:00:00. > :00:10.There's more throughout the evening on the
:00:11. > :00:14.Good evening. There are calls for the government to intervene to
:00:15. > :00:18.stimulate development on derelict brownfield land in city centres It
:00:19. > :00:25.comes as more house builders try to put in plans for housing on rural
:00:26. > :00:28.greenfield land instead. Thousands of terraced homes were meant to be
:00:29. > :00:33.knocked down across Stoke`on`Trent under the National Pathfinddr
:00:34. > :00:36.Programme. In some parts of the city neighbourhoods have been rebuilt,
:00:37. > :00:44.but in many others developers are yet to move in. People come down and
:00:45. > :00:50.see it... They don't want to buy. They're an eyesore. It would make a
:00:51. > :00:55.world of a difference. It would make the area nicer. More people would
:00:56. > :00:58.want to live here. In 2003, leaders in North Staffordshire hoped their
:00:59. > :01:03.renewal scheme would lead to the demolition of around 14,500 houses.
:01:04. > :01:07.But by the time the governmdnt scrapped the scheme three ydars ago,
:01:08. > :01:13.less than 2,000 had actuallx been knocked down. They also hopdd 1 ,500
:01:14. > :01:19.would be rebuilt. By 2011, only a few hundred had been completed.
:01:20. > :01:22.There is finally progress though. On this urban site, 140 homes `re being
:01:23. > :01:25.built, but the council here admits developing brownfield land hs
:01:26. > :01:30.difficult, so there are calls for the government to intervene. The
:01:31. > :01:32.government needs to have a programme, above its afford`ble
:01:33. > :01:40.programme, to get brownfield land cracking again. They need to get the
:01:41. > :01:45.balance between brownfield `nd greenfield. A large part of the
:01:46. > :01:47.problem is land like this in nearby Newcastle`under`Lyme. Locals are
:01:48. > :01:51.against it, but developers want to build around 100 houses herd ` and
:01:52. > :01:55.they find it easier thanks to a change in the law two years ago But
:01:56. > :01:57.on this week's Sunday Polithcs in the Midlands, a former Environment
:01:58. > :02:02.Secretary insisted the countryside can be protected and brownfheld land
:02:03. > :02:05.can flourish. The advantage of a brownfield site is that the
:02:06. > :02:10.infrastructure is already there and it's usually close to work. It's a
:02:11. > :02:13.more sustainable solution. Despite the priorities of developers, the
:02:14. > :02:25.government insists it current planning policies do prioritise
:02:26. > :02:29.derelict urban areas. There has been a drowning at a
:02:30. > :02:32.popular beauty spot in Reddhtch West Mercia Police say it h`ppened
:02:33. > :02:35.around lunchtime, at Five Ttnnels, on a stretch of river to thd north
:02:36. > :02:38.of the town. Onlookers described seeing two boys wrapped in towels
:02:39. > :02:41.near the scene. A police spokeswoman said a youth was declared ddad
:02:42. > :02:43.shortly afterwards. Detectives have launched a lurder
:02:44. > :02:47.investigation after a woman was stabbed at a house in Redditch. The
:02:48. > :02:50.21`year`old, who hasn't been named, died in hospital earlier thhs
:02:51. > :02:53.morning. A 29`year`old man, who was arrested at the scene on Evdsham
:02:54. > :02:57.Road yesterday, remains in police custody.
:02:58. > :03:01.The search is continuing for a baby who was taken by her mother during a
:03:02. > :03:04.supervised visit to foster parents on Friday. Lola Page, who's 13
:03:05. > :03:07.months old, was being cared for by a foster family in Walsall whdn her
:03:08. > :03:10.18`year`old mother Stacey B`ll visited her on Friday afternoon
:03:11. > :03:14.Stacey was wearing a long black wig, as seen in this photograph, which
:03:15. > :03:20.was taken just before they went missing.
:03:21. > :03:23.St Patrick's Day revellers descended on Birmingham to enjoy celebrations
:03:24. > :03:26.in the sun as the city stagdd its annual parade. The event is the
:03:27. > :03:34.third largest in the world, topped only by Dublin and New York. Joanne
:03:35. > :03:37.Writtle reports. A confetti canon heralded the start of the St
:03:38. > :03:41.Patrick's Day celebrations, with the Birmingham Irish Pipes and Drums
:03:42. > :03:48.leading the parade. Organisdrs immediately declared the dax a
:03:49. > :03:52.success. It's a day when thd city turns green. All the other lajor
:03:53. > :03:55.cities in England also go green with envy, because when we invitd
:03:56. > :04:04.everyone ` regardless of colour creed and religion ` they come down
:04:05. > :04:08.and enjoy this special day with us. Colour and fun were the orddr of the
:04:09. > :04:20.day, with those who moved to Birmingham many years ago ott in
:04:21. > :04:28.force. I came over in 1966. I like to support the Irish, espechally on
:04:29. > :04:36.this day. It's a fantastic atmosphere here. There are tens of
:04:37. > :04:40.thousands of people on the street. I love the parade. I've never missed
:04:41. > :04:43.one. I'm excited because it's the first one I've ever been to.
:04:44. > :04:52.Everybody comes from differdnt places to celebrate! St Patrick s
:04:53. > :05:01.Day is of course tomorrow. But by then, organisers say they'll already
:05:02. > :05:04.be preparing for next year's parade. And the BBC's website has a feature
:05:05. > :05:08.looking at Irish immigrant numbers in Birmingham. It asks whether they
:05:09. > :05:10.are the force in the city that they once were?
:05:11. > :05:12.One football result today. Hn League One, a 2`2 draw for Coventrx City
:05:13. > :05:24.and Port Vale. Let's have a look at the we`ther
:05:25. > :05:27.forecast for the week now. Here s Sara Blizzard. Good evening. It was
:05:28. > :05:31.a real bonus today, holding on to those lovely clear skies for quite a
:05:32. > :05:34.time. The cloud is going to increase further. Over Stoke`on`Trent it will
:05:35. > :05:41.be thick enough to produce patchy rain or drizzle. Six Celsius the
:05:42. > :05:51.temperature. Tomorrow starts off grey. Possibly more brightndss in
:05:52. > :06:02.the afternoon. Daytime tempdrature of 14 Celsius. We'll see it become
:06:03. > :06:09.windy through the week. Goodbye for now.
:06:10. > :06:17.Good evening. Apologies for sounding Southeast centric, but it is
:06:18. > :06:20.difficult when London had a high of 20 this afternoon, 68 Fahrenheit.
:06:21. > :06:30.Lovely sunshine across England, Wales and eastern Scotland. Some
:06:31. > :06:33.cloud on west facing coasts, and they struggle to get into double
:06:34. > :06:39.figures. More cloud in the week ahead. Brain from time to time and
:06:40. > :06:43.not quite as warm as we have had in recent days. -- rain. There will be
:06:44. > :06:48.cloud dragging across the country through the night. Showery rain
:06:49. > :06:49.continuing in the north-west of Scotland.