Colors: Blue Color

People are being asked to check their store cupboards and donate any spare tins or packets of food and toiletries they may have to help support families in need. Residents are being encouraged to either drop off items at one of the designated collection points or get together with colleagues and organise ‘Bring a Tin to Work’ appeals.

The City of Wolverhampton Council is embarking on a £1.7m scheme to deliver new build council housing on four small derelict sites across the city.

The works will be carried out by the council’s Strategic Construction Partnership (SCP) contractors, who are being given the opportunity to extend their portfolio from housing maintenance and repairs as part of a pilot project. The partnership – Wates Living Space and United Living – will deliver 12 homes by early 2016, at Redcotts Close, Fallings Park; Hughes Road, Bilston North; Welbury Gardens, St Peter’s; and Sunset Place, Spring Vale.

Homeowners today would rather hide their mess as new research from The Co-operative Insurance reveals that cleaning is dying out, with a quarter of modern households struggling to manage an hour of cleaning each week (25%). Today’s home-makers no longer see cleaning as a priority with those aged (45-54 years) most likely to keep abreast of their chores, cleaning for an average of five hours and four minutes per week compared to those aged 25-34, who only manage three hours and 58 minutes.

Britain is apparently a nation of dog lovers but, according to Birmingham’s dog wardens, more than 25 strays a week are being found on the city’s streets. Despite a 26 per cent drop in the number of stray dogs found in 2014/15 (1,375 compared to 1,874 in 2013/14), wardens were still on average having to deal with at least three strays per day.

Plans to bring life back to the former Armitage Shanks Tap Works Factory site have been revealed as part of an ambitious scheme by Wolverhampton City Council to build more than 100 homes across three derelict sites in Low Hill. The council now hopes to appoint a development partner next year to build a mix of high-quality council homes for rent and private homes for sale on the site, as well as on land on Fifth Avenue and Broome Road.

“We would never ask customers to hand over money or give a card payment on their doorstep. Never let anyone into your home without checking their identification first,” commented Grace Marren from Severn Trent Water. That was the advice from the water company, who has received reports from customers that conmen are trying new ways to get access to their homes and take money off them.  

Research from home improvements experts Synseal reveals Brits are feeling the squeeze when it comes to entertaining friends and family this summer. In a survey of 2,000 homeowners, four out of 10 said they didn’t have enough space for welcoming guests. Nearly a quarter said they planned to extend in the next five years with an orangery or conservatory, with a similar number opting for a brick built extension.

Anyone who uses roads in Birmingham is being invited to have their say during the development of a new Road Safety Strategy for the city. The invite has been issued by Cllr James McKay, Cabinet Member for Inclusion and Community Safety, whose portfolio includes road safety.