Updated 12:04pm 12 February 2012:

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Neil Elkes

Neil Elkes

Traders slam 'betrayal' of Birmingham Wholesale Markets

FURIOUS traders have accused Birmingham City Council of a “betrayal” after it dramatically pulled funding for the relocation of the wholesale markets.Read

Barmy to rename Birmingham's Gun Quarter, says former gun maker

THE last in a line of Birmingham gun makers has described plans to rename the historic Gun Quarter as ‘barmy’.Read

Museums merger gives Thinktank chance to widen its appeal

THE merger of Birmingham’s two leading museums is a golden opportunity to right a historical wrong and embrace a whole new audience, according to a private museum curator.Read

Thinktank fans hail it as a Birmingham success story

THE merger of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery with Thinktank under a new Trust is designed to save taxpayers money and enable the combined facilities to break into the world’s top 40 museums.Read

Birmingham City acting chairman claims it is business as usual

BLUES acting chairman Peter Pannu has insisted that it is business as usual at St Andrew’s despite the arrest of Carson Yeung.Read

Handsworth Wood family pays £775,000 for Mansion

A FORMER Birmingham library at the centre of a controversial tug of war is to be reborn as a family home after it sold for £775,000 at auction.Read

Bin collection days to change across Birmingham in bid to save £3 million

CHAOS is feared as bin collection days are changed across Birmingham while the council attempts to cut its £3 million fuel costs for dustcarts by 20 per cent.Read

Council stops eviction of Bartley Green pensioner

A PENSIONER has told how heartless housing officers ordered him to leave his home of 27 years after his partner left him.Read

Comment: Ed Miliband learns to relax at the Birmingham Mail

WHAT a difference a year makes!Read

Confusion over Birmingham City Council's scrapping of India jobs

THE deal to stop 55 skilled Birmingham City Council IT contract jobs going to India has not been completed, it has emerged.Read

Aston councillor and mosque leader in row over car park plan

A BIRMINGHAM councillor and mosque leader were involved in a heated public row over a planning application for a small inner-city car park.Read

Dancing on Ice stars head to Birmingham for charity skateathon

DANCING on Ice star Laura Hamilton and former judge Nicky Slater are putting on their skates to help Birmingham Children’s Hospital at the weekend.Read

Pick up a Bilston police station or Handsworth Wood mansion at auction

GOING to the nick will have a whole new meaning for whoever buys a former West Midlands police station.Read

Birmingham City Council's opposition group pleased by India jobs u-turn

THE decision not to send Birmingham City Council jobs to India has been welcomed by the Labour opposition.Read

Birmingham City Council scraps India jobs plan

A CONTROVERSIAL decision to send 55 Birmingham City Council IT jobs to India has been reversed in the face of a huge public outcry.Read

Small Heath playing field set to be restored as community sports pitch

AN INNER-city playing field, mothballed after being earmarked for a hospital research centre for the last decade, is to be restored as a community cricket pitch.Read

Home counties Tory apologies after saying she doesn't want her town to look like Birmingham

A HOME Counties Tory has apologised after saying she does not want her town to end up ‘looking like Birmingham’.Read

Watchdog committee attacks decision to switch Kings Heath flower show

THE decision to switch Birmingham’s annual garden show from Kings Heath Park to the city centre has been attacked by a council watchdog committee.Read

Northfield residents protest at off licences

RESIDENTS in Northfield have staged a protest against the onslaught of off licences in their neighbourhood.Read

Aston Villa and Birmingham City in Alexander Stadium invite

BIRMINGHAM’S leisure boss wants to bring football teams from Aston Villa and Birmingham City to play at the city’s Alexander Stadium.Read

Author Profile

A local news reporter in the Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield and south Staffordshire area since 1995, Neil Elkes is the local government correspondent covering the activities of Birmingham CIty Council - Europe's largest local authority. An avid reader and collector of comics Neil is writing a column on this for the Birmingham Mail website.