23/10/2016 Midlands Today

Good evening. stay with us on BBC1 -

The Liberal Democrat candid`te for West Midlands Mayor is calling

on the government to make Birmingham Airport the prefdrred

Today the Transport Secretary confirmed a decision will bd made

over airport expansion this coming week with Heathrow and Gatwhck seen

Conversations about adding `nother runway to Heathrow or Gatwick have

been flying around for a long time, but what about abandoning plans

for expansion in London and looking to Birmingham instead?

So would a second runway here at Birmingham Airport

mean that London wouldn't need another one at all?

Managers here say it'll be Britain's first HS2 airport

They've expanded the terminal already,

with another ?100 million of improvements coming soon.

Now, they say, they have to fill it up.

It could handle twice the current 11 million

So talk of a second, short runway for

regional airliners is a plan the Liberal Democrats are kden on.

If we heap everything onto Heathrow, they are already breaching the noise

So I think we spread the wealth opportunity,

we spread the opportunity for this region, which has been starved

Green campaigners think plans for a second runway

The Liberal Democrats are aligning themselves with big business,

so I don't think the consulting communities of this.

We are not in favour of HS2, which any airport expansion here,

any second runway, would be dependent upon.

Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, has told the BBC that

a decision on airport expansion will be taken on Tuesday.

Ludlow's maternity unit, which was suspended last wedk

amid concerns over the structural condition of the building,

will be back in full use early next month.

The Shrewsbury Telford Hospitals Trust says cracks

and mould in the building forced the closure.

The problems were spotted following a visit by the Head of Midwhfery.

The trust has apologised for any disruption caused.

An association honouring veterans who fought in Burm`

during the Second World War, is to close.

The Birmingham branch of the Burma Star Association

was formed in 1952 and originally had 200 membdrs.

The 14th Army fights against the forces of Japan.

It was a battle that lasted nearly four years.

More than a million British troops fighting the Japanese

Today in Birmingham, veterans who fought in the campaign

gathered at St Martin's church to mark the end of an era.

It was terrifying, really. Ht was rather frightening because we were

going down a major peninsul`, and to prevent the Japanese coming behind

us, they blew up all the brhdges. I was 18, 19, 20 years of age. You

have no fear. You have fellow servicemen, you won't let them down,

and they won't let you down. The comradeship was tremendous.

The Burma Star Association hs one of the the oldest World War Two

veterans organisations in the country.

But now, more than 70 years on from the end of the conflict

for these veterans - this service will be their last

My father was a Burma veter`n, and I just wish he could have been here

today. But every time I havd carried it, he has been at my side.

These soldiers are often described as the "forgotten army".

This standard will now take a permanent place to ensure

Well, after a bit of a cloudy and misty start this morning,

As we move through this evening and overnight, though,

We got a bit of patchy cloud around, and we will start to see sole cloud

creeping into the early hours from the south.

Temperatures overnight fallhng to a minimum of 7-9 Celsius.

That cloud will push in on ` warm front through the morning tomorrow.

Could be some patchy light rain on it and we will see a few brighter

Temperatures tomorrow at a maximum of 12 Celsius

Now, I will leave you with the outlook.

It is quite a chilly start to the week as we begin tomorrow,

but we will start to see those temperatures creeping up

Midlands Today will be back tomorrow just after 6am.

So far this month most of the rain has been near Eastern coasts. That's

changing quite dramatically. All of this cloud coming in from