Updated 7:02pm 9 February 2012:

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Neil Elkes

Neil Elkes

Seven Birmingham strip clubs given green light

A COUPLE set to open Birmingham’s latest lap-dance club pledged to be good neighbours after their plans were approved.Read

Liberal Democrat Conference minister says pension changes will be fair

THE Government’s pensions minister told the conference that changes to the retirement age must be fair.Read

Birmingham strip club owner hits back at ballet's objections

THE woman bidding to open a city centre lap-dancing club has hit back at claims it could harm children and dancers at the Birmingham Royal Ballet opposite.Read

Birmingham Market eviction date a technicality says council chief

BIRMINGHAM City Council’s chief executive has described the issuing of a closure notice on Birmingham Wholesale Markets as a “technicality”.Read

Birmingham City Council says strike will not hit services

COUNCIL bosses claimed the majority of services would be operating today despite a walk-out by the city’s largest trade union.Read

Birmingham City Council plan to give seagulls fake eggs doomed to fail, warns expert

MEASURES to cut the rising seagull menace in Birmingham city centre by replacing their eggs with fakes are unlikely to succeed, councillors have been told.Read

Admission charges at Birmingham community museums leads to 14 per cent drop in visitors

VISITOR numbers at Birmingham’s community museums are on track to have fallen by 14 per cent this year following the controversial introduction of admission charges.Read

Liberal Democrat conference: Solar panels plan for West Midlands unveiled

BIRMINGHAM City Council bosses have unveiled a £760 million plan to fit solar panels on 114,000 rooftops over the next 15 years.Read

Liberal Democrat conference: Yardley MP calls for right to complain

BIRMINGHAM Lib Dem MP John Hemming called for “whingers’ rights” to be enshrined in law to protect whistle blowers from costly legal action and imprisonment.Read

Cuts protest at Birmingham Liberal Democrats conference

THOUSANDS of protesters in Birmingham have urged the Liberal Democrats to abandon the coalition government’s austerity cuts and punish the bankers for the recession instead.Read

Birmingham Royal Ballet leads objections to plans for new strip club in city

BALLET dancers are set to go toe to toe with lap dancers in a battle over plans to open a new strip club.Read

Protests at plans to turn Birmingham pub The Navigation into a supermarket

REGULARS at a popular city pub have launched a desperate campaign to stop it being turned into a supermarket.Read

Wylde Green pub

Pub review: Wylde Green, Birmingham Road, Sutton Coldfield

WE DON’T have a television near the dining table at home so it was something of novelty for our youngsters to sit in a booth with its own screen showing cricket.Read

Birmingham licensing chiefs stop charity collecitons over small donations

CITY licensing chiefs have rejected a company’s bid to raise funds for two Birmingham hospitals from doorstep clothing collections – because only five per cent of their takings go to charity.Read

Sutton Coldfield residents celebrate after seeing off housing plan

RESIDENTS in Sutton Coldfield are celebrating after seeing off a second bid to build large homes on back gardens.Read

Birmingham inner city social landlord is pricing poor out of homes it is claimed

A BIRMINGHAM social landlord has been accused of pricing poorer people out of inner-city properties after asking to charge near market rents for housing originally intended to be sold at discount.Read

Criminal records by artists including Michael Jackson and Madonna seized in raid on central Birmingham warehouse

BOOTLEG copies of rare vinyl records by artists including Michael Jackson, Madonna and Kylie worth more than £40,000 have been seized from a Birmingham warehouse.Read

Cost of Alexander Stadium expansion soar after council overlooks health and safety rules

THE cost of expanding Birmingham’s flagship athletics stadium has increased by £400,000 because officials seemed unaware of health and safety laws for larger venues, it has been claimed.Read

Birmingham City council to earn £18 million from new billboard deal

CASH-strapped Birmingham City Council plans to set up 35 new billboard and big screen advertising sites in the city in a bid to earn £18 million over the next ten years.Read

Restoration bid for Highbury Hall's 'Angry Wall'

THE Angry Wall, which is said to mark a row between two of Birmingham’s great Victorian civic leaders, is among historic features which could be restored under a massive revamp of a historic city park.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.