Birmingham Post

High Street for Sale ; 100 Traders Face Closure As Credit Crunch Hits Town

More than 100 traders in a once-thriving Birmingham high street face closure in the next three months, according to a senior member of the business community. Stan Hems, chairman of the Kings Heath Business Association, says half of the 287 association members have reported their slowest ever Christmas and harbour grave fears for the imminent future of their shops as the economic slump shows no signs of halting.

Return of the High Street Ghost Town ; 24 Hours Birmingham Post Comment

It is 27 years since Coventry-based ska band The Specials released Ghost Town - a doom-laden account of a recession-hit Midland city, boarded-up shops, dole queues and a sinister atmosphere of brooding violence in the streets and few night clubs remaining open. The hit became a kind of late 20th century anthem for doomed youth, raging against Thatcherism, annihilation of the coal and motor industry and the devastating impact of a particularly savage economic slump.

Why Should Birmingham Taxpayers Subsidise Golf Courses? ; 24 Hours

Councils have been providing sporting and leisure facilities for their local communities pretty much from the moment that town halls were handed their wide-ranging powers at the end of the 19th century. And it is easy to see how an argument could have been put forward 100 years ago, when many people did not have access to or could not afford to use private sports clubs, that provision would have to be made to encourage the working classes to spend their leisure time in a healthy and productiv...

Revellers Hurt On the Roads

Two teenagers suffered head injuries after being hit by cars in two separate incidents during New Year celebrations. A 19-year-old was knocked down near The Swan Pub in Rugeley Road, Armitage, Rugeley, at 11.25pm on New Year's Eve.

Phone Driving Law Ignored

Tougher penalties for using hand-held mobile phones while driving have had hardly any effect, according to a survey. As many as 93 per cent of those polled had seen someone using a hand-held mobile at the wheel in the previous week before being questioned in the survey by What Car? magazine.

Woman Killed in Leek Blaze

An elderly woman has died and another was taken to hospital after a fire at a house in Leek, Staffordshire. The severe blaze broke out at the house in The Avenue, Cheddleton, at about 5.30pm on Wednesday.

Woman Hurt in Car Crash

A woman had to be cut free from her car after a crash on a Midland road. Emergency workers were called to Tipton Road in Oldbury at around 6am yesterday after two cars were in collision with each other, leaving a woman trapped in one of the vehicles.

Bucking the Trend As Crunch Tightens Its Grip

One Kings Heath trader is bucking the trend and comfortably going about his business. While others crumble around him Steve Bull, owner of Polar Bear Records in York Road, is happy with takings this festive period and has no plans to shut up shop despite the growing emergence of the internet as a cheap music-selling rival which has contributed to the downfall of record shop chain Zavvi.

Latest Casualties Hit Suburb Where It Hurts ; Background As Kings Heath High Street Battles for Survival, Paul Suart Talks to Some Traders About Their Future

The untimely demise of established chains Woolworths and Adams is set to have a huge impact on retailers and shoppers in an already struggling business community in Birmingham. The number of empty shops along a short stretch of the High Street in Kings Heath will increase to eight when the two former retail heavyweights close in a few weeks.

Drunks Keep 999 Crews Busy

Drunken revellers who enjoyed a New Year tipple too many left Midland paramedics working flat out coping with an emergency call every 12 seconds. West Midlands Ambulance Service said it took almost 1,300 emergency calls in the first five hours of today - 50 of which were deemed "highly inappropriate".

Walk Against Wind Farm

Villagers battling plans for a wind farm in Worcestershire are to stage a walk through the countryside they fear will be destroyed by the proposals. Families living in the Vale of Evesham will gather tomorrow for the walk along the Wychavon Way and Blossom Trail, close to where Scottish Power Renewables is planning to build 10 turbines measuring 125m(410ft) on land owned by farmers.

Face of Man Found Dead at the Side of Motorway

A computer image of the man whose badly burned body was found dumped at the side of a motorway has been released by police in a bid to identify him. The victim, believed to be 45-75, was discovered on fire on Tuesday in a ditch next to the M45, near Dunchurch, in Warwickshire.

The Traditional New Year

Memorabilia of 1920s Villa Star to Be Sold

Memorabilia of a 1920s Aston Villa footballer is set to go under the hammer in the first sale of the New Year. A plaque, posters and photos relating to Jimmy Cantrell, who also played for Notts County and Tottenham, are expected to fetch more than pounds 1,000. Cantrell, born in 1882, made his name at Villa before moving to County, where he topped the goals coring chart at Meadow Lane in his three seasons there. He was later signed to Tottenham and played there before and after the First Worl...

Scramble for Jewellery Quarter Scheme

Architects have entered a battle for a contract to design a new pounds 1.5million public square in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. Bosses have been flooded with designs by more than 100 architects from the UK, Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Australia.

Golfers Face 25pc Rise in Municipal Course Charges

The cost of playing on Birmingham's loss-making city council golf courses is to rise by up to 25 per cent. Council officials say the hefty jump is part of a fundamental review of the seven municipal courses and will lead to a "simplified" pricing structure.

New Mother Janine Ball Is Celebrating

Murder Arrest at New Year's Party ; Crime

Police last night named a woman believed to have been murdered at a New Year's Eve party. Sharn Jones, 46, died at a house in the village of Minsterley, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire. A man in this 30s arrested at the party on suspicion of her murder is in police custody.

Old Bugatti Set to Raise Pounds 6m ; Motoring

An old car left in a garage for 50 years could net a family a multimillion pound fortune when it is sold at auction. Dr Harold Carr left the Bugatti - one of only 17 in the world - in his lock-up in Gosforth, Newcastle. When the surgeon passed away in 2007 his nephew was left to clear out his garage and inside found the Type 57S Atalante. Now the car could fetch its owners as much as pounds 6million when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams' forthcoming Retro mobile car show and sale in Paris ...

Green Light for New Recycling Centre ; Environment