when they went on holiday."

Everyone loves trees, and The National Forest offers the perfect Valentine's Day gift this year: give a National Forest Plant a Tree package and you'll be supporting a whole forest! Plant a Tree gives you the chance to plant a tiny tree in the Forest yourselves. First, add your personal message to a certificate available online on The National Forest website to present to your loved one on Valentine's Day.

The RSPCA is reminding cat owners of the importance of having their pets microchipped after a Coventry family were reunited with the beloved puss two and a half years after he went missing. The animal welfare charity was contacted on 29 January after a member of the public spotted what they believed to be a stray cat with an injured leg in Common Way, Coventry.

Forget the retirement dream of moving to the countryside or heading to the coast – more than half (52 per cent) of the residents of the UK’s biggest cities want to stay exactly where they are when they stop work, according to new research by Prudential. The findings – which are taken from Prudential’s exclusive research comparing attitudes to finance and the preparations workers are making for retirement in the UK’s biggest cities – show that most people are happy to retire in the city in which they currently live.

Nationwide efforts to reduce child traffic casualty rates have been boosted in Birmingham with the launch of a new road safety early learning book. ‘The Conies: Walking to School Safely Journal’ features an inspirational family of traffic-cone-shaped cartoon characters - The Conies – whose creators hope will become national or even international heroes of road safety for children.