Media Watch - July 30
Top Birmingham City Council Stories:
Minicab drivers’ go-slow protest in bus lane row (Birmingham Mail, Birmingham Post, BBCWM) Minicab drivers are to hold a ‘go-slow’ around Birmingham city centre today in protest over plans to ban them from Broad Street bus lanes. Quotes council spokeswoman explaining that the demonstration is over more rigorous enforcement of an existing bus lane.
Brum council tax rate is among UK’s highest (Birmingham Mail, Birmingham Post) Despite having one of the highest council tax rates in the country, Birmingham householders pay the least to fund local services new figures reveal. Article goes on to explain that this is because the city has a high number of low-value properties and high levels of deprivation. Quotes Cllr Ian Ward explaining that Birmingham is more reliant on government grants.
Germans to create skilled jobs (Birmingham Post) Dozens of jobs are being created by a precision engineering firm expanding into a new Birmingham plant (Guhring). Quotes Cllr Tahir Ali.
Love it or hate it … ‘Marmite tower’ will divide opinion (Birmingham Post) A new 14-storey apartment block to be built on the old Birmingham Post & Mail site is expected to divide people’s opinion ‘like Marmite’. Quotes Cllr Gareth Moore.
Library hours to be extended again when language centre moves in (Birmingham Post) The Library of Birmingham is to open for 12 hours a day as part of a shake-up which will see the Brasshouse Language Centre move to the £189 million building. Quotes Cllr Penny Holbrook.
‘We’re not Beijing’ … bike spaces are wrong priority (Birmingham Post) Planning officers in Birmingham have been accused of treating the city ‘like Beijing’ after they approved a Jewellery Quarter factory conversion with vast bike storage but too little parking. Article also refers to a development on the corner of Bristol Street and Lee Bank Middleway. Quotes Cllr Gareth Moore, Cllr John Clancy and planning officer Lesley Sheldrake.
Councillors defy Sir Albert as they fight to hang on (Birmingham Post) Birmingham’s Labour councillors are seeking legal advice in a bid to stop their numbers being cut by 20. Quotes Cllr Carl Rice.
Land should be for locals – not travellers, says councillor (Birmingham Post) Two new traveller sites are to be built in Birmingham on land that should be set aside for housing local people, it has been claimed. Quotes Cllr John Lines.
Green idylls of Second City get the thumbs-up (Birmingham Post) 14 parks and spaces win praise as part of national Green Flag awards. Quotes head of parks, Darren Share.
Reluctant councils edge towards ‘metro mayor’ (Birmingham Post) Council leaders have accepted a region-wide metro mayor may be necessary to secure a major devolution deal for Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Sexual exploitation assessment leaves hundreds at risk (ITV.com) Birmingham City Council has failed to properly assess more than 300 youngsters identified as being at risk of child sexual exploitation.
Regional Headlines:
Terror police arrest woman with three children at airport - A woman travelling with three children has been arrested on suspicion of preparing to go to Syria to engage in terror acts.
Geoff Thomas: Lance Armstrong could visit Birmingham - Former England footballer Geoff Thomas has been talking about his experiences of cycling the Tour de France route with shamed rider Lance Armstrong.
Bulldozed Wolverhampton school ‘keep clear’ markings done in error - A council that ordered contractors to paint “keep clear” markings outside a bulldozed school has said the work was done “in error”.
National Headlines:
British Gas owner Centrica cuts 6,000 jobs - British Gas owner Centrica is cutting 6,000 jobs as it reports a doubling of profits at the British Gas business in the first six months of the year.
Calais migrant crisis: Cameron warns Britain is ‘no safe haven’- Britain will not become a “safe haven” for migrants in Calais, David Cameron has warned, after hundreds continued their attempts to reach the UK.
MH370 search: Malaysia urges caution on Reunion debris find - Malaysia has said that it would be “premature” to speculate on whether debris washed up on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion comes from the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
