Community News

Nearly 12,000 people have signed up as members of WV Active, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s leisure service, latest figures show. With memberships starting at just £10 per month the service has been encouraging healthy lifestyles with a whole range of facilities designed to suit all ages and abilities.

Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing, said: “WV Active has three fantastic venues across the city, WV Active Central, WV Active Aldersley and WV Active Bilston-Bert Williams, offering our residents access to facilities and exercise classes that are second to none.

Geezer Butler, the legendary bassist and lyricist of Black Sabbath, has posted a picture of his grandchildren sitting on the bench named after the band in Birmingham. The children, who Geezer lists as being called Isadora, Lina, Pippa and Guy, were pictured on the heavy metal bench on Broad Street yesterday.

Publishing the image on his @geezerbutler Instagram channel, Geezer said: “The new generation of Butlers [my grandkids] on the Black Sabbath bench!! #isadora #lina #pippa #guy #birmingham #england”.

Women in engineering will be inspired and empowered at an event to celebrate their place in this dynamic sector. Sellafield Ltd Women’s Engineering Society is hosting the day at Energus today (June 21) ahead of International Women in Engineering Day on Friday (June 23).

The theme for the event is safety and security with a number of speakers lined up. There will also be self-development sessions on assertiveness delivered by the Centre For Leadership Performance, and the event is also an opportunity to network. 

A new commemorative 50p coin marking the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush in the UK has been released by the Royal Mint.

Designed by artist Valda Jackson, the coin depicts two Black people standing against a backdrop of the Union Flag. The coin pays tribute to the British Caribbean and Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK from 1948-1973.

Exceptional employers have been celebrated today as Working Families, the UK’s national charity for working parents and carers, announced the winners of the 2023 Best Practice Awards. The annual awards, taking place at Vintners’ Hall in London, give deserved recognition to pioneering employers whose standout cultures and working practices are blazing a trail for flexible and employee-friendly workplaces.

King Charles IIIs first Birthday Honours List 2023 saw 1,171 people across the UK have been recognised for their contributions to UK society.

Of those recognised, half are women, 11% come from a Minority Ethnic background, 13% are disabled or have a long-term health condition, and 23% consider themselves to come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

Speaking about the Birthday Honours, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: “This year’s honours list is a testament to ordinary people who have demonstrated extraordinary community spirit, and I pay tribute to all those who have been recognised.

A £30 million project to restore rail services to Aldridge for the first time in almost 60 years have taken a major step forward after securing Government backing. The Department for Transport has given conditional approval to start work on an outline business case to build and open a station on the Sutton Park line to provide direct passenger services to Walsall.

This means that funding can now be drawn down to take the project, which is being led by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE), to the next more detailed design, and development phase.

On Wednesday 21 June, schools across the UK will get active in a day linking exercise with climate action. 

Let’s Go Zero – a campaign now supported by over 2,000 schools, colleges and nurseries in the UK teaching more than 1 million students – is supporting National Schools Action Day, which will promote a range of climate themed-challenges and activities. It will be a great opportunity for students to get moving and explore their passion for sustainability.   

British adventurer Bear Grylls hosted a unique fitness class at the Battersea Power Station in London, in collaboration with Tusk and Be Military Fit (BMF), to raise awareness for wildlife rangers across Africa.

The event marked the first time it was hosted by the global adventurer, who serves as an ambassador to Tusk and is a Co-Founder of BMF. Tusk and BMF joined forces to offer participants a one-of-a-kind workout experience in support of the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a global campaign aimed at raising funds for rangers across the African continent.

An opportunity to hear from one of the leading cyber security experts in the UK is available to businesses at a free event next week.

Jon Hope, senior technology evangelist for Sophos, a British-based security software and hardware company, draws a crowd at major events thanks to his in-depth knowledge and expert advice from 20 years of experience in cyber security. Jon, who recently spoke to packed-out audiences at DTX Tech Week in Manchester, will be speaking at Integrity IT’s ‘Future-proofing your Business’ event at The Crown Hotel at Wetheral, near Carlisle on Thursday, June 22.

The executive director of Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) Anne Shaw has been recognised with an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list. She has been honoured for her key role in spearheading the successful transport planning and operations during last summer’s Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

It involved bringing together multiple authorities and transport operators to deliver a complex travel package.

REPT BATTERO, a leading energy storage solution provider, participated in the industry-leading event, Th the European Smart Energy Exhibition, which took place from June 14th to 16th. The company showcased its latest innovation, the Wending battery series, at booth C3-220 during the event, known commonly as The Smarter E Europe.

The main objective of REPT BATTERO's participation was to introduce and promote its Wending battery 320Ah and 340Ah products.

At June’s meeting of full council, Birmingham City Council became the first local authority to vote for a roll-out of Bleed Control Packs across the city, ensuring that there was a kit within 3 minutes of every local area centre.

The motion, put forward by Birmingham Local Conservatives, also called for education on the use and availability of “bleed kits” to be produced, and for formal recognition of the work of the Daniel Baird Foundation. The Daniel Baird Foundation was set up by Lynne Baird, whose son Daniel tragically died after suffering a stab wound, but who – professionals told Lynne – could have survived if a basic bleed control kit had been available to the public.

A Jamaican National from Elderslie, St Elizabeth, Jamaica, Dr Neslyn Watson-Druée, CBE has been awarded the honour of  Dame Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE)  by King Charles III of The United Kingdom and Commonwealth in the 2023 Birthday Honours.

Dr Neslyn has made significant contributions in the fields of leadership, personal and career development for staff in the public, private and third sectors through voluntary organisations, local government, banking and commerce. She has been selfless in supporting young people in the black community to move away from the influence of gangs and crime and she has donated from her own savings to provide employment and to establish Colourful Radio (a community radio station intended to help young black people).

Community, arts and heritage groups across Birmingham have been awarded £62,465 in grants to fund a range of events to mark the 75th anniversary of Empire Windrush’s arrival to Britain.

On 22 June 1948, the first passengers disembarked at Tilbury, in Essex, all of whom would play their own part in helping to rebuild after the Second World War and help shape modern Britain. Community groups, projects and organisations were invited to apply for grants of between £750 and £2,000 earlier this year – and the 35 successful bids were announced during an event held at Soho House, in Handsworth.

A new report released by the University of Wolverhampton shows that young people’s participation with heritage can build strong cohesive communities, promote social inclusion, and cultivate a sense of civic pride and belonging.  

The Young People’s Engagements with Heritage: Tackling Inequality & Other Opportunities for Public Policy report has also shown that engagement with heritage can support the goals of government policy in terms of its ‘Levelling Up’ agenda.