Community News

A long-serving Wolverhampton councillor and the West Midlands' first Police and Crime Commissioner will be honoured when a popular community centre is renamed in his memory. Bob Jones CBE, who passed away suddenly at the aged of 59 last year, was just 25 when he was first elected as a councillor for the Blakenhall ward, and went on to serve the people of Wolverhampton with distinction for more than three decades.

The Safer 6 campaign team are heading to West Bromwich, bringing a host of safety and crime prevention advice for local people. Sandwell Mayor Councillor Barbara Price will be attending the event to be held outside Poundland on the High Street, by Queen's Square shopping centre from 10.30am to 13.30pm.

The BBC Good Food Show team has been scouring the country since June to find Britain's most outstanding artisan food and drink producers. Managed by Katy Truss, and now in its sixth year, the Producers Award serves to reward the most deserving small, independent artisan producers.

Specially invited keynote speakers and honored guests gathered for the Press Conference to highlight The Phoenix Newspapers 5th Anniversary Gala Dinner & Awards Celebration and also pay homage to the woman whose fearless courage and vision created a day that promises to be unique and supportive in its concept. Held at the world class Hotel Indigo at The Cube in Birmingham, they came from near and far to flag-up what is to come.

And the Brits were thinking that American’s love of the British accent was down to the likes of Hugh Grant and Prince William! But according to a new survey it is not the dulcet, shuffling tones of the home counties that makes the Yanks weak at the knees, but rather the gravelly melodies of the Glaswegian tongue.

There is still time for people to have their say about proposed changes to a number of social care services in Wolverhampton. The City of Wolverhampton Council has put forward plans which it says will transform social care services and help older people in the city remain independent for longer. Service users, their families and carers, staff and other stakeholders are urged to take part in the consultation, with a last in a series of events for the public taking place at the Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, on Tuesday (20 October 2015) at 7pm.

The Culture Secretary today announced the Government’s plans to commemorate the Battle of Jutland, which brought together the two most powerful naval forces of the time in the largest naval battle of the First World War. There will be a series of commemorative events in the Orkney Islands  on 31 May 2016.  This will be an opportunity for people in the UK to come together to honour those on both sides who lost their lives during the Battle of Jutland and to  recognise the pivotal role of the Royal Navy in the First World War.  

City of Wolverhampton Council has been forging links with its European counterparts to produce a best practice booklet for problem solving in city developments. Officers recently completed a European Commission-funded project called ‘Cities of Change’, led by the City of Poznan in Poland. The knowledge exchange involved representatives from 14 cities of 11 EU Member States.

New research by housing charity Shelter has found that over 39,000 private rented homes in the West Midlands equivalent to 1 in 10, have suffered from animal infestations such as mice and cockroaches in the last year alone. The Shelter and YouGov poll of over 3,700 private renters in England revealed that bad living conditions are rife in rented homes, with almost half of renters (46%) in the West Midlands reporting that they had experienced problems with poor conditions or disrepair in the last year.

In 20 years the Hope project has transformed the lives thousands of homeless dog owners growing from just one clinic to over 100 vital services throughout the UK. This week Dogs Trust the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, marks the 20th anniversary of its Hope Project - a unique service which offers support to dogs owners who are homeless or in housing crisis.

Wolverhampton’s Adult Education Service is marking Black History Month by inviting people to try their hand at a traditional beading technique. Experts will be holding free workshops on Wednesday (14 October, 2015), demonstrating basic techniques and then giving people the chance to make their own bracelets to take away with them. The oldest forms of beads date back some 75,000 years and were made in Africa from shell.

The youth and student wing of the Green Party is set to hold its largest ever National Convention in Nottingham later this month. Membership of the Young Greens has grown more than tenfold in under two years, and currently stands at over 20,000. The National Convention, an annual event at which training, elections and the Young Greens’ AGM are held, will take place at Nottingham Trent University on 31st October and 1st November.

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has thanked the media and politicians from around the West Midlands for their support in convincing the government to back down and change the formula for how police forces will be funded in future. Following a large campaign and much pressure the Home Office’s new preferred formula has had an element removed from it that would have disadvantaged forces such as the West Midlands and could have resulted in a huge loss of funding.

Thousands of people joined Yoko Ono and tried to set a world record for largest group of human bodies forming a peace sign. The record attempt to honor Ono's husband, John Lennon, didn't succeed. Still, the Central Park crowd celebrated the upcoming birthday of the late Beatle. Lennon would have turned 75 on Friday. A Guinness World Records representative says Tuesday's effort brought together more than 2,000 people.

The curious tale of a former Bilston MP's links with Mount Everest and the Abominable Snowman will be regaled in a free talk on Wednesday. Community historian Greig Campbell will be showcasing the many adventures of former MP Charles Howard-Bury, a world renowned botanist and explorer who was one of the first Western explorers to traverse what is now Eurasia.

This week sees the launch of a new scheme which aims to coordinate groups that help the homeless in order to provide more effective and targeted support. The Homeless Outreach Accreditation Scheme will be launched on Thursday 8 October and will bring together about 25 voluntary organisations in Birmingham with a shared commitment to helping homeless people.