Good morning readers — welcome to Tuesday’s Dispatch.
Yesterday’s paid membership launch was exciting — slightly scary, but ultimately very successful — thank you to everyone for all your sharing and enthusiasm. We’ve hit the ground running and already have 170 paying subscribers which is brilliant. We are still riding high on the good vibes, to be honest, but your regular Brum in Brief awaits below. In the meantime, do continue to share us with friends and followers if you haven’t already, by clicking the green button below.
Road safety continues to be a major concern in our city and today’s Brum in Brief leads on results from a survey of red light jumping by campaign group Better Streets for Birmingham. Be sure to click through to their site as they’ve presented the results in a very easy-to-read way. plus you can look at the map to see if where the most dangerous spots are.
On that same note, this footage shared by Walking and Cycling Commissioner Adam Tranter is a terrifying incident in which a mother and her baby nearly get crushed by a car that flips onto a pavement in Solihull. Thankfully they weren’t injured and police are investigating the matter.
Brum in Brief
🚦Better Streets for Birmingham (BSfB) has published alarming new data on cars jumping red lights in the city. The worst location was the A45 Redhill Road junction, where a 12-year-old child was killed by a driver in June. BSfB found one driver jumped a red light here every minute. 50 surveys of 21 junctions were completed and you can see the complete findings here on the BSfB website.
🚨 A person has died following a fire on Soho Hill in Handsworth where three-quarters of the building was damaged in the blaze, the BBC reports. Four people were rescued from the building and did not require treatment by paramedics. It’s the second time the property has caught fire in the last four weeks.
🏗️ Birmingham City Council has agreed to reconsider its decision to demolish the Ringway Centre after campaigners launched a legal challenge citing heritage and environmental concerns. Barrister Estelle Dehon, working on behalf of the Save Smallbrook consortium, wrote to Director of Planning Ian MacLeod to argue that officers had misled the planning committee by claiming Historic England had “no concerns” about the proposals, and regarding the carbon impact of the demolition.
📆 The BBC has delayed the opening of its new, Digbeth HQ by a year, and The Tea Factory site will now open in 2027. BBC Nations director Rhodri Talfan Davies said “additional planning work” had been required after a squeeze on the licence fee.
✍️ The BBC and Create Central are set to launch a writing scheme to give industry opportunities to 12 aspiring scriptwriters in Birmingham and the Black Country in 2024. Kit de Waal, author of My Name is Leon and Create Central member, says "I'm absolutely thrilled that our collaboration with the BBC, as part of our wider partnership with them in the West Midlands, is paving the way for incredible opportunities for local talent.
📽️ There are only a handful of seats left to watch 1980’s classic Gremlins while tasting expertly selected wines in the comfort of The Crescent Theatre tonight, courtesy of The Wine Events Company. Tickets cost £27 and the film starts at 7pm.
📸 Budding photographers can meet like-minded souls and get some tips from a practising professional at this free weekly meetup in the Jewellery Quarter. Every Wednesday at 11am.
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