05/09/2011 Midlands Today


05/09/2011

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Welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines: and prepared and slow to

:00:10.:00:18.

respond. Criticism of the police after the Birmingham riots. There

:00:18.:00:24.

was in position to -- insufficient rind trade police officers.

:00:24.:00:33.

famous old family company is saved. The strength of demand and the

:00:33.:00:37.

global reach of the business is an attractive deal. The toughest

:00:37.:00:42.

trading conditions in 40 years, the battle for survival on our high

:00:42.:00:49.

streets. And Staffordshire's because and bishops padding up as

:00:49.:00:59.
:00:59.:01:04.

they play to keep hold of one of Good evening and welcome to

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Monday's Midlands Today from the BBC. Tonight, could or should

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police have reacted more quickly during the Birmingham riots. Claims

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are being made by its residents in Handsworth, saying police were

:01:18.:01:22.

unprepared for the riots and slow to respond. It is part of evidence

:01:23.:01:26.

to a committee of MPs investigating. West Midlands Police have defended

:01:26.:01:32.

their tactics and said they will be publishing their own findings into

:01:32.:01:35.

the policing of the riots on a Thursday.

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Back to its vibrant and bustling self, Handsworth's famous Soho Road

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shows few of the scars. But rioting was a fierce here, looting

:01:46.:01:50.

sustained, and the way the police handled it is still a bone of

:01:50.:01:55.

contention. They were caught out. Half the police looked like they

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were scared. You cannot suddenly go, there is a load of cobblers to deal

:01:59.:02:04.

with it. You just do not know where it is going to break out. -- a load

:02:04.:02:10.

of coppers. A fortnight ago, at a conference, traders and community

:02:10.:02:17.

do workers discussed the trouble in Handsworth. Their evidence has been

:02:17.:02:21.

put into a document. The riots caught the police on the hob, it

:02:21.:02:26.

says. The police failed to engage with members of the local community,

:02:26.:02:33.

leaving them by and large to defend their own premises. It says that

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officers should have been at the incident in Winson Green where

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three men were run over and died. They had insufficient resources to

:02:41.:02:45.

deal with the incidence in the city centre and when the riot police

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were asked to divert their attention to the Soho Road in

:02:51.:02:55.

Handsworth, much of the damage had already been done. There were

:02:55.:03:00.

insufficient officers. Kernail Singh was at a council read a

:03:00.:03:09.

biased sale -- session today. When the riot started, he called the

:03:09.:03:15.

police to his shop but they did not come. I am not blaming but I know

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it was a very hard time for everybody. And a jeweller who took

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part in last month's conference is in no rush to criticise police.

:03:24.:03:29.

They could have been so representation -- some

:03:29.:03:31.

representation on Soho Road to allow some response, but hindsight

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is a wonderful thing. For the Government, the Tyneside involves

:03:36.:03:41.

the learning of lessons. Majesty's constabulary have been

:03:41.:03:46.

asked to look at what happened so that lessons can be learned for the

:03:46.:03:50.

future to deal with disorder. comment from the police today. They

:03:50.:03:55.

will present their own report into the handling of the riots to MPs

:03:55.:04:00.

later this week. Up to 900 people are expected

:04:00.:04:02.

better public debate about the riots in Birmingham Town Hall

:04:02.:04:09.

tonight. It is hosted by BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Our

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correspondent is there now. With the Straits -- streets quiet for a

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few weeks now, his is a chance to dig deeper into any lessons that

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can be learnt? It is certainly not quite here at Birmingham's

:04:25.:04:28.

magnificent town hall. The crowds are flocking here half an hour

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before the show gets under way. Back in 19 No 1 this very hall was

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the scene where David Lloyd George was taking part in a political

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debate. He had to be is smuggled out as a low full -- local police

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officer because there was a mob outside. We are not expecting

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tonight's debate to be quite as rioters as that. The man who is

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going to be in charge of the whole debate is here, from the Today

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programme. Will you get to the heart of what caused the riot?

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hope so. We are trying not to have an evening of political speeches.

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They have their place and people can make their points in them but

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this is an effort to try to get some people from community

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organisations, from the churches, von local government, from the

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police, to give their view in a very practical way, first of all

:05:26.:05:31.

from what happens and whether we need to get a handle on the detail

:05:31.:05:35.

of what happened, and then to argue bats about where the beginnings of

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solutions arise, and the interesting thing, I think we will

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all struck by the events in early August that most sensible people,

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whether in politics or not, said, something has happened that is

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bigger than normal and that is the point. As we have already said, we

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are hoping that lessons will be learnt and we will be bringing you

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the update on this debate throughout our bulletins tonight

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and tomorrow. Thank you. You can follow that debate online with a

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video coverage via the Today programme website or on Twitter.

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There will be full reaction and coverage on BBC WM and your local

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radio station tomorrow morning. Still ahead: Faster trains to

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London but far fewer places to buy your tickets, with plans to shut

:06:28.:06:38.
:06:38.:06:38.

dozens of booking offices at There has been relief, joy even, in

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Kidderminster today, with news that the world famous carpet making

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company Brintons has been saved from closure. The company, which

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employs 700 people in the UK, had debts of �20 million. It has now

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been brought by an American private equity firm.

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Brintons Carpets have featured large in this man's life. 37 years

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ago he followed his father into the Kidderminster Thatcher. A lot of

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people have family who worked here. And suddenly it looked as if his

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hopes have been realised, at least for the time being, with investment

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from anti-American business. secures the future. It gives us a

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route back to profitable growth. Brintons, which began and 1783, now

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has factories in India, Portugal and is about to expand into China.

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But it was hit hard in the recession, resulting in debts of

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�20 million. The New Deal wipes the debts clean. Coppetts here are sent

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all over the world. Its company has a proud 228 year history and it

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hopes now it has secured its future. This woman joined the firm in the

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footsteps of her parents and grandparents. It is a positive

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thing that we have the company come in to help out. The key thing for

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people who work here are jobs. How safe are people's jobs? In life you

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cannot give guarantees. What we now have is a venture capitalist, a

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private equity company, and that means all our units have to remain

:08:27.:08:30.

competitive for the future. But there are no plans to change

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anything today. So the pressure is on, as the American bank Rollers

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will want to see a healthy return on their investment. But for now at

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least, there is a sigh of relief. Other news and a pilot who died

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when his light aircraft crashed on Friday afternoon has been named as

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52-year-old Clive Greenaway from Stratford-on-Avon. His plane came

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down in fields near the A1 close to Peterborough. It is thought to have

:08:58.:09:02.

hit power lines coming into land. He had taken off from Long Marston

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airfield in Warwickshire. A teenage girl has been sentenced

:09:06.:09:09.

to life in prison for killing a father of two from Stoke-on-Trent.

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Sheree Smith, 19, was found guilty of murdering Andreas Fantousi last

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November. He was stabbed outside his house in Tunstall. Michael

:09:20.:09:24.

Gordon, 22, was sentenced to ten years after being convicted of

:09:24.:09:27.

manslaughter. The public inquiry into the circumstances of the

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Stafford Hospital scandal has started again after a summer break.

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Today, the inquiry heard that the body organising the training of

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doctors at the hospital was unaware of the extent of failings which

:09:35.:09:38.

contributed to the deaths of patients. As our health

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correspondent Michele Paduano reports, the investigation is in

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its final phase, with several high- profile witnesses about to give

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Day 114 of the public inquiry. This time it was Dr Elizabeth Hughes,

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head of the West Midlands Deanery, responsible for the education of

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junior doctors. But it has all been said before. Poor communication,

:09:59.:10:05.

doctors scared to speak out. Lack of scrutiny. When I took up my post,

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I did not find any evidence of So far, perhaps the most high-

:10:14.:10:17.

ranking casualty has been Cynthia Bower. Now head of the organisation

:10:17.:10:19.

responsible for quality, she missed the seriousness of what was

:10:19.:10:29.

happening at Stafford. This inquiry should be over by the end of

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November but we are still to hear from senior politicians and the big

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hitters from the Department of Health. By crispers, some big

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reputations could be in tatters. -- by Christmas. And tomorrow, former

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Secretary of State for Health Andy Burnham gives evidence. He was

:10:45.:10:49.

hounded by Cure The NHS outside his constituency. We want every person

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that died in that hospital examined. And over the phone. You had no

:10:56.:11:01.

choice, Andy, you had no choice. You have ordered a secret inquiry.

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He appears before the inquiry that he never wanted. What did he have

:11:06.:11:12.

to prove to pass it forward for the Foundation Trust? Was he looking at

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serious untoward incidents, complaints, failure in patient

:11:16.:11:20.

safety? It was so obvious about hospital. Later this month, we will

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hear from the chief executive of the NHS, David Nicholson, who has

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to explain his role in the failures that led to an unknown number of

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Great to have you with us this evening. Still to come:

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Something of a warning from Shefali. Yes, look away later if you do not

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like rain. There is plenty of it this week and it is heading our way

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soon. And free food - harvesting unwanted

:11:44.:11:54.
:11:54.:11:56.

apples and other fruit to give to A fast new rail route to London

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began operating today in competition with Virgin Trains.

:11:59.:12:01.

Chiltern Railways unveiled its Mainline service, which reaches the

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capital from Birmingham in just 90 minutes. The launch follows a

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multi-million-pound investment in the line. Our transport

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correspondent Peter Plisner was on this morning's first train.

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Arriving at London's Marylebone Station, a couple of minutes late

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but still much faster than before. After years of planning, the new

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service is finally on the move. Special Mainline trains feature

:12:22.:12:25.

free Wi-Fi and instead of first class, there is a business zone,

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and that is where we caught up with businessman Roy Ellis. I think wet

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Chilton scores is the fact that they are more spacious. But space

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was at a premium elsewhere on the train, with some preferring to sit

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on the floor. Nevertheless, passengers seem to like the service.

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I think it was needed because it was a very popular line. You can

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get And there was even praise from a seasoned rail travellers. It is a

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rather charming rich. You feel like you're on the M40 rather from the

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M1. In the past, Chiltern trains have offered cheaper at first but

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now it with the Mainline service, they can compete Faster trains come

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as a result of a big investment programme. There is also a much

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simplified fares structure but, as a result, some, like Gordon

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MacDonald, can no longer travel on cheaper fares. The price has gone

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up to lead a �50 or �75 return, which is a huge hike. Chilton admit

:13:33.:13:38.

that some people are having to pay more. Whenever you change things on

:13:38.:13:44.

a railway, there will inevitably be a small number of people who are

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disadvantaged but the majority of people The new service means that

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from today there is even more choice of both fares and trains to

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London throughout the day. Well, Peter joins us now from

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Birmingham's Moor Street. Sounds like a mixed blessing for rail

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travellers, Peter? It is. We have improved rail services but some

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people are having to pay higher fares and tonight there are even

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more concerns on the railways. The debt now could be told in 40 did

:14:12.:14:22.
:14:22.:14:23.

61 ticket offices are now under threat. It all emanates from a

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report a few months ago into the savings for the railway and that

:14:29.:14:34.

list has emerged today as a result of that report and research done by

:14:34.:14:38.

a rail union. I emphasise that these are only proposals at the

:14:38.:14:42.

moment but you can see when this might happen, with increased use of

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ticket machines and the internet for train bookings. The Government

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has not made any comment about the publication of this list but they

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are due to respond some time within the next couple of months. Thank

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you. "It is the pit of despair," the

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words of one retailer today trying to navigate some of the worst

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trading conditions on the high street in four decades. And figures

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suggest the retail sector here is being hit harder than anywhere else

:15:08.:15:11.

in England. Footfall - that is the number of people going shopping -

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is down 6.6% and 10.5% of the shops in this region are vacant. Anxious

:15:16.:15:18.

times for retailers with 109 shopping days until Christmas,

:15:18.:15:24.

traditionally their busiest time of the year, as Ben Godfrey reports.

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It is the big high street survival battle. From the might of the

:15:28.:15:32.

glossy mall to the plight of the small trader. Simon Mauri lost jobs

:15:32.:15:36.

at three high street chains before deciding to go it alone. Shiny

:15:36.:15:40.

Gifts in Bromsgrove is surviving, just. Sales are down by a third so

:15:40.:15:50.
:15:50.:15:51.

suppliers are not always paid on time. Some days I in a -- I am in a

:15:51.:15:58.

pit of despair but I have to keep friendly. People are spending less.

:15:58.:16:02.

It was as if there was a tap that switched off as soon as the

:16:02.:16:05.

Government announced August has been another traumatic month for

:16:05.:16:08.

trading. The head of the Co-op has warned of some of the worst

:16:08.:16:12.

conditions in 40 years. Shoppers are watching their wallets. It is

:16:12.:16:18.

difficult for everybody with money. We are quite careful. Not very

:16:18.:16:23.

confident at the moment. Very careful at the moment but

:16:23.:16:24.

optimistic. Today, Solihull's showpiece, the Touchwood Centre,

:16:24.:16:28.

celebrated a decade in business. Sales are up 8% year on year. The

:16:28.:16:38.
:16:38.:16:38.

success is enticing more big-name traders. It is about developing

:16:38.:16:42.

more of an experience in store to complement retell presents and

:16:42.:16:46.

those retailers who can be as are the ones who will capitalise on the

:16:46.:16:50.

current spend and we move forward. Solihull seems to have a conveyor

:16:51.:16:55.

belt of people ready to spend money. It is one of the most affluent

:16:55.:16:59.

boroughs in the UK, but not everywhere will say the same. Back

:16:59.:17:02.

in Bromsgrove, Simon Mauri has got some elusive customers, but he is

:17:02.:17:05.

going to need many more to succeed and cover business rates of around

:17:05.:17:12.

�6,000 a year. How confident are you that this business will still

:17:12.:17:18.

be here in a year? It will be tough. I do not wanted to let this be any,

:17:18.:17:22.

this recession. A drop in tax and VAT is next on the shopping list of

:17:22.:17:27.

this independent trader. Well, I am joined now by Kevin

:17:27.:17:33.

Breese from Retail Birmingham. Thank you for coming in. Are you

:17:33.:17:37.

worried, or should we all be worried, about the number of empty

:17:37.:17:42.

shops? You are suddenly looking at one in ten shops in the UK and

:17:42.:17:46.

certainly the region. That is not too different to what it has been

:17:46.:17:50.

for a number of years and we have to remember that there will always

:17:50.:17:57.

be a churn and good retailers and not so good retailers. But that is

:17:57.:18:00.

not too different to the last couple of years and what we have to

:18:00.:18:06.

get used to is that it will be a tougher time for others. But we saw

:18:06.:18:10.

a shopkeeper in that report he was beside himself with worry, not

:18:10.:18:13.

getting people through the door like he was before the cuts so

:18:13.:18:22.

there is some correspondence between recent cuts. I think

:18:22.:18:26.

councils and bodies have to work harder. I do not think it is about

:18:26.:18:32.

a VAT decrees at all. What it is about his local Government making

:18:32.:18:37.

more abilities before the local traders. That is the single biggest

:18:37.:18:45.

problem. �6,000 in that small shop. The business rate is a massive

:18:45.:18:50.

amount of money. We have to push the Government to let that money

:18:50.:18:56.

estate in the regions. What we have to do is get it back and then use

:18:56.:19:00.

it for developing local economies. People like Birmingham retail, are

:19:00.:19:06.

you pushing for the Government to do that? We continually have a

:19:06.:19:11.

voice, working with people like British Retail Consortium. We have

:19:11.:19:15.

to help retailers across the whole of the region actually prosper, and

:19:15.:19:18.

whether that is an independent retailer or a shopping centre,

:19:18.:19:23.

everybody needs to work together. Briefly, we are hearing about the

:19:23.:19:27.

big shopping centres doing OK, people still going there,

:19:27.:19:31.

destination shopping, but do you think the humble high-street has a

:19:31.:19:36.

future, or is it dying out? It is absolutely must have. I have

:19:36.:19:41.

visited many shopping centres in the last 12 months. Birmingham is

:19:41.:19:45.

absolutely fantastic. We have to develop that more because it

:19:45.:19:53.

creates the excitement and not just cloned high streets. Thank you. On

:19:53.:19:56.

to sport and three of our rowers have made themselves favourites for

:19:56.:19:58.

Olympic gold after winning world titles over the weekend. Anna

:19:58.:20:01.

Watkins from Leek in Staffordshire triumphed in the double sculls,

:20:01.:20:03.

while there was also called for Gloucestershire's Alex Gregory in

:20:03.:20:07.

the men's four. And Zac Purchase from Tewkesbury looks a good bet to

:20:07.:20:09.

retain his Olympic crown after winning the lightweight sculls with

:20:09.:20:19.
:20:19.:20:22.

Rugby and rugby and Worcester began life back in the Premiership with

:20:22.:20:30.

an impressive win over Sale. They were rewarded with a 17-12 win,

:20:30.:20:40.
:20:40.:20:41.

including this try from Mark Now, a big week for clergy in

:20:41.:20:44.

Staffordshire, at least for those men of the cloth who wear

:20:44.:20:46.

cricketing whites. Bishops and reverends, ministers and lay

:20:46.:20:49.

preachers are bidding to retain the Church Times Cup, which they won

:20:49.:20:52.

last year. It is the oldest one-day cricket knockout cup competition in

:20:52.:20:58.

the world. So Ian Winter has been to meet the Lichfield Diocese team

:20:58.:21:02.

as they prepare for Thursday's cup final.

:21:02.:21:05.

In the very heart of Cannock, St Luke's Church has been a familiar

:21:05.:21:09.

landmark since 1100 AD. The Reverend Peter Hart cannot remember

:21:09.:21:12.

that far back, but he does have fond memories of his previous

:21:12.:21:18.

career as a professional footballer. But when he is not preparing for

:21:18.:21:21.

communion, the former captain of Walsall Football Club has another

:21:21.:21:29.

sporting passion. I do not talk about it a lot, to be perfectly

:21:29.:21:33.

honest, but people are interested and Maisie even surprised a little

:21:33.:21:39.

bit. -- maybe even surprised. Because the Reverend Hart is a very

:21:39.:21:42.

keen cricketer, and he is off to meet other members of the Lichfield

:21:42.:21:45.

Diocese Clergy team for their last practice match before Thursday's

:21:45.:21:55.
:21:55.:22:00.

final. We will be doing our utmost to bring the cup back to Lichfield

:22:00.:22:04.

Diocese but again, as long as we play well as a team, we will enjoy

:22:04.:22:10.

it and we have got a chance. This restaurant has arrived just in time

:22:11.:22:19.

for the toss. He is also a Methodist superintendent and he has

:22:19.:22:24.

a good excuse for being late. doing a funeral. You would never

:22:24.:22:31.

get Andrew Strauss saying that. you would not. But you would never

:22:31.:22:36.

get in to captain this model I've! They are a very accomplished

:22:36.:22:40.

cricket team. Last year they got their name on the Church Times Cup

:22:40.:22:47.

and they are in no mood to loosen their grip on the silverware. Derek

:22:47.:22:52.

two bishops from Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury, but neither of them

:22:52.:22:58.

will be on the bench on Thursday. I understand it has not been retained

:22:58.:23:02.

for the last 20 years or so by any team, so that will be an

:23:02.:23:08.

achievement in itself. It gave a real feel-good buzz around the

:23:08.:23:14.

diocese. Do you pray before a match like this? We do not, note. But

:23:14.:23:21.

with thank God for the enjoyable game we are going to have. Do not

:23:21.:23:26.

be surprised if the game gets a mention in Sunday's sermon at St

:23:26.:23:30.

Luke's Church. Quite right, too! Let's hope it

:23:30.:23:39.

will be good weather for this. I Yes, a bit of a mish-mash of

:23:39.:23:43.

whether this week. Hopefully by the end of the week it should be

:23:43.:23:47.

warming up a little bit. It is definitely dominated by low

:23:47.:23:50.

pressure and you can see the swathes of Blue passing through and

:23:50.:23:58.

that is the rain. The wind is not - - is quite strong. One of the

:23:58.:24:08.

wetter periods this week will be tonight. This rain will be moving

:24:08.:24:12.

in by about midnight, through the early annas and you can see from

:24:12.:24:17.

the darker colour that there are quite a few in Test bus. -- the

:24:17.:24:22.

early hours. -- A few intense bursts. The wind will be

:24:22.:24:27.

strengthening as the rain heads in, so quite a wet and windy end to the

:24:28.:24:32.

night, setting us off for the day tomorrow. With in the rain moving

:24:32.:24:40.

quite quickly, by the time most of you are in -- heading into work, it

:24:40.:24:46.

will be better. Quite sunny by the afternoon. The odd shower.

:24:47.:24:52.

Temperatures rising to 17 Celsius or 18 Celsius tomorrow. It will

:24:52.:24:59.

feel cooler in the wind. Gusts of up to 35mph. For Wednesday, showers

:24:59.:25:04.

and sunshine. We have rain for Thursday, showers on Friday that

:25:04.:25:14.
:25:14.:25:15.

temperatures will start to look up Well, of course, September is the

:25:15.:25:19.

peak time of year to pick apples, and it is a really good crop this

:25:19.:25:22.

year. Many, though, go to waste, left unpicked in suburban gardens.

:25:22.:25:25.

But a group calling itself the Urban Fruit Collective aims to end

:25:25.:25:28.

all that and it will be giving the fruit away free, as Kevin Reide has

:25:28.:25:32.

been finding out. A typical back garden in Coventry

:25:32.:25:37.

and a treat with more than enough apples to go around. -- an apple

:25:37.:25:44.

tree. Now these volunteers are harvesting them for others.

:25:44.:25:48.

next door neighbours were having their Pears picked and we saw some

:25:48.:25:51.

body in the true. They called around and saw our apples and said

:25:51.:25:55.

could they pick them if we did not use them, to give away to people

:25:55.:26:00.

who would like them. This is where they end up, added food bank in

:26:00.:26:04.

Coventry City centre. This is great. We are always looking for new

:26:04.:26:09.

sources of food and this time of year, with the harvest and fruit

:26:09.:26:12.

coming in, it is good to connect with a group willing to go out

:26:12.:26:18.

there and collect. It is developing community togetherness, saving

:26:18.:26:25.

wasted fruit and healthy vegetables as well. And helping people and

:26:25.:26:30.

sharing things out. Stopping the food going to waste. This weekend's

:26:30.:26:35.

harvest was particularly successful. From one tree alone, they were able

:26:35.:26:39.

to collect enough apples to fill seven of these boxes. For this

:26:39.:26:44.

mother and daughter, they are some of the first to benefit. She and

:26:44.:26:49.

her partner are both unemployed and reliant on food handouts. This week

:26:49.:26:55.

it relies on some of the -- it includes some of the fruit harvest.

:26:55.:27:02.

It is a good idea. It is early days yet, but with such a good harvest,

:27:02.:27:05.

help us of all ages are being drafted in. Some more willing than

:27:05.:27:12.

others. Mother has been shoving me up trees.

:27:12.:27:19.

I think she is all right! Let's take a look at the headlines. As

:27:19.:27:22.

the first free schools start the lessons, the Government insists

:27:22.:27:25.

they will not be just for the privileged few.

:27:25.:27:29.

And police were am prepared and too slow to respond to the Birmingham

:27:29.:27:36.

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