Community News

Hundreds of supporters within the region took part in Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s recent Air30 Airbase Challenge, funding 67 future missions for the local pre-hospital emergency service, helping to save countless lives.

The Air30 Airbase Challenge, which saw participants take on the virtual distances between the charity’s three airbases raised in excess of £65,000 for the rapid response service, making a phenomenal 67 vital lifesaving missions possible – 22 in the charity’s air ambulance helicopters and an additional 45 in the service’s two critical care cars based in Birmingham and the Black Country, and separately in Worcestershire.

The Dean of Worcester, the Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, will officially retire on Friday 25 August, after more than 16 years in the post, and 43 years as a priest in the Church of England. His resignation was accepted by Queen Elizabeth II very shortly before her death.

Peter was installed as Dean of Worcester in 2007. Born and brought up in Kent, he studied in Oxford, Cambridge, and Rome, before he was ordained deacon in 1979, and priest in 1980. He served as a curate in Clapham in south London after which he was Priest-in-charge of St Mary, Tatsfield, in Surrey. 

Birmingham’s status a Proud Host City for the 2022 Commonwealth Games is celebrated in the city council’s entry for this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. A mixture of flowers grown at the council’s own nurseries and sporting-themed features make up the eye-catching display, which has an interpretation of the official Games logo as its centrepiece.

It is hoped the entry will help secure Birmingham City Council’s tenth consecutive Gold at the world-famous show, which runs from May 24-28.

More than eight in ten passengers say bus services have improved following the introduction of Sprint bus lanes and junction upgrades on the A34 between Walsall and Birmingham. And 64% say the services using the busy commuter route are faster than the general traffic a survey has revealed. The Sprint corridor has been developed by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) to make bus travel more reliable and more attractive as a part of plans to reduce traffic congestion and make travel greener.

Human rights supporters are being invited to the free launch event of a new network of activists across the Central England region.

Aiming to encourage people to work together to bring about change, the Amnesty Central England Network is part of the global human rights organisation Amnesty International. The online event ‘Universal Rights, Local Action’ on Tuesday 5 September at 6.30-8.15pm gives people the opportunity to find out more about being part of the Network.

The compere for the Greater Birmingham Young Professional of the Year awards 2023 has been announced. Kaylee Golding (pictured) is a DJ and an award-winning presenter, who can currently be heard on BBC 1XTRA weekdays from 1-4pm.

She was previously on KISS Fresh every weekend and weekdays on HITs Radio Pride. In 2021 she won E4's talent search and is currently part of the E4 Academy. Kaylee also has a weekly show every Monday at 1pm - 3 pm on Reprezent Radio and a bi-weekly show on No Signal Radio from 3pm. 

A large swathe of historically and environmentally significant Parkland at Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens in Solihull are being restored and made more accessible to the public thanks to a Community Green Grant from the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA). The 40-acre estate is a hidden gem on Solihull’s border with Birmingham, featuring a Jacobean Hall and 350-year-old Gardens.

The £23,000 grant from the WMCA will help fund the restoration and conservation of an area of protected wetland, dried-up ponds, and rare acid grassland that is receding due to invading species.

Chris Hemsworth’s workout routine is the most searched worldwide, a new study reveals. The study, conducted by Mirafit.co.uk, analysed a list of celebrities’ names who are famous for their workout routines and need to stay in shape for different movie roles, as well as those who are fitness-obsessed, to discover which routine is the most searched for worldwide.

Chris Hemsworth’s routine takes first place with 13,000 average monthly searches, almost double that of Henry Cavill in second place. The MCU actor is among the fittest actors out there.

Severn Trent staff have pledged to go ‘Grease Fighting’ in new movie-inspired campaign to prevent damaging drain blockages – and ensure more flood-free ‘Summer Nights’. Staff slipped into character to help share all important messages in a video evoking the spirit of the classic Rydell High musical, which famously starred Hollywood legend John Travolta as Danny and the late Olivia Newton-John as Sandy.

The independent, science-based Tourism Panel on Climate Change (TPCC) had its first public open discussion with more than 350 travel and tourism academic researchers on July 6, the second day of the Surrey 2023 Conference, “Back For Good” Professor Daniel Scott, who chaired the session, described the audience engagement at the event as “very encouraging and visibly more advanced than even five years ago”, and the widespread support for TPCC from the academic community as “a very strong validation of the research program, with great buy-in”. The 350+ travel & tourism stakeholders were reminded that a stocktake of the state of climate change risk for travel & tourism, and progress in the sector progress toward its commitments is the first key deliverable expected of the TPCC.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) has issued a statement setting out accurate data on the metropolitan West Midlands bus network following media articles stating the region has lost more bus services than anywhere else in England. The figures presented in these articles are not an accurate assessment of the bus network in the TfWM area, which covers Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry and Solihull.

A new report concludes that, based on International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) environmental, social and economic definitions, moorland managed for grouse shooting provides greater overall benefits than any alternative use.

Written by Professor Simon Denny, formerly of the University of Northampton, and reviewed by Professor James Crabbe from the University of Oxford, the new report titled 'Sustainable driven grouse shooting?' highlights that grouse shooting is not an isolated activity. Instead, it is part of a complex mix of activities that result in more positive outcomes for people and nature than any alternative uses.

The UK's elections watchdog has revealed it has been the victim of a "complex cyber-attack" potentially affecting millions of voters. The Electoral Commission said unspecified "hostile actors" had managed to gain access to copies of the electoral registers, from August 2021.

Hackers also broke into its emails and "control systems" but the attack was not discovered until October last year. The watchdog has warned people to watch out for unauthorised use of their data.

A crackdown on dangerous and reckless driving got underway in Birmingham following a spate of serious incidents on the region’s roads. Operations have been launched as part of a coordinated response by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), West Midlands Police (WMP), Birmingham City Council, and the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner to recent incidents that have resulted in deaths and serious injuries.

Birmingham Airport (BHX)’s journey to become a net zero carbon operation by 2033 remains on track, according to a report just published. The Midlands travel hub reduced carbon emissions within its direct control by 27% in 2021/22 against its 2019/20 reporting baseline, its Sustainability Update for 2021 to 2023 confirms.

The Holiday Inn London Sutton has unveiled a £750,000 refurbishment to transform its public spaces and showcase a brand new Open Lobby concept on the ground floor.

The stylish Open Lobby, designed to provide guests with one multi-faceted public space to eat, meet, relax, socialise and work as they choose, will revolutionise the way guests live and interact at the Sutton hotel. The traditionally separate zones of a reception, lobby, bar, lounge, restaurant and business centre have been merged into one cohesive ‘Open Lobby’ space where guests can operate in a more instinctive, flexible and homely way.