COMMUTERS travelling by rail from Tamworth are experiencing delays today caused by faults on the rail network.
Delays are expected throughout the day on all serices through Tamworh, both on the lower and upper levels caused by two separate problems around Birmingham New Street and Nuneaton stations.
A signalling problem near Birmingham New Street is causing disruption to trains through the station. Trains from Tamworth are being delayed by up to 30 minutes because of this.
Overhead wire problems near Nuneaton are also causing disruption to journeys between Rugby and Lichfield Trent Valley. This is causing delays on trains through Tamworth lower level.
James Henderson from Northfield in Birmingham has now been missing for over two weeks. West Midlands Police are becoming increasingly concerned for his safety.
James Henderson, aged 37, from Browning Tower in Overbury Road has had no contact with his family since the beginning of the month. His family are becoming extremely worried.
Sergeant Chris Surridge from Bournville Police Station, said: “James’ disappearance is completely out of character and his family are desperate to make sure that he is safe.
“I would appeal directly to James to get in touch with either myself or a member of his family.”
James is described as 5 feet 7 ins tall, slim build with cropped brown hair, brown eyes and possibly a stubbly beard.
Anyone who has any information which will help trace James Henderson should call Sergeant Surridge on 101. Alternatively information can be given anonymously to
Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A single punch during a Bank Holiday weekend pub scuffle left a Tamworth man dead and put another behind bars as a convicted killer after pleading guilty of Manslaughter.
Adam Lynn - convicted for manslaughter
Adam Lynn (pictured) from Kingstanding Road, Kingstanding, was yesterday (July 16) jailed for killing Tamworth man, Jonathon Woodhall during a fight in the beer garden of Great Barr pub the Deer’s Leap on Good Friday.
Fellow drinkers at the Queslett Road bar described how Mr Woodhall tried separating his cousin and another man as they traded punches – but was knocked out cold by Lynn as he stepped in.
The 27-year-old, from Tamworth, suffered a serious brain injury and was pronounced dead the following day in hospital.
Detectives viewed CCTV footage of the disorder and identified 24-year-old Lynn as responsible for delivering the fatal blow; he was arrested the following evening from an address in Pheasey’s Rippingille Road.
He refused to answer questions during interview but at Birmingham Crown Court admitted manslaughter and today was jailed for three years.
A statement released by Mr Woodhall’s family read:
“Known to family and friends as Paddy, he was a happy, loyal, lovable and caring man and a fantastic dad, who doted on his son.”
Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Ian Wilkins, said: “This is a tragic case where a dispute between two groups on a night out has changed the lives of two men forever – one has died and the other has been jailed as a convicted killer.
“Anyone who throws a punch must understand that momentary loss of self-control can have a devastating, long-term impact for both themselves and their victim. There can be no excuses and, like Lynn, they must face the consequences.”
The fight broke out at around 7.30pm on Good Friday between two men with a history of bad blood between them.
Minutes later Mr Woodhall was found slumped, motionless across a bench as onlookers put him in the recovery position and tried administering first aid.
Witnesses described the two main aggressors continuing to fight whilst the victim lay fatally injured and one overheard Lynn saying “it’s really serious, he’s really hurt and (words to the effect of) I’ve killed him”.
Two other men – aged 24- and 27-years old, both from Kingstanding – were also charged with public order offences in relation to the disorder and are scheduled to stand trial on 15 August at Birmingham Magistrates Court.
The Birmingham Tunnels will be completely closed completely from this Friday for a second year of essential improvement works.
If you travel from Tamworth, to or through Birmingham City Centre , this will affect you so it is important that you plan ahead.
The A38 St Chad’s and Queensway tunnels through Birmingham will be completely closed to all traffic from 10pm on Friday 18 July until 6am on Monday 1 September 2014.
The closure was preceded by two weeks of overnight closures, from 10pm to 6am, and followed by up to four weeks of similar overnight closures.
The A38 tunnels through Birmingham are over 40-years-old and had never had a full restoration. Last year, essential refurbishment work started in order to bring them up to modern European standards.
This year, the upgrade to the tunnels will be completed. During this second phase, works will include renewing the ventilation system, installing new security and communications systems, replacing electrical systems and refurbishing pumping stations and plant rooms.
A map showing the route of the closures
This work will bring the tunnels right up-to-date with some of the most modern technology available, meaning they can be better managed to keep traffic flowing through Birmingham.
This technology will include cameras that can detect vehicles causing obstructions, variable message signage (VMS) that can warn motorists of incidents inside the tunnel, response systems to control emergency exit doors to ensure people escape into safe areas and not live traffic lanes and PA and radio rebroadcast systems for emergency announcements.
To upgrade the ventilation system, the existing fans will be removed and replaced with 25 modern jet fans. These will be connected to the Air Quality Monitoring system that was installed last year as well as the emergency fire response systems which can be activated to remove smoke from the tunnel in the event of a fire.
As well as the fans, they will be installing and connecting:
- 27 PA speakers,
- 21 CCTV cameras
- 32 vehicle detection cameras
- 48 emergency phones
- 4 digital variable message signs
- Over 160 emergency way-finder signs
- 7 controlled evacuation doors
- Over 40 miles of electrical cabling needed to run the new systems
Why do the tunnels need to close again?
There will be approximate 120 people in the tunnels at any one time and works will be ongoing 24 hours-a-day over the six-week closure period.
To facilitate the challenging tasks, amount of equipment and the number of people, as well as provide all the welfare requirements (Toilets, break facilities etc) needed, it would be extremely difficult to complete the works without the full closure.
The night closures before and after the block closure will be used to carry out preparatory works and to test and fully commission all the new technology and electrical systems.
The Birmingham Tunnels will be completely closed again this summer for a second year of essential improvement works. Overnight closures begin Tomorrow.
If you travel from Tamworth, to or through Birmingham City Centre between 10pm and 6am, this will affect you so it is important that you plan ahead.
The A38 St Chad’s and Queensway tunnels through Birmingham will be completely closed to all traffic from 10pm on Friday 18 July until 6am on Monday 1 September 2014.
The closure will be preceded by two weeks of overnight closures, from 10pm to 6am,which begin Tomorrow, Friday July 4th.
The A38 tunnels through Birmingham are over 40-years-old and had never had a full restoration. Last year, essential refurbishment work started in order to bring them up to modern European standards.
This year, the upgrade to the tunnels will be completed. During this second phase, works will include renewing the ventilation system, installing new security and communications systems, replacing electrical systems and refurbishing pumping stations and plant rooms.
A map showing the route of the closures
This work will bring the tunnels right up-to-date with some of the most modern technology available, meaning they can be better managed to keep traffic flowing through Birmingham.
This technology will include cameras that can detect vehicles causing obstructions, variable message signage (VMS) that can warn motorists of incidents inside the tunnel, response systems to control emergency exit doors to ensure people escape into safe areas and not live traffic lanes and PA and radio rebroadcast systems for emergency announcements.
To upgrade the ventilation system, the existing fans will be removed and replaced with 25 modern jet fans. These will be connected to the Air Quality Monitoring system that was installed last year as well as the emergency fire response systems which can be activated to remove smoke from the tunnel in the event of a fire.
As well as the fans, they will be installing and connecting:
- 27 PA speakers,
- 21 CCTV cameras
- 32 vehicle detection cameras
- 48 emergency phones
- 4 digital variable message signs
- Over 160 emergency way-finder signs
- 7 controlled evacuation doors
- Over 40 miles of electrical cabling needed to run the new systems
Why do the tunnels need to close again?
There will be approximate 120 people in the tunnels at any one time and works will be ongoing 24 hours-a-day over the six-week closure period.
To facilitate the challenging tasks, amount of equipment and the number of people, as well as provide all the welfare requirements (Toilets, break facilities etc) needed, it would be extremely difficult to complete the works without the full closure.
The night closures before and after the block closure will be used to carry out preparatory works and to test and fully commission all the new technology and electrical systems.
Staff from a Tamworth based accountancy company are takin part in a dragon boat race in aid of a worthy local charity Today.
Staff at Haines Watts Chartered Accountants in Tamworth are taking part in The Dragon Boat Festival 2014 at Brindley Place in Birmingham, Today, Saturday 28th June.
The race is to raise funds for the very worthy cause, the HelpHarryHelpOthers charity.
HelpHarryHelpOthers was founded by and currently run by Georgie Moseley to continue the amazing legacy created by her incredibly brave son, Harry.
Despite being diagnosed with a brain tumour, he dedicated himself to raising money to help find a cure for brain cancer and to help support those families stricken by any form of caner.
In just two years Harry raised £750,000 for other charities, but his ultimate dream was to always have a charity of his own.
Harry sadly died in October 2011, since his passing so many members of the public expressed their desire to continue with Harry’s legacy. Harry’s family decided that the story couldn’t end there and so HelpHarryHelpOthers was launched.
The money Haines Watts raise as part of the Dragon Boat Festival will go towards Help Cope, one of 3 ways in which the charity works, Help Cope provides much needed practical and financial support to families and individuals affected by cancer.
As well as raising money, the day promises to be a huge amount of fun as we form teams to race replica Chinese war canoes. Twenty teams will battle it out in a series of races along the canal from Pitcher and Piano, in Brindley Place, up to the winning post at the NIA for that ultimate first prize!
Crowds will gather on both sides of the canal to cheer the teams on and throughout the day there will be family arts and craft activities, a food and craft market, Chinese lion dancer, live music and much more!.
Haines Watts Tamworth have created a Just Giving Page -www.justgiving.com/HainesWattsTamworth - any kind donations would be very gratefully received and will make a huge difference to people’s lives.
With just over a week to go until the spectacular This Is Tamworth showcase takes to the stage at Birmingham Symphony Hall, arts groups from across Tamworth have come together for their first big combined rehearsal.
For the past few weeks, 17 groups – including dancers, singers, actors and musicians – have been working hard on their pieces which make up the This Is Tamworth performance.
And last week, the groups came together for the first time for a big rehearsal at Tamworth Assembly Rooms.
This Is Tamworth is an exciting collaboration between arts groups of all kinds from across the borough, brought together by Tamworth Borough Council’s Arts & Events team working in partnership with musical director Gladstone Wilson.
It takes to the stage at the world-class Birmingham Symphony Hall on Thursday July 3, delighting the audience with a powerful, moving and funny night of theatre, music, song and dance, telling the story of Tamworth and its people.
This Is Tamworth is made up of six themes – Buildings, People, Stories & Places, Coal Mining, Powerful Women, Remembrance, Positive Tamworth and Celebration – and each group has created their own unique interpretation of the themes.
The pieces will be held together by a narrative written by Staffordshire Poet Laureate Mal Dewhirst and narrated by well-known Tamworth performer Glen Chevannes.
The exciting project aims to showcase the borough’s talent on a wider stage and generate pride in the work being created here in the town.
Groups taking part are:
- St Gabriel’s Primary School
- Tamworth Academy of Musical Youth (TAMY)
- Tamworth Young Voices (TYV)
- Tamworth Dance Company (TDC)
- Tamworth Repertory Company
- De Ja Vu
- Tamworth Voices
- Two Rivers Primary School
- Just Perform
- TACT
- IMPACT
- Backdrop Drama
- Tamworth Male Voice Choir
Individuals taking part are:
- Dance chart star Rebekah Ryan
- Staffordshire Poet Laureate Mal Dewhirst
- Compere and narrator Glen Chavannes
- Staffordshire Young Singer of the Year Alice Dix
- Singer Abbi Pretty
Tamworth Voices choir member Susan Powell said: “I am so proud to be part of This Is Tamworth. For so many of us, Tamworth is our much-loved home town and this is our chance to show everyone just what a marvellous town Tamworth is to live in.”
Eddie Dix from Backdrop Drama said: “We are looking forward to taking part in This Is Tamworth to enable the children to perform on a world-class stage, providing different performance experiences.”
Charlotte Batey from Tamworth Dance Company said: “It’s such a good opportunity to perform at a prestigious venue, telling the stories of our town with the people I love.”
10-year-old Daisie Macbeth from TAMY said: “I’m excited to go to the Symphony Hall because it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of a massive celebration with loads of different people.”
Tickets for This Is Tamworth – which starts at 7.30pm - are available from the Birmingham Symphony Hall box office, priced at £12 plus a £2.50 transaction fee. They can be booked online at www.thsh.co.uk or by calling 0121 345 0603.
More information is available on the Tamworth Assembly Rooms website at www.tamworthassemblyrooms.co.uk or by calling 01827 709618.
The Birmingham Tunnels will be closed again this summer for a second year of essential improvement works.
If you travel from Tamworth, to or through Birmingham City Centre, this will affect you so it is important that you plan ahead.
The A38 St Chad’s and Queensway tunnels through Birmingham will be completely closed to all traffic from 10pm on Friday 18 July until 6am on Monday 1 September 2014.
The closure will be preceded by two weeks of overnight closures, from 10pm to 6am, and followed by up to four weeks of similar overnight closures.
The A38 tunnels through Birmingham are over 40-years-old and had never had a full restoration. Last year, essential refurbishment work started in order to bring them up to modern European standards.
This year, the upgrade to the tunnels will be completed. During this second phase, works will include renewing the ventilation system, installing new security and communications systems, replacing electrical systems and refurbishing pumping stations and plant rooms.
A map showing the route of the closures
This work will bring the tunnels right up-to-date with some of the most modern technology available, meaning they can be better managed to keep traffic flowing through Birmingham.
This technology will include cameras that can detect vehicles causing obstructions, variable message signage (VMS) that can warn motorists of incidents inside the tunnel, response systems to control emergency exit doors to ensure people escape into safe areas and not live traffic lanes and PA and radio rebroadcast systems for emergency announcements.
To upgrade the ventilation system, the existing fans will be removed and replaced with 25 modern jet fans. These will be connected to the Air Quality Monitoring system that was installed last year as well as the emergency fire response systems which can be activated to remove smoke from the tunnel in the event of a fire.
As well as the fans, they will be installing and connecting:
- 27 PA speakers,
- 21 CCTV cameras
- 32 vehicle detection cameras
- 48 emergency phones
- 4 digital variable message signs
- Over 160 emergency way-finder signs
- 7 controlled evacuation doors
- Over 40 miles of electrical cabling needed to run the new systems
Why do the tunnels need to close again?
There will be approximate 120 people in the tunnels at any one time and works will be ongoing 24 hours-a-day over the six-week closure period.
To facilitate the challenging tasks, amount of equipment and the number of people, as well as provide all the welfare requirements (Toilets, break facilities etc) needed, it would be extremely difficult to complete the works without the full closure.
The night closures before and after the block closure will be used to carry out preparatory works and to test and fully commission all the new technology and electrical systems.
The proposed route of HS2.
Image under licence from Cnbrb
Birmingham and Derby have been shortlisted by the Government as one of four areas being considered as the location for the new National College for High Speed Rail.
Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock said the new college ‘hub’ and a number of ‘spokes’ based across the country would provide training to the next generation of engineers working on the HS2 project and beyond.
The proposed route of HS2.
Image under licence from Cnbrb
The two areas shortlisted alongside Birmingham and Derby are Doncaster and Manchester. This gives us here in Tamworth a 50% chance of having the college within easy commuting distance for possible students.
Hancock said the quality of bids had been very high overall and all had been assessed against a range of criteria including the size and availability of a suitable site, accessibility, and the potential to develop strong links with employers and providers already operating in the sector.
The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership said the Birmingham bid would have the provision to train thousands of people in the skills necessary to deliver the HS2 project.
If successful, the bids will see the college work with other skills providers and employers around the country to ensure the best training available..
If Birmingham wins the bid, four sites within the LEP area have been shortlisted as the potential location for the college: Eastside Locks, Birmingham Science Park, Riverside in Perry Barr and Jennens Road in Eastside.
To ensure the success of the college, Terry Morgan has been appointed to advise on its development. Morgan is the chairman of Crossrail, chair of the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering and was previously chief executive of Tube Lines and group managing director for BAE Systems. His first task was to oversee the selection of the shortlist and he will be involved in final phase of the selection process.
This will involve representatives from Birmingham, Derby, Doncaster and Manchester giving presentations to an Advisory Group on Friday June 27 in order for a final decision to be made in July. The advisory group will consist of Terry Morgan, officials from BIS, the DfT and representatives from HS2 Ltd.
A woman has been arrested in connection with a collision on the M6 in north Warwickshire on Friday morning, June 6.
Police have arrested a woman from Birmingham in relation the incident on the M6 on Friday morning which caused hours of delays for Tamworth commuters.
Emergency services were called to the southbound carriageway near junction 4 at about 9:40am following reports of an overturned lorry on fire.
The lorry driver escaped with slight injuries.
Police arrested a 38 year old woman at an address in Birmingham on Friday afternoon, on suspicion of dangerous driving.
She was taken into custody for questioning and has since been released on police bail pending further enquiries.
Anyone who witnessed the collision, or has any information which would help officers with their enquiries, is asked to call Warwickshire Police on 01926 41541.
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