Birmingham Post

These Are Some of the Questions the Post Put to Robert Birch, From Developers Shirley Advance, and His Replies About the New Heart for Shirley Proposals

Why was a 42,000 sq ft superstore a non-negotiable element of the scheme? Along with other key elements in the development agreement of 2005, the New Heart For Shirley concept - which evolved over many years - requires a store of sufficient size to compete with existing superstores (located in the area but not in the town centre), to draw shoppers back into the town centre. It will also act as a magnet to attract other needed retailers into the scheme and into Shirley.

Time for Council to Tell Truth About Shirley Plan

Secret details of a multi-million pound redevelopment of Shirley town centre should be revealed to the public, according to the local MP. Lorely Burt, the Liberal Democrat MP for Solihull, spoke out after a request by The Birmingham Post for the local authority to reveal documents on The New Heart for Shirley proposals was blocked by the council for a second time.

Peugeot Workers Join Gloomy May Day March On the Capital

Workers from Peugeot's doomed Ryton plant joined thousands of marchers yesterday for a traditional May Day rally, with job cuts, insecurity and pensions at the top of the agenda. Activists from unions including Amicus, the TUC, the Rail Maritime and Transport Union and the Transport and General Workers began pouring into Trafalgar Square shortly after 2.30pm for May Day 2006.

Teachers Want to Sue Over Pupil Lies

A Midland headteacher has led calls for schools to consider legal action against pupils who falsely accuse their staff of abuse. The National Association of Head Teachers wants moves to target a test case to go before the courts to set a legal precedent.

Well, Well, May Day

The ancient Pagan ritual of Well Dressing is carried out every May Day in the Staffordshire village of Newborough, near Burton-on- Trent. Villagers, youth club members and local pupils spend a week preparing the colourful decorations which adorn the three wells in the tiny village.

News Digest: Car Horror

A man was seriously ill in hospital after being dragged a "considerable distance" by a car in Stoke-on-Trent. The victim was found lying unconscious and severely injured in Cobridge, in the early hours of yesterday.

News Digest: Murder Charge

The uncle of a woman whose body was found in a suitcase at a Birmingham house appeared in court yesterday charged with her murder. Ari Babakir Aga (50) was remanded in custody at Woolwich Magistrates' Court, south east London, Scotland Yard said.

News Digest: 999 Inquiry

A 60-year-old man who died in hospital more than six hours after the ambulance service was first alerted that he was lying in a city street has been named. John Lockley, of Stoke-on-Trent, died in hospital in the early hours of Saturday, two days after three separate reports were made about his predicament.

News Digest: School Arson

Vaughan Williams Soars Above Elgar

Sir Edward Elgar has been displaced from top spot in a poll to find the nation's favourite British classical work. Vaughan Williams' Lark Ascending pushed Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor and Variations on an Original Theme into second and third place.

Murdered Man Found at Roadside Had Been Married Just Two Months

A father-of-two found fatally injured at the roadside had been married for just two months. Neil Powell (right), aged 42, was found stabbed by the Ironbridge bypass in Telford in the early hours of Saturday. His wife, Lisa, said her husband was a caring father who would not hurt anyone.

Blues Star Dj Back On Form for Foundation

His team may have been relegated but Birmingham City striker DJ Campbell was on top form this weekend after being made the club's official Football Foundation Ambassador. The 25-year-old kicked off his new role by opening pounds 2m of new sports facilities at Saltley Community Leisure Centre.

Rural Living: Beef Exports Bringing New Hope to Farmers ; After Ten Years of Poor Returns, Beef Farmers Hope the Re-Opening of the Export Market Tomorrow, Will Be Their Light at the End of a Very Long Tunnel. Rural Affairs Reporter Sarah Probert Investigates

Angry campaigners banging on the sides of cattle trucks was the lasting impression of the export trade before it was halted abruptly ten years ago. The onslaught of BSE stopped thousands of young calves from being shipped across the Channel for the veal trade almost overnight.

Rural Living: Nfu Seeks Assurances On Transport Standards As Veal Exports Resume ; After Ten Years of Poor Returns, Beef Farmers Hope the Re-Opening of the Export Market Tomorrow, Will Be Their Light at the End of a Very Long Tunnel. Rural Affairs Reporter Sarah Probert Investigates

The National Farmers' Union has urged potential exporters to give written assurances that calves from Britain will only be exported to rearing units that comply with new EU welfare regulations. The rules, which will apply to all calf rearing units from January 1, 2007, but which have already been widely adopted and are in legal force in the Netherlands, outlaw the use of veal crates and require calves to be reared in groups.

Rural Living: Help to Save the Hedgehog

A Shropshire charity has launched the first UK hedgehog survey amid concern that numbers are declining. Thousands of people are being urged to report sightings of the prickly creatures to help the British Hedgehog Preservation Society compile a hedgehog map of the country.

Rural Living: Slaughter Continues in Fight Against Bird Flu

The chickens at two more poultry farms affected by bird flu have all been slaughtered, officials said last night. The free-range flocks at Norwich Road Farm and Mowles Manor Poultry Unit at North Tuddenham, Norfolk, were killed after tests showed they had been affected by the H7N3 strain of the virus.

Rural Living: Eu Asked to Extend Payment Deadline

The Government has asked the EU Commission to extend the deadline for paying farmers vital subsidies. The plea to extend the deadline, from June 30 to October 15, for the 2005 payments comes as thousands of farmers, originally promised they would receive their annual subsidy in March, still wait for their entitlements.

Politics: Pm's Love-Hate Relationship with Birmingham

It was the day the General Election campaign came alive. Tony Blair's triumphant visit to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth hospital was rudely interrupted by an angry woman named Sharron Storer.

Politics: Clarke Must Face House Over Row, Says Davis

Embattled Home Secretary Charles Clarke is resisting calls to report to the Commons today on the progress of a massive operation to track down more than 1,000 wrongly-released foreign criminals. The Home Office has rebuffed Conservative demands for an urgent statement to MPs, repeating Mr Clarke's previous assurance that he would provide an update by the end of the week.

Politics: Over-75s Pensions Mystery

The Government refused to confirm reports yesterday that people over 75 could be given state pensions linked to the level of earnings as part of an overhaul of the system. A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions described a report saying such a move was being considered in advance of a White Paper on pension reform as "speculation".