Latest news with #Sandwell
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Backing for £577 payrise for Sandwell councillors
A proposal to increase the basic pay for councillors in Sandwell has been basic allowance for all 72 Sandwell councillors will rise by £577 to £12,129 the first time it has risen since 2022. A report by the independent remuneration panel (IRP) – the body tasked with setting councillor allowances – recommended the Paul Moore, deputy leader and cabinet member for finance, said Sandwell's allowance was the lowest in the West Midlands and still £600 behind Solihull and £1,000 behind allowances paid to councillors in Walsall and Wolverhampton. "I would stress that this report is independent and Sandwell's member allowance is less generous than those adopted by neighbouring authorities and in no way can be considered excessive," he said at the annual council meeting on 13 move was approved by councillors with Conservative councillors Amrita Dunn and Les Trumpeter and Green councillor John Tipper voting against. 'Changing committee structure' The IRP had recommended three years ago that councillor pay should increase but when it was put to a vote a few months later, councillors went against the proposals and instead agreed to "freeze" the majority of panel had also again recommended that the council adopts yearly inflationary increases of up to 4%.In 2022, a pay award of £1,925 was offered to most local government staff across the UK, including those in councils and schools and while turning down the chance to increase pay, councillors also then voted to ignore the panel's recommendation and turn down set yearly inflationary Council is changing its committee structure which means the IRP, which also calculates how much councillors with "special responsibilities" such as the leader and deputy leader as well as chairs and vice chairs of committees should also be paid, will be meeting again to decide on changes to those amounts following the leader of the Labour-run council councillor Kerrie Carmichael receives two-and-a-half times the basic allowance for the role – which was £28,584 in 2023/ members receive £17,150 extra each, the chair of the council's budget scrutiny committee and the chairs of the planning and licensing committees each receiv£11,433 extra while the chairs of other scrutiny committees net a further £9,519. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Sun
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Urgent hunt for 9-year-old boy last seen early Sunday morning wearing a Minecraft t-shirt as cops urge ‘call 999'
POLICE are urgently searching for a young boy who disappeared early this morning while wearing a Minecraft t-shirt Jacub, 9, was last seen in Sandwell, West Midlands, wearing the video-game shirt and a black tracksuit at 5am today, cops have said. Sandwell Police is now urgently seeking the public's help to find Jacub after he vanished. In an appeal released today, cops said: "Have you seen Jacub, aged 9, who's missing from Sandwell? "Jacub was last seen at 05:00 18/05/2025, wearing a black tracksuit and a Minecraft T-shirt." If you see Jacub, call 999 immediately, quoting log 2445-180525. More to follow... For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bearwood Road closed due to big building fire as warning issued to residents
A main shopping street in Sandwell is closed to traffic due to a big building fire in the area. Some 60 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze in a derelict building in Bearwood shortly after 1am on Sunday (May 18). The blaze is at the junction of Bearwood Road and Anderson Road in Bearwood, The A4550 Bearwood Road is host to lots of big and small businesses. Read more: Sixty firefighters tackle building blaze leading to road closures Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp , click the link to join These include Aldi, the West Brom Building Society, Halifax, Specsavers, Superdrug, CEX, Greggs, Iceland and more. But the road is currently shut between its junction with Poplar Road up to its junction with St Mary's Road. Traffic is said to be 'coping well' according to traffic information service, Inrix. But this is before the main Sunday trading hours when a lot of the stores open. Read more: City centre 'attack' shuts down part of tram network Get the latest BirminghamLive news direct to your inbox The latest update from West Midlands Fire Service said: 'Crews continue to make good progress as our investigation into the cause of the fire at a commercial premises is underway. 'Police are managing road closures for parts of Bearwood Road and Anderson Road, which are likely to be in place for most of today (18 May).' West Midlands Police officers are managing the traffic in the area and will move the cordons when they are able to do so.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
Urgent appeal to find missing Sandwell man last seen topless who could be in Birmingham
Police have issued an appeal to find a man missing from the Black Country. Thomas was last seen in the Sandwell area shortly before 8pm on Friday (May 16). West Midlands Police has issued an image of the last known sighting of him The 44-year-old, who is white and has ginger hair, was last seen without a top on. Read more: Urgent appeal to find missing woman with public urged 'call 999' Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp , click the link to join But he was said to have been wearing black trousers and white trainers. The police are asking for the public's help to find Thomas and have said he could be in Birmingham. Anyone who spots him is urged to call 999 immediately. Read more: City centre 'attack' shuts down part of tram network Get the latest BirminghamLive news direct to your inbox In issuing the missing persons appeal a spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: 'Have you seen Thomas? 'The 44-year-old has gone missing from the Sandwell area and we're concerned for his welfare. He could also be in Birmingham.' The statement continued: 'The picture of Thomas is the last sighting of him where he wasn't wearing a top but was wearing black trousers and white trainers. 'If you see Thomas ring 999 quoting log number 5623-160525.'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
I visited Midland home with rare garden 'tower' you won't find anywhere else
Take a trip down several streets in the Black Country, and you'll find homes with unique design features. In fact, you'll likely find them nowhere else in the country. That's because these features are linked to canals, and the Black Country has many miles of them. READ MORE: I journeyed into forgotten Midlands Victorian tunnel and spent 41 minutes in eerie darkness Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link to join But you have to head to one corner of the region in particular to spot them - across the Dudley and Sandwell border. Known as 'pepper pots', these are small brick towers with dome-shaped metal grills on top. They are actually air vents for the Netherton Canal Tunnel that lies in the depths of the ground below. There are a total of eight shafts running along the length of 1.7-mile tunnel spanning between Netherton and Tividale. Because the tunnel was built long before many homes in the area, back in 1858, its vents have ended up in people's gardens which came later on. That includes an air vent situated in the front garden of a home in Packwood Road, Tividale. Although it appears an odd feature of the street, the homeowner has planted pink flowers around the base of it to make it look 'nice and tidy'. The resident, a 90-year-old woman who wished to remain anonymous, explained how ivy used to grow up the side of it too but this was removed by the water board. Although the woman, who has lived there since 1987, owns the land, she says the water board owns the shaft and she's not allowed to touch it. Revealing how she hear sounds from the tunnel below, the woman said: "Sometimes, you can hear children playing down there and canal boats chugging along." Asked if the air vent was a draw factor for purchasing the house, she said: "We had it looked at. The solicitor didn't want us to buy it. "The house isn't under the tunnel. We have never had any issues with it." She added: "These (air vents) go all the way to Netherton. There is one on Regent Road nearby." Meanwhile, a resident on Regent Road, whose backgarden features an air vent, declined to comment but said they weren't aware of what the air vent was beforehand. And a third air vent is located right around the corner on Aston Road, however that one exists as a small roundabout in the middle of the street, with its dome cut off. However, a separate air vent is located around two miles away on Station Road, in Old Hill, which acts as the sole airshaft for the 0.3-mile-long Gorsty Hill Tunnel, a separate canal tunnel in the Black Country. For the Netherton Canal Tunnel, a total of 17 shafts were built into the crowd but the other nine were filled in, leaving the remaining eight air vents. The tunnel remains open today and takes around 40 minutes to walk.
