Blooming marvellous: Wildflower meadows to be created

A SPLASH of colour will be brought to patches of grassland in North Solihull.

Solihull Council will be creating wildflower meadows in Ludlow Walk (Chelmsley Wood) Falkland Way (Smith’s Wood) and Beech Croft (Castle Bromwich).

They are just three of 15 sites across the borough which are being sown with seeds.

It is hoping the meadows, which won’t be mown until the end of summer, will bring butterflies and bees to local neighbourhoods.

This type of habitat was massively reduced during the 20^th century, with around 95 per cent of sites destroyed in a 40 year period.

Those residents living close by the chosen locations will receive letters about the project and signs will be erected at each site to provide more information.

The 12 remaining sites include Catney Common, Catherine-de-Barnes and Seven Star Road, near Solihull town centre.

Repairs to roads damaged by floods.

FOUR roads in Castle Bromwich that were badly damaged by flooding are set to be resurfaced.
Solihull Council has been awarded more than £720,000 by the Government to help repair 11 stretches of road around the borough.
The four that will be restored in North Solihull are the A452 Collector Road, Bradford Road, Green Lane and Old Croft Lane.
The grant will be added to the £2.6m that the council had already put aside for road maintenance. The repairs are due to be carried out in the coming months.
Councillor Ted Richards, cabinet member for transport and highways, said that the wettest winter since records began was to blame for the crumbling tarmac.
"The constant rainfall has caused severe damage to our roads creating pot holes and causing older roads to wear away and break up earlier.
"We will carry out the works in the most efficient way possible to cause the least disruption to our residents."
Other roads in Solihull which were badly damaged by floodwater include the Kenilworth Road, in Balsall Common, Hampton Lane and the A45 Coventry Road.

CTC students in Sport Relief challenge

Celebrities including Victoria Pendleton are supporting Sport Relief

SUPER-fit students from the CTC Kingshurst Academy have run, rowed and cycled over 1800 miles since the start of the week.

The pupils have thrown themselves into the furious five-day fundraiser, hoping to raise over £5000 for Sport Relief.

By home time yesterday they'd clocked up 1830 miles, which in real life would have got them as far as Greenland or Algeria.

By the end of today (Friday) they hope to have added at least another 400 miles, which would mean they've covered a distance equivalent to the journey between London and Canada.

Two years ago, the CTC drummed up £4700 for Sport Relief, a charity which supports vulnerable people in the UK and abroad.

Only three schools in the entire country collected more for the good cause, but the Cooks Lane academy is determined to do even better this time.

Find out how the students fare on the final day of the challenge, by going to www.kingshurst.ac.uk/the-academy/fundraising/sport-relief/

• Sport Relief is on BBC One tonight from 7pm. Among the celebrities supporting this year's event are ex-England footballer David Beckham, champion cyclist Victoria Pendleton and girl band Little Mix - who have recorded the official charity single.

40 flat plan gets planning approval

PLANS to build 40 new homes in Chelmsley Wood have been given the go-ahead by Solihull Council.

The planning committee last week approved the proposals to build the mix of one and two-bedroom flats on land off Fillingham Close.

Bellway Homes, who submitted the application, said the flats were specially designed for over 55s.

At a public meeting in January, some residents had voiced concerns about parking problems in the area and disruption during the construction. Two locals wrote to object.

But Solihull Council officers said the scheme would create much-needed affordable housing and councillors voted to give the project the green light.

Students raise the roof at world-famous venue

Solihull Music Service has forged close links with the iconic Cavern Club

TUNEFUL students from North Solihull took to the stage of one of the nation’s most notable venues last week.

Pupils from Park Hall, Grace Academy, John Henry Newman Catholic College and Castle Bromwich Junior School were among more than 100 students who performed at the world-famous Cavern Club.

The concert was held at the Liverpool nightclub – where The Beatles made over 200 appearances – to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of Solihull Music Service.

Set up in 1974, the organisation helps to nurture the talent of young musicians around the borough.

During the past four decades, members have performed around the region, including gigs at the NEC and Birmingham Town Hall.

But they have also travelled further afield, wowing crowds in Cholet, France and making the  “annual pilgrimage” to the Cavern.

Last Monday's concert saw children and teenagers from over a dozen local schools perform on the same stage where the Fab Four cut their teeth.

Half a century on from The Beatles' barnstorming performances, the Cavern continues to attract award-winning artists including Adele and the Arctic Monkeys.

Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Joe Tildesley, who joined the young musicians during the jam-packed day, said he was “honoured” to take part in the event.

To find out more about Solihull Music Service, visit their website.

Thief stole epileptic teenager's phone.

A CRUEL thief stole from a teenage boy as he suffered an epileptic fit in a busy street, police have revealed.
This week, detectives appealed to the public to help catch the opportunist, who snatched the 19-year-old's iPhone 5 and then fled the scene.
The victim had just got off the No 97 bus in Chelmsley Road, near North Solihull Sports Centre, when he collapsed to the ground.
The quick-thinking driver had got out of the vehicle and went to help the teenager. As he was doing so, another man walked up and picked the phone up off the floor, before running off down the road.
The suspect is described as a heavily-built white man, in his 30s. At the time he was wearing a green hat.
PC Keith Tedds, from Solihull Police, said: "This was a shocking and callous crime.
"The young man was on the floor, unaware of what was going on around him and unable to prevent himself from becoming a victim of crime."
The incident happened on Monday, February 10 at around 9.40pm, although details were only released this week. Following the theft, the victim is recovering from his ordeal and hopes his phone, worth several hundred pounds, will be recovered.
Anyone with information should call the Solihull Investigation Team on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Spring Walk in Chelmsley Wood

END the week with a leisurely stroll organised by Chelmsley Wood Baptist Church.
The Spring Walk, is taking place this Friday (March 21) and makes the most of the increasingly lighter nights.
Walkers will set out on a saunter to Coleshill from the Three Trees Centre, in Hedingham Grove.
The walk will take around 45 minutes, with the option of a pint on arrival in the village.
Meet at 6.30 for a 6.45pm start. For more information call the Baptist Church on 0121 770 8590.