Council Approves Conversion of Town Centre Hotel into Homeless Accommodation Friday, January 9, 2026 walsall council planning hmo homeless accommodation midlandhotel housing development conservation Walsall Council has approved a planning application to convert the Midland Hotel, located at 20 Station Street, into a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) designed to house homeless individuals temporarily. The council … Read More
Inside Birmingham’s Most Sought-After Estate Where House Prices Have More Than Doubled in a Year Friday, December 26, 2025 birmingham fiveways edgbaston calthorpe property realestate houseprices conservation housing development Nestled near the western edge of Birmingham city centre, the Five Ways South and Calthorpe Park area has emerged as Birmingham’s most coveted residential neighbourhood, with house prices soaring by an astonishing 112% over … Read More
Midland Billionaire Secures Approval for Controversial Cotswolds Observatory Thursday, December 25, 2025 bamford jcb cotswolds observatory planning landscape regeneration farming conservation lightpollution Lord Anthony Bamford, the billionaire industrialist behind construction giant JCB, has received planning permission to build a “landscape observatory” in the scenic Cotswolds area, even as concerns about the … Read More
Birmingham Man Caught Smuggling 80 Alligator Heads From the US Thursday, December 18, 2025 smuggling alligator import uklaw birmingham fraud prosecution conservation airport ebay Mahesh Kumar, a 52-year-old man from Great Barr, Birmingham, attempted to smuggle 80 alligator heads through East Midlands Airport to sell them on eBay. Initially, Kumar purchased one alligator head during a visit to the … Read More
Birmingham Student Flats Proposal Revisited Amid Heritage Concerns Thursday, December 11, 2025 birmingham studenthousing heritage planning development goldeneagle architecture regeneration accommodation conservation Plans to construct a 16-storey student accommodation building with 263 bed spaces on the former Golden Eagle pub site in Birmingham city center are once again under review. The developers emphasize that the new building would … Read More
People Power Defeats Proposal to Slash Midlands Conservation Area by 630 Hectares Tuesday, December 9, 2025 conservation greatbarr walsall environment heritage greenbelt wildlife preservation community planning Walsall Council has abandoned plans to reduce the Great Barr Conservation Area by 80%, preserving its current 774-hectare boundary after overwhelming public opposition. The council’s initial proposal, outlined in last year’s … Read More