New Bilston council homes ready for tenants to move in
They each come with solar panels and are gas-free, the authority said.Bosses said work was also beginning or set to start in the coming months on 81 additional properties across six city sites.Councillor Stephen Simkins, City of Wolverhampton Council leader, said there was a growing demand for housing."This is a great example of how we are delivering good quality homes at pace and bringing small disused sites back into use," he said.He said the properties would be allocated to local people according to the council's housing policy."This development also builds substantially on the investment already made in Bilston in recent years that is seeing the town flourish," he added.Morro Partnerships managing director Tom Broadway said transforming sites like Ettingshall Road was important for local pride, and the energy-efficient homes would reduce bills and "make life more comfortable" for residents.
Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
16 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump warns against second independence vote for 75 years
Donald Trump has signalled that there should not be another Scottish independence referendum until at least 2064 because countries 'can't go through that too much'. The US President said he thought there had been an agreement not to hold a rerun of the 2014 separation vote for at least another 50 years. His comments came during the third full day of his visit to Scotland as he met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at his Turnberry golf course, and just hours after John Swinney claimed that an SNP majority in next year's Holyrood election would be a mandate for another independence referendum. During a lengthy press conference with the Prime Minister, Mr Trump also said he wants Scotland to thrive as he vowed to consider removing punishing tariffs on Scotch whisky and made the case for more North Sea drilling. He also directly pressed Sir Keir Starmer to take advantage of the North Sea's oil reserves. When asked about the SNP's plan to demand another independence referendum if it wins a majority at next year's Holyrood elections, Mr Trump said he had predicted the No vote the day before the 2014 referendum when he was visiting his first golf course at the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire. He added: 'I do say that when they made that deal (to hold a referendum) somebody said that it was - and I remember this very distinctly, I said 'could they do this all the time?'. 'There was a little bit of a restriction, like 50 or 75 years before you could take another vote because, you know, a country can't go through that too much.' SNP figures including Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon had said at the time the vote was a 'once in a generation opportunity'. Mr Trump made the comments ahead of Mr Swinney attending a dinner with him in Aberdeenshire last night and the opening of his second course at Menie today (TUE). Sir Keir said: 'I believe in a stronger Scotland in a better United Kingdom and I think that at a time like this when it is quite clear there is uncertainty and volatility around the world, the strength of the United Kingdom together is very important for all four nations, very important for Scotland. 'That should be our priority, that should be our focus - not on the politics which feels like the politics of yesteryear now at a time like this. 'I think that the First Minister should probably focus more on his delivery in Scotland than on his constitutional issues, and we might have a better health service in Scotland. 'At a time like this, I think the United Kingdom is always stronger as four nations, I think that is better for all four nations.' It comes as Mr Swinney was condemned for an 'absurd' assertion that a generation has passed since Scots rejected independence. In a desperate attempt to relaunch the SNP's failing bid to break up the UK, he has claimed a majority for the party in next year's Holyrood elections would be a mandate for another referendum. He was accused of trying to silence SNP critics and was mocked for the claim that a generation has passed less than 11 years since Scots voted decisively to stay in the UK. Then First Minister Alex Salmond and his successor Nicola Sturgeon previously described the 2014 referendum as a 'once in a generation opportunity'. After unveiling the latest bid to secure independence, Mr Swinney yesterday said: 'There is fundamentally a democratic issue here that people in Scotland in a voluntary union must be able to choose their own democratic future, and that was accepted after the SNP won a majority in the Scottish Parliament, on our own, in 2011. 'I am making the point that, having established that precedent, we must be in a position to be able to give the people of Scotland the choice about their constitutional future. 'There is now, by the time we get to 2030, going to be a million people who were not eligible to vote in the last referendum in 2014. 'A generation has now passed and I want to make sure that people in Scotland who want our country to have a choice about independence are able to do so in a democratic and legitimate fashion that can enable the establishment of an independent country as a consequence of a Yes vote. 'And the way to do that is the way we did it in 2011, which is to elect a majority of SNP MSPs to the Scottish Parliament.' In the 2014 vote, 55 per cent of Scots voted No and 45 per cent Yes. Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'It's patently absurd - and John Swinney knows it - to claim that 11 years constitutes 'a generation'. 'John Swinney is like a broken record. In a bid to silence internal critics of his weak leadership, he has thrown diehard nationalists some more red meat on the one issue they all agree on: independence. 'Ordinary Scots are sick and tired of the SNP's obsession with breaking up the UK. The public want John Swinney to focus on fixing the damage his government has done in decimating essential services such as schools and the NHS at the same time as making Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK.' Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'This SNP government has lost its way and ran out of ideas - while one in six Scots suffer on an NHS waiting list.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Trump and Starmer trade compliments but defend differences
EDINBURGH/TURNBERRY, Scotland, July 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump spoke warmly about the "special relationship" with Britain on Monday, lavishing praise on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, King Charles, and his own mother's Scottish homeland from the ballroom of his Turnberry golf club. But mixed in with the compliments were warnings for Starmer on energy policy, immigration, and tax, as well as a pointed attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Starmer's political ally. Seated side-by-side, Starmer and Trump fielded more than an hour of questions from media in a whirlwind tour of global affairs that included setting a new deadline for Russia to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine and announcing food centres to ease starvation in Gaza. When it came to the Anglo-American relationship, Trump's often outspoken - and sometimes confrontational approach - to such media appearances was replaced with a charm offensive. "The prime minister, he's been so supportive of us and so strong and so respected, and I respect him much more today than I did before, because I just met his wife and family. He's got a perfect wife, and that's never easy to achieve," Trump said. Starmer, who spoke for only a small fraction of the 72 minutes the two spent in the gaze of the world's media, reciprocated the compliments freely in what was the latest chapter of a burgeoning friendship between the two leaders, who hail from opposing sides of the political spectrum. "It's fantastic to be here - thank you for your hospitality - and to see this amazing golf course. I'll invite you to a football ground at some stage, and we can exchange sports," Starmer joked. However, the British leader jumped in when Trump - who argued publicly with London mayor Khan during his first term as president - said Khan was doing a bad job running the British capital and called him a "nasty person". "He's a friend of mine, I should add," Starmer interjected, before Trump continued: "I think he's done a terrible job." Starmer listened to Trump talk about cutting immigration - an area in which the British leader is seen by the public as failing. Trump said that policy was key to his 2024 U.S. election win, alongside his promises to reduce taxes and boost the economy. Starmer's government, only a year after winning a landslide victory, is facing a fiscal crunch caused by a stagnant economy, and many analysts expect tax increases later this year to plug the gap. On energy, the two talked up the potential of small nuclear reactors, but set out opposing positions on other sources of power. Trump gently urged Starmer to make more of Britain's oil and gas resources and renewed criticism of the offshore wind turbines that dot the coast near his golf course, and which form a key part of Starmer's plans for a carbon-free energy system. "Wind is a disaster," Trump said. "It's a very expensive energy, it's a very ugly energy and we won't allow it in the United States." Starmer replied: "We believe in a mix." Smoothing over their differences on policy, the two looked ahead to Trump's next visit in September when he will be hosted by King Charles for a state visit. "I hate to say it, but nobody does it like you people in terms of the pomp and ceremony," Trump said. "I'm a big fan of King Charles. I've known him for quite a while. Great guy, great person." After accepting an invitation presented to him during Starmer's visit to the White House in February, Trump will become the first world leader in modern times to undertake two state visits to Britain. "This is going to be a historic occasion, and we're all very much looking forward to it," Starmer said. In May, Washington and London announced the first bilateral trade deal made in the wake of steep new tariffs on global imports imposed by Trump. Trump's visit concludes on Tuesday, when he will open a new golf course near Aberdeen named after his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born and raised on a Scottish island before emigrating to the United States.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Posthumous degrees for Nottingham attacks victims
Two students who died in the Nottingham attacks in 2023 have been awarded posthumous degrees by the University of O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, were stabbed to death on 13 June 2023, in a series of attacks that also claimed the life of school caretaker Ian younger brother Charlie, 17, accepted a history degree in his honour on Monday, while Ms O'Malley-Kumar was awarded a bachelor of medical science on the ceremony, Charlie said it was a "monumental moment" for the family. "We know how much he would have been so chuffed to have gotten his degree this time if he was still here," he said. "It means a lot to come up here, and I feel honoured to be able to collect my brother's degree for him."Charlie thanked the university and the people of Nottingham for supporting the family, and said his brother had a huge connection with the city."He loved it - from the social life to his academics to his sport up here, he was obsessed with Nottingham - it was a real job for my parents to get him back to Taunton," he said."The city was there for us immediately - they didn't know us, they'd never met us, they didn't know our names, they wouldn't have even met Barney, but they were there for us the whole time." At the degree ceremony on Monday, friends and family of Mr Webber paid Brant, who has just graduated with a geography degree, knew Barnaby when they were at school in Somerset before they reconnected while studying in said it was "bittersweet" to attend the event."We're just here to support Charlie and the family," she said."It's such a tough day, but it's also such a lovely day to celebrate Barney's graduation."Although he's not here, it's nice to be able to support the family, and it's great that the university has honoured Barney as well." 'Proud moment' Politics and international relations graduate Ollie Chaplin, 22, met Mr Webber through the university's cricket said the posthumous degree is "a great gesture" to show the lasting legacy of his friend."It's a sign that he's not forgotten, not just by his friends, but by the institutions that he went to," he said."It's a really proud moment for his family, but also for his friends - obviously he can't be with us, but it's a great day to honour his memory."
