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Paul Dale

Paul Dale

Clive’s plans for Spaghetti lights are pasta joke

Is Clive Dutton, Birmingham City Council’s director of regeneration and planning, working a little too hard? Read

Hosting US Olympic team would cost Birmingham £400,000

Birmingham’s bid to offer a training base to the US Track and Field Team in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympic Games will cost the city council more than £400,000, it was confirmed last night. Read

Private sector ‘backer’ at odds with council role

The politician responsible for running social care in Birmingham has been accused of undermining the city council’s meals on wheels service by promoting a private sector meals firm. Read

Motorists facing a year of roadworks on M6 at Birmingham

Motorists are facing a year of misery as work gets under way on a £150 million improvement scheme on the M6 through Birmingham. Read

Catholics hold vigil for Cardinal Newman in Birmingham

A vigil of reception has been held for the lying-in-state of a 19th Century Midland cardinal tipped for sainthood. Read

Councils too slow to spend road improvements cash

The West Midlands is in danger of having to hand back £101 million to the Government because councils aren’t spending the money quickly enough on vital improvements to roads. Read

Businessman among dead in helicopter crash

Businessman thought to be among three dead in copter crash Read

Government data-stick found in Cannock pub car park

A Government memory stick with passwords and confidential information was discovered in a Staffordshire pub car park. Read

Motorway toll lanes won't work, says Midland business leader

Plans to build motorway toll lanes for motorists who are willing to pay for a quicker journey represent a failed approach to tackling congestion, a West Midlands business leader has claimed. Read

Banning gangs from Birmingham territories is illegal, rules judge

A judge has ruled that pioneering injunctions preventing gang members from entering certain parts of Birmingham are illegal. Read

Health & Safety rules prevent home helps from helping

Health and safety regulations are preventing carers carrying out simple tasks for the elderly such as changing light bulbs and washing curtains, a Birmingham City Council inquiry found. Read

Broad Street businesses insist trade is still good

Birmingham’s first Business Improvement District have dismissed as “wild exaggeration” claims that Broad Street has fallen victim to recession. Read

Birmingham Half Marathon could coincide with city's international race

Next year’s World Half Marathon in Birmingham could take place alongside a fun event for thousands of amateur racers, triggering the West Midlands’ own version of Newcastle’s popular Great North Run. Read

Mike Whitby insists private sector high in confidence in Birmingham

Developers are “oozing confidence” about future regeneration schemes in Birmingham, despite the worst global economic downturn for a generation, city council leader Mike Whitby insisted. Read

Colmore Row BID gets Birmingham council backing

Moves to establish a Business Improvement District at the heart of Birmingham’s financial services sector have won political backing. Read

Birmingham elderly to lose £100 cap on home care charges

Vulnerable and elderly people in Birmingham face a huge increase in the cost of home care services in an attempt to plug a city council cash crisis. Read

Colmore Row tower dispute could cost Victorian Society

British Land has won planning permission for a controversial 35-storey tower in Colmore Row, but we may not have heard the end of the matter. Read

Birmingham regeneration plans face funding crisis

Officials have admitted that plans to pay for the regeneration of Birmingham city centre by raising cash from land sales are in danger of being derailed by the economic downturn. Read

Birmingham A38 Tyburn Road bus lane would cost £250,000 to remove

The cost of removing a bus lane from one of Birmingham’s busiest commuter routes which has been out of action for four years, could be more than £250,000 and force the city council to hold an expensive public inquiry, it has been claimed. Read

Birmingham Christmas lights to include Christmas

New Christmas lights in Birmingham city centre will have a distinctive Christian theme this year. Read

Author Profile

Paul Dale has been writing about local government in the West Midlands for more than 20 years. The Post's public affairs editor, he is a previous political editor of the Coventry Evening Telegraph and Local Government Correspondent of the Oxford Mail.

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