Latest news with #WyreForest
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Kidderminster premises plea as wellbeing charity told to move
A health and wellbeing charity has said it is in desperate need of new premises after it was told to leave its current Limitless offers counselling sessions to help support people's mental health but must leave its base in Kidderminster by 8 August after the landlord found new charity also runs group therapy, exercise classes to help with loneliness and training to help people find jobs, and operations manager Ralph Pars said staff were now in a race against founders Paul and Lynne Raper said the charity was under "massive pressure". Mrs Raper said the charity helped 250 people a week and had been running for 12 years. She said she was "devastated", adding: "We're meeting some of the most vulnerable people living in the Wyre Forest."Mr Raper said the move followed a change to the licensing of the building and said the charity currently had nowhere to go. 'Invaluable service' He said they were looking for a temporary space as a step towards a permanent solution and needed the help of a landlord or building charity needs a hall for exercise groups and rooms for counselling, he Pars said: "We're really up against it on time. We have literally four weeks from now that we have to exit this building."There's an awful lot to consider in terms of a mobilisation plan to make that happen as well as to consider what our options are going to be potentially on a short-to-medium and then obviously medium-to-long-term basis."He appealed for anyone with a suitable property in Kidderminster to get in touch. Lisa McNally, director of public health for Worcestershire, said the charity did "an amazing job", and she added: "I really hope they can find a new home to operate their invaluable service." Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
27-06-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
'Enormous' area of Kidderminster underwater
An "enormous" area of Kidderminster is underwater due to a burst water pipe, Severn Trent Water has said. The water company said Green Street had been hit by an "extremely large amount of flooding". They added: "Our teams are heading to site as a priority and will be on site as soon as possible to begin investigations and repairs."Drone shots taken at the scene showed Green Street, including a Wyre Forest District Council office building, underwater. It comes after Severn Trent alerted customers earlier in the day at 13:55 BST that those with DY10 and DY11 post codes were experiencing no supply, poor pressure or discoloured water. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Wyre Forest gets £27k to remove littered gum from streets
A district council has received £27,500 to remove chewing gum from its Forest District councillor Ben Brookes said the funding meant the council could "get to work cleaning up and, just as importantly, help remind people to bin their gum rather than drop it".Keep Britain Tidy said the cost of cleaning up chewing gum was estimated at £7m a project, named the Chewing Gum Task Force, has been funded by a £10m investment from gum manufacturers, spread over five years. It has awarded 54 councils grants totalling £1.585 million, which could help clean an estimated 500,000m2 of of Wolverhampton Council had been awarded a grant of £20, Ogden-Newton OBE, Keep Britain Tidy's chief executive, said: "Chewing gum continues to be an unsightly form of litter in our public spaces. "People need to remember that disposing irresponsibly of their gum causes harm to our environment as it takes years to decompose naturally - and, ultimately, costs the public purse to clean it up."Brookes added that clearing up the gum would "make a big difference to how our district looks and feels". Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
09-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Worcestershire health boss calls for support not shame on obesity
More than a third of adults are living with obesity in parts of Worcestershire and a county health chief has said they need more support instead of "fat-shaming".After figures from Sport England Active Lives were released, Dr Lisa McNally, the director of public health for the county, said: "The highest rates of obesity in Worcestershire are in Wyre Forest and Redditch at about a third."At the other end of the scale are Malvern Hills and Worcester at about a quarter."She said the county was going "in the right direction of less nagging and more provision of opportunities and choices". Worcestershire as a whole was similar to the national average. "I think fat-shaming in the country is a real issue and for young people it causes real problems with mental wellbeing," she said."We know through research that kids who are fat-shamed when they are young are more likely to develop problems with their weight, whether that be an eating disorder or obesity, as an adult." 'Stop wagging fingers' Practical support being offered by Worcestershire County Council includes free weight-loss programmes, funding for walking groups and Healthy Worcestershire sessions, she said."We've just invested in another 2,000 vouchers that enabled people to access Slimming World for free," she said."The way to do that is through GPs or other health professionals. We're getting about 70 referrals a month." Dr McNally said empowering and informing people was at the heart of Worcestershire's public health agenda."We have to stop wagging our fingers and moralising at people because they smoke or because they're overweight," she added, "and instead, work with the communities in which they live to give them more opportunities to improve their health."The Wyre Forest area covers Kidderminster, Stourport-on-Severn and Bewdley. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Town centre regeneration project delayed
A scheme to develop part of a town centre in Worcestershire has been delayed. The project connecting Worcester Street to Bromsgrove Street in Kidderminster, creating a new green community area, is now expected to be finished by the end of the year. The delay has been caused by the need for additional drainage, said Wyre Forest District Council. The finished space will improve access to the Bromsgrove Street car park, and is part of the council's vision for the town, Kidderminster 2040, it said. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Park revamp set to begin after badger delays Plans revealed for former Woolworths building Town council aims to reopen paddling pool in 2026 Wyre Forest District Council
