Media Watch - August 24

Top Birmingham City Council Stories:

Town halls blow £1.2m checking Twitter (Mail on Sunday, Daily Star) Articles looking at total amount spent over last five years by local authorities on media evaluation. Reference to Birmingham City Council, though the article does not mention that the council’s spend has reduced by 84 per cent. Full response to the article here: /media-coverage-evaluation-foi-response/

Battle to chop down tree turns pear-shaped (Sunday Mercury) A resident has claimed that fruit falling from a tree is dangerous. A council spokesperson said the tree has been inspected and is healthy and not causing a risk

Dumping smelly garden waste costs £1,400 (Sutton Observer) A man who dumped garden waste at the side of a road has been fined £1,400 after being investigated by the city council. Cllrs Lisa Trickett and Barbara Dring quoted

Community hub will transform tired site and offer eco activities (Sutton Observer) Plans for a new community hub at Witton Lakes have been submitted. The site, owned by Birmingham City Council, has been subject to a community asset transfer

New app for city council (Express & Star) Anyone with an interest in browsing public notices can now view those issued by Birmingham City Council using an app, Birmingham Notiz

Public Leaders Network Five create council cycling schemes to get people on their bikes (Guardian.com) Article looking at how local authorities are becoming more innovative in fueling the UK cycling revolution, with reference to Birmingham City Council’s free bike scheme. Cllr Lisa Trickett quoted

Regional Headlines:

Elderly pedestrian dies after crash – a 74-year-old man has died after being hit by a car in Solihull

National Headlines:

Shoreham crash toll ‘could reach 20’ – The final death toll from the Shoreham air crash council reach 20, according to Sussex Police

Palmyra temple ‘blown up by IS’ – Islamic State militants have blown up the ancient temple Baalshamin at Palmyra, Syrian officials have said

European shares slump on China woes – Stock markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt opened sharply lower as fears of a Chinese economic slowdown continue to haunt investors