West Midlands: Three things you wanted to know

People have been using Your Questions to tell us what they want to know about the West Midlands.

One person asked whether Solihull had ever been part of Birmingham.

We were also asked when the platforms at Birmingham New Street station were built underground and why.

And we've received a few questions about statues and sculptures around the city. Here are some of the answers.

We received several questions about the stories behind sculptures in Birmingham

Birmingham's rich manufacturing history, busy workshops and pioneering art school are often credited as moulding its diverse landscape of public art. All around the city there are modern and classic pieces to be enjoyed.

Some sculptures, like the bronze Bull outside the Bulling shopping centre are well-known. But others are in out of the way locations where their stories are waiting to be unlocked.

Birmingham resident Liz Dexter blogged about her and best friend Emma Volante's quest to find out about the silver heart shaped padlock tucked between a car dealership and a lamppost on Newhall Hill in the Jewellery Quarter.

They discovered the lock marked the start of the Charm Bracelet Pavement Trail, designed by Birmingham public artists Mick Thacker and Mark Renn.

Read more here: The secrets of Birmingham's sculptures unlocked

Do you know the significance of the padlock sculpture in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter?

Martin Reynolds asked: "When did the platforms at Birmingham New Street station go 'underground' and why?

Birmingham New Street station was originally built in 1854 when it had the largest iron and glass roof in the world at 65m wide and 256m long

Network Rail told us the platforms went beneath ground level after the original 1854 station was demolished in 1964.

It reopened in 1967 to coincide with the electrification of the West Coast Mainline.

One of the reasons the platforms went underground was the first ever sale of "air rights" above the railway by British Rail leading to the construction of the Pallasades Shopping Centre in 1970.

Was Solihull ever part of Birmingham?

Solihull was never part of Birmingham

Solihull Council told us: "It was previously Solihull Rural District Council from 1894 to 1932, then Solihull Urban District Council, part of Warwickshire, from 1932 to 1954.

"Then it became a borough, becoming a metropolitan borough in 1974."