Media Watch - June 22

Top Birmingham City Council Stories

Amplified sound ban consultation (BBC WM) BCC’s Jacqui Kennedy explaining the consultation has been triggered by complaints from traders, shoppers and other business owners in the city centre.

Handsworth Grove Lane crash sees new calls for traffic safety action on the busy city road (Birmingham Mail) Angry residents have called for traffic safety measures after a mum and her four children were hit by a car on a busy Birmingham road. Concerned families labelled Grove Lane in Handsworth an “accident blackspot” following the incident at noon on Sunday, which saw a woman in her 30s and her four children aged four, seven, 12 and 14 left fighting for their lives.

City’s newest MP to stay on as councillor (Birmingham Mail) Birmingham’s newest MP (Jess Phillips) is to stay on as a city councillor until her term is up next May.

Muslims in fraud warning (Birmingham Mail) Fraudulent businesses may look to take advantage of Muslims during Ramadan, Birmingham City Council has warned.

Air pollution fears as flats get the go-ahead (Birmingham Mail) The old Silver Blades ice rink in Birmingham can be knocked down for an 11-storey apartment block after councillors gave the green-light - despite concerns over air quality.
5,000 city litterbugs fined total of £400,000 last year (Birmingham Mail) Almost 5,000 litterbugs were given £80 fines after being caught by council enforcement officers in Birmingham last year, new figures have revealed - raising almost £400,000.

Fencing plans to stop lorry drivers dumping rubbish (Tyburn Mail) Plans to stop fly-tipping lorry drivers in Wood Lane have been submitted to Birmingham City Council. The plans are for 118 metres of powder-coated green palisade fencing, two metres high.

Shocking 1 in 5 mums-to-be keep smoking (Birmingham Mail) Almost a fifth of expectant mums in parts of the West Midlands continue to smoke right through their pregnancy, shocking new figures have revealed. Figures are much lower than average in Birmingham and Director of Public Health Dr Adrian Phillips is quoted on the benefits of mums-to-be quitting.
Birmingham’s big bike giveaway launching in shipping containers (Bike Biz) Around 3,000 new bikes are to be given away to people in the most deprived areas or Birmingham to encourage more cycling in the city, reduce traffic congestion and improve health and wellbeing.

New tennis courts in Perry Barr serve up free fun for budding players (Great Barr Observer) Budding tennis aces turned out in force to hone their talent for free at a new community club which has been served up in Perry Barr. Among those who turned out to back the event was Handsworth Wood Councillor Paulette Hamilton. The Birmingham City Council cabinet member for health and social care joined players to pledge her support for tennis and the positive effect it can have on community cohesion, bringing people from diverse backgrounds together.

Birmingham’s Great Charles Street affected by £500m revamp plan (BBC) A major road in Birmingham has been reduced to one lane amid a £500m redevelopment of the city centre. Great Charles Street northbound went down to one lane between Suffolk Street Queensway/Severn Street and Newhall Street in the early hours. The city council urged drivers to leave extra time for journeys and to use public transport where possible.

Regional Headlines

Hundreds of new female genital mutilation cases in West Midlands
More than 600 new victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) have been identified in seven months in the West Midlands.

Northampton hospital absconder ‘could be danger to public’
Police are looking for a mentally ill man who has absconded from hospital. David Burke, 37, left St Andrew’s hospital in Northampton on Friday afternoon with another patient, who has since been found in Birmingham.

National Headlines

Migrant salary rules may cost NHS nurse jobs, union warns
Thousands of foreign nurses working in junior posts in the UK could be forced to return home under new immigration rules, union leaders have warned.

Four in 10 students say university not good value - survey
Four in 10 of the first students to pay higher fees do not believe their courses have been good value for money, a survey for BBC Radio 5 live suggests.


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