The Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster is calling on small businesses in Birmingham to help tackle domestic and sexual abuse. PCC Simon Foster is working with companies to make sure they know how to signpost potential victims to support services and how to respond if they suspect a member of their staff is being harmed at home. The PCC also wants businesses to ensure they provide the right physical or online spaces in which to have confidential conversations with staff they might be concerned are at risk of harm. Tackling violence against women and girls is one of the…

Work to build a new state-of-the-art Household Waste Recycling Centre and Waste Transfer Station in Walsall has ramped up on Middlemore Lane in Aldridge. In the last few weeks, tarmac has been laid to create the bays where residents will be able to recycle their waste for years to come. External cladding has also been fitted to buildings on the site, with both the waste transfer station and reuse shop now taking shape. Work at the site is expected to be complete by summer 2025, with a view to operations starting later in the year. “ The site is progressing…

A new five-year strategy to address and reduce the risk of infant mortality in the Walsall borough will be considered for approval by the Health and Wellbeing Board when it meets on Thursday 20 March 2025. The Walsall Infant Mortality Prevention and Reduction Strategy 2025-2030 aims to reduce infant mortality in Walsall to below the national average by 2030 and recognise and highlight the importance of a multi-agency approach to prevent infant mortality through collaborative working. It also aims to ensure people of childbearing age and expectant parents have access to information, services and help at the right time to…

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…

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…

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services, with some of the types of items picked up during the small electricals and battery collection service City of Wolverhampton Council is celebrating the efforts of recycling residents who are making good use of the city’s free small electricals collection service. Hundreds of old or unwanted electrical items and thousands of batteries have already been collected and recycled under the scheme. A wide range of items have been picked up by the council’s waste crews since the free kerbside collection service began. Crews have collected kettles, landline phones and old irons,…

Škoda UK has announced the winners of its annual Retailer of the Year Awards 2024, with Vindis Škoda (Bury St Edmunds) crowned best of the best. The Retailer of the Year Awards celebrate retailer excellence across the Škoda network. Specific award categories cover sales, fleet, electric vehicles (EVs), customer experience, Used Sales, Aftersales, and of course the overall Retailer of the Year accolade. Fighting off firm competition from more than 125 Škoda retailers across the UK and noted for a fantastic team culture, Vindis Škoda (Bury St Edmunds), who finished ninth in 2022 and third in 2023, climbed the ranks…

Six new council homes have been unveiled in a West Bromwich neighbourhood to provide much-needed housing for Sandwell residents. Sandwell Council, with grant funding from Homes England, has delivered six spacious four-bedroom homes in Whitgreave Street, working in conjunction with SWG Construction. These brand-new, energy efficient semi-detached homes perfectly blend modern living with sustainable features. Every property is equipped with electric car charging facilities and solar PV panels, ensuring residents can enjoy eco-friendly living and reduced energy costs. The development includes a landscaped communal area and convenient visitor car parking, making it ideal for families and guests to visit. In…

Oswald Clarke and Emma Price Two individuals who exploited vulnerable residents across the Heath Town area of Wolverhampton have been served with injunctions by the County Court. Oswald Clarke, aged 61 and of no fixed abode, and Emma Price, 39, also of no fixed abode, targeted vulnerable people, and coerced or threatened them to get into and take control of their properties, where they would then supply and use of class A controlled drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine. The Court heard that Clarke in particular would threaten and intimidate the residents, often supplying them with drugs to persuade…

The government has released the annual rough sleeping figures for the country and despite supporting more people who are sleeping rough into safe and secure housing than the previous year, Solihull’s official figure for rough sleeping is 12 people, double last year’s figure of six. The national rough sleeping figures are produced annually as a snapshot by every local authority in the country on a single night in autumn. It is recorded annually in this way in order to monitor rough sleeping patterns year on year and region by region. Alongside this snapshot, Solihull Council tracks patterns and numbers of…