LDRS Stories

A renewed bid to convert an Oldbury home into an HMO has been submitted again despite being rejected by council planners and a government inspector.

Walsall Council has refused to decide on the latest planning application for an unauthorised street food venue in the town.

Birmingham has been warned that it needs to “get used” to more extreme weather events following a summer of flooding and fire.

Dudley’s Labour politicians are continuing calls for a Reform UK councillor to be removed despite his apology for ‘inappropriate’ social media posts.

An empty former bank will be converted into a new HMO after plans were backed by Sandwell Council.

Free places for market stall holders in Dudley town centre could be extended for another month if the council’s leader gets his way.

Councillors and officers in Walsall have said misconceptions linking children’s homes to increased crime and antisocial behaviour need to be dispelled.

Dudley Council’s latest financial report says the authority is forecast to overspend by £16.8m on agency staff this year.

Birmingham Council’s leader has vowed to work with police to tackle ‘disorder’ involving fireworks following recent scenes which left the city centre ‘almost a warzone’.

Birmingham Council’s leader has said he remains committed to the cross-party coalition running the city after being challenged on the Green Party vote on Zionism.

A Birmingham takeaway boss temporarily closed due to cockroach and mice infestations said negative social media coverage has left him ‘financially ruined’.

A busker has called on Birmingham Council’s new leadership to reverse a busking crackdown in the city centre amid fears ‘spontaneous joy’ is being ‘crushed’.

Bromsgrove’s MP has accused Brum’s political leaders of treating his area as a “cash cow” amid plans to introduce parking charges at a beauty spot.

A government inspector has thrown out an appeal over a plan to convert a home into a nine-bed HMO.

Reform UK councillors are demanding to see a report on how Dudley Council handled allegations of child sexual exploitation (CSE).

A plan has been revived to build a care home on the site of a town’s former swimming baths.

Major plans for two new towers overlooking one of Birmingham’s most iconic areas have been recommended for approval.

Dudley Council’s housing chief insists changes to services which are rumoured to mean around 30 job losses are not cuts.

A council has agreed to cover more than £500,000 to protect funding for a huge £6m makeover of a city arts centre.

Councillors in Walsall have called on fire bosses to scrap ‘ludicrous’ plans to close Bloxwich and Willenhall Fire Stations overnight.

Members of the coalition now running Birmingham continued to face frustration over bins as the wait for a deal to resolve the strike rumbles on.

A senior Labour politician says the government’s changes to planning regulations do not cut councillors’ ability to object to applications.

An empty care home that became a hotspot for vandalism and rough sleeping could soon be demolished to make way for new flats.

The deputy leader of Birmingham Council has said work is under way to ‘fix’ the city following a heated exchange over the state of the roads.

A Dudley Council debate encouraging good behaviour ended in accusations of verbal abuse during bad-tempered exchanges between councillors.

Walls, bridges, abandoned tower blocks, even iconic murals – graffiti can be seen defacing all of these and more right across Birmingham.

Walsall Council has provided a statement following rumours about the authority’s chief executive, Emma Bennett.

Birmingham Council has said its position on plans to introduce divisive parking charges at three beauty spots ‘has changed’.

A decision over demolishing an empty West Bromwich nursery to make way for new flats has been delayed.

Rats, mice and cockroach infestations as well as poor food safety standards saw a number of Birmingham businesses hit with hefty fines or temporary closures last month.

Dudley Town FC seem set to be returning home to the borough for the start of the 2027 season.

Birmingham could soon host another ‘mega’ sporting event in the coming years – but the city council has been urged to “carefully consider” whether it should.

Councillors in Walsall have paid tribute following the death of a Labour ‘stalwart’, Rose Burley.

A Reform UK councillor has apologised for ‘racist and homophobic’ social media posts made before he was elected.

Rumours about Walsall Council’s six-figured salary chief executive remain unanswered as councillors were left in the dark last night.

Plans to replace an ageing Smethwick school have been approved by councillors.

Dudley’s only Restore Britain councillor says Reform UK need to ask themselves questions after surrendering a seat on the council by two votes.

The list of candidates running in the upcoming Birmingham by-election battle has been confirmed by the city council.

Plans to build a new 2,700-plot cemetery on the border of the Black Country and Birmingham have been approved.

A fourth councillor in Walsall has quit Reform UK to join a new political group.

Refreshed powers to tackle anti-social behaviour in Walsall town centre have been approved.

Dudley Council has rejected an application to turn a house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Lye into flats.

Birmingham Council has admitted that financial pressures will impact its ability to tackle flooding following a summer marked by ‘extreme’ weather events.

Dudley councillors are set to sign a new promise to behave themselves after a rise in complaints.

Stourbridge Friends of The Earth is calling on people concerned about climate change to make their presence felt at Dudley Council.

An appeal over whether to allow an Oldbury home to be converted into a HMO has been thrown out by a government planning inspector.

Good morning everyone, Our latest story pack released today is about the ancient woodlands across England – which campaigners fear could be coming under threat.

A smoking ban in Dudley Council parks is among proposals to ease summer fire risks.

A regional ambulance service is growing increasingly concerned about worsening patient handover delays outside some hospitals.

Dudley councillors are set for tough talking as negotiations begin to set next year’s budget with pressure on limited finances.

A councillor’s cafe which opened two years ago without permission will be allowed to stay open.

A shop has been stripped of its licence after a ‘truckload’ of illegal alcohol and cigarettes was seized during undercover stings.

A Birmingham eatery which suffered separate pest infestations within six months of each other has been hit with a £30,000 court bill.

Plans for a distillery at Stourbridge glass museum have been withdrawn after objections from nearby residents and other attractions.

Birmingham’s SEND reform plan has been given the green light amid ambitions of easing the “burden of navigating a complex system”.

A Birmingham HMO landlord was ‘taken for a ride by his son’ which resulted in four of his flats not being properly licensed, a court heard.

A Birmingham fly-tipper dumped bags of rubbish on a city road after seeing a TikTok post advertising the location as a collection point during the bin strikes.

A plan to replace a Bilston industrial estate with more than 50 new homes has been approved.

Environmental health officers discovered a Birmingham bakery infested with rats, mice and cockroaches whilst out looking for shops selling a drink with a banned chemical.

Dudley Council has refused to confirm or deny rumours it is planning redundancies to teams in vital housing services.

Speed limits of 20mph could be introduced across several roads amid major plans for Sutton Coldfield.

Dudley councillors got a 3.3 percent rise in allowances taking a basic payment for an elected member to £12,946.

Andy Burnham’s government has been told that Birmingham ‘needs more money’ after the city council’s financial situation was laid bare.

A Birmingham mother-of-five dumped rubbish and furniture on a fly-tipping hot spot where she told it would be collected during the bin strikes, a court heard.

Food safety inspectors discovered two separate mice infestations within three months at a Birmingham restaurant.

An ex-director of a former Birmingham restaurant infested with mice and cockroaches said he “lost everything” with the business.

The opposition leader at Walsall Council has accused Reform UK of ‘misleading’ the public over net zero claims.

The leader of Walsall Community Independents has called for any return of the Walsall Illuminations to be affordable.

Editor’s note – link to consultation website: Community Consultation (19 October – 2 November) Developers have revealed proposals to build dozens of new homes at the site of a former factory near Edgbaston Reservoir.

Car parking at Russells Hall Hospital got a hearing in Parliament when Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles took the controversy to Westminster.

Sandwell’s mayor was forced to break a deadlock after the council’s Reform administration refused to endorse new planning laws despite a warning it could lead to legal and financial costs.

Dudley Council admitted there are ‘no excuses’ for the time taken to answer concerns about communication with parks friends groups.

A housing developer has revealed plans to build over a thousand homes across 70 hectares of green belt in Walsall.

A former police station could be converted into new homes.

Editor’s note – Link to consultation: Royal Sutton Coldfield Gateway – Birmingham City Council – Citizen Space Birmingham City Council are urging residents to give their opinions amid a major project to provide “much-needed” improvements in a town centre.

Dudley Council has been asked to look into the possibility of building a new football stadium as part of the Porterfield development.

Reform UK has declared a ‘housing emergency’ in Sandwell to battle the ever-increasing wait for a council home.

A second planning application has been submitted for an unauthorised food venue previously likened to ‘Grenfell’.

Editor’s note: Link to BBC report – Companies exploiting welfare system by using residents as ‘cash cows’, BBC finds – BBC News Birmingham Council’s bins boss has said there won’t be a “two tier system” after a report uploaded in error suggested supported exempt accommodation properties would keep weekly collections.

Those running Birmingham’s waste service have confirmed there are plans to resume bulky waste collections in the near future.

Cabinet members at Walsall Council are set to approve an accommodation deal with a ‘failing’ housing provider.

A nurse fighting a parking penalty charge issued while she treated an acutely sick baby is asking ‘what if it was your child’?

Work to demolish the former Dudley Leisure Centre on Wellington Road looks set to get under way next month.

Reform UK has agreed to revoke a climate emergency declaration made by Sandwell Council.

Freedom of Information figures have revealed the number of enquiries submitted by each councillor since the local elections in May.

Birmingham City Council’s leadership has said the authority’s finances are much improved despite warnings over future budget gaps.

Walsall Council has revealed a potential date for the return of a much-loved winter attraction.

Walsall councillors are set to debate a future multi-million pound Bilston medical hub later this week.

A West Midlands-based housing association says it will ‘comply fully’ after an enforcement notice was slapped on it by a regulator.

Council bosses said people ‘deserve to feel safe in their own home’ after owners of a Birmingham apartment block were hit with a £250,000 court bill for fire safety failures.

A government parking charges crackdown may be too late to help a Dudley nurse hit with a bill while she treated a sick child.

Editor’s note – Amended this line: Cllr Chris Garghan, the cabinet member overseeing finance, said the authority’s leadership is not proposing to return to a “system of short-term cuts and salami slicing which has previously taken place” despite forecast budget gaps.

An empty former nursery that closed after several ‘inadequate’ inspections should be demolished to make way for new flats, a council report has said.

A proposed dress code submitted by the Reform leader of Walsall Council has been rejected.

A shop that was forced to close for three months over the sale of illegal cigarettes could now lose its licence completely.

The leader of Birmingham City Council has said the authority needs to address “fundamental issues” after a major project was hit by a delay.

Dudley should get its own Glastonbury style music festival at Himley Hall according to one of the borough’s political leaders.

A date has been set for an upcoming Birmingham by-election battle following the resignation of a councillor.