Sandwell Council’s Cabinet has agreed to invest an extra £1.5million to help maintain roads and footpaths, building on the authority’s top national Green rating for highway maintenance. This boost means the council will invest more than £14million in total over the next year on keeping Sandwell’s roads, footpaths and street lights well maintained. The additional £1.5million – approved by the council’s Cabinet last month – will specifically support maintaining local residential roads as well as footpaths in neighbourhoods and town centre shopping areas. Sandwell has recently celebrated a Green rating under the government’s new national traffic light system for…

City of Wolverhampton Council has worked with an 11-year-old girl and her family to turn her heartfelt messages of positivity into lasting feature for the city. Neriyah-Faith Spencer created handwritten posters with uplifting messages such as ‘you are amazing’ and ‘you are stronger than you think’ in a bid to help cheer up people across the city. After becoming aware of the positive messages, City of Wolverhampton Council contacted the family to propose a more permanent location for the artwork and help spread Neriyah’s messages. Working together, Neriyah’s cheerful messages were selected, designed and enlarged then displayed on…

More than 50 businesses and practitioners have joined a first of its kind scheme, supporting City of Wolverhampton Council’s work to improve safety in beauty services. 51 cosmetic and aesthetic businesses and practitioners have been approved for the voluntary Cosmetic Compliance Scheme which was launched by the council’s environmental health team in November. The scheme, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, was introduced following growing local and national concerns around high risk procedures in the beauty industry and poor levels of care. It aims to improve standards and provide reassurance to customers who…

Solihull Council’s adult social care services have been rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in a report published today (Wednesday 18 March 2026). The Council received a score of 84% and that places Solihull fifth in the country against other local authorities that have had a recent CQC inspection (as of 18 March 2026). The inspection looked at nine quality areas in which Solihull achieved three ‘Outstanding’ and six ‘Good’ ratings – very few councils have achieved ‘Good’ or better for all nine areas. Councillor Tony Dicicco, Solihull Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Health,…

The success of the City of Wolverhampton Council’s pioneering Technology Enabled Care (TEC) project was celebrated at a prestigious international awards ceremony on Monday night (16 March, 2026). The council and its partners were shortlisted for one award at the International Technology Enabled Care Awards at the ICC in Birmingham, while Alcove, which delivers the service in Wolverhampton, was triumphant in another category. TEC is helping residents in Wolverhampton access innovative technology that provides everyday support, enabling them to live the independent lives they want. It offers a wide range of products tailored to people’s eligible care needs, such as…

Works will begin in sections of Lichfield Street and Queen Square early next month (April) as delivery of the major £19million Wolverhampton city centre transformation scheme progresses. There will be a short pause to operations on upper Darlington Street, between the Waterloo Road and North Street junctions, while the new locations are set up, after technical designs were finalised. First stage works on lower Darlington Street were completed in November ahead of the busy Christmas period. The overall scheme across all 3 locations remains on track to be completed in 2027 and will deliver high quality improvements such…

Wakefield, UK – March 2026 Award-winning Chairman Mohammed Jahangir has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Wakefield, recognising his outstanding contribution to the global humanitarian sector. Previously decorated by the Right Honourable Gordon Brown MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in recognition of his contribution as a social worker and community leader, Mohammed Jahangir has dedicated over 30 years to giving back to the communities that shaped him. During his tenure as Global Chairman (2021–2024), he strengthened governance, shaped strategic direction, and helped grow Penny Appeal into a vital lifeline for vulnerable communities in the UK and…

Work on the exciting Holbeche Place development in Solihull will begin this June, marking the start of a major investment in the future of the town centre. To minimise disruption to shoppers, visitors and businesses, work is being delivered in phases. As part of phase 1, the Mell Square car park and public toilets will close on Tuesday 31 March 2026, allowing Solihull Council to begin safely decommissioning services and equipment ahead of demolition. The closest alternative council car parks are Poplar Road car park (formerly Marks & Spencer), Lode Lane Pay & Display, and Dominion Court on Herbert Road. The Council is committed to ensuring that Solihull remains inclusive and accessible to all. 33 additional disabled parking…

Children and young people hit the right notes when they performed before family and friends during Wolverhampton Music Service’s ‘Be Inspired’ concert series last week. It saw performances by all 15 of the service’s musical groups across four nights, with over 400 young musicians performing 63 pieces of music spanning hundreds of years and genres. Tt included performances by the Youth Choir, Concert String Orchestra, Keyboard Ensemble, Fusion Fives, Big Top SEND Ensemble, Bhangra Fusion Percussion, the Primary and Secondary Rock ‘n’ Pop groups, Guitar Group, Concert Wind Band, New Wind, Early Strings, New Strings, Jazz Big Band, Youth…

Local people have helped shape the future for Wolverhampton’s St George’s, with fresh community feedback calling for a lively and creative multi-use space full of activity day and night. City of Wolverhampton Council and social impact developer Capital&Centric brought together a multi-generational roundtable, inviting students, young people, older residents, community groups, and academics to share what they want from the city centre site. The session, chaired by Councillor Chris Burden, Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, discussed the unmet needs of the city, and how the St George’s site should best be developed. A clear theme…