Updates from Monday 30 December to Sunday 5 January
BBC Midlands Today
A project to help protect curlews in Herefordshire is appealing for volunteers.
The number of the birds has halved nationally over the last 25 years.
Now Herefordshire Ornithological Club needs people to help its teams carry out fieldwork to locate nests in order to protect them.
Some of the stories from the Express & Star are:
BBC Midlands Today
Port Vale celebrity fan Robbie Williams has been speaking about the club's visit to Manchester City in the FA Cup tomorrow - one of the biggest games in the club's history.
The home team are not only the FA Cup holders but the reigning Premier League champions as well.
Eight thousand Vale fans will make the journey to watch the League Two side.
Quote MessageIt's an excellent windfall for the club first and foremost, much-needed money coming into the coffers. Secondly, it'll be a great day out. Thirdly, Vale fans [can] go and watch in the flesh the great talent that we have in this country... Miracles do happen, but maybe this is expecting a miracle a bit too far. Who knows? Pep [Guardiola] might put out his junior squad. Please Pep."
Robbie Williams, Vale fan
Councils in the West Midlands have been awarded more than £435,000 to crack down on criminal landlords and letting agents, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the majority of landlords provided decent homes, but a small minority persisted in breaking the law, making tenants’ lives a misery by offering inadequate or unsafe properties.
The funding will be used by councils to take enforcement action against such landlords and advise tenants of their housing rights.
Among the councils to benefit are Wolverhampton, Lichfield and Walsall.
Quote MessageIt’s completely unacceptable that a minority of unscrupulous landlords continue to break the law and provide homes which fall short of the standards we rightly expect – making lives difficult for hard-working tenants who just want to get on with their lives."
Robert Jenrick, Housing Secretary
Local Democracy Reporting Service
A decision on the future of a long-planned bypass is expected later this month.
Image source, Herefordshire CouncilThe route of the £150m Hereford bypass and southern link road, to connect Rotherwas with the A49 north of the city, was given the green light in 2018.
But, after a change in administration at Herefordshire Council in last year's elections, the new leaders paused all work in August and agreed to commission a review.
Transport cabinet member John Harrington is expected to announce on 16 January which parts of the schemes will be examined and outline a timescale for the review.
BBC Midlands Today
A Shropshire man says the rising cost of damage to his car caused by potholes is tantamount to a tax on people living in rural areas.
Ian Field has photographed the roads around his home in the village of Beckbury to show just how bad they are. He said he had to replace four tyres in December alone.
Shropshire Council says it's rolling out a new, faster way of repairing potholes across the county.
Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter
Today will be a largely fine day with plenty of winter sunshine and little in the way of cloud. It will be breezy with a moderate westerly to north-westerly wind. Highs of 5 to 8C (41 to 46F).
Weather for the West Midlands
Andrew Dawkins
BBC News
Welcome to our live service for Friday.
We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.
You can get in touch via email, Twitter , externaland Facebook., external
The PFA says it will talk to the EFL and the referees' governing body over sectarian chanting aimed at Stoke midfielder James McClean.
Read MoreWe'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow, but look out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.
BBC Shropshire
A £60m fund is set to be used over the next four years to build new houses and business units in Telford , externaland surrounding areas.
Image source, Telford and Wrekin CouncilThe council's already constructed 329 new homes for rent through its firm Nuplace and says this cash could see it double its size by 2024.
The local authority's also previously built new business units in places such as T54 and Hortonwood West.
Other budget plans include raising council tax by 3.99%, £16m for road, path and bridge improvements and spending £5m regenerating high streets in the borough.
A consultation on the proposals will run until 31 January., external
A few of the stories making the headlines on the Kiddersminster Shuttle today:
Phil Bowers
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke
A man's been stopped and fined after police caught him watching a film on his phone while driving on the M6.
Image source, Central Motorway Police GroupThe Central Motorway Police Group said, external he was driving a people carrier between J15, for Stoke-on-Trent, and Stafford services.
They said the 38-year-old was given a £100 fine.
The afternoon's stayed grey and cloudy but we're still getting plenty of photos of great views across the West Midlands from our local BBC Weather Watchers.
These ones are from users Steve Blackman in Napton on the Hill, Warwickshire, Ryan Lewis in Rubery, Birmingham and Shaun in Gnosall, Staffordshire:
Image source, Steve Blackman
Image source, Ryan Lewis
Image source, ShaunLocal Democracy Reporting Service
Here are some of the stories being covered by our Local Democracy Reporting Service in Herefordshire and Worcestershire:
Image source, GoogleThe West Midlands mayor has welcomed rail fare cuts, but says his ultimatum remains in place to restore a reliable service by the end of January or he will ask for the franchise to end.
Season tickets with West Midlands Trains (WMT) won't be affected by national fare increases in recognition of a "drop in performance" on its services.
Instead WMT says it will reduce prices for season tickets. It has acknowledged there had been a drop in performance since May with passengers experiencing several weeks of delays, cancellations and strike action.
The news comes as fares increase by almost 3% across the country.
Mayor Andy Street says he is "pleased" season ticket holders in the West Midlands will see their fares cut slightly, after WMT listened to "calls for this in recognition of their woeful service in 2019".
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Cloudy this evening with the odd bit of drizzle around before more rain's expected to spread in through the night. Low: 7C (45F).
Image source, Laura and GlennThen starting damp tomorrow before the cloud and rain clears by the afternoon to leave some sunny spells. High: 8C (46F).
Keep up-to-date with the BBC Weather website.
Sharon Jenkins, 62, was on her way to celebrate the new year with family when she was hit by a car.
Read MoreLocal Democracy Reporting Service
Almost three million bulbs – around a dozen for every Solihull resident – were planted across the borough last year as part of a flagship environmental project.
In the same period, 480 trees have taken root and 8,500sqm of wildflower meadows have been created.
Image source, Local Democracy Reporting ServiceThe council has confirmed that 2.7 million daffodils, crocuses, snowdrops and other species have been sunk into the soil since work started on the Wildlife Ways scheme in February 2019.
Contractors had halted activity over the Christmas period, with the next phase of the work to get under way from Monday, 6 January.
One of the first projects in 2020 will mean that the subway running under Shustoke Road and Elms Close, near Solihull Bypass, will be closed for around four weeks.
A council spokesman said: "There is an approved diversion in place that will ensure pedestrians have a safe route around. We will endeavour to keep full closure of the subway to as short a period as possible."
Men with testicular cancer could be spared some of the side effects of chemotherapy after new research suggested their treatment could be halved.
Image source, Getty ImagesA new clinical trial concluded the cancer could be prevented from returning using half the amount of chemotherapy that is currently used.
In many men who have had surgery for an aggressive form of the disease, it can return within two years after initial diagnosis elsewhere in their bodies, needing intensive treatment.
The new trial found one cycle of chemotherapy was as effective at preventing testicular cancer from coming back as the standard two cycles.
The 111 trial was led by the Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR) and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
