Summary

  • Updates from Monday 17 May to Sunday 23 May

  1. Power station site homes plan set to be approvedpublished at 12:36 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    Plans to build 1,000 homes on the site of the former Ironbridge Power Station are set to be approved.

    The redevelopment of the 340-acre site at Buildwas will also include a retirement village, primary school, shops, rail link, business sites and sports, leisure and healthcare facilities, in what will effectively become a new town.

    The plans will go before Shropshire Council’s southern planning committee next week and officers say outline planning permission should be granted.

    Media caption,

    Ironbridge Power Station cooling towers brought down

    It comes after Telford and Wrekin Council’s planning committee approved the cross-boundary application last month.

    If approval is granted, the developer Harworth Group will pay a £16.75m contribution towards local infrastructure, ring-fenced for work directly associated with the development, including £5.1m for a new on-site primary school and £4.4m towards expanding William Brookes School, in Much Wenlock.

  2. Birmingham 2022 games: 'Significant milestone' for aquatics centrepublished at 12:21 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    The first tiles have been laid at the £73m aquatics centre for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

    Media caption,

    'Significant milestone' reached in aquatics centre

    To finish the 50m competition pool, diving pool and other facilities, 190,000 tiles will have to be laid, organisers said.

    They added the centre in Sandwell was on schedule and on budget to be completed in spring 2022.

    The Birmingham Games will take place from 28 July to 8 August.

    Inside the centreImage source, Birmingham 2022
  3. Crews tackle severe house fire in Dudleypublished at 11:43 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Firefighters are at the scene of a severe house fire in Dudley.

    West Midlands Fire Service said everyone in the house in Anderson Road, Tipton Green, had been accounted for and were being checked by paramedics.

    The houseImage source, West Midlands Fire Service

    The service added that the road would be closed while crews continue their work.

  4. Football gossip: City set sights on Grealishpublished at 11:01 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    BBC Sport

    Gossip logoImage source, BBC Sport

    Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wants to sign Aston Villa and England midfielder Jack Grealish, 25, this summer. (ESPN), external

    Everton have interviewed former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, 47, about succeeding Carlo Ancelotti as manager after the Italian left to re-join Real Madrid. (Football Insider), external

    West Ham and Aston Villa are keen to sign Burnley striker Chris Wood, while Everton are monitoring the 29-year-old New Zealand international while they await the appointment of a new manager. (Mirror), external

    Aston Villa are favourites to sign 16-year-old central defender Josh Feeney from Fleetwood in the summer, but they face competition from Manchester United for the England Under-16 captain. (Mail), external

  5. Chief fire officer dies weeks before retiringpublished at 10:45 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Paul Fuller was an "incredibly well-respected man", his deputy says.

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  6. Fight at McDonald's drive-through investigated by policepublished at 10:29 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Police are investigating a fight that broke out involving four men at a drive-through takeaway in Nuneaton.

    McDonaldsImage source, Google

    The altercation happened on the Bermuda Estate following an argument at 20:10 BST on Monday, said Warwickshire Police.

    It's believed the fight was witnessed by customers at the McDonald's restaurant.

    Police are asking for anyone with information to come forward.

  7. Clean Air Zone: 500 exemptions processed in soft launchpublished at 10:12 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Kathryn Stanczyszyn
    Political Reporter, BBC Radio WM

    It's been a week since Birmingham's Clean Air Zone was introduced with a last-minute announcement from the city council that it was a "soft launch" and payments would not be taken for the first fortnight.

    At the time, the authority said it was to give drivers "time to adjust" and allow people to apply for exemptions.

    Map of Birmingham's Clean Air Zone

    Steve Arnold, the council's head of CAZ, said they had already processed about 500 applications in that time.

    He also challenged allegations from Birmingham's Conservative opposition that the real reason for the delay in seeking payments was because the council failed to sort a procurement contract out in time.

    Drivers of high-polluting vehicles will be charged to enter the zone from midnight on 14 June and Mr Arnold said "everything was ready" and the council had made test payments.

    However, drivers of non-compliant vehicles will not be able to pay in advance for the first week and instead must pay within six days after their journey.

    "We always wanted to ease people into this," he said. "We always knew this transition was a difficult one."

  8. Worcestershire sign Sodhi for T20 Blastpublished at 09:20 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Ish Sodhi replaces Nepal's Sandeep Lamichhane as overseas spinner in Worcestershire's T20 Blast squad.

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  9. Teen calls on victims to speak out against racismpublished at 09:07 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    A 17-year-old who was targeted last month says racism is too often ignored by victims.

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  10. Towns and cities to benefit from pandemic recovery fundpublished at 08:22 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    Twenty-six English towns and cities will received a grant from a £610m government fund to help them recover economically from the impact of coronavirus.

    Hereford skylineImage source, Getty Images

    In the West Midlands:

    • Hereford will receive £22.4m
    • Newcastle-under-Lyme was awarded £23.6m
    • Redditch will receive £15.6m
    • Telford will get £22.3m
    • Walsall will receive £21.3m
    • Worcester is due £19.6m
    Quote Message

    We are levelling up towns and cities across the country by building stronger and more resilient local economies, boosting prosperity and opportunity in our communities, and helping them build back better from the pandemic.

    Robert Jenrick, Communities Secretary

  11. Today's weather: A lovely day full of sunshinepublished at 08:11 British Summer Time 8 June 2021

    It's a beautiful start to the day with a lot of sunshine around this morning, staying largely dry and clear through to the afternoon.

    Temperatures are on the rise, with highs of up to 23C (73F).

    Sunrise in Aldridge, Walsall, this morningImage source, Tippytoes/ BBC Weather Watchers
    Image caption,

    Sunrise in Aldridge, Walsall, on Tuesday morning

  12. Women whose 'petticoat rule' transformed villagepublished at 21:44 British Summer Time 7 June 2021

    Six women sat on Bishops Itchington parish council post-war and faced a male plot to overthrow them.

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  13. Hundreds remember stabbed boy, 14, at vigilpublished at 19:16 British Summer Time 7 June 2021

    Two teenagers appear in court charged with murdering Dea-John Reid in Birmingham.

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  14. Two arrested after disorder in Birminghampublished at 18:53 British Summer Time 7 June 2021

    Two people have been arrested after a disorder at a property in Birmingham.

    A 27-year-old man suffered a cut to his ear and neck and a 25-year-old had cuts to his chest and ear after the incident on Stirling Road in Edgbaston at about 05:00am on Monday, West Midlands Police said.

    Stirling Road, EdgbastonImage source, Google

    Their injuries are not life-threatening or life-changing, the force said.

    Two people were arrested and taken to hospital, also with injuries that were not life-threatening or life-changing, it added.

    They have since been discharged and remain in police custody.

  15. Coventry Moves: 'I hope all Coventrians felt pride'published at 18:08 British Summer Time 7 June 2021

    Coventry City of Culture organisers have said they hope residents felt proud of their city.

    Performers for Coventry MovesImage source, PA Media

    Saturday's signature event saw a day of surprise performances, starting with a song from The Selecter singer Pauline Black, followed by a bicycle peleton and motorcade through the city.

    “Coventry Moves has given the world a taste of what this wonderful city has to offer," said creative director Chenine Bhathena.

    "It was great to have so many amazing Coventry artists taking part from the city showing off their creativity.

    "I hope all Coventrians felt pride in seeing their home in the spotlight."

  16. Plans for sport centre revamps for Commonwealth Gamespublished at 17:50 British Summer Time 7 June 2021

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    Changes are to be made at Warwickshire cricket ground and the University of Birmingham’s Sports and Fitness Centre ahead of hosting events for next year’s Commonwealth Games.

    Papers due to go before the council’s planning committee this week show how the Sports and Fitness Centre will be adapted to host the hockey and squash events, while Edgbaston stadium will undergo small alterations in order to host the women’s cricket.

    A map showing the planned changes to the Sports and Fitness CentreImage source, Google

    All of the structures would be erected between June and July 2022 with the events held from 28 July to 7 August.

  17. Dea-John Reid: 'Outpouring of love' for stabbed boypublished at 17:39 British Summer Time 7 June 2021

    BBC Midlands Today

    A vigil for a 14-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in Birmingham showed an "outpouring of love" for his family, organisers said.

    Desmond Jaddoo at the vigil

    Dr Desmond Jaddoo (pictured) led the vigil after the death of Dea-John Reid in College Road, Kingstanding, in support of his family including his mother, Joan Morris.

    "The outpouring of love and unity in support of Joan and the rest of the family was absolutely immense, many people were in tears," he said.

    Local MP Jack Dromey was also at the vigil and said the community showed solidarity with the family.

    "Joan is a remarkable woman, she appealed for the people of Kingstanding and Birmingham to come together and that is precisely what happened last night," he added.

  18. City of Culture celebrations watched in 88 countriespublished at 17:23 British Summer Time 7 June 2021

    A celebration to launch the start of Coventry's City of Culture year was watched in 88 countries, organisers say.

    Events took place across the city, with a song by Pauline Black, lead singer of The Selecter, and bicycles and cars travelling across the city.

    In total, Coventry Moves had 100,000 views across platforms on Saturday.

    Coventry MovesImage source, PA Media

    There were more than 500 people involved, including 350 on the day, Coventry City of Culture Trust said.

    The say featured 43 performances across the day, passing through 400 streets.

    A special documentary, Curtain up on Coventry, will be broadcast across the Midlands on BBC One at 19:35.

  19. Batsman Haynes out with ankle injurypublished at 17:22 British Summer Time 7 June 2021

    Worcestershire batsman Jack Haynes could be out long-term after suffering a serious ankle injury.

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