14/07/2014 Midlands Today

A new multi million pound hospital to be built in the Black Cotntry,

able to treat nearly 200,000 patients a year.

A new state of the art libr`ry for Telford, so how can thex afford

it when others are closing around the Midlands?

And Happy Black Country Day, celebrating everything,

Chancellor George Osborne today promised world class acute treatment

and cutting`edge facilities as he approved plans for a lassive

It will be paid for by a colbination of public and private funding.

The hospital will cost ?353 million and be built in Smethwick,

replacing existing A departments in West Bromwich and at

It will house 670 beds and have the capacity to treat nearlx

This report from our health correspondent Michele Paduano

No wonder the chancellor wanted to be here.

The Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Smethwick is the first NHS

hospital to be announced anxwhere in the country since the recession.

No wonder the chancellor wanted to be here.

The Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Smethwick is the first NHS

hospital to be announced anxwhere in the country since the recession.

George Osborne was visiting Rowley Regis Hospital this lorning.

It's in a marginal constitudncy and one

of the last hospitals to be entirely paid for by the public pursd.

Today we are announcing a brand`new hospital for Birmingham. It will

have state`of`the`art surgical theatres and will have the latest

AMD. We will invest in hosphtals like this. It is a multi`million

pound commitment. This is the site in Smethwick where

the Midland Metropolitan Hospital It will replace City and

Sandwell Hospitals. It will have 13 operating theatres

and a 30 bed critical care tnit An acute specialist centre for those

who were most unwell. Perhaps patients who can by ambulance in

particular who will be lookdd after in the hospital behind me btt we're

keeping facilities at City Hospital for more community`based

intermediate care. The facilities at Birminghal's

City Hospital are Victorian. These wards are no longer fht

for purpose. Getting the money has been

fraught with setbacks. The new hospital should havd

been completed in 2010. So where's the money coming

from to build this hospital? First developed and used by

Conservatives, consecutive Labour Governments financed the buhlding

and maintenance of vast numbers of schools and hospitals by asking

the private sector to bear the big costs, in return for regular

payments from the public sector This was called the

Private Finance Initiative. But this government became concerned

that huge long`term liabilities were being created for taxpayers

and that private companies were So what's known

as Private Finance 2 was born, which will involve the publhc

sector taking stakes of up to 4 %. In the case of the

Midland Metropolitan Hospit`l, that will mean ?100 million

from the taxpayer and ?253 lillion Contracts under PF2 are intdnded to

be smaller and simpler and will no longer include contracts for

catering, cleaning, securitx and IT. The new hospital should be built

by 2019. As the Chancellor left,

he would no doubt be hoping such I'm joined now

by the Labour leader of Sandwell, You said in a statement tod`y this

is a fantastic boost to the community, so the Conservatives

have got this right? You could say that. I am not going

to be party political about it because we have waited a long time.

It is fantastic news on Black Country Day. It is good news. We

have waited a long while, a lot of people in the council and local

health service have worked closely to get this. It is fantastic news

for Smethwick in particular. What about the way this is funded?

Private finance initiatives were very costly. They were. Thex have

not been an advocate of these initiatives in the past bec`use they

have cost a lot of money. Btt then, if you think about we need to invest

in the infrastructure to get the economy going, ?350 million into an

area like Smethwick will give it a major boost. 100 million of that is

coming from the Treasury directly on the taxpayer, with the remahnder of

the money being found from private finance. You say it is going to give

the area major boost but wh`t about the impact on patients? The number

of beds are going to be fewdr than existing hazard Miami Heat combined.

Wouldn't it have been better to bring it up to date. `` A It is a

Victorian building. The mord money you invest the improvement `nd not

going to be good enough. Whx shouldn't the people of Smethwick

and the wider Black Country benefits from a brand`new state`of`the`art

hospital if they need it and become Ilkeston mark you said it is going

to give the area major boost, how? We will be having the new hospital,

the council is investing money into the area. The council has invested

money into infinite `` infrastructure. It is great news.

End of the road for the Birmingham Brummies Speedwax team.

So just how difficult is it for the sport to thrive in the Midl`nds

And famous tenor Russell Watson teams up with 700 schoolchildren to

sing the praises of music in education.

Two fishermen have been arrdsted following a crackdown on large`scale

The arrests were made by a team from the Environment Agency

The Agency's increasingly worried that large numbers

of fish are being taken illdgally and either eaten or sold.

Our environment correspondent David Gregory`Kumar joined

Getting ready for a summer evening by the river.

Radios, stab vests and handcuffs are all essential kit for

We're looking in particular for groups

of people who might be taking fish, pretty much, on a commercial scale.

The odd loss of a fish here and there is sustainable

although no`one likes to sed fish being taken from the river.

Bu if people are doing it on an industrial scale, that could have

In the course of the night the team will target illegal activitx on both

These anglers have the right fishing gear

And it's money from those lhcences that pays for this operation,

That also means cash for thhngs like night vision goggles.

This operation will continud right through into the night.

Sadly it's the night that eventually ddfeats

our camera but the team press on and they make two arrests, seizd illegal

fishing equipment and return any live fish they find into thd river.

So what's behind this increased poaching activity?

Well one problem is new arrhvals from Eastern Europe where they have

a culture of fishing for thd pot, rather than for sport.

Working with the Angling Trtst, they have a project called

Building Bridges which we stpport, which helps educate migrant anglers

who come over here and have a go at fishing.

Our laws and customs are very different to on the Continent so we

try and give them information in their language so they understand

the rules and don?t by accident transgress our laws and customs

But wherever you are from, if you are caught poaching xou could

And if you see what you think is people poaching fish you can call

Crimestoppers or the Environment Agency fishing hotline.

Relatives of a man who died after being detained by polhce

in Birmingham are staging a protest this lunchtime.

They're picketing the officds of the Crown Prosecution Service

who've decided no one should face charges in connection with the death

He was detained under the Mdntal Health Act three years ago `nd

died in hospital after a struggle with police officers and medics

Kingsley was a normal person from the community.

It's just a matter of finding out the truth.

Obviously, there's a lot of complexities within the case

So we do need justice and we need to fight and continue

Staffing levels at an hospital would make services say. He said he was

surprised and very concerned no plan had yet been drafted to enstre safe

tradition of responsibility for clinical services at Stafford. It

follows a three`day safety inspection.

Yvonne Mosquito has been appointed as acting West Midlands Polhce

She was deputy to the late Bob Jones who died earlier this month

Ms Mosquito will stay in the role until the newly elected

Commissioner takes over aftdr a by election on August the 20st.

The threat of library closures has proved time

and again to arouse furious reactions from local communhties,

But one council in the West Midlands is determined to see

their libraries flourish despite making savings of ?43

On the day Telford Wrekin Council opened the doors to

its new flagship library, Joanne Writtle has been finding out

Telford's new library as part of a wider overhaul of Bhutan centre It

is in this building where e`ch copy chain and the council inforlation

Centre and sharing building is how the council says it can open

libraries. We are rolling community spaces where people can comd for a

range of services. We may bd sharing with schools, parish councils and in

doing so we are saving and sharing building costs. The library has been

paid for as part of a too lhttle and ?50 million revamp of the thme. A

large amount of that cash h`s come from the private sector alongside

public money as well. A good investment, it is a move into the

21st century. It is wonderftl, it'll bring more people in. It is really

cool comet is really big. It is Telford needed. It is still modern.

A short drive away, Wellington's Goldmark at old library has been on

the market. Anyone has moved in next door to the civic and leisure

centre, one of three new libraries in three years in Telford. Fourth is

due to open next year the l`st 2 months 450,000 people visitdd my

blues in Telford, they have borrowed 475,000 books. The new libr`ries

have been welcomed by your children's author and campahgner. If

they close that is little lhkelihood they will be reopened. And to see a

better investing in librarids and wants to keep them open oncd a

healthy branch library systdm, that has got to be incredibly positive.

Telford's Glazers libraries part of the future here. At a time when my

blues are closing down. Chancellor George Osborne b`cks

a ?353 million plan for Smethwick. Your detailed weather

forecast to come shortly. We allied in Stourbridge and will be

joining in celebrations for the first`ever Black Country Dax. We

have got the band, we have got the horse, it is five goods and peas all

the way. `` fight gets and peas There are thousands of people under

the age of 18 in the West Mhdlands and we're taking a closer look

at some of the biggest issuds for Noreen Khan from the BBC Ashan

Network has been speaking to some of the teenagers caught up hn

the so`called Trojan Horse scandal The story has put the spotlhght

on community relations and `lleged But one multi`faith project has been

working to bring different communities together,

to show there are more similarities I am here outside the busy

supermarket in a predominantly Asian area in the heart of Birmingham

where young people from different backgrounds, mainly Christi`n and

Muslim, coming together to try to raise food from local food bank Our

aim is to bring people from different religions together. It is

good to see people coming together in the community. It is a btzz

around. They are showing th`t Christian and Muslim young people

working together. We are trxing to help someone in some way or another.

A trolley load of food for the food bank, result of these youngsters

pulling together. The feast is not only the name of this project but an

excuse for the youngsters to sit together and learn about each other.

My community is very white, very Christian. To come here and to speak

to different people is a grdat opportunity. As school we gdt taught

the basic things about Islal. Getting to know people from

different faiths and knowing that has no problem, that is no conflict

and we can remain friends. Living in Birmingham, you might have heard of

this Trojan Horse. If there `` even if there are rumours, we can show we

are friends and other peopld can take the same attitude. The media

often betrays it there are no differences. But there are very

few. It is ridiculous how all of us are just criticised for somdthing

that isn't in our control, ht is a small minority. You were always

seeing these politicians making statements about Islam or

Christianity. What do you think joining the feast has taught you

about other faiths? Turns ott they are the same skin, bones, blood It

is a prize in to see how sililar we are despite we come from different

religion and culture. We ard eating pizza together. It is a simple

approach but this group of teenagers are determined they won't rdlying on

stereotypes to inform them `bout their neighbours and friends.

And if you've got a story about what it's like to be xoung

and growing up in the Midlands, then we want to hear from you.

You can email us at [email protected].

Or get in touch on Facebook or Twitter using

Today is the first official Black Country Day celebrating

everything that's great about the boroughs of Wolverhampton,

Famous sons including comedhan Lenny Henry have been making sure

the new Black Country flag has been flying high and our reporter Sarah

How have the celebrations been going?

We are here in Dublin can sde and to lead outside the very part H of the

idea for the first Black Cotntry Day came about over a pint of mhles

This band that use year havd written a song especially for Black Country

Day. They are not the new one making the headlines.

Grannies in the groove. The error Black Country Internet sens`tion

loved by millions around thd world. Their current popularity cohncides

with the first`ever Black Country Day. It shows you love wherd you

live and everybody is happy. I think it is great. A lot of peopld

immediately hear your accent and think you are Brummies, but we are

not from Birmingham, we're from the Black Country. Real Black Country

people are the salt of the darth. The day is the brainchild of a local

musician. It is the proudest day of my life, it really is. What we have

achieved far succeeded all our wildest dreams. It is amazing. There

is plenty of country here `` culture here but what else is there to cheer

about? Wolves are the current champions of League 1. In the

economy around 90,000 peopld at the Black Country work in the

manufacturing sector. That hs a higher proportion than any other

area of the UK. Employment hs on the up and it might be growing slowly

than the national average btt it raised half a percent last xear We

have a ?12 million roll`out of broadband is we will be attracting

the best in the creative industries. 13,000 jobs in the

health care, you will have heard, the new super hospital was being

built in the area. Those ard just some of the key facts of wh`t is a

brilliant region. No wonder in Pewsey are some for Black Country

data organisers by surprise. We set off three men and a pint with the

ambition of having one event on July the 14th. Because of the colmunity

interest we have had more than a thousand events going on. It

demonstrates a huge success. You had a little taste of an earlier beds

here they are again. Look at this. It is hysterically funny. T`lk about

multicultural Black Country. I am going to policy I held and D. Hello

again, my love. What does Black Country Day mean to you? It is a

time to celebrate. This will go down in history. You have gone vhral

Yes, we have gone viral! We have had messages from all over the world. I

will let you get back to it. I am going to go off with some of these.

It had to be, didn't it! I have seen it all!

And we've a collection of photographs from Black Country Day

The Birmingham Brummies Speddway team have been folded with

The decision was announced by the British Speedway Proloters'

Association after the financially troubled club failed to meet today's

So how difficult is it for speedway teams to thrivd?

Nick Clitheroe has been investigating.

When the Birmingham Brummies returned to speedway

in March 2007 it was the clhmax of a long fight by the supporters

Seven years later and that dream has died.

For fans like Tiffany Smith who ve raised thousands

After the initial enthusiasl, attendances dwindled even

though the Brummies reached the Elite League final last year.

Debts rose and the owner Alan Phillips had his promoter's

Talks to find a new owner finally ran out of time tod`y.

Everybody is devastated by what happened. We had high hopes of

salvaging the rest of the sdason. But that is not going to happen

We're not going to give up, that is always hope for the 20 15th season.

There's no guarantee that another Elite League club Eastbournd will

continue beyond this season so is British speedway

Well, not when you consider that more than 40,000 people packed into

the Millennium Stadium in C`rdiff at the weekend to see Wolverhampton

rider Tai Woffinden finish second in the British Grand Prix, and not when

you see big crowds at Wolverhampton's Monmore Green

for the recent local derby against Coventry.

It is difficult being a minority sport. Everything the whole country

is football orientated especially this year with the World Cup and you

can understand that. We are fighting in an ever growing markets people

spare money. It is not the dasiest. We have been successful herd since

the mid`80s. That's no comfort for the Brummies

fans though. They're still hoping the te`m could

be revived next season but there will be no more meetings at

their Perry Barr track this year. He's the self`styled people's tenor

and tonight Russell Watson hs singing with 700 schoolchildren

as part of a project tackling music The singer is working with

a charity to provide music dducation for up to half a million yotngsters

over the next five years. Here's our arts reporter,

Satnam Rana. They arrived

by the bus load this afternoon A chance to sing alongside

the man known as the people's tenor I remember being this age m`ny years

ago and I think if I was evdr to have been involved in this type of

project it would've been solething I would have remembered for ever. That

is no question they will relember it and hopefully take it furthdr their

lives. The 700 children from

across the Midlands are all part of AC Academy an education wing

of Armonico Consort. It is really good because I can sing

without wading my friends are going to be horrible to me that doing

something I love. It will hdlp me ill confidence singing.

The charity aims to train 200 choristers over

the next five years recognising the boost music can provide.

I am performing with one of the most important people in music. H don't

have any words to describe ht. I never thought that I would be as

good as I am now. So now I feel a lot more confident in myself.

And the sound on the stage is testimony to the hard

You can almost touch the endrgy enthusiasm and excitement in this

room. This is just not a ond`off concert for these young people, it

is a lesson in life taking `way a growing in confidence and a love of

singing. Time for the weather now with

Shefali. They lose heat and humidity and the

two often don't work well together. It becomes quite embeddable matters

what is happening towards the end of the week. Temperatures could reach

highs of 26 by Thursday and if you're heading to the south`east of

the country, London Brighton, they could be reaching highs of 30

degrees. That could trigger those tropical conditions and thundery

downpours. We have got some rain across us fairly soon. Becatse the

pressure is reasonably high and building all the while, this frontal

system is going to be significantly weakened. It is later in thd week

there to see this area of r`in to the north`west dipping south

eastwards. As it does so, it could weaken. We could see some home`grown

thunderstorms by Friday due to that increased humidity and rising

temperatures. Back to this rain you will have noticed it is clotding

over through the day and it is getting into western parts of the

region and it is showery rahn, not much on that front. It should clear

in the early hours. It is going to leave us with debris and cloud with

clear spells. Look at those temperatures, down to 15 Celsius

tonight. It is uncomfortabld and very humid, quite close, and

comfortable to sleep in. It is to rise down to 15 Celsius tonhght It

is uncomfortable and very htmid quite close, and comfortabld to

sleep in. They destroy `` it is Saints within stage tomorrow.

Temperatures rising to about 23 Celsius it is going to be another

one day and we've got light westerly winds. Very pleasant and fahrly

humid but not as humid as it will be at the end of the week. Tomorrow

night,, tomorrow evening, try night with clear spells. A will alert is

tonight. There is a frontal system moving in from the south but it will

be weakened by the high pressure. Thursday is dry, hot and drx.

The Church of England overttrns centuries of tradition by voting

The former judge appointed to lead the government inquiry into historic

child abuse steps down, sayhng she's not the right person for thd job.

A new multi million pound hospital to be built

in Smethwick able to treat nearly 200,000 patients a year.

And a crackdown on illegal fishing, two arrested amid growing concerns

That's all from us. Have a great evening. Goodbye.

MUSIC: "Edward Scissorhands Introduction" by Danny Elfman

DRUMBEATS CONTINUE WITH SWELLING, DRAMATIC MUSIC