Children in Oldbury are urging safe and responsible parking around their school after taking part in a street sign competition run by Sandwell Council, with the winning design created by pupil Sarina. The competition encouraged pupils at Brandhall Primary School to submit designs for a road safety sign to be displayed around the school entrances. Sarina’s design was selected by the council’s Road Safety Education Team as the winner and has been made into a sign for lighting columns at key points around the school to remind parents, carers and other motorists about the importance of safe parking. Pupils’ creativity…

Bentley Motors has honoured its UK retailer network in the luxury marque’s annual Scorecard Awards, a celebration of the sales, aftersales and marketing achievements of its 17-strong UK retailer network. Crowned Overall Retailer of the Year , Bentley Leeds picked up three awards, with Bentley Belfast also winning the coveted Sales Retailer of the Year trophy. The Scorecard Awards celebrate high performing teams in Bentley’s home market using a distinct set of measures based on sales, profitability, service loyalty and customer experience. The winners all received a prestigious trophy that was handcrafted in Bentley’s wood shop in Crewe, created in…

Pop Voices and Boogaloo Babes member Anya Small, The Mayor of Solihull Councillor Shahin Ashraf MBE, and Solihull Council Councillor Wazma Qais A variety performance showcasing the best musicians and performers that Solihull has to offer will help celebrate the grand reopening of The Core Theatre. ‘We are Solihull’ will be the first performance in the main auditorium since August 2023, following the completion of remediation works to the roof. Hosted by The Mayor of Solihull, Cllr Shahin Ashraf MBE, to celebrate her year in office, the variety performance brings together an eclectic mix of music, dance and spoken word…

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, with contact details for the Shop a Tipper scheme City of Wolverhampton Council is continuing its crackdown on suspected fly tippers with another successful prosecution and another result for its Shop a Tipper scheme. A city resident reported an incident of suspected fly tipping to the council through Shop a Tipper. Because their information led to a prosecution, the resident received a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton gift card. Officers are now reminding offenders that they are being watched – and warning them not to ignore council investigations.…

New College, Oxford has commissioned the world-renowned British Sculptor Paul Day to create a unique work of art which will celebrate the College’s role as the official birthplace of the MG marque. The unique bronze sculpture is due to be unveiled in the summer of 2026 and will be sited in a courtyard garden behind the Longwall Street building where William Morris and Cecil Kimber formally founded MG in May 1924 when the iconic MG Octagon was registered as a trademark of Morris Garages. Miles Young, Warden of New College, explains: “New College’s remarkable history dates back to 1379, however…

The Council wants to know what you think the borough’s information and advice service for adults should look like in future. The current service, run from community advice hubs in Chelmsley Wood library and The Core in Solihull town centre, provides information and advice about topics including finding and arranging care, support to manage disabilities and health conditions, applying for benefits, managing debt and energy efficiency. Councillor Tony Dicicco, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, explains that feedback will help the Council to decide on the new approach to community information and advice which will start in April…

An outline planning application for a new warehouse on a section of open space off Neachells Lane is set to be considered at Planning Committee next Tuesday (25 March). If approved the details of the plan, such as the design of public footpaths, layout, appearance, landscaping, lighting and noise mitigation measures, will be subject to extensive community engagement by the developer and scrutinised by planners under reserved matters, before any works start on site. The land was formally a coal mine and was later used as a landfill site before becoming a public open space in the 1990s. The indicative…

A 93-year-old grandfather-of-five has given a resounding thumbs-up to autonomous driving technology currently being developed by Nissan – saying it has the potential to keep older motorists like him mobile and independent in later life. Brad Ashton from Enfield, experienced the ground-breaking tech for himself this week as Nissan marked the culmination of its evolvAD research project. He was invited by Nissan to take a ride along rural roads near the company’s Technical Centre in Cranfield, where work on autonomous driving (AD) systems continues apace. Brad, a retired comedy scriptwriter who has prepared material for the likes of Groucho Marx,…

A reduction to the drink drive limit and immediate roadside bans for those who fail a breathalyser test have been called for by the Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster. Currently drivers who fail a roadside breath test hold their licence until being convicted in court. But Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster has today backed calls for an interim disqualification to be introduced – removing risk from the roads. He has also called for the drink drive limit to be reduced from its current level of 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. He said: “Reducing the number of…

These events are part of a five-year project called Better Research for Better Health, creating a Health Determinants Research Collaboration in Sandwell, which is funded by the National Institute for Health Research. The aim is to improve how the council gathers and uses information to make decisions about local services. By listening to residents, the council can make sure that services truly meet the needs of the community and provide good value for money. The council wants to hear from people about what matters most to them when it comes to health and wellbeing. The roadshows will also give residents…