Updates from 11 March to 17 March
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Here are three stories from the Shropshire Star today:
Hundreds of new homes and apartments along with shops are going to be built in the middle of Wolverhampton.
Image source, Wolverhampton City CouncilThe city council's revealed its multimillion-pound proposals for the Brewers Yard scheme at the MIPIM property conference in France this morning.
The scheme, which would include a mixture of 1,100 city houses and apartments, would be built on 10 acres of brownfield land next to the University of Wolverhampton's Springfield Campus.
The council's working with the West Midlands Combined Authority and developers Court Collaboration on the project and says work should start next year.
The scheme is expected to deliver hundreds of permanent jobs, as well as more than 1,000 construction jobs.
BBC News Travel
It's not just the high wind that's causing traffic problems this morning, a number of roads have been closed by flooding too.
Worcestershire County Council says New Street in Upton-upon-Severn is blocked and is asking people not to use Shell Ford near Droitwich, because cars are becoming stuck.
Image source, Hereford and Worcester Fire ServiceFire crews tweeted the photo above just last week after a woman had to be rescued from Shell Ford.
A 17-year-old has been arrested in a car that is thought have been stolen in Coventry at knifepoint last week.
West Midlands Police said he was picked up yesterday afternoon after reports of drug dealing behind flats in Charminster Drive.
Image source, GoogleThe force said he was found with a knife, drugs and a car running on cloned plates which is thought to be one taken from the Stoke area of the city on 3 March.
Sections of roads in Staffordshire and Worcestershire have been blocked after trees came down in the high winds brought by Storm Gareth.
One lane of the Macclesfield Road heading towards Leek , externalis affected, police say, although a Highways team is on the way.
Image source, Staffordshire PoliceA tree has also fallen on to power lines on Egg Lane at Claines in Worcestershire, causing part of the road to be closed.
BBC News UK
A Birmingham business says it just wants certainty from MPs over Brexit, after they again rejected the PM's withdrawal agreement.
MPs will now vote later today on whether to block the UK from leaving the EU without a deal on 29 March.
Rowan Crozier is from Brandauer, an independent high-precision metal component specialist based in Birmingham which uses materials from all over the world and supply customers across the globe.
He told the BBC: “The sad thing for manufacturing is that we need certainty, regardless of whether you’re in or out, leave or stay, we need to know what we’re planning for.”
He said that they’ve spent the last two years planning for a no-deal Brexit, including “increased stock, more regular meetings with customers, complete map of the supply chain, review of our pricing mechanisms, [and] reviewing our trading terms with all our customers”.
Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke
A young cyclist has been hurt after being involved in a collision with a car this morning.
Image source, GoogleStaffordshire Police says the crash involved a VW Beetle and the biker on Liverpool Road, Kidsgrove, Staffordshire, at the junction with Hardingswood Road at 08:30.
The ambulance service says the cyclist has suffered several injuries and has been taken to hospital.
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis
Coventry's roads and pavements are to see £8.4m of extra investment, after additional funding was agreed by city councillors.
It will include £400,000 on patching up potholes, £1.48m on resurfacing, £900,000 on surface treatments, £3m on pavements, and £500,000 on drainage.
Image source, PAMoney will also be spent on road safety schemes including speed cameras and traffic calming around schools.
BBC Business News
Dignity, the only stock market listed funeral company, has reported a 43% fall in annual profits to £40.5m.
Image source, PAMike McCollum, chief executive of the Sutton Coldfield-based firm, said 2019 was likely to mark the start of the Competition and Markets Authority's investigation into the industry.
"Our surveys demonstrate that the majority of clients assume the funeral industry is regulated, when it is not.
"Some may assume that they will receive the same quality of service from different operators irrespective of price. They will not".
Two places in the West Midlands have been named among those seeing the biggest rise in property prices in the last year, according to a property website.
Image source, PARightmove says the average price tags on homes increased by 10.1% in Wednesbury, with an average price of £151,667, putting it second in their top five locations for rises.
In fourth place, Kidderminster has seen a 10.0% increase and an average price of £200,343.
Top spot was taken by Barry in south Wales.
Stoke-on-Trent Live
A few of the stories making the headlines on the Stoke-on-Trent Live website:
A number of Conservative MPs who voted against Theresa May's first Brexit agreement decided to back her last night, including a handful in the West Midlands.
The MP for the Wrekin, Mark Pritchard, said before the vote he was going to give it his "unenthusiastic" support, because it was a "significant improvement" and because there was a danger there could be no Brexit at all.
The North Herefordshire MP Bill Wiggin and Andrew Mitchell, who represents Sutton Coldfield, also decided to back this deal after opposing the last one.
Mr Wiggin said he thought the "whole country wants us to get on with it".
The deal was defeated in the Commons on Tuesday evening by 149 votes with North Shropshire Conservative MP Owen Paterson, a prominent member of the pro-Brexit European Research Group (ERG), calling it "an extraordinarily bad deal".
Image source, PANow though, local Tory MPs in the West Midlands have told the BBC they're thinking carefully about whether they'll support a no-deal scenario or not.
Stratford-on-Avon's Nadhim Zahawi's said: "I will be voting to keep no deal on the table because I think it's the best way for us to get a good deal."
While Dudley South's Conservative MP Mike Wood, another ERG supporter, said he was also going to support keeping no-deal as an option as, after holding a referendum on the EU, "we have to deliver on that promise".
BBC Shropshire
A drop-in session is being held at the Greenwood Centre in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, this afternoon to help recruit volunteers to look after 500 hectares of woodland.
The Telford Woods project aims to help local communities get involved in managing the area by taking part in social, craft and training activities.
A fire has badly damaged the basement of a shop in Birmingham this morning.
Image source, West Midlands Fire ServiceWest Midlands Fire Service said it happened on Pinfold Street in the city centre at around 05:30., external
Its cause has not been revealed.
BBC Sport
Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson will miss England's Six Nations finale with Scotland on Saturday because of illness, with Saracens' Ben Spencer replacing him in the squad.
Image source, PAStoke-on-Trent-born Robson won his second cap against Italy, scoring a try in the 57-14 win at Twickenham.
Eddie Jones's squad does include Wasps' Nathan Hughes, Joe Launchbury, Brad Shields and Elliot Daly and Worcester Warriors Ben Te’o., external
England will win the Six Nations if they beat Scotland and Grand Slam-chasing Wales lose to Ireland.
BBC Midlands Today
A new exhibition's set to open later this month, featuring forerunners of the modern selfie but taken 40 years ago.
Image source, Midlands Arts CentrePeople in Handsworth, Birmingham were invited to take self-portraits in a pop-up studio in 1979.
More than 500 got involved in what's been called by organisers a ground-breaking project for its day.
Hundreds of the images, some of them never seen before, will go on display at the Midlands Arts Centre from 23 March., external
Local Democracy Reporting Service
A Staffordshire teenager who sat one of her GCSEs a year early while she was battling cancer says she's been inspired to work for the health service when she leaves school.
Image source, Stoke SentinelEmily Franks, now 17, was first diagnosed with lymphoma when she was 13 and was determined to continue her studies during treatment.
She sat her RE GCSE at Alleyne’s Academy aged 15 and other exams a year later, passing all of them. She has already done work experience with the NHS.
Emily also had some suggestions for the Royal Stoke University Hospital, where she received treatment, asking them to do more for students of her age who want to continue their studies.
And she also suggested the hospital reduced parking charges for outpatients.
The Express and Star's covering these stories this morning:
BBC Sport
Coventry City moved within three points of the League One play-off places last night, but Walsall and Shrewsbury Town failed to ease their relegation fears.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Sky Blues beat fellow promotion rivals Fleetwood Town 2-1 but the Saddlers lost 3-2 at home to Portsmouth and Shrewsbury were beaten at Plymouth Argyle.
Burton Albion failed to close in on the play-offs themselves, as they lost at Charlton Athletic.
While in League Two last night, Port Vale beat fellow strugglers Yeovil Town 3-0 and Crewe Alexandra drew at Cambridge United.
