Birmingham Post

2 Runways 3 Terminals ; Pounds 1.5billion Vision for Birmingham Airport

Birmingham International Airport today unveils a pounds 1.5 billion vision of the future which includes a second runway and a third terminal. The airport forecasts that, by 2030, it will handle 33 million passengers a year - more than three times the current figure - create more than 27,000 jobs, and generate almost a pounds 1 billion for the wider regional economy each year.

Villa Move Step Closer to Pounds 64m Takeover

Aston Villa's long suffering fans have seen too many false dawns to start any premature celebrations. But the dream that Villa's 82-year-old chairman Doug Ellis (left) will finally call it a day after nearly a quarter of a century as the club's figurehead last night appeared to be a significant step closer to reality.

Airport Plans: New Shootout in the Skies

The Birmingham International Airport draft master plan creates yet more tangles for the relationship between Birmingham and Coventry airports. While Coventry has been dealing with angry residents and Warwick District Council over the past 18 months or so, the airspace, commercial and now potential buy-out concerns between the two airports have grown.

Airport Plans: From Tiny Elmdon to a Growing Empire

Birmingham International Airport began life in 1939 as Elmdon Airport. British Airways' forerunner Imperial Airways was also on-board from the launch although their timing was not fortuitous - the Second World War meant it was another ten years before the renamed British European Airways began regular flights.

Airport Plans: Extending Runway Puts the World Within Reach ; Transport Correspondent Campbell Docherty Looks at the Main Points of Birmingham International Airport's Draft Master Plan

RUNWAY EXTENSION The existing main runway is 2,605 metres long. At its current length, existing and new emerging markets in Southeast Asia, China, the Far East and Pacific Rim, together with the Mid-West and West coast parts of the USA and Canada, cannot be directly served with commercial services.

Airport Plans: Views On the Master Plan

Richard Heard, BIA managing director: 'Although some elements of the proposals will not be needed for many years, the draft master plan should help to remove uncertainty for our neighbours. 'The trust and support from the communities we serve is vital and crucial to our success.

Airport Plans: The Need for Greater Capacity As Passenger Numbers Rise

BIA has been planning a runway extension since 1995, but that was overtaken by the Government Green Paper on the Future of UK Aviation in 2002. The often fraught and bitterly-contested consultation exercise that followed culminated in December 2003 with the Aviation White Paper.

Airport Plans: Campaign Leaders Still Fear for Future

Campaigners against the expansion of Birmingham Airport have given a cautious response to the draft master plan. James Botham, secretary of BANG (Birmingham Airport Anti Noise group), said the airport was expecting its neighbouring residents to be happy with 'small mercies'.

Education Matters : New Report On Pupil Grouping Sets a Problem for Tony Blair

The Government's own research cast has doubt on Tony Blair's flagship education reforms. A study into the effects of teaching children by putting them into ability-grouped sets showed they gained little benefit.

Education Matters : Student Unions' Snub for Campaign

Three Midland student unions have snubbed a national drive to get them to promote safe drinking in their bars. The scheme, called Best Bar None, involves managers at campus university watering holes agreeing to be assessed for policies aimed at preventing alcohol abuse.

Education Matters : Never Mind the Bullock: Blind Vision Brings Chaos to Classroom ; Last Week Tony Blair Unveiled a 'Pivotal' Shake-Up of Education. But, According to Brenda Bullock, They Do Not Go Far Enough

When Tony Blair famously denounced the long-running comprehensive experiment as a failure, complaining that "the bog-standard, one- size-fits-all" approach doesn't work, I felt some stirrings of anger. When Ruth Kelly recently admitted that the Old Labour idea of teaching children in mixed ability groups didn't work and that they did better in groups of similar ability, my blood boiled.

Education Matters : Teach Our Children About Sex and Love

Children are being taught all about sex but not about love, an academic has claimed. Professor Mark Halstead said he believed an emphasis on teaching the mechanics of sex, the dangers of sexually-transmitted diseases, and teachers' embarrassment over love meant pupils failed to learn about "one of the core values" of our society.

Education Matters : Fire Hits Science Block

A major fire destroyed one of the UK's leading computer science research centres yesterday. A series of explosions rocked the University of Southampton's Highfield campus in Southampton, Hampshire.

Education Matters : College 'Disaster Network' Base

The world today appears an increasingly dangerous place. Post September 11, international terrorism has emerged as a major threat to social order and even natural disasters seem to be growing in frequency.

Jobs Joy for Nearly Half of Ex-Rover Employees

Almost half of the people who lost their jobs when MG Rover collapsed or were made redundant among component suppliers have found new employment - many in skilled manufacturing jobs. The success rate was described as "extremely pleasing" by David Cragg, regional director of the Learning and Skills Council.

Brum a Dangerous Place for Drivers

Birmingham trails only London in a list of the UK's motoring 'danger cities', new research reveals today. Places around the country have been rated in a survey for how likely their inhabitants are to crash or have cars stolen.

Fire at Ford Hot Box Site

Firefighters and a military fire crew were called to a blaze at Ford's vehicle test site in Warwickshire yesterday. A car that had undergone performance tests in the facility's "hot box" had been left to cool down on Saturday night, but part of the vehicle overheated and caught alight.

Birmingham's Botanical Gardens

Dougie to Trek the Sahara for Charity

Cricketing star Dougie Brown is preparing to swap his cricket whites for desert boots to raise money for a leukaemia charity. The Warwickshire and England all-rounder will embark on an eight- day trek across the Sahara next October with hardened adventurer Kay White, who lives in Edgbaston.

Congratulations . . . You've Got Your Cliff Tickets

Hundreds of men and women braved the wind and rain over the weekend as they waited patiently in line for tickets to see their idol in Birmingham next year. By midnight on Saturday 100 dedicated Cliff Richard fans were sheltering under umbrellas outside the National Indoor Arena.