Community News

As part of this year’s B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival (kicking off today, May 3) Birmingham Hippodrome and festival partner Break Mission are bringing a taster of the yearly festival to the shopping destination tomorrow (Saturday May 4). B-SIDE Breakin’ Bullring & Grand Central will feature a host of DJs, dance and rap battles and live performances throughout the day, entertaining thousands of visitors.

On Monday May 6, the festival returns with Fun DMC, a Hip-Hop inspired block party for kids and parents. Showcase your own moves on the dance floor, practice graffiti or try on ‘Super-fly’ Hip-Hop fancy dress, from 13.00pm in Bullring & Grand Central.

The takeover days are part of a newly formed partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome and Bullring & Grand Central, which will see the theatre bringing new exciting performances and events to the centre throughout the year.

B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival is a free annual celebration of Hip-Hop culture featuring home-grown talent and international artists, attracting a worldwide audience of all ages. This year’s festival includes live Graffiti on the streets that surround the theatre, dance workshops for all ages and of all abilities and for the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans out there, a Hip-Hop and the Infinity Gauntlet talk and a mini comic convention.

The festival opens during May Bank Holiday Weekend with a Hit the Odeand B-SIDE and R.A.P Party special. The poetry and music night will showcase some amazing spoken word artists and Hip-Hop DJs.

Danielle Bozward, Marketing Manager at Bullring & Grand Central, commented: “We’re excited to be bringing back B-Side to the centre this May following the success of last year’s event. It promises to be a fun-packed Bank Holiday weekend with something for everybody.”

Graham Callister, Director of Community Engagement and Festivals at Birmingham Hippodrome, commented: “B-SIDE is fast becoming the UK’s number one Hip-Hop festival for international and national artists alongside the amazing talents we have in the city.

This year we have extended the festival even further to include Bullring & Grand Central and Digbeth. Come down to any of our events with the family and to see something different at Birmingham Hippodrome and our other locations.

B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival is a Birmingham Hippodrome Project supported by Arts Council England, Southside BID, Bullring & Grand Central and The Arcadian.

Stay up-to-date with activities and join the conversation on social media using #BSIDE.

For more information, visit: www.birminghamhippodrome.com/bside

Social scientists at Birmingham City University are working with West Midlands Police to create special pub quizzes designed to encourage better engagement between police officers and research findings relevant to their practice.

Covering a range of topics relating to daily policing work, the quarterly pub quizzes will provide participants with bite-size nuggets of important information, with the aim of officers being more likely to remember, retain and draw upon the content in the future.

Dr Laura Hammond and Dr Rahul Jalil, researchers at Birmingham City University’s School of Social Sciences, created the quizzes with the West Midlands Police Evidence Based Practice Team.

"Evidence shows that people are more likely to engage with teaching material when it is delivered in a novel and innovative way and that people learn more when they have fun", said Dr Hammond.

"We hope that the quizzes will help increase levels of police receptivity to academic research, and encourage them to remember and use the research in their daily practice."

A pilot quiz event was hosted recently with feedback suggesting it was a resounding success.

"Everyone loves pub quizzes, and I always find that I remember facts and bits of knowledge from those that I've attended," added Dr Hammond.

"Tailoring pub quizzes for the police might help them to acquire new research knowledge relevant to their work and remember it in a similar way!"

Plans are now afoot for further events, including police 'Escape Rooms'.

Jenna Langford, Sandwell Council’s Regeneration Manager, won the award for her work on a range of schemes and for championing planning as a career to young people.

She was named the national winner by The Royal Town Planning Institute after scooping the West Midlands title before Christmas.

Jenna was shortlisted along with five other finalists and was declared the winner at a ceremony last week.

Judges said Jenna had been recognised for her commitment to supporting others and specifically for assisting people to take up planning as a profession through the Planning Futures programme.

Jenna visits schools, colleges and universities to promote career opportunities in planning. She has been a member of the council’s regeneration team since 2010 and has worked on important schemes which have transformed Sandwell, with projects such as the New Square shopping centre, Sandwell College Central Campus and the Providence Place office development.

Jenna, who is 34 and from Wednesbury, said it was an honour and a privilege to win the national title.

“Being from Sandwell makes me incredibly passionate about delivering better places and prospects for our community, as well as raising aspirations for our young people,” she said.

“Winning the award means I can share my passion and experiences with other professionals and work together in generating innovative ways to overcome regeneration challenges and deliver places which truly reflect the needs of our communities which are visionary and aspirational.

“I am fortunate in that Sandwell Council recognises and supports its employees and I have a fantastic team around me, who put me forward for this award – thank you."

The judges said: "Jenna has huge enthusiasm for planning and the role it plays in building successful and prosperous communities.

"The judges were inspired by her drive to get the community involved with the work of planners and her commitment to the community she serves.”

Sandwell Council’s Director of Regeneration and Growth Amy Harhoff said: “We’re very proud of Jenna. She’s a talented officer and she’s contributed to some fantastic developments that have really changed Sandwell as a place to live, work and visit.

“Her commitment to championing planning as a career to young people is inspiring. We’re thrilled that she’s won national recognition for her hard work and commitment.”

Almost 1,700 free ATMs have started charging for cash withdrawals between January and March this year, with 1,250 becoming fee-paying in March alone.

Britons are facing an increasing struggle to find access to free-to-use cash machines as nearly 1,700 terminals were changed into fee-paying machines between January and March this year, new research has revealed.

According to figures obtained by Which?, more than 1,250 ATMs were converted to fee-paying machines in March alone.

The research was carried out by consumer group Which?, using data from ATM network Link.

Which? says the affected machines will now charge at least 95p for each cash withdrawal.

According to the consumer group, most of the affected ATMs are operated by Cardtronics, which has warned it may introduce charges for another 1,000 cash machines over the coming months.

The data has sparked concerns about people's access to cash, with both bank branches and ATMs disappearing, and Which? has called for a regulator to be created to make sure no one is cut off from cash. Nearly 1,700 machines started charging for withdrawals in the first three months of the year, with the majority starting to charge in March, according to the consumer lobby group.

Cardtronics, which runs most of those, and fellow provider NoteMachine are both likely to charge at more machines.

That could mean the country losing 13% of its free ATMs in only a few months.

The changes come after a reduction in the fee operators receive from banks each time an ATM is used.

Link, which oversees ATMs, began to cut the fee, known as the interchange rate, last year. So far it has reduced the charge from 25p to 23p per withdrawal.

Link said at the time that the move was aimed at protecting the ATM network. It left the fee for free-to-use ATMs - which are 1km or more from the next nearest cash machine - unchanged.

ATM operators receive the interchange fee from banks each time one of their cash machines is used. Last year, Link began to cut the fee, known as the interchange rate, from 25p to 20p per withdrawal over the course of four years to help protect the future of ATMs.

A spokeswoman for Cardtronics said: “We have been forced into charging a fee for cash withdrawals on some of our machines where Link’s cuts have left us with no choice.

“The decision on whether to introduce a fee is taken on a case-by-case basis and reflects the economic viability of the individual machine.

“We only ever charge a fee when there is no other option apart from removing the machine altogether.” Peter McNamara, chief executive of NoteMachine, said: "Unless urgent action is taken to reduce the pressure on ATM operators by reversing the interchange fee reductions, NoteMachine will be forced to begin converting ATMs to surcharging.

“This is a dilemma we have been grappling with for some time and are extremely reluctant to make such a decision.”

The Royal College of Anaesthetists is proud to announce that Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust has been named the Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine Team of the Year at the 2019 BMJ Awards.

The BMJ Awards celebrate excellence in the delivery of clinicians and the teams they work with and the standard gets more inspirational with each year. The team won the College sponsored award for their excellent work in consultant-led perioperative trauma care.

With the age of the population increasing so too does the number of patients presenting with hip fractures and multiple comorbidities. Previously there had been disappointing results in the National Hip Fracture audit. This led to the team at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust starting a seven day, consultant-led perioperative trauma care bundle to improve the outcome of these patients. As a result of the bundle initiatives, the uptake of patients receiving FIBs increased from 28 per cent in 2014 to 96 per cent in 2018.

Jay Susarla, Clinical Director for Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Management, said: “This is undoubtedly an amazing achievement for the department and the Trust.

It would not have been possible without the hard work of our Perioperative lead Dr Subash Sivasubramaniam as well as our other colleagues who are part of the trauma and perioperative group, our orthogeretrician Dr Huma Naqvi, theatre staff and staff on Newton 3 ward at Sandwell Hospital. It feels great to be recognised.”

Professor Ravi Mahajan, President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists said: “Dr Subash Sivasubramaniam and the team at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust have shown leading work in consultant-led perioperative trauma care.

“Patient-centred work is key in the field of anaesthesia and making sure that the patients are treated from preparing for surgery to recovery can make a huge difference.

“The team at Sandwell and West Birmingham have shown that perioperative medicine and taking a new approach to trauma care can improve outcomes significantly for patients as well as the NHS as a whole.”

Jon Brittain’s romantic comedy, Rotterdam, has led the way about transgender stories on stage, blending the laugh-out-loud funny with the dab-your-eyes tender. Now, after its triumphant win at the 2017 Olivier Awards and a sell-out run in New York, his tale about gender and sexuality comes to Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 20 – 22 May.

Alice and Fiona’s relationship appears to be going well. It's New Year in Rotterdam, and Alice has finally plucked up the courage to email her parents and tell them she's gay. But before she can hit send, her girlfriend Fiona reveals that he has always identified as male and now wants to start living as a man named Adrian. Now, as Adrian confronts the reality of his transition, Alice faces a question she never thought she'd ask... does this mean she's straight?

Jon was inspired to write Rotterdam after several of his friends transitioned in the late 2000s. He became aware of the absence of transgender stories in pop culture and wanted to address this on the stage. Through writing this show, he researched and consulted widely including talking to trans people and their partners, conducting a reading for members of trans communities and discussing the show with various organisations, including Trans Media Watch who then endorsed Rotterdam, and the charity Gendered Intelligence, who the company dedicated their Olivier award to. In the time Brittain was writing the play, the visibility of the trans community has radically changed. “When Rotterdam first came on, it was the summer after Caitlyn Jenner announced her transition, and there was a part of me that worried it would look cynical. Will people think this is something I’d knocked up in a few months to capitalise on it?” he confessed in an interview in 2017. But now, Brittain is simply happy to be one story in an “eco-system” of different trans narratives gaining attention. Jon Brittain is a playwright, comedy writer and director. His critically acclaimed play Rotterdamearned him a nomination for the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2016 and won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre in 2017. It was adapted for Radio 3 this year. Other work includes the cult hit shows Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho and its sequel Margaret Thatcher Queen of Game Shows, and the Scotsman Fringe First Award-winning musical A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad). He directed John Kearns's Fosters Award winning shows Sight Gags for Perverts and Shtick and the follow-up Don’t Bother, They’re Here, and Tom Allen's shows Both Worlds, Indeed and Absolutely. He is currently working on a musical adaptation of David Walliams' book Billionaire Boy, commissions for HBO and the National Theatre, and is a staff writer on Netflix’s The Crown.

Directed by Donnacadh O’Briain, the cast includes Trans non-binary actor Lucy Jane Parkinson(multi award-winning Joan, international tour; Communion, Young Vic; DragKing Cabaret artiste ‘LoUis CYfer’) will star as Fiona/Adrian, playing opposite Bethan Cullinane (Salt, Theatre503; King Lear, RSC; Othello, Globe Theatre) as Alice. Trans actor Elijah W Harris (And The Rest of Me Floats, Bush Theatre; The Butch Monologues, Birmingham Rep,) will play Alice’s lovable brother Josh and Ellie Morris (The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, Criterion; Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Apollo Theatre and BBC1) returns to the production to play Dutch partygoer Lelani.

Actor Elijah Harris says of the play: “Trans stories told by trans people are vital to the progression of theatre. I grew up in the Midlands and seeing something like Rotterdam when I was younger would have been life changing. I was drawn to the play for that very reason- to be able to bring this story to people all over the country, challenge perspectives and, more importantly, reach trans and non-binary people who cannot see themselves represented in popular culture. I am thrilled to be playing the part of Josh and so excited to be able to be a visible trans person in the role of the cis-gendered brother!”

Rotterdam is designed by Ellan Parry with lighting design by Richard Williamson and sound design by Keegan Curran.

Rotterdam was recently co-produced in Los Angeles by Hartshorn – Hook Productions and Skylight Theatre where the production won the top award at the Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Awards jointly with Hamilton.

There were hundreds of people who have been affected by the Windrush scandal who attended a special meeting at Birmingham City Council House to find out how they can claim compensation from the government, with teams from the Home Office in the city to help those who were forced to prove they had the right to be in the UK.

Attendees were told there is no cap on the amount of compensation a person can receive and that relatives of those affected can also make a claim.

Community activist, Desmond Jaddoo, a minister at the Assemblies of the First Born church in Lozells, in Birmingham, who helped organise the event, said: “I hope that it will help bring a resolution to what's been a stressful time for many.”

There's just days to go until the Edgbaston Foundation hosts its biggest Community Fun Day ever on Saturday 4 May.

The 2019 Community Fun Day combines Warwickshire's Royal London One-Day Cup game, at Edgbaston Stadium, with a bumper package of off-field activities and initiatives that support an active, healthy lifestyle.

Hover Archery, Cricket Strike and Laser Tag are just a few of the free activities that children can get involved in on Community Fun Day which, in honour of the iconic Star Wars May 4 day, has a Super Heroes theme with fans being encouraged to dress up as their favourite character.

Returning for 2019, health awareness charity Boundaries for Life will be providing free health checks conducted by health professionals to supporters in the Exhibition Hall with a focus on determining a 'healthy heart' age. The NSPCC will also be holding workshops for parents on children staying safe online.

Ravi Masih, Head of Community Engagement at Warwickshire CCC, said: "Community Fun Day is about opening the gates at Edgbaston to bring in new people including those who don't watch cricket regularly, so they can experience everything that we have to offer on and off the field.

"This will be the first time that we have been able to combine our extensive programme of Fun Day activities with a Royal London One-Day Cup match and, with the game falling on the Saturday of the Bank Holiday weekend, we're looking forward to welcoming a good crowd."

A number of local West Midlands musical performers gave up their time to help support Parkinson’s UK host a Champagne Afternoon Tea to raise vital money for the charity.

The Afternoon Tea took place on Sunday at the Park Regis Hotel, Birmingham, in their Sky Loft with amazing 360-degree views of the city.

Tribute band Elton Fantastic and singer songwriter Mat Partridge, both from the Black Country, took part in the 2018 ‘Buskin for Parkinson’s’ events, organised by Black Country Radio presenter Billy Spakemon, raising over £6,000 for the charity and jumped at the chance to help out again when asked by Regional Fundraiser Gayle Kelly.

Joining them were modern community choir Sing! Bentley Heath, from Dorridge, who have chosen Parkinson’s UK as one of their charities for the year and local Birmingham singer Claudia Whittle.

Both have connections to the charity and looked forward to contributing their hearts and voices to the event.

Gayle Kelly, Regional Fundraiser for Birmingham and the Black Country at Parkinson’s UK, said: “The afternoon was absolutely wonderful, with so much for guests to enjoy, as well as a tasty Afternoon Tea of course!  The bands all give their time and energy for free which was fantastic, to raise lots of money for the charity.”

Parkinson's UK is the leading charity driving better care, treatments and quality of life for those with the condition. The money raised will support it in its mission is to find a cure and improve life for everyone affected by Parkinson's through cutting edge research, information, support and campaigning.

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition for which there is currently no cure and it affects 145,000 people in the UK, including more than 12,300 people in the West Midlands.

A GP surgery has been chosen to appear on Channel 5’s new series of GPs: Behind Closed Doors – the first time a West Midlands practice has been featured.

Patients of Hall Green Health, which is based on the Stratford Road in the Hall Green area of South Birmingham, will be given the opportunity to consent to appear on the TV show as they visit the practice for appointments over the next nine months.

Cameras will allow a fascinating insight into this busy practice as this popular fly-on-the-wall documentary series takes viewers into the private world of a local GP surgery to find out what happens during appointments.

John Hood, Practice Manager at Hall Green Health, said: “The whole practice is really excited about being a part of GPs: Behind Closed Doors. Like most practices, we work under pressured circumstances but, at Hall Green Health, we have really taken the opportunity to review our situation and endeavoured to innovate; to create new ways of working that have enabled us to improve the service to our patients. This will be a great opportunity to showcase and share some of the things that have really worked for us.”

He added: “There are cameras in six consultation rooms; a minor operations room; treatment room; as well as an area of the waiting room; the reception desk and records desk – in fact there are 44 cameras in total, with four filming at any one time.

“We would like to reassure those visiting Hall Green Health that only patients and staff who give their consent will be captured on camera, however, so far just setting up the cameras has created quite a buzz of excitement.”

Filming is due to start five-days-a-week from Monday 29 April 2019, with the expected air date of the new series around July or August.

The Vaisakhi open air celebrations is a not-for-profit community event, celebrated in Birmingham: the most cosmopolitan and vibrant city in Europe. A cornerstone of Birmingham success has been that of its citizens celebrating their heritage together.

The Council of Sikh Gurdwaras in Birmingham organises a Nagar Kirtan (holy street procession) and a communitiy celebration in Handsworth Park, Birmingham to celebrate Vaisakhi. This year the open air celebrations will take place on Sunday 29 April 2018.

Feel free to join the processions as per the timings on the image, or alternatively, join the processions at Handsworth Park to celebrate there!

Kurumba Maldives was the country's first private island resort and, having pioneered tourism to the islands for 47 years, it has remained one of the finest. Kurumba takes its name from the Maldivian word for 'coconut', which grows in abundance across this tropical haven, and the 5 star resort's peerless blend of luxury and tranquillity tempts many a visitor to return to its sandy shores time and time again.

This year, on the 22nd April, Kurumba's team and guests were invited to participate in activities across the island to raise awareness about the dangers of plastic pollution and to protect endangered species. “When we come together, the impact can be monumental”- a call to action from Earth Day Network bringing together people across the world to fight the plastic tide.

Earth Day at Kurumba Maldives began with a clean-up activity in the beach and lagoon areas from very early morning, followed by a trip to clean up trash in a remote sandbank nearby. Later in the evening, a reef clean-up activity was also organised by Kurumba's dive team, Euro Divers, for certified divers to participate in. A huge amount of trash - mainly plastics - were collected during these activities alerting everyone about the major environmental issue which we are facing: plastic pollution in the ocean.

While across the globe, people are looking for ways to give back to the environment, at Kurumba organised a celebration for the responsibility of green living. Tree planting was held across the island with the participation from guests of all ages, the activity was particular popular for children in the Majaa Kids Club. A special 'Mystery of Kurumba' tour was conducted, educating guests in the effective recycling process at the back of house.

The highlight of Earth Day this year at Kurumba was the launch of the "Fish-Bins". In the shape of fishes, these four wire art sculptures were individually hand crafted with an aim to use art as a call to action. Each of these fish sculptures has its own name and story and was filled with plastic bottles to symbolise the threats of plastics to the ocean and its marine life.

The event ended with an urge to everyone who cares about the future of our planet to adopt new behaviours and habits that benefit our planet, and to ensure that those actions become part of our daily routine.

The Muslim Council of Britain has urged for more Muslim women in leadership roles in Muslim-led organisations across the UK at its inaugural Women’s Conference in London under the theme #BalanceForBetter.

Keynote speaker, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Sudanese-Australian writer and broadcaster, said: “Our identity as Muslim women has been politicised but it is a religious identity first and foremostly.”

Community Engagement Manager, Samayya Afzal, added: “Muslim women have long been talked about, and talked over. This event was an opportunity to hear from a diversity of women from different backgrounds, to empower the voices of women in our communities and organisations, and allow a platform for Muslim women to be unapologetically themselves.”

The conference also saw the launch of the 2019 Women in Mosques Development Programme – a scheme designed to accelerate the development of talented upcoming female leaders to be the mosque trustees, committee members and centre manager of the future – and expanding upon last year’s pilot programme.

The conference, supported by Muslim Aid and the UCL Women’s Network, also featured workshops and sessions from over 20 talented Muslim female leaders in their fields, covering Muslim women and higher education, sports, mental health, Islamophobia, politics & public life, international gender justice and more.

Government plans to restructure fees for probate applications have led to delays for families looking to settle their loved ones’ affairs as people rush to beat the intended deadline.

National law firm Clarke Willmott LLP says a Government proposal to increase the fixed fee of £155 (for solicitor applications) to a fee dependent on the value of the estate - which could amount to £6,000 - had backfired.

The new fees were due to come in to effect on April 1, but the relevant legislation was hit by opposition - and lack of Parliamentary time.

Carol Cummins, a consultant in the private capital team at Clarke Willmott, said: “The last-minute influx of applications from people keen to beat the deadline means that instead of waiting two to three weeks for their application to be granted people will be putting up with delays of between three to four months.

“This delay could cause significant problems in the administration of an estate. For instance, Personal Representatives (PRs) have no access to the assets in the estate until the grant is issued.

“This means, for example, that if a sale of the deceased’s property has been negotiated, exchange of contracts on that sale can’t take place until the grant is issued.

“Similarly, shares held in the deceased person’s name cannot be sold which could have serious financial implications in the event of a substantial market downturn.

“Moreover, if the PRs had to apply for a loan to pay the inheritance tax due on application for the grant, this delay will substantially lengthen the time that the loan is outstanding and the interest payable on it will be greater.”

Carol Cummins said the effect of making the increase dependent on the date of the application rather than the date of death was bound to lead to problems processing grant applications.

“Bereavement is a very stressful event and this delay in issuing the grant can only add to the distress of the deceased person’s family,” she said.

Clarke Willmott LLP is a national law firm with seven offices across the country.

The number of new homes built last year in the West Midlands has bucked the national trend to show strong growth.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that 10,640 new homes were started in the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) area last year – a seven per cent increase on 2017. Across England, the average increase was zero.

Within the West Midlands, the number of homes started last year went up the most – by 18 per cent – in the Black Country.

Housing completions in the West Midlands increased by 13 per cent to 10,960, compared to the average increase of one per cent in England.

The highest rise in housing completions was in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area, where 40 per cent more new homes were finished than in 2017.

The WMCA has committed to delivering 215,000 new homes across the region by 2031.

Gareth Bradford, director of housing and regeneration at the WMCA, said: “Our economic success and new job creation are driving the demand for new housing across the West Midlands.

“These latest statistics show that we and our partners are making good progress. However, this is only the start and there is still much to do.

“We are working with the local authorities in our area to unlock land and accelerate the delivery of new homes and jobs.

“For example, we are introducing a single framework to distribute £610m of funding quickly and efficiently, helping to speed up developments and, ultimately, the regeneration and growth of our cities and towns.”

The housing figures relate to the WMCA’s three LEPs: Black Country (Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton), Coventry and Warwickshire, and Greater Birmingham and Solihull.