Birmingham Dispatch • 29th November 2024

Rachel is a victim of domestic violence. Why won’t West Midlands Police help her?

Funny and full of affection was how Rachel* first described her new romance. She met her new partner, Steve*, in 2005 at work and a year later began a relationship. She says he was an inveterate teller of jokes. “He was so funny and so quick off the mark,” she said. “I was happy to have met him”.

They married in 2007. Rachel was pregnant with their first son, and believed they had developed a strong bond. Within a year of the marriage, however, the relationship deteriorated. “He started drinking heavily and had become increasingly aggressive and abusive,” she said. “This was behaviour he had never previously exhibited with me.”

Big Issue • 11th November 2024

Solving the housing crisis with £50,000, eco-friendly tiny homes

Tiny homes may be the next fix for the UK’s housing crisis – and university students from across the country are joining forces to bring them to a town and city near you.

Homefolk, a youth-led social enterprise, was first set up in 2021 to find a sustainable solution to the housing crisis. Over 30 students from the University of Sheffield, the University of Glasgow and Queen Mary University of London will begin work to create affordable and sustainable ‘tiny home villages’ in urban areas.

Daily Star • 29th October 2024

Mad Vlad orders strategic nuclear weapons training exercise amid Ukraine war

Vladimir Putin has launched a rehearsal massive exercise of the country's nuclear artillery in a simulation of a retaliatory strikes as tensions continue to spiral with the West over Ukraine.

Big Issue • 28th October 2024

Just 5% of private rentals in London are affordable to low-income earners

London is home to an estimated 2.7 million private renters – around 30% of the capital’s population. More than 400,000 private renters in London – approximately one in seven – rely on LHA to cover their housing costs.

The loss of privately rented homes makes it harder for boroughs to prevent and relieve homelessness, including through using such properties as temporary accommodation.

Daily Star • 26th October 2024

Guests wake to find 'ghost of girl' staring down at them at 'most haunted hotel'

Dark figures, ghosts, and ghoulish voices have been reported at a haunted hotel in Tennessee.

Daily Star • 24th October 2024

Boy dies after 'falling in love' with Game of Thrones-inspired chatbot

A boy has died dead after allegedly received a message from a Games of Thrones affiliated chatbot telling him to "come home", according to a lawsuit by the grief-riddled mother.

Big Issue • 18th October 2024

Labour told to end policies causing deaths of thousands of homeless people

A vigil was held to remember those who died while homeless and rough sleeping as charities call for the reversal of cuts to welfare and housing. The Museum of Homelessness (MoH) held the vigil to remember those who died while homeless across the UK in 2023. The vigil took place outside Downing Street. 

The charity is calling on the Labour government to reverse policies that have caused thousands upon thousands of preventable deaths in recent years.

Big Issue • 16th October 2024

London's Elizabeth Line named Britain's best new building at Stirling Prize 2024

Chowdhury Walk is part of an ambitious programme of new generation council housing by Hackney Council. The development features 11 new two, three and four bedroom dwellings, seven of which are for social rent. A public thoroughfare has also been created for pedestrians and cyclists, providing the community a new way to cross the neighbourhood. 

In particular, the homes are built on a plot previously occupied by garages and ad-hoc parking – a nod to Labour’s housing policy to turn neglected br...

Big Issue • 16th October 2024

Government spend on housing at highest level since records began

Government spend on housing has increased to its highest level since records began due to housing benefits, according to a landmark report. The report, the UK Housing Review 2024, known colloquially as the UK’s housing ‘bible’, notes that subsidies should shift away from housing benefits back into investment to creating more social housing.

Government spending on housing in 2021/22 was £30.5bn compared to £22.3bn in 1975/76 – not adjusted to inflation. However, out of the £30.5bn, only 12% of government spending is used to build or improve homes. The rest, or 88%, is used to provide housing benefits.

Big Issue • 15th October 2024

More than 1,400 people died while homeless in the UK in 2023

The Museum of Homelessness’ Dying Homeless Project uses a rigorous verification process to arrive at the final figures, including analysis of information from coroners’ enquiries, media coverage, family testimony and freedom of information requests to verify details of each case.

The lack of effective frontline services, the MoH argues, contributes to an epidemic of “deaths of despair”, which includes deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide. These makes up 47% of deaths of homeless people whe...

Big Issue • 10th October 2024

Labour's Renters' Rights Bill will 'ensure all homes are warm and safe'

Kemi Badenoch, the shadow housing secretary, said the bill proposed by Labour would result in “more chaos” and argued Labour cannot fix the private rental market by “tying it in knots with further interventions and directives”. 

She referred to a similar scheme in Scotland, the Fair Rents (Scotland) Bill, which she claims had decreased the supply of rental properties and increased rents faster than in England. 

“I do appreciate what the government wants to do. It wants to make renting more...

Big Issue • 9th October 2024

How Labour's Renters' Rights Bill is aiming to save renters from 'fear of eviction'

Labour’s landmark Renters’ Rights Bill will close the Conservative Party’s loopholes and stop the “fear of eviction” from hanging over tenants, campaigners have said.

The Renters’ Rights Bill appeared for its second reading in parliament on Wednesday (9 October), and has been generally welcomed by campaigners, MPs and tenants unions.

It’s the first time MPs have discussed Labour’s rent reforms as the party approach their first 100 days in office. The government intends, through the bill, to bring the greatest rebalance of power between landlords and tenants for almost four decades.

inews.co.uk • 13th September 2024

Labour steering group on HS2 North replacement line 'expected within weeks'

The Labour Mayors of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands expect the Government to set up a steering group for a new rail line to replace the axed northern leg of HS2 within weeks.Andy Burnham and Richard Parker gave their full backing to a proposal put forward by a consortium of private-sector businesses today for a new project branded the Midlands-North West Rail Link.The idea is to build a 50-mile rail track along roughly the same route as the axed part of HS2, but at a lower specificatio...

Housing Digital • 11th September 2024

£3.3m social housing scheme underway in Telford & Wrekin

Work is underway to build a new multi-million-pound social housing development in Dawley, Shropshire.

Wrekin Housing Trust is working with local developer R1 Living to build 18 energy efficient homes at a site on Webb Crescent.

The breaking of ground marks the first construction milestone for the £3.3m project, which is expected to be completed by summer 2025. The development will feature a mix of family homes, apartments and bungalows – all for social rent.

The regeneration project has...

BBC News • 1st August 2024

West Midlands Mayor commits to housebuilding revolution

The West Midlands Mayor has said he is committed to a 'revolution' in housebuilding.Labour's Richard Parker spoke at a new development on the former Cookley Works steel factory in Brierley Hill, where all properties are either for sale under shared ownership or available at affordable rent.Mr Parker said the completion of the 71-home project was "the tip of the iceberg" in relation to the challenge of tackling a shortage of homes in the region.It comes as the government reveals proposals to incr...

8th June 2024

How I'll make the West Midlands successful, by new mayor Richard Parker

It is no secret that I want to bring buses back under public control. The current system isn't working. We need bus services to be more accessible and affordable. On the doorstep I have heard countless tales of people not being able to go to work, their doctors' appointments, or school, because of our inadequate transport system.

Currently, we are pumping almost £75 million of annual subsidies into our bus system to avoid inflation-busting fare increases or severe reductions in services and rou

The Guardian • 14th May 2024

‘Emotionally exhausting’: Richard Parker on his surprise mayoral win

It’s been just over a week since Richard Parker became mayor of the West Midlands, in the most dramatic result of this year’s elections. His win, against the power of “Brand Andy” Street, came as a shock – even to the man with the red rosette.“I had only written a losing speech. I’m not a negative person at all, but I think the early signals coming from [vote] sampling was that it was going to be very difficult for me to win,” he said. “I was just trying to prepare myself the best way for a nega...

Inside Housing • 10th April 2024

Andy Street outlines plan to treble social housing delivery

West Midlands mayor Andy Street has pledged to treble the number of social homes being built in the region as he campaigns for re-election.

Mr Street said the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) would directly fund the building of social housing for the first time using newly devolved affordable homes powers.

Central government committed to handing over control of the region’s Affordable Homes Programme to the combined authority as part of a devolution deal signed in March 2023.

BBC News • 20th March 2024

Edgbaston cricket stadium redevelopment receives funding boost

A major hotel will be built and a spectator stand will be redeveloped at Edgbaston Stadium under new plans.

Part funded by an £18m loan from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the project includes plans to develop a four-star hotel at the Birmingham cricket ground.

The proposed hotel would include a a rooftop terrace, as well as pitch-view rooms with balconies.

Subject to planning approval, the work is due to begin September 2025, with construction expected to take up to two years.

Los Angeles Times • 27th February 2024

Cheers to being crooked again. English pub razed after a fire to be rebuilt as it was

The 18th century Crooked House pub near Dudley, England, burned and was unlawfully bulldozed. Now its owners have been ordered to rebuild and keep its previous, lopsided specifications.

The owners of a quirky 18th century British pub unlawfully bulldozed after a mysterious fire last year were ordered Tuesday by a local council to rebuild it — and to stick to its original, lopsided dimensions.

The watering hole — known as the Crooked House for its leaning walls and tilting foundation — favored

The Guardian • 7th February 2024

Mayors put forward alternatives to HS2 scrapped northern section

Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, and Andy Street, the Tory mayor of the West Midlands, have joined forces on alternative and cheaper plans for the scrapped section of HS2, warning that “to do nothing is not an option”.

Burnham and Street shared a stage on Wednesday to put forward three options after the government abandoned the long-promised northern section of the high-speed rail line.

The mayors said their largely privately funded alternatives would cost “considerably le

BBC News • 6th February 2024

Black Country historic pubs submitted for Grade II listing

A group of historic pubs have been submitted for Grade II-listed status in a bid to protect their legacy.

Five pubs across the Black Country were nominated by the public as part of the List Your Local initiative by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in partnership with the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra).

The list has been sent to Historic England to be reviewed and if agreed, the public body will then ask the secretary of state for culture, media, and sport, for approval.

It follows t

New Statesman • 11th December 2023

Boosting the power of Britain’s creative industries

In the overall push for economic growth, one sector in particular has gone from strength to strength over the past decade: Britain’s creative industries.

Britain’s creative industries are universally renowned and generate increasing revenues, both internationally and domestically. Over the past decade, the sector has grown at more than 1.5-times the rate of the wider economy, contributing £108bn in gross value added (GVA) annually.

The creative industries are also, increasingly, a major provid

The Times • 13th November 2023

Head start for afro haircare entrepreneur who turned down Dragon

A first-time entrepreneur has taken her afro haircare business from being valued at £125,000 on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den programme to £3 million in just two years.

Kameese Davis, chief executive of Nylah’s Naturals, turned down an offer of £50,000 from entrepreneur Sara Davies for 40 per cent of her business after appearing on the TV show in 2021.

Davis, 41, from from Sandwell in the West Midlands, has secured £530,000 for a minority stake from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund and the West Mi