On Thursday, 19th December 2025, UK Global Goodwill Ambassador Mohammed Zafran hosted a community event at the Community Plaza. The event featured a powerful talk on hate crime by Amjad Rashid from Tell Mama, while Alan Edwards, Regional Manager of West Midlands Crimestoppers, encouraged the community to report crimes anonymously and not suffer in silence. Influential Romanian activist Julian Nistor expressed his gratitude to Mohammed Zafran for organizing an event that brought together so many diverse communities. Representatives from local mosques, businesses, and the team of world-renowned activist Akhmed Yaqoob were also in attendance, highlighting the event’s wide-reaching impact. In…

Isuzu UK is thrilled to announce an exciting partnership with Paramount Pictures UK for the much-anticipated Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie, now in cinemas from 21st December 2024. This electrifying collaboration is the perfect pairing, as Sonic’s unmatched speed and agility mirror the unrivalled performance and off-road capabilities of The New Isuzu D-Max, set to launch in early 2025. Under the partnership’s tagline, “Ready to Level Up,” both the film and The New Isuzu D-Max highlight the power of pushing boundaries. With its tough, reliable, and versatile design, the D-Max is built to tackle the toughest terrains with ease – just like Sonic when he’s…

On Thursday 19th December 2025, a community event was hosted at the Community Plaza arranged by UK Global Goodwill Ambassador Mohammed Zafran. The event had Amjad Rashid from Tell Mama come and deliver a talk on Hate Crime. Alan Edwards Regional Manager of West Midlands Crimestoppers spoke about the community reporting crime anonymously and not to suffer in silence. Influencial Romanian Activist Julian Nistor thanked Mohammed Zafran for hosting this event which brought so many communities together. A lot of representatives came from local mosques, businesses and the team of world renowned Activist Akhmed Yaqoob were also present. Mohammed Zafran…

Sandwell Council has awarded Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust the Freedom of the Borough. The award was made during an event on Wednesday 11 December as part of Sandwell’s 50th anniversary celebrations. This prestigious honour is a recognition of the extraordinary commitment, dedication and resilience shown by all those who work within the NHS, from doctors and nurses to support staff, paramedics and volunteers. Over the years, the NHS has not only been the backbone of our healthcare system but also a beacon of compassion, selflessness and unwavering service to the people of this country. The Mayor of Sandwell, Councillor…

The council has sold two plots of the Perry Barr Residential Scheme to Legal & General Affordable Homes, bringing forward 487 homes as affordable housing, offering a mix of rent and Shared Ownership. Another developed plot is being retained by Birmingham City Council for council housing, further elevating the total number of affordable homes delivered in phase one of the Perry Barr Residential Scheme to 700. The sale ensures that 100% of the homes on the three plots are affordable homes, which more than doubles the affordable housing target of 312 set out in the planning application for the entire…

Around 22,000 Sandwell children eligible for free school meals will receive £60 of food vouchers to help families cope with the cost of Christmas. The vouchers are the equivalent of four vouchers to cover the October half-term, Christmas and February half-term holidays in one voucher. Eligible families will receive £60 per child for parents and carers to spend at their local supermarket. Vouchers will be issued by schools in the run-up to the Christmas holidays, starting this week. Find out more about free school meals and eligibility. The vouchers are being funded by Sandwell’s Household Support Fund (HSF) programme.…

Ofsted referred to it as an ‘extraordinary place’ and parents described it as ‘transformational’. Just two weeks after the inspection in October, the school also received the Inclusion Quality Mark and was recognised as being a Centre of Excellence for Inclusion! This is in addition to the Carnegie Mental Health Gold Award it received last year. Executive Head Teacher, Kate Hazelwood, said: “I am incredibly proud that the hard work and tireless commitment of the whole Albright Team has been recognised. It is a privilege to lead such a unique and special school.” Sandwell Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and…

Sandwell Council has launched its five-year Better Research for Better Health programme, bringing in £5 million funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research. This programme will improve how we do research, how we use it to make decisions and how we communicate findings to others. This will help to ensure that local services meet the needs of residents, give good value for money, and support the council’s goals. It is one of 30 Health Determinants Research Collaborations (HDRCs) in the UK. It is a partnership between Sandwell Council, the University of Birmingham and the voluntary sector, represented…

PM2.5-related exposure. Larissa Lockwood, Director of Clean Air at Global Action Plan said: “Lighting fires in our homes is now the largest source of toxic fine particle air pollution in the UK, presenting a range of serious health risks including heart and lung disease, diabetes, and dementia. “Despite growing evidence of the UK’s burning problem – like this new research from the University of Birmingham – many people are still unaware that wood burning is harming our health and the planet. “While many work to communicate these harms through moments such as Clean Air Night, we need urgent action from…

The annual report of Wolverhampton’s Director of Public Health, John Denley, is now available – and, for the first time, is presented in an online, interactive format. The report, Our Children, Our Future, outlines the support which is being provided for the city’s children and young people, and how the city is working together to support the next generation to live healthier, happier lives. It includes audio from Health Champions at Bilston Primary School and Heath Park School, enabling the voice of the child to be heard on topics including infant feeding, healthy behaviours and physical activity. There are also…