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| News Headlines: February 2011 |
| 28.02.11 Bedroom Blaze in Aston |
| Two boys, one girl and a woman have been hospitalised suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation following a bedroom fire at a house on Albert Road in Aston at around 11.30am on Sunday 27 February. |
| 28.02.11 Lea Hall House Blaze |
| A man was treated for smoke inhalation after a fire started in the living room of his house on Wychbold Crescent in Lea Hall on the morning of Sunday 27 February. |
| 28.02.11 Blues Win Carling Cup |
| Birmingham City FC won the Carling Cup by beating Arsenal 2-1 at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 27 February; it is the first major trophy to be won by the Blues since 1963. |
| 27.02.11 Thieves Raid Witton Allotments |
| Thieves have raided the allotments behind the Barn Social Club on Brookvale Road in Witton twice during the past month. These raids appear particularly well-organised with valuable equipment being taken from up to 30 sheds at a time; fence panels were dismantled so that the allotments could be reached from the towpath on the Tame Valley Canal. |
| 27.02.11 Police Raid Hakuna Matata Nightclub |
| Armed police raided the Hakuna Matata nightclub on Dale End in Birmingham city centre at around 4.30am on Saturday 26 February; the club was sealed and around 80 people were filtered into a floodlit search area; six clubbers were arrested for suspected drugs offences and one for a public order offence; a loaded semi-automatic Baikal pistol was found. |
| 26.02.11 Man Jailed for Edgbaston Explosion Attempt |
| A 34-year-old man attempted to cause an explosion after calling police to his flat on Roman Way in the Metchley area of Edgbaston on Sunday 2 January 2011; the man, who switched on his gas and tried to strike a match, was apparently upset with the way he had been treated by staff at a local Comet store; he was jailed for an indeterminate term at Birmingham Crown Court in February 2011 and must serve at least two years before he can be released. |
| 26.02.11 Plans Unveiled for Centenary Square Amphitheatre |
| Plans have been unveiled for a new outdoor performance space in the style of a sunken Roman amphitheatre at Centenary Square in the Westside area of central Birmingham. The amphitheatre, whose diameter will be broader than New Street, will be overlooked by a public terrace at the new City of Birmingham Library which will open in June 2013. |
| 25.02.11 Moseley Road Baths to Reopen |
| The council has released around £55,000 for the repair of a fire exit at the Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath; the baths were closed for several weeks while an application was made for funding; work should begin in early March and the baths should reopen on Monday 18 April. |
| 25.02.11 Factory Fire in Sparkhill |
| Firefighters attended a textile factory on the Stratford Road in Sparkhill at around 10am on Wednesday 23 February; a large section of the factory, which measures 80 metres by 30 metres, collapsed in the blaze, causing the closure of surrounding roads. |
| 24.02.11 Overdose Death at Good Hope Hospital |
| The Birmingham Coroner has delivered a verdict of accidental death in the case of an 80-year-old woman who died at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield on Sunday 14 March 2010 after receiving ten times the prescribed dose of potassium chloride. |
| 24.02.11 Possible New Hospital At Pebble Mill |
| UK healthcare provider Circle Health may be planning to build a new hospital for both private and NHS patients on the former site of the BBC Pebble Mill studios in Edgbaston. |
| 24.02.11 Ikon Eastside Art Gallery To Close |
| The council-subsidised Ikon Eastside Art Gallery, which is located in a converted warehouse on Fazeley Street in Digbeth, will close in April because of budget cuts. |
| 23.02.11 Dead Body in Oscott Back Garden |
| The corpse of a dead man was discovered in the back garden of a house at the corner of Old Oscott Lane and Dyas Road in the Oscott area of north Birmingham on the afternoon of Sunday 20 February. |
| 23.02.11 John Lewis to Open Store in Brum |
| John Lewis will open a new department store with a floor area of around 250,000 square feet at the regenerated Pallasades Shopping Centre above New Street Station in 2014. |
| 23.02.11 Marylebone Fast Service Delayed |
| Chiltern Railways has announced that it will delay the launch of its fast rail service between Moor Street and London Marylebone until late summer. The service, which was due to start in May, will reduce journey times from 2 hours 20 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes. |
| 22.02.11 Man Hit by Train in Winson Green |
| A man died after he was hit by a train on the West Coast Mainline, near the rail depot on Aberdeen Street in Winson Green, at around 12.30pm on Sunday 20 February. |
| 22.02.11 Work Begins on Sparkbrook Health Centre |
| Work has started on a new three-storey community and health centre on the former site of Christ Church at the corner of Dolobran Road and Grantham Road in Sparkbrook. The centre will contain a library, community rooms, start-up offices for small businesses, three GP surgeries and baby, dental and physiotherapy clinics. |
| 22.02.11 Shots Fired in Kingstanding |
| Shots were fired on Rough Road in Kingstanding at around 4.30pm on Friday 18 February; there were no reported injuries; 7 suspects were later arrested at an address on Harcourt Road in the Short Heath area of Erdington. |
| 21.02.11 Blues Reveal Plans for St Andrews Upgrade |
| Birmingham City FC has unveiled its planned rebuild of the 1950's Garrison Lane Stand which is the oldest part of St Andrews football stadium; the upgrade, which could cost around £20 million, might include a hotel and could increase overall ground capacity to 40,000. |
| 21.02.11 Shots Fired at Female Driver in Kitts Green |
| Shots were fired at a female driver on Lea Hall Road at around 9pm on Wednesday 16 February; 5 bullets smashed her car windows and punctured one of her tyres. |
| 21.02.11 Permission for Sheep Pen in Highgate |
| Pak Mecca Meats has been granted planning permission for a sheep pen at a warehouse next to its abbatoir on Barford Street in Highgate. |
| 20.02.11 Bromford Tower Blocks Demolition |
| Demolition work has started at Bayley Tower and Stoneycroft Tower on the Bromford Bridge Estate in east Birmingham. Both towers are 57 metres high and have been a major landmark overlooking the M6 since their construction in the mid-1960's. |
| 20.02.11 Traffic Officer Injured on St Chads Queensway |
| A 47-year-old police officer was hit by a car driven by a motorist whom he had stopped on St Chads Queensway at around 3.30pm on Wednesday 16 February; the man, whose vehicle had activated a plate-recognition-camera, suddenly drove-off during questioning and subsequently abandoned his car near Aston University; a 27-year-old suspect has been arrested. |
| 19.02.11 Uninsured Driver Blackspots in Brum |
| Handsworth, Saltley and Small Heath are three of the top five uninsured driver blackspots in the UK according to statistics complied by the Motor Insurers Bureau. |
| 19.02.11 Police Hunt Falcon Lodge Post Office Raider |
| The police are still hunting for a man in his twenties who robbed the post office on Churchill Parade in the Falcon Lodge area of Sutton Coldfield at around 11am on Wednesday 22 December 2010; the thief pretended that he had injured his leg and then forced the counter clerk to hand over cash when she came to assist him. |
| 19.02.11 Men Attacked Sparkhill Bookie Manageress |
| Two men aged 20 and 22 have each been jailed for 16 months at Birmingham Crown Court for assaulting a female member of staff during an attempted robbery at Ladbrokes bookmakers on the Stratford Road in Sparkhill at roughly 9am on Wednesday 6 April 2010. |
| 18.02.11 Foot and Mouth at Moor Green Primary |
| Three primary schoolchildren, who all attend Moor Green School in Moseley, have contracted a human form of the highly-contagious hand, foot and mouth disease whose symptoms include blisters and ulcers. The disease is regarded as a comparatively minor illness and the school has remained open. |
| 18.02.11 Pedestrian Killed in Great Barr |
| An elderly man died of multiple injuries after being hit by a car on Ferndale Avenue in Great Barr at around 8.15am on Wednesday 16 February; he was pronounced dead at the scene. |
| 18.02.11 Mass Car Production Anticipated at Longbridge |
| MG has unveiled the new 5-seat MG6 saloon which will be sold in the UK from July at a list price of between £17,000 and £20,000; it will complement the new MG6 sports hatchback which is currently in pre-production; both vehicles will be assembled at Longbridge. |
| 17.02.11 New Street Luggage Thief Avoids Jail |
| A 30 year-old drug addict, who stole from rail passengers, has been sentenced to 1 year imprisonment suspended for 18 months at Birmingham Crown Court. The man alighted from intercity trains at New Street Station having stolen valuables from luggage racks. |
| 17.02.11 Gunfire on Lea Hall Road |
| Gunfire was reported on Kitts Green Road on the morning of Wednesday 16 February; the police sealed the surrounding area for forensic examination. |
| 17.02.11 Health Ombudsman Criticises Heartlands Hospital |
| The Health Services Ombudsman has drawn attention to the lack of dignity and compassion shown by NHS staff to the elderly by highlighting the case of an 88-year-old woman who was discharged from Heartlands Hospital wearing a stranger's clothes fastened by paper clips and soaked in urine. |
| 16.02.11 Islamic School Controversy in Small Heath |
| An undercover reporter, working for the Channel 4 Dispatches programme, has filmed a senior student making hateful comments about Hindus at the Darul Uloom Islamic High School in Small Heath. According to the school, the student was expelled for expressing such views long before the footage was brought to their attention. The film was transmitted on Monday 14 February and the school, which fears right-wing aggression, has closed one week early for half-term. |
| 16.02.11 Police Consider Sale of Steelhouse Lane Station |
| West Midlands Police have considered but decided against the sale of Steelhouse Lane Police Station in central Birmingham. The force, which must make savings of £123 million over the next three years, has also considered the sale of stations in Acocks Green, Billesley, Moseley and Balsall Heath. |
| 15.02.11 Passenger Death at Birmingham Airport |
| A passenger collapsed and died of an established terminal condition as he was about to board a plane at Birmingham Airport at around 7am on Saturday 12 February. |
| 15.02.11 Car Crashes into Shops in Witton |
| A car crashed into a row of shops at the junction of Brookvale Road and Deykin Avenue in Witton at around 2am on Sunday 13 February; the driver escaped with minor injuries; one of the shops, the Keys Letting Agency, may have to be demolished. |
| 15.02.11 Accident Victim Airlifted in Mere Green |
| A woman who suffered multiple injuries after she was hit by a car at the junction of Lichfield Road and Mere Green Road in Sutton Coldfield was airlifted to the QE Superhospital in Edgbaston at around 12.30pm on Monday 14 February. |
| 14.02.11 New Jobs at Cadbury in Bournville |
| Cadbury is taking-on an additional 100 staff at its plant in Bournville; 50 jobs will be created in the research and development department and 50 in the customer service and finance department. Parent company Kraft has earmarked the Bournville plant as its global research and development centre for chocolate products. |
| 14.02.11 Bogus Caller Burglary in Bordesley Green |
| A burglar pretending to be a telephone engineer tricked his way into a house on Colonial Road in Bordesley Green at around 1.30pm on Monday 7 February. |
| 14.02.11 Thieves Steal Designer Furniture From NEC |
| 18 items of designer furniture worth around £10,000 were stolen from the Birmingham Interiors Show at the NEC on Wednesday 26 January. The thieves, who passed themselves off as workmen. took the furniture from stands that were being dismantled. |
| 13.02.11 Watchdog Criticises Winson Green Prison |
| The Independent Monitoring Board has criticised the training and supervision of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences at HMP Birmingham in Winson Green. There are currently 39 such prisoners who will not be freed until the Parole Board is satisfied that they do not pose a risk to the public. However, the Board does not believe that the prison has the necessary resources to prepare these inmates for release or the specialist officers required to supervise them. |
| 13.02.11 BBC Cuts Jobs at the Mailbox |
| The number of people employed by the BBC Factual Productions Team based at the Mailbox will be reduced from 121 to 95. Staff working on programmes such as the Sky at Night and Gardeners World will be affected. |
| 13.02.11 Walmley Playing Fields Development Approved |
| Plans have been approved for a YMCA centre and 110 new homes on the Hardy Spicer Playing Fields in the Walmley area of Sutton Coldfield. Local residents opposed to the scheme have lodged a village green application in respect of the fields which they claim are a well-used community resource. |
| 12.02.11 Card Skimming at Cotteridge Cashpoint |
| The police are still attempting to identify two men suspected of skimming cards at a cashpoint outside the co-op on the Pershore Road in Cotteridge. A cloning device was fitted to this machine in December 2010: a loop inserted in the mechanism retained customer's cards and a cloning device recorded their PINs. |
| 12.02.11 Moseley Tesco Application Rejected |
| A planning application by Tesco for a store at the junction of St Marys Row and Oxford Road in Moseley has been rejected by the Planning Committee on the ground that it will increase traffic congestion because of inadequate parking. Over 1700 local residents signed a petition against the proposed development. |
| 12.02.11 Police Close Welsh Farm Station |
| The police will close their base on Blandford Road in the Welsh Farm area of Quinton in an attempt to reduce costs. This mini-station, which is actually a two bedroom flat, has enabled officers to maintain a presence on the estate for the past 2 years. |
| 11.02.11 Lead Thieves Rob Yardley Church |
| Thieves stripped lead from the roof of the north aisle of St Edburgha's church in Yardley on the nights of Sunday 6 February and Monday 31 January. |
| 11.02.11 Norovirus Infection at QE Superhospital |
| A ward at the QE Superhospital in Edgbaston has been closed because of a highly-contagious norovirus (winter vomiting) infection. |
| 11.02.11 Cashbox Robbery on Erdington High Street |
| Four thieves attacked a security guard who was delivering a cashbox to the Santander Bank on Erdington High Street at around 6.15pm on Monday 7 February. |
| 10.02.11 Short Heath Woman Brutally Battered |
| A 53-year-old woman was severely beaten in her home on Bowling Green Close in the Short Heath area of Erdington during the weekend of 5/6 February. She was discovered on Sunday evening with serious head injuries, a fractured cheekbone and dislocated shoulder and has undergone emergency surgery. The police are treating the incident as attempted murder; there was no sign of forced entry and the motive for the attack is unknown. |
| 10.02.11 Man Injured in Edgbaston Flat Fire |
| A 39-year-old man was injured in a fire at his ground floor flat on Poplar Avenue in the Rotton Park area of Edgbaston at approximately 11.30am on Wednesday 9 February. He sustained serious burns to his hands and face whilst attempting to save his pet dog who suffocated in the blaze. |
| 10.02.11 Thieves Raid Stechford Car Compound |
| Thieves raided the Egertons secure car compound on Station Road in Stechford at approximately 11.45pm on Monday 7 February. They stole a black Landrover Discovery and a white Berlingo van which the police had stored there earlier in the day. A staff member was threatened with a handgun. |
| 09.02.11 Heartlands Hospital Baby Death Compensation |
| The Heart of England Foundation Trust has paid substantial compensation to the parents of a baby boy who died two days after being born at Heartlands Hospital on 2 October 2008. The parents alleged that their baby had died because of an unacceptable delay in the performance of a caesarean section. An out-of-court settlement was negotiated after an independent review concluded that the hospital's maternity department was inadequately resourced and required more high-dependency cots, nurses and consultants. |
| 09.02.11 Cannabis Plantation in Hockley |
| Police discovered a cannabis plantation with over 5,000 plants at an industrial unit on Camden Street in Hockley when investigating a suspected break-in at approximately 10pm on Sunday 6 February. |
| 09.02.11 Spiceal Street Development Approved |
| The Spiceal Street development at the Bullring has been approved. The spiral cafe will be demolished and the viewing platform above St Martin's Square will be transformed into a new landscaped public space with a green wall and water feature flanked by two extended catering units and three new restaurants. The project should be completed by December 2011. |
| 08.02.11 Erdington Cocaine Dealers Jailed |
| A man aged 42 and his 44-year-old wife have been jailed at Birmingham Crown Court for 12.5 years and 13 years respectively for the importation and supply of heroin and cocaine; the couple distributed drugs imported from Panama amongst a network of local dealers from their home on Brookvale Park Road in the Stockland Green area of Erdington. |
| 08.02.11 Overnight House Fire in Boldmere |
| Fire crews attended a blaze in the roof of a detached house on Monmouth Drive in the Boldmere area of Sutton Coldfield at around 11pm on Sunday 6 February. |
| 08.02.11 New Council Houses for Alum Rock |
| Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust is to build 61 new homes on Couchman Road and Clodeshall Road in the Alum Rock area of east Birmingham. One-third of the new houses will have 4/5 bedrooms. The Planning Committee has approved the project but criticised its uniformity of design. |
| 07.02.11 Swans Rescued from Rubery Great Park |
| The RSPCA has rescued six swans coated in oil and injured by fishing hooks from the lake in Rubery Great Park; they have been taken to the Bishopswood Swan Rescue Centre at Stourport-on-Severn. |
| 07.02.11 Teenagers Guilty of Kingsbury Road Murder |
| A jury at Birmingham Crown Court has convicted two 17 year-old youths of the murder of a 21 year-old man who was chased from a house party and stabbed in the heart on an alleyway off the Kingsbury Road in the Birches Green area of Erdington during the early hours of Sunday 17 July 2010. |
| 07.02.11 Application for University Campus in Eastside |
| Birmingham City University has submitted a planning application for a new campus for the Institute of Art and Design next to Millennium Point in Eastside. Outline planning permission had previously been granted for a new campus between Park Street and New Canal Street but this site is now required for a high-speed railway station. |
| 06.02.11 Schoolgirl Assaulted in Kings Norton |
| A 49-year-old man has been fined £600 at Birmingham Crown Court for driving his car at a 14-year-old schoolgirl, whom he suspected of bullying his daughter, on Bells Lane in the Three Estates area of Kings Norton on Wednesday 8 September 2010. |
| 06.02.11 Work Begins on Restoration of Erdington Church |
| Work has started on the restoration of St Barnabas Church in Erdington. The rebuild of the grade-two-listed church, which was gutted by an arson attack in 2007, will include a new steel roof, community hall and second entrance on Erdington High Street. The only parts of the Victorian church that have survived are the bell tower, ringing room, clock, lecturn and one stained-glass window. |
| 06.02.11 Teenage Strangling Games in Four Oaks |
| A 14 year-old boy was hospitalised after he passed out whilst playing a choking game, involving simulated strangulation, outside the Arthur Terry School in Four Oaks at around 3.30 pm on Tuesday 25 January. |
| 05.02.11 Possible Harborne Pool Delay |
| The construction of the Harborne Pool and Fitness Centre, which was scheduled for completion in December 2011, may be delayed because of time lost during the big freeze in December. The centre will contain a swimming pool, an instruction pool, dance studio, junior fitness suite, gymnasium and community room. |
| 05.02.11 Digbeth Car Clamper Jailed |
| A 55-year-old car clamper has been jailed for 2.5 years for fraud at Birmingham Crown Court: he clamped motorists who bought parking tickets from a meter at Roses car park in Digbeth; the meter issued tickets but did not give credit for payments received. |
| 04.02.11 Campaign Against Closure of Naseby Youth Centre |
| A petition against the closure of the Naseby Youth Centre in the Alum Rock area of Washwood Heath has been signed by 500 people. |
| 04.02.11 Councillor will not be Prosecuted for Stoning Jibe |
| The CPS has announced that the Birmingham City Councillor Gareth Compton, who suggested that a female Muslim journalist should be stoned on Twitter in November 2010, will not be prosecuted. Mr Compton, who represents the Erdington ward, has been suspended from the Conservative Party. His current mandate expires in May 2011. |
| 03.02.11 Man Dies in Witton Car Crash |
| A car hit a garden wall, a street light, a street sign and a second vehicle on the Ridgeway in Witton at around 9pm on Tuesday 1 February. A young man travelling in the car was pronounced dead at the scene and a second man was taken to Good Hope Hospital with serious injuries. |
| 03.02.11 French Restaurant Closes on Corporation Street |
| Michelle's La Bastille, a long-established French restaurant on Corporation Street, appears to have closed. It seems that the restaurant has not opened since the cold snap in December and trade may have been affected by scaffolding at the nearby Methodist Central Hall. |
| 03.02.11 Wood Lane Drug Smuggler Jailed |
| A 46-year-old man from Wood Lane in the Handsworth Wood area of north-west Birmingham has been jailed for 9 years at Ipswich Crown Court for his part in the attempted importation of 800 kilos of cannabis concealed in hollowed-out concrete slabs shipped through Harwich. |
| 02.02.11 Citizens Advice Bureaux to Close in Brum |
| The CAB has announced that it will close its six offices in Birmingham because the subsidy that it receives from the City Council has been cut by £600,000. |
| 02.02.11 Tower Hill Post Office Burglar Jailed |
| A 30 year-old burglar, who broke into Tower Hill Post Office through the ceiling of an upstairs flat on the 21st July 2010, has been jailed for 21 months at Birmingham Crown Court. The thief, who fled empty-handed after police were alerted, was identified by DNA sampling of blood traces left at the scene. |
| 01.02.11 Compensation for Stockland Green Youth Centre |
| The government has paid Birmingham City Council compensation of £339,000 following its decision not to fund the proposed £5 million Stockland Green Youth Centre. The payment represents costs incurred by the council on architect's fees and other expenses before the project was axed. |
| 01.02.11 Plans for Moseley Back Garden Rejected |
| Planning permission for a 6-bedroom detached house with a garage in the back garden of an existing property on Church Road in Moseley have been refused on appeal. |
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