Brum’s grim jobless stats

The employment rate for people of working age (males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59) for the UK was 74% for the 12 months ending December 2008 according to figures released today by the National Statistics Office.
Birmingham was amongst the lowest, at 61.5%.
1.8 million people in the UK, aged 16 [...]

Best kept street competition

Erdington constituency is running a ‘best kept street competition’ for the streets or roads in each of the four wards (Stockland Green, Kingstanding, Tyburn and Erdington) in the area that have the best street and gardens and properties. Each of the four wards will have a winner (Castle Vale is part of the Tyburn ward).
For [...]

MP candidate leaves Vale Mail

Robert Alden has resigned form the Board of Headline Media, the organisation that owns Vale Mail.
Directors of Headline Media, the charity that owns Vale Mail and Switch Radio, met last week to discuss Mr Alden’s position following his selection as Conservative candidate for Erdington at the next general election. The Board unanimously agreed that Vale [...]

Council calls for increase in free school meals

Birmingham’s head of children’s services Cllr Les Lawrence has called on the Government to allow more children to qualify for free school meals. A statement from the City Council says that Birmingham has been particularly hard hit by the economic downturn with the closure of a number of companies including LDV and widespread redundancies across [...]

Asda and Sainsbury’s battle it out for cheapest fuel

Diesel has dropped below the pound mark (99.9p per litre) at Sainsbury’s in Castle Vale. Diesel at Asda in Minworth has been leading the way in the local fuel price war for the past few weeks. Both supermarkets are now selling fuel at the same price.

TRA prize winners

Hazel launches ‘hospice tree appeal’ in memory of Eric

strong>A local Hospice has launched a ‘Living Memory Tree’ Appeal to raise funds.
The appeal was launched by Hazel Shaw and her daughter Sue of Farnborough Road on behalf of the League of Friends of Birmingham’s John Taylor Hospice. Hazel’s husband Eric was well known on the Vale and died at the Hospice earlier this year.
She [...]

Birmingham needs a young poet

The deadline for applications to become Birmingham’s Young poet laureate has been extended to 31st July. If you are keen to apply and are between 11 and 17 years old, live in Birmingham or attend a school or college in Birmingham, then you need to submit four poems, one of which should be on the [...]

Vale man cleared of spitting at police officer

Paul Aaron Foster (20) of Roundmoor Walk, Castle Vale, was today found not guilty of assault by spitting at a police officer. Sutton Magistrates viewed CCTV footage of an incident at around 10pm on 29th May outside NISA in Vale’s High Street, when police officers tried to arrest him in connection with an alleged burglary. [...]

Skylark plans turned down

The City Planning Committee has today rejected the plans to build five shops on the site of the Skylark pub which is set to be demolished. Councillor Lynda Clinton said that the Planning Committee took into account a petition of over 200 local residents against the new building proposals. She also said that she had [...]