Birmingham Post

Colmore Row Levy Will See Millions Pumped In

The heart of Birmingham's professional quarter is set for millions of pounds of investment in the coming years after local businesses agreed to a new improvement levy. Businesses in the area surrounding Colmore Row have been casting their vote over the past six weeks on proposals to establish the city's third Business Improvement District (BID) which would see each local company obliged to contribute one per cent of its rateable value towards a range of initiatives.

Colmore Row Improvement Plan Shows Long-Term Ambition ; 24 Hours

In normal times the overwhelming support for a third Business Improvement District in Birmingham would arouse little comment. With the previous two Birmingham BIDs - covering Broad Street and the retail sector - having delivered tangible results, the vote for a new BID covering the Colmore quarter should never really have been in doubt.

A Community Trust ; 24 Hours

Waterford Wedgwood Sale Could Save 1,700 Jobs ; in Association with Lloydstsb.Com/Corporatemarkets

More than 1,700 jobs in the UK and Ireland - including hundreds in North Staffordshire - could be saved after administrators secured a sale of the struggling china and crystal firm Waterford Wedgwood. US private equity group KPS Capital Partners has agreed to buy Waterford's key UK and Irish businesses from administrators Deloitte.

Confidence Survey Finds yet More Gloom Over the Prospects for an Early Recovery ; in Association with Lloydstsb.Com/Corporatemarkets

British businesses are well and truly in the doldrums with scant optimism for an early recovery, according to the latest confidence survey by KPMG. More than four-fifths of senior executives questioned now view the prospects for the UK economy as either 'bad' or 'very bad'- asignificant fall in confidence from the final quarter of 2008, when 60 per cent claimed that prospects were poor.

Midlands Hardest Hit by Recession ; in Association with Lloydstsb.Com/Corporatemarkets

West Midlands industry has been hit harder by the recession than manufacturing in any other part of the UK. The EEF attributed the slump in sales of motor vehicles - accompanied by shutdowns across most of the motor industry since before Christmas - to the sharp slowdown in region's activity.

Brum Bank Scheme to Rack Up Pounds 200m Debts

Establishing a municipal bank could turn out to be one of Birmingham City Council's costliest commitments in recent years, with initial estimates for the project already running at pounds 200 million. Provision has been made in the 2009/10 council budget to borrow up to pounds 50 million to get the scheme off the ground.

Emergency Pounds 1m Scheme to Save Crumbling 700-Year-Old Church

An emergency repair fund of pounds 1million is urgently needed to save one of Birmingham's oldest churches from closure. The 700-year-old St Edburgha's, in Yardley, could be shut within years unless cash is found to make the spire and tower safe from collapse.

Police Continue to Quiz Pair On Stab Death in Lorry Theft Bid

Detectives investigating an attempted lorry robbery which resulted in one man being stabbed to death have been granted more time to question twomen, police said. Dean Skidmore, 36, died from his injuries after he was wounded at the Station Road Industrial Estate in Coleshill, Birmingham, on Thursday morning.

Schools Given Go-Ahead for Pounds 370m Revamp

Black Country secondary schools have won Government approval forapounds 370million revamp. Wolverhampton City Council has been given the go-ahead to rebuild or refurbish under the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Man Hurt As Car Hits Bridge

A man suffered serious head injuries and was airlifted to hospital after he crashed his sports car into a bridge in Knowle yesterday afternoon. The crash happened on Warwick Road, near to the Heron Nest Public House just after 1.20pm.

Blaze Drama at City Apartments

Six fire crews were called to a blaze in an apartment block in Birmingham city centre last night. Nobody had to be evacuated from the block in St Paul's Square, Hockley, and nobody was hurt by the fire, which started in furniture on the ground floor stairwell of the six-storey building.

Tories 'Stalinist' Slur in Row Over Cash Savings

Birmingham City Council leaders have been accused of running a "Stalinist command economy", where orders are passed down from on high with little chance that they can ever be put into practice. The accusation came from opposition Labour group leader Sir Albert Bore during an angry debate about a business transformation scheme, which the authority's Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition insists will deliver cash savings of almost pounds 1 billion over the next 10 years.

Hundreds Meet in Bid to Ensure Knife Victim's Death Was Not in Vain

Hundreds of mourners turned out for a memorial service and anti- knife crime conference organised by the family of a dad-to-be stabbed to death after an argument with a friend. Leon Francis was knifed through the heart when a row with Jonathan Hamilton, 33, over a missing gold chain exploded into violence in December 2007.

Popular Tv Gardening Show Puts Down Some New Roots in City

The popular flagship BBC programme Gardeners' World is putting down new roots in the heart of Birmingham. The show is leaving its generous two acre Berryfields site in Stratford-upon-Avon and is moving to a new home in the city ahead of a new series, which starts in April.

Ex-Council Leader Jailed for Cheating Charity

Police today condemned a former Midland council leader jailed after stealing more than pounds 80,000while boss of a charity which was set up to help homeless youngsters. David Cartwright was branded a "common conman, confidence trickster and something of a fantasist" at Worcester Crown Court on Friday.

Cancer Drug Offers Hope to Thousands

A breakthrough blood cancer therapy which was successfully trialled at a Birmingham hospital is to be made available to patients from today. New drug Vidaza will be available privately following a global clinical trial which included patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston.

Pilot to Stop Convicts' Cash Claims Is Axed

A "get tough" scheme that docked the welfare benefits ofWest Midlands criminals who failed to comply with court rulings is to be scrapped after it forced offenders to commit more crimes. The eight-year-old pilot scheme launched with a round of "get tough" headlines, but only improved compliance rates by 1.8 per cent - fewer than one in 50 offenders.

Appeal to Seal Deal On Town Revival Scheme

The city council has been told to tie up a deal for the pounds 25 million regeneration of Stirchley as soon as possible. The development which will bring Tesco to the suburb, renovate the High Street and see the derelict Stirchley Baths brought back as a community centre and gym has been put on hold.

Restoration Work On View

One of the world's largest helicopters will be on display when a centre dedicated to conserving and restoring aircraft opens its doors to the public. The Michael Beetham Conservation Centre, based at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford in Shifnal, Shropshire, will be open to visitors for one week from March 23 to 28.