09/08/2013 Midlands Today

Hello, and welcome to Midlands Today with Nick Owen and Mary Rhodes. The

headlines tonight: The Public, an arts and media centre in West

Bromwich that was controversial, costly and now closing. We will be

really upset. Where do we go? comes as the importance of tourism

to the economy is increasing and numbers of tourists Sara. -- are up.

Tourists brought in �6 billion to Birmingham and the Black Country

last year and this year could be better. It's essential, not just to

Dudley and the Black Country but to the West Midlands as a whole.

staff spread too thinly- why one accident and emergency department in

Shropshire may shut. Wizards of the web - the youngsters cracking the

code for business success in the future. The weather is eerily quiet.

We have ditched the heat and thunderstorms. What is in the

crystal balls for the weekend? Join of the line for a project that's

cost tens of millions of pounds of public money, The Public arts centre

in West Bromwich. Last night on Midlands Today we brought you news

of an uncertain future, we now know it's to close. From day one it's

been dogged by controversy, opening two years late in 2008 just as the

recession hit. The Public was supposed to put West Bromwich on the

cultural map but critics branded it a �70 million white elephant.

Recently, though, visitor numbers have risen - 380,000 last year.

Today, Sandwell Council revealed it can no longer afford �1.6 million a

year in running costs. Here's Giles Latcham with reaction to today's

announcement. Overly expensive and underused - the

story of The Public is all too familiar. And now the council wants

it shut by the end of November. Ironic, says the woman in charge,

given visitor numbers are up. think it is a shame for all of the

people that care and love this building, and all of those people

that spoke out, signed petitions and did other things to save it, that

there voice has not been heard. Opened five years ago, The Public

came to be known as the pink elephant. A report branded it not

fit for purpose. Ambitious interactive displays were plagued by

technical problems and the council had to rescue it from administration

as costs soared. No one from the council was available for interview.

In a statement, they said that the decision to close the building has

not been easy, but they cannot continue subsidising it to the tune

of nearly �1.5 million each year. That money is council taxpayer's

money. They say that in the face of cuts from central government, that

cannot carry on. But supporters say it is more than an art gallery and

the completion of a new shopping centre next door gave it a new lease

of life. Ever since the square has opened, there have been bands out

here. I've seen quite a lot of people. I don't think it should be

shut down, it's a nice building and it gives a creative touch. On the

top floor, small businesses rent space. This IT firm say the landmark

building is a hit with their clients in the Middle East. They now plan to

leave the borough. We purely came here because of the building. I

think it suited our business. We decided to come here. But, apart

from that, I don't think there is very much going on in Sandwell.

on the ground floor the weekly knitting circle are at a loss.

come here every Friday and meet up. We have become really close friends.

We will be really upset, Sandwell College could yet open a sixth form

on the site, but that's far from Sandwell Council, but no one was

The TaxPayers' Alliance. What is your reaction to the news of this

closure? It has been a sorry tale from beginning to end. People said

it was iconic. As far as I can tell, it is an icon to bad budgeting and

bad planning. A building that was supposed to cost �38 million and

ended up costing �72 million. It is sitting there now as a white

elephant, seeping away �1.5 million per year of taxpayer money. Is

�35,000 a week. Absolutely unsustainable. What would represent

value for money for taxpayers? council has to put into the public

domain what the options are, and ensure value for money is delivered.

Whether that is handing over to Sandwell College or looking at an

alternative solution to recoup as much money as possible. It is a huge

amount of taxpayer money that has gone on this project. At a time when

the council is having to make savings, the last thing it can

afford is to lose money at this kind of rate. But they need to get a move

on, because a mothballed building costs money? Of course, and they

must get on and make a decision, and make sure it is made in the open and

transparently, so people can see the options they are weighing up. They

also need to make sure they make the right decision. When the decision

was made to build this thing in the first place, it was very much the

wrong decision. Don't the people of West Bromwich deserves some kind of

arts facility? It had a slow start, but we had 380,000 visitors last

year. Where do they go now? I think it was far too ambitious in the

beginning. That is clear now. Even if visiting numbers have slightly

risen, you cannot justify that �30,000 per week subsidy for that

building. People will come up with their own solutions. I am sure that

the community will come together and look at ways, alternative venues,

where they can host events and meat. Perhaps in the longer term, they

could look to a slightly less ambitious way of ringing people

together for artistic reasons. The news of that closure comes just

as tourism in the region is on the up. Our hottest summer in years has

brought an increase in visitors, but could more be done to bring in those

ringed tailed lemurs are up nice and early for the expected summer

holiday visitors. While over at the meerkat enclosure, the tourist train

has just arrived. The zoo's been here for over 70 years, but new

generations keep arriving in their droves. In fact, visitor numbers in

the Black Country are up by 2%. wanted to see their favourite

animals. The animals and the train, he loves the train. Overall

attendance has been up, we have been doing well. This year, we are up

17%. In fact, 25 million visitors came last year. Tourism might be big

business, but it could be bigger. Tourism has become more and more

important to the Black Country, not least since the decline in

manufacturing in the 1980s and '90s. And it's reached the point now where

the visitor economy is seen as essential to the future of this

area. Birmingham and the Black Country's working on cross

promotion, but there are fears the region will be left behind. It is

absolutely essential that the government gives more money to this

part of the world to develop tourism. It's not just a question of

developing tourism. The future of the West Midlands is at stake. We

had to pull our finger out, get together and make sure we punch

above our weight. The last ten years, we have been falling behind.

Blists Hill in Telford is one of the biggest attractions in the region -

tourism here is a big employer. They say it's important the region as a

whole works together. Tourism has always been one of these sleeping

giants. Recent years, with things like foot and mouth, it has helped

people focus on the value of tourism in the local and national economy.

It is slowly getting up there. In Shropshire, tourism is the third

most important employer. sunshine's brought people out, but

it's continued investment will bring the midlands out of the shadows.

Coming up later in the programme: Coventry City's first home match of

the season this weekend, 35 miles away in Northampton. How many fans

will go? Another accident and emergency unit

is under threat tonight. Health chiefs across Shropshire say it's

unrealistic to have two in the county. They want to open up a

debate about the future of health care. It could lead to the closure

of an A&E department, but building a new hospital hasn't been ruled out.

Here's our health correspondent, off a plan to downgrade its accident

and emergency department. Save children's services! In 2011,

Shrewsbury fought and lost children's and maternity services in

favour of Telford 2013. And health chiefs have begun yet another debate

about the future of health care in Shropshire and haven't ruled out a

single hospital. We need to design a model that is fit for the future,

really. We haven't come up with any decisions as regards what that model

looks like, whether it is two or one hospital. We have been clear on the

consultation process. It needs to be clinically led. If an accident and

emergency were to be lost, Telford is the most likely because it is

less remote. They have been trying to find a solution for over a

decade, and it is not going to be easy because Shropshire is such a

large county. Both A&E departments are rammed to the gunwales. There

are 110,000 patients passing through each year and both are struggling

with capacity. But a �70 million new children's and maternity unit is

being built in Telford. Can that be safe without emergency cover?

we want to do is actually look at the way we provide services for

urgent care in a different fashion. Perhaps we need to stop thinking

about traditional A&Es. There are a whole group of people that could

come into the inpatient assessment areas and not go anywhere near A&E,

and that is the best care for them. The people of Shropshire just seem

frustrated by the need to fight. can just get on to politicians to

see if it helps, but will it help? We are near to Telford, so I would

be pretty upset. The reality is there isn't enough money or doctors

- but making services safe here will prove one of the hardest challenges

in our region. The body of Daniel Pelka, the

four-year-old who was abused and then murdered by his mother and her

partner in Coventry, has been released to his family. It follows

the end of the court case last week. Daniel's father Eryck has now been

given custody of his body and is said to be planning a funeral in

Poland. Six men have been convicted of a

range of violent offences committed during a birthday party that ended

with the death of a 16-year-old boy. Ben Morutare died in July last year

after he was stabbed in the leg. He'd been at a party at the Old

Comrades Club in Smethwick. An 18-year-old admitted his

manslaughter, a 19-year-old pleaded guilty to violent disorder, while

four other men were convicted on the same charge earlier this week.

The veteran Birmingham heavy metal band Black Sabbath are to be named

as living legends at a music ceremony hosted by a rock magazine

later this year. Frontman Ozzy Osbourne is expected to attend the

event in London with fellow band members Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi

in November. The group has recently enjoyed being top of the charts with

the album 13. They're also in the running to be named Band of the

Year. Coventry City Football Club are

facing millions of pounds in lost ticket sales while they play home

matches in Northampton for the next three seasons. The first one is on

Sunday. Attendances are likely to fall from close to 11,000 per game

to as low as 2,000. The club claim leaving the Ricoh Arena and building

their own stadium is vital to their long-term financial future. But

large numbers of fans are refusing to go with them. Nick Clitheroe has

spent the day with one of those supporters. Buying tickets to watch

Coventry City this weekend, but Michael Orton won't be travelling to

Northampton to see the first team. Instead he'll be at the Ricoh to

watch a team of club legends play a charity match. Michael is one of

thousands of fans of the Sky Blues planning to boycott their home games

this season. So this morning I took Michael on the 70 mile round trip to

Northampton to dig further into why feelings are so strong among the

fans about a plan which would see Coventry City play in Northampton

for at least three years, while the club build a new ground near

Coventry. Football clubs should be kept in their community, with all of

the traditions. This is what it feels like, going somewhere very

different. This is not Coventry, this is not our home. Michael wasn't

comfortable going into the ground, so we moved to the heights

overlooking Sixfields dubbed Jimmy's Hill by the fans. There is no future

for a Coventry City team in Northampton. It is as simple as

that. The very future of our club is in danger. If we want to keep

Coventry City, our club and our team, we need to get it back into

commentary. At a fans Forum, Tim Fisher revealed his best and worst

case scenarios for the move. team does really well, and people

like to watch winning football. We look at comparable is, other teams

have done it, you could get between 6000 and 7000 following. If the team

doesn't do so well, we could get that number as low as three. From

the numbers we have seen, 2000 could be optimistic. When they run out, it

will start a new chapter in the club's history, but maybe not one

that many will want to remember. You've been getting in touch about

what Coventry City fans should do. Lee Clark wrote on Facebook that he

wouldn't be renewing his season ticket as he feels cheated by the

club. Rob Knowles said that, while he respected the decision of those

fans who'd be travelling to see the match, he wouldn't be. And he's

hating the divide the changes have caused. Mo Farooq got in touch via

Twitter to say it was worthless to travel to another county for a home

game. Kelly Brown emailed to say she too won 't be going to Northampton -

she'll only take her family if they Our top story tonight: The Public -

an arts centre in West Bromwich that was controversial, costly and now -

closing. Your detailed weather forecast to come shortly. Also in

tonight's programme, recycling Godiva. Coventry's celebration of

the Olympic spirit heads home after a revamp. And from Premier League to

non-league. Why this ex-Spurs star is turning out for nothing for a

Hundreds of young people from all over the country are spending the

weekend in Birmingham for a massive "code camp" - a chance to come

together and create websites and phone apps, fuelled by pizza. The

idea is to inspire a generation of young computer programmers and our

Science Correspondent David Gregory-Kumar is with them now. So,

David, tell us more. This spring out of an idea in 2009, when volunteers

thought they would hold a camp. They threw open the Google headquarters.

They had space for 50 young people and only three were interested in

turning up. Clearly, something had gone wrong. Given that programming

is so important to the economy, it looked like the UK was in trouble.

Fast forward to today and things look much healthier. All week,

hundreds of kids have been working away at projects in centres across

the country. This one is at BBC Birmingham. It is a great

opportunity for teenagers to come out, work together, learn some code

and, at the end of it, have a project they can be proud of having

developed. It is not just teaching is about code, it's a lot about the

actual environment we will be going into if we go into development as a

career. The young developers are encouraged to work with data that's

available for free on the internet and come up with interesting ideas

for it. So, for example, one group has been playing around with online

maps and police crime data to produce a very different kind of

satnav. It is a snippet of Google maps, which shows on the website. It

shows where the high crime rate places are. So you can choose the

safest route and also get directions to it. And these programmers of the

future have already acquired the trendy internet hatred of vowels in

is a bit noisy with hundreds of children in there. With me is Emma

Mulqueeny from Young Rewired State. There is a big history of people

programming in their bedrooms and setting up big video game companies

for example. When did we fall out of that? It just became too easy, the

smart phones became too exciting and easy. It became much more simple for

these kids to interact with a game as a consumer, rather than creating

their own entertainment. It was forcing themselves to create their

own entertainment all of those years ago that made them invent those

wonderful games. Going back a bit, I remember programming with my mates,

but we were spotty young boys. Is that starting to change as well?

certainly is, there are a lot more girls interested. The whole thing is

becoming more mainstream. The spotty nerds thing is really stopping. You

can see from the children that we have a lot of different types of

children. Girls, definitely, are starting younger. They are learning

to code when they are seven or eight years old, with their parents, or

they are getting the idea from their friends at school. Getting them in

earlier is baking a big difference. Thank you very much. As well as free

pizza, there is also a free ice cream van. It is geek heaven here.

If I do and have to work, I would be here as well. The details will be on

the Facebook page. -- if I didn't have to work.

One of those coders, Lily, was just ten. Amazing.

Last minute preparations are underway for Coventry's Olympic Lady

Godiva to make a triumphant return to her home city tomorrow. The 18

foot puppet was pedalled to the capital by a team of cyclists last

year to represent the region as part of the cultural celebrations for

London 2012. Joanne Writtle caught up with them at a secret base

outside Coventry. A spectacular Lady Godiva puppet

wowed crowds from Coventry to London in 2012, in a dress designed by

Zandra Rhodes, and a coat by local artists. Today, though, at an

undisclosed location outside Coventry, efforts were being made to

cover her. Lady Godiva was looking as she did when she famously rode on

horseback through Coventry in protest against high taxes. Naked.

We are just putting Godiva's dress on, to give her some modesty well we

take her out. Last year the weather battered her. So in preparation for

her return to Coventry, she's had a make over: She had a hair do, she

had her feet painted, she has a new neck because she got whiplash. Roger

Medwell led a mechanical team from 17 engineering companies in

Coventry. It's always very busy, maintaining the bikes, Lady Godiva,

it's a bigger job cleaning her and keeping her ready to go at all

times. Some of the cyclists who pedalled her to London will take

part in her theatrical homecoming celebrations tomorrow. Others are

new. Jane McGaffney started cycling just three years ago, Market Drayton

is famous for gingerbread, sausages I learned to ride a bike and then

did 400 miles for charity. How much are you looking forward to tomorrow?

I can't tell you how delighted I am. More than 1500 people are expected

to follow Godiva around the country ring road tomorrow. There will be an

bikes, unicycles, roller-skates or simply on foot. -- they will be on

bikes. Market Drayton is famous for gingerbread, sausages and as the

home of Robert Clive - Clive of India. But not famous - so far,

anyway, for its football. Our reporter Ben Sidwell is in the

Shropshire market town for us tonight. Ben is that all about to

fields, the home of Market Drayton. It could be a bumper crowd for the

visit of Stoke city. Many of them will be coming to see the former

Tottenham, Wigan and Blackburn Rovers player Pascal Chimbonda, who

is now playing for all here, for The Gingerbread Men. London, population

8.4 million. Home of Premier League Tottenham Hotspur. Market Drayton,

Shropshire. The relation 11,773. Home of division one South side

Market Drayton Town. In footballing terms, miles apart. But there is a

link. This man. Pascal Chimbonda. has been good, you know? To have 90

minutes, every time I play a game, that is good. The fitness, it

improves, you know? If I want to play again at a high level, I need

to have a game like this and training. A French international

with 143 Premier League games under his belt, nobody expected him to

turn out for a club still four promotions away from league

football. Does everybody won his shirt? I suppose you can't afford

too many? If people want to pay for his shirt, we would be happy to give

it. But I don't think the directors would be happy about me giving them

away for fun. What is more, he is not being paid to play. I think I

need to pay them back, because they let me train and have some fun.

the dressing room, still shock at their team-mate. What he has done,

the World Cup, it's fantastic, it gives the lads a big boost. It gives

us a massive lift and gets the fans wanting to watch, just to see him in

a Market Drayton shirt. It's huge. With an average attendance of 75

last season, they will be hoping to hang onto their star player for as

long as possible. Well, Pascal Chimbonda is with us now. You are

still only 34, just a couple of years ago you were playing in the

Premier League. Great fun, but I bet there is something more, you want to

play at a high level? I want to be at a high level, because that is

where I belong. I hope to go up, and I will enjoy every time I spend

here, I will enjoy it. Hopefully in the future I will be in a good team

and enjoying my football again. have to let you go, the manager has

told me you have to get changed. Thank you for joining us. Let's

speak to the vice-chairman. This is publicity money cannot buy?

Absolutely, fantastic for the club and the town. It's great watching so

may people here, hopefully watching a great game of football. There must

be a real buzz around, to have somebody like this? I've been in the

pubs and the town, people have been talking about it, enjoying a great

day of football. Do you think you can keep hold of him for a while?

hope so, for a few more games. have got the programme here. I have

had a sneaky word with the manager. Between you and me, exclusive team

news, he will start the game today. A lot of bands here are very happy

to see that. -- fans. They are opening their clubhouse. There are

huge celebrations at Market Drayton town. What a surprise, he is going

to start! eyes on the weather forecast. This

one is not working to shabby. There will be some usable weather. I saw

yesterday's rain clearing this morning, giving a good sprinkling

for the gardens. Behind that, a ridge of high pressure settling down

nicely. We will be keeping that quiet weather into tomorrow. Mostly

dry through tomorrow. Quite a lot of cloud around at times, but some

brighter bits in that cloud and spells of sunshine. It will feel

warmer, with the wind a lot lighter. The wind has been gusty with a bit

of sunshine here and there. But it is looking like a fine evening. The

cloud will melt away for a time this evening. The cloud will be

thickening up later in the night. Quite a lot of cloud. But despite

that it will be fairly nippy. Temperatures down to 11 or 12

degrees in the towns. They could nip down into single figures for rural

spots. We could start the day at about eight or nine degrees. A

bright start, with some sunshine around early on. The small chance of

a shower clipping northern parts of Shropshire and Staffordshire. Even

those will be fading away later on. A dry and brighter picture, the

cloud will come and go. Temperatures are disappointing, but feeling a

little bit warmer with lighter wind. Sunday, we have weather fronts

creeping up on Sunday. We might be lucky and get them nipping us into

the morning on Sunday. In general, I think we are looking at the greater

chance of a shower on Sunday. Even those could fade away. Try and

brighter bits. Feeling cooler and fresher, with highs of 90 degrees.

The chance of a shower on Monday and Tuesday, but warmer and brighter

Let's recap tonight's top stories: An investigation begins into the

Government's controversial posters telling illegal immigrants to 'go

home'. And The Public - an arts centre in West Bromwich that was