Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley has launched a new campaign to publicise a 'Zero Tolerance' approach to a range of issues causing concerns in the area Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.comand on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley has launched a new campaign to publicise a 'Zero Tolerance' approach to a range of issues causing concerns in the area Mr Harley launched the campaign on the steps of Dudley Council House on Bank Holiday Monday saying they were not just referring to nuisance neighbours in council properties Mr Harley said: "Our zero tolerance will go much further than neighbour nuisance and anti-social behaviour in the community We will not tolerate abuse of our staff doing a sometimes very difficult job Vandals who sprayed graffiti on rock houses at Kinver Edge have been accused of committing sacrilege akin to damaging Stonehenge heritage site Kinver Councillor Victoria Wilson said she was left "heartbroken" after footage capturing graffiti spray painted on the isolated ruins at the Nanny's Rock and Vale's Rock area of the National Trust heritage site near Stourbridge were posted on Facebook attracting scores of views and comments by dismayed residents Councillor Wilson said: "It's as bad as spraying graffiti on Stonehenge The rock houses are historic sites and are dearly loved  by the people of Kinver and surrounding communities "This is a really dreadful thing to do and it would be great if the local community could get behind the National Trust to see if it can be cleaned up "It's a sorry state of affairs for such an important heritage site who has retained her Staffordshire Country Council seat following this week's local elections also called on the community to support National Trust efforts to clean the walls at the secluded site which is also unsafe due to the risk of falling rocks It is thought that those responsible for the graffiti also damaged security fencing at the woodlands to gain access to the houses Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox with the Express & Star’s free newsletter National Trust visitor operations and experience manager Claire Hale said: "The Rock Houses on Kinver Edge are treasured by all who visit and live nearby and we are dismayed to see the kind of activity that’s happened here Conservation work and archaeological surveys were carried out recently to better understand this particular site "As a charity we rely on fundraising and donations from supporters to help pay for the ongoing maintenance incidents like this are rare considering the millions of visitors who enjoy and respect National Trust places "Whilst we understand visitors’ motives to share incidents like this online and express their concerns we are also conscious that this gives a platform to this kind of behaviour but we would urge anyone who bears witness or has some knowledge of such activity to report it to the local police The rock houses were carved out of the soft red sandstone The most famous are the homes at Holy Austin Rock which were restored and opened to visitors just as they were when the houses were lived in Nanny’s Rock houses where the vandalism took place and Vale’s Rock are not yet restored  The earliest record of people living in the rocks was made in 1777 when Joseph Heely took refuge from a storm and was given shelter by a family The National Trust was initially given 198 acres of Kinver Edge in 1917 in memory of Thomas Grosvenor Lee a Birmingham solicitor who was born in Kinver World famous Stonehenge in Salisbury features a huge prehistoric stone circle featuring Stone Age dwellings dating back some 4,000 years A Black Country MP is urging people to join her for a demonstration to save a village library said she would be staging a 'day of action' at Sedgley library tomorrow (Saturday) where she will be joined by Labour Party volunteers and members of the community The lease on the library and clinic building which was built under a private finance initiative scheme in 2001 Dudley Council leader Councillor Patrick Harley said both the authority and the local NHS were in talks with the landlord's agent about the future of the building urged Dudley Council to look at either using compulsory purchase powers to buy the building or to look at the options for extending the lease More than 500 people have signed a petition organised by Miss Kumar who will be staging the protest outside the building at 12:30pm residents asked whether the building would be knocked down for housing and access to the library all under one roof She said: “Sedgley’s message is loud and clear I’m even more determined to make sure these valued services are not lost the Ladies Walk Centre plays a vital role in people’s lives "I will continue to stand with Sedgley residents every step of the way we’re showing just how much our community values and needs these services.” Councillor Harley said both the council and the local NHS were doing all they could to maintain library and health services in Sedgley “We are exploring three options and would prefer for the facilities to remain at Ladies Walk," he said “We are currently in talks with the landlord’s agent to ascertain the viability of that we will be looking to secure a building in Sedgley for the library to move to We will continue talking to our health partners about the possibility of co-location and co-operation to this end “We do not have any definitive answers or timescales at the moment but can assure residents we are doing all we can to resolve this We will keep them informed every step of the way.” Miss Kumar urged residents to share their thoughts by emailing her at sonia.kumar.mp@parliament.uk Campaigners are claiming victory in their battle to keep Dudley leisure centres under full control of the council Peace broke out in an increasingly acrimonious row between the trade union-led campaign and Dudley Council which has been looking at outsourcing centres to the private sector Dudley’s leader announced late on April 30 the tendering process was over and centres would stay under council control Paul Quigley from UNISON said “This campaign shows what we can achieve when we get organised “We would like to thank everyone who campaigned, of us should join a trade union, signed petitions and supported us to keep the leisure centres public and open, including the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats.” who had accused campaigners of misleading the public by claiming the authority planned to privatise centres says savings elsewhere in council spending means they have ‘space and time’ to have another look at leisure services Councillor Harley said: “The council has been and remains committed to ensuring high quality inclusive and accessible leisure services in the borough that also deliver value for money for council taxpayers we’ve carefully considered the tenders put forward by external providers Our due diligence suggests that the best value for money in leisure centres does not lie with outsourcing at this time “With the significant work we have taken to improve our financial position and with a balanced budget set for the next five years we now have the time to re-evaluate and explore the future delivery of the service “This shows we are being financially responsible to seek the best value for money whilst also committing to continue delivering first class leisure services in the borough “We are also keen for residents to be involved in this process as we work on ensuring a vibrant and viable leisure centre services provision for all in the borough.” Mr Quigley added: “We welcome the opportunity for residents to input their ideas for the future of the service and look forward to the services flourishing to support a healthy a global company of consulting engineers and designers and the Medium Project Award for their work at the Dudley Animal Studies Centre The awards were presented on Thursday 1 May 2025 at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) held their annual West Midlands Awards Ceremony in Birmingham Professor Jim Hall and guest speaker was Professor Turi King Director of the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath known for her work leading the genetic analysis for the identification of King Richard III This multi-award-winning project involved a major retrofit of a 1950s building but the team recommended that it would be more sustainable to refurbish the building The project was not without its challenges; there were no historic plans but through extensive research the project team ensured that the building could withstand the extra loading from insulation low CO2 education facility on Dudley College of Technology’s Broadway Campus which will be used by the Animal Care and Welfare Department where students will learn how to care for pets Commenting on this year’s awards ICE East and West Midlands Regional Director said: “I would like to congratulate all our entrants and in particular Cundell and the Dudley Animal Studies Centre for taking away three awards this year “Our judges had a diverse range of projects to consider from all sectors of the industry Many entries this year also highlighted the sustainable benefits civil engineers in the region are bringing to our everyday lives and this particular project was a great example of that "Our annual awards are important in not only demonstrating the importance of civil engineers whose hard work and dedication can often go unnoticed but in also celebrating the positive impact that civil engineering has right across the region.” For more information visit the ICE's website: ice.org.uk Dudley Council is investigating the extraordinary scenes at a meeting which led to a walkout by angry councillors A meeting of the full council on April 28 saw the mayor, Councillor Hilary Bills, intervene to answer a question aimed at the council’s leader from Councillor Steve Edwards of the Dudley Independent Group (DIG) Following a spat between the mayor and Councillor Edwards, members of DIG and Liberal Democrat Councillor Andrew Tromans stormed out of the council chamber and are demanding an apology Balvinder Heran, chief executive at Dudley Council said: “Following a meeting of the full council on Monday the council has received representation from an elected member with regard to the chairing of the meeting “Our monitoring officer will be looking into this matter and reporting back to the elected members concerned.” confirmed the group has asked for an apology from the mayor The row erupted during questions to the leader after Councillor Edwards asked whether the council’s constitution should allow appeals against decisions from the chair of the council A motion from Councillor Edwards had not been allowed by the mayor as chair of the council who said it would risk encouraging unlawful behaviour by asking headteacher to allow children to be taken out of school for holidays in term time Councillor Bills told Councillor Edwards officers had advised him of an acceptable form of wording for his question which he had chosen not to accept Councillor Bills also accused Councillor Edwards of ‘not telling the truth’ and added: “I have done everything according to what a mayor can do – I did the right thing.” the only Lib Dem to walk out is also calling for an apology He said: “It would be proper for Mayor Bills to publicly apologise for her conduct on Monday 28 April towards Councillor Edwards “Madam mayor may be a former headteacher but elected members are not to be treated like misbehaving children.” “I am still waiting for an apology for another tirade launched against me on budget night.” Councillor Bills told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she was not commenting at this stage please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot Get the most important global markets news at your fingertips with a Bloomberg.com subscription A steelworker turned artist met the Mayor of Dudley to present her with his latest creation which celebrates the new Round Oak steel plant memorial Councillor Hilary Bills welcomed Roger Dean to the Mayor’s parlour at the Council House this afternoon to receive his pencil sketch of the Round Oak Steelworks monument Roger’s drawing captures the fine details of the 14-foot-tall monument which was designed by Dudley’s borough artist Steve Field The monument depicts a large industrial ladle suspended in the air pouring molten metal It is located on the junction of Dudley Road and John Street in Brierley Hill close to where the plant stood prior to its demolition in 1984 Roger worked at Round Oak from 1970 to 1981 as a technical draughtsman in the engineering department His father and uncle were also long-serving employees at the plant He recently resumed drawing as a hobby and produced the intricate sketch despite living with a form of Parkinson’s disease The drawing has been signed by the artist himself the main fabricator of the iconic monument The work will be mounted in the Mayor’s parlour for future visitors to appreciate It was a pleasure to meet Roger and get a closer look at his new piece of work which is a wonderfully faithful likeness of our new Round Oak Steelworks memorial He has a real artistic talent and I’m touched he has decided to pass on his drawing to display in the parlour Round Oak is an important part of our borough’s rich history and it’s heartening to hear about the sense of community that remains among its former workers to this day more than 40 years since the plant’s closure When I attended the unveiling of the monument It was a good challenge to capture the rusty textured effect on the metal and the contrast of it glinting in the sun with all the buildings in the background The monument is a great tribute to Round Oak Steelworks a place where I’m very proud to have worked Round Oak played a key role in the Industrial Revolution as one of the country’s leading manufacturers of steel The works was a major employer in Brierley Hill for nearly 130 years The site of the plant was eventually redeveloped in the late 1980s to become the Waterfront business complex Photo caption (left to right): Steve Field Dudley borough artist; Roger Dean; Councillor Hilary Bills the Mayor of Dudley; and mayoral consort John Bills pose with Roger's pencil drawing of the new Round Oak Steelworks monument and memorabilia from the plant Cookie Settings Powered by Onclusive PR Manager™ Three roads in Dudley are set to close to traffic to make way for gas main and ground repair works Dudley Council has given notice that three separate roads are due to close to make way for various works around the region The works are set to take place between May 5 to May 23 with diversions being put into place for each closure their closure date and their diversions below:  Stocking Street will be close to traffic for the purpose of gas mains repairs being carried out near or on the road The order will come into operation on May 5 and will remain in place until May 12 Beacon Lane will close to traffic for the purpose of new gas and electrical connections being carried out on or near the affected road The order will come into operation on May 6 and will remain in place until May 23 or until the works are completed The route will be close to traffic to make way for carriageway reconstruction works being carried out on or near the road The order will come into operation on May 9 and will remain in place until May 19 From a VE Day coffee morning to health advice and author talks Dudley Library is offering a range of free events this May Marking 80 years since the end of World War II in Europe the coffee morning takes place on 8 May from 10am to midday As well as providing an opportunity to share memories and celebrate peace a member of Dudley’s Healthy Ageing Team will also be on hand to give information about their services to anyone who wants it The science of fasting is the topic on 9 May from 1.30 to 3.30pm when author Tina Shelton speaks Having written five popular books on health and wellness over the last twenty years – including Gut Health and Fasting for Beginners Revitalize Your Brain with Fasting after 40 and Fasting Secrets for Chronic Conditions – she will be discussing science-backed strategies on nutrition fasting and sustainable lifestyle changes and is happy to answer questions there will be a need-to-know session on mental health to mark Mental Health Awareness Week and author Briony Marshall will be chatting about her latest novel Hooked The month ends with author Darren Pearce and artist Gillian Pearce talking about Darren’s new dark fantasy novel Fate’s Hand at 7pm on 29 May.  “The programme of free events and activities we organise is based on us making sure there is always something for everyone – whatever their age or background,” said Claire Williams “We’re a community venue where people can get together GLL is the not-for-profit social enterprise that runs Dudley Library on behalf of Dudley Council A group of experienced off-road motorcyclists are set to ride across Australia to raise money for cancer treatment and one of them will be popping into meet the Mayor of Dudley ahead of their epic adventure all of whom have a direct and personal connection with a cancer patient or survivor will be travelling across the entire country from the Westernmost “Steep Point” to the Easternmost “Cape Byron”.  They’ll be riding off road and sleeping in tents The ride should take 24 days and will be covered by Australia’s channel 9 news as well as featuring on the group’s YouTube channel Stephen (Steve) Griffiths from Stourbridge will be calling into see the Mayor before flying out for the ride in July Steve accepted the challenge back in 2023 committing to raise money for the McGrath Foundation which funds specialist breast cancer nursing services in an area of great need - remote areas of Australia Since then he himself contracted and recovered from throat cancer but throughout his own chemo and radiotherapy he was determined to still undertake the ride Steve will be splitting his own fundraising efforts between the foundation and the ENT dept at New Cross and Russell’s hall hospitals who supported him through his cancer treatment “Awareness is the key part of cancer treatment …knowing the signs and not to be scared to go see a doctor for a check-up I wasn’t a smoker but I contracted throat cancer I was lucky as mine was caught early and now I’m clear with regular check-ups for the next 5 yrs.  “This is going to be a massive challenge for me after my treatment I’ll be riding with a weakened immune system and no saliva (so the desert is going to be really tricky!) I had to learn how to swallow again and have to drink a pint of water with all food hence this being a huge personal challenge on top of an already tough challenge “I hope between us we can make a difference in how people view cancer hoping we can save lives with quicker self-diagnosis of a problem that needs to be seen by a doctor no matter how small.”  “It was wonderful to meet Steve and hear all about the group the challenge and the work of the McGrath Foundation “Steve knows first-hand just how important it is to be aware of the signs of cancer and of getting things checked out as soon as possible This is a huge personal challenge for Steve having to manage the side effects of his treatment in the gruelling heat of the Australian outback He tells me that it’s not been done before by someone with his health condition “I wish the team all the best on their adventure and hope they raise lots of money for the foundation Follow the team on their YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@Outback-KCAAA/featured Plans by a Black Country council to hand over the running of its leisure centres to a private operator have been dropped Dudley Council had been in talks with private contractors about the possibility of taking over the running of its leisure centres in Dudley town centre But Councillor Patrick Harley said that following a review of tender applications the council was no longer looking to award an external contract The decision comes after a motion calling on the council to abandon the plan was passed unopposed at Monday's meeting of the council Trade unionists had held a demonstration outside Dudley Council House ahead of the meeting Councillor Harley said since the start of the tendering process significant work had been done to improve the council's financial position He said with a balanced budget set for the next five years there was now the space and time to re-evaluate all models of leisure service provision carefully and to look at options for retaining leisure provision within the direct control of the council He said: "The council has been and remains committed to ensuring high quality we've carefully considered the tenders put forward by external providers "With the significant work we have taken to improve our financial position and with a balanced budget set for the next five years “The work completed to date will inform this review and alongside this we will be undertaking a full evaluation of our leisure estate to support us in agreeing the best option moving forward This shows we are being financially responsible to seek the best value for money Buses in Dudley are running normally now after a broken down vehicle caused problems this morning  The vehicle broke down in Castle Street earlier this morning causing services and motorists to follow a diversion via Tower Street But it has now been removed and National Express West Midlands posted on X that all routes are following their normal lines New opening hours are coming into effect at the Stourbridge tip next week The weekly one-day closure was agreed as part of the March 2024 budget when Dudley Council entered into a sharing agreement with Staffordshire Country Council for some of its residents to use Stourbridge while the Wombourne site was temporarily closed The income from this agreement covered the proposed savings for the year The Tuesday closure of the Birmingham Street household waste recycling centre will now start on May 6 There are no other changes to opening times and residents are reminded the site is now running its extended summer schedule opening an extra two hours from 8am to 6pm on Mondays From Wednesday to Sunday it is open 8am to 4pm “Tuesday has historically been the quietest day at the site and the one-day closure was agreed in the 2024 budget to save money This was put on hold while the sharing agreement was in place “With the new hours coming into effect next week I’d like to remind residents the site is still open six days a week with extended summer hours available on Mondays “All visits must be booked in advance from our website but please remember to cancel if your plans change so others can have your slot.” To book a slot visit Dudley Council’s household waste recycling page Residents living near a Black Country park are afraid to leave their homes because of drug-dealing vandalism and threatening behaviour from gangs Sonia Kumar told a debate in the House of Commons that Dudley Council refused to reinstall a temporary security camera after the issue was raised Miss Kumar organised the parliamentary debate on anti-social behaviour in Dudley saying she received emails about the problem on a daily basis She said residents had to endure racial slurs being shouted and that behaviour is a blight on the communities of Dudley particularly for elderly and vulnerable residents undermines pride of place and breeds a culture and perception of lawlessness Miss Kumar told Home Office minister Jess Phillips that Dudley was not getting its fair share of funding when it was allocated for the West Midlands Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles and Halesowen MP Alex Ballinger also reported similar incidents in their constituencies residents are increasingly concerned about vandalism Anti-social behaviour erodes community confidence and makes people feel unsafe It not only undermines trust among neighbours but hinders our local businesses and tarnishes our towns’ reputations as vibrant "The impact on our high streets and businesses is significant Some estimates show that the cost to businesses and individuals of the heightened fear of crime is in excess of £70 billion a year We must be better at reducing the cost and consequences of anti-social behaviour." "A resident wrote to me about drug dealing vandalism and threatening behaviour by gangs who frequently gather near Silver Jubilee Park," she said "Residents became so worried that they remained in their homes frightened to go out and complain for fear of retaliation when those issues were raised with the council That was incredibly frustrating and disappointing I hope that my Conservative council is listening and will change its decision." "There are repeated incidents of joyriding on motorbikes late at night around the green disrupting local residents and making roads too dangerous to use in case of an accident," she said "Fly-tipping is also a constant issue for my constituents with Kates Hill in Dudley singled out to me as a significant problem area for residents." Miss Kumar said anti-social behaviour was a complex issue She said poverty and deprivation were consistently identified as primary root causes Mr Ballinger said one of his own constituents complained about somebody frequently smoking cannabis outside her home "Although she reported it to Dudley Council and the police it was only after my office became involved that something happened That might seem a minor incident to the authorities it is really important for our constituents Miss Eccles said the whole of Dudley borough was blighted by anti-social behaviour "Fly-tipping is absolutely prolific in the Lye ward of my constituency and the council is really struggling to enforce against much of it because a lot of it associated with organised crime She said councils needed more resources to tackle environmental crime youth or activity centres left young people with limited options and voiced concerns about proposals to close the Meadow Road youth centre on the Wrens Nest Estate She said she was fighting to bring Dudley Town football club back to the borough and said it was imperative that community assets such as Sedgley library should be saved Mrs Phlllips said that anti-social behaviour was not low-level "To minimise it in that way is an insult to the many people who suffer every day as a result of the selfish actions of others," she said "Anti-social behaviour eats away at people’s sense of security and local pride and it needs to be dealt with as the serious threat that it is." the response had been weak and ineffective but the present government was putting that right She said tackling illegal drugs was key to delivering the Government’s mission to make streets safer as well as tackling the gangs which lured young people into violence and crime." Mrs Phillips said she was committed to ensuring that all areas of the West Midlands received their fair share of funding cabinet member responsible for housing at Dudley Council said: "While we cannot comment on individual cases we take all reports of neighbour nuisance and anti-social behaviour seriously both in our homes and the community more widely “I would like to remind our residents that any concerns over criminal activity who would naturally lead on such matters with our support as needed.” At a meeting of the full council on April 28 members of the authority accepted a notice of motion from Conservative Cllr Mark Webb which said powers in the government’s proposed reform of planning laws would limit the types of applications that could be decided by councillors The Labour government’s plans in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill also aim to hand control of strategic planning to the mayor in areas like the West Midlands Combined Authority Cllr Webb said: “Any decision should be taken by locally elected members the Bill is designed to speed up planning decisions by removing unnecessary blockers and challengers – in other words the residents of Dudley the compulsory purchase reform will mop up the leftovers allowing land to be acquired so projects that are in the public interest can progress with decisions on this being taken by the inspectorates or the metro mayor.” The government says the reforms will hand more power to local politicians in a form of devolution minister of state for local government and English devolution decision making and money away from Westminster as part of a completely new way of governing equipping more mayors working hand in glove with confident and stable local councils with a stronger set of levers to drive growth in their communities.” The council accepted Cllr Webb’s proposal that Dudley’s leader Cllr Harley will also write to the West Midlands mayor stating the council’s opposition to any plans to give strategic planning power to the office of the mayor During the debate members clashed across the political divide after Labour councillor and Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles was challenged by Conservative front bencher Cllr Phipps accused the government of increasing housing targets in a cynical attempt to cause large estates to be built on countryside in places like Dudley borough Cllr Phipps said: “I have not seen anything from the elected representative who can actually appeal directly to the government has said ‘we need to row back on these’ “Not an ounce of fight was given to try and protect sites in the borough including in the Stourbridge constituency.” Cllr Eccles said: “On December 17 last year I did meet with Alex Norris the housing minister saying that I was requesting that we could work from the previous housing numbers that we had for this borough and not take on the new ones “It’s still being decided as part of the plan B but I have been making the case for our green belt and our residents S5 EP1: Bella Ramsey on being a child actor dealing with critical fandoms and overcoming emetophobia The Woman That Makes Millionaires: They're Lying About Work Life Balance Campaigners vowed to fight on in their bid to stop what they call the privatisation of leisure centres by Dudley Council Trade unionists staged a demonstration ahead of a meeting of the authority on Monday (April 28) to demand the council’s cabinet accept a motion passed by the council in March with a recommendation DB Leisure should ‘remain managed and run by the local authority’ A cabinet meeting ahead of full council did not discuss leisure services and activists say they will continue in their bid to have the motion which was accepted in council by 38 votes to nil said: “The council voted against privatisation and they are carrying on with their own plans “If they carry on this way we will be looking at all the options open to us to fight this.” Council leaders insist outsourcing management of leisure centres is not privatisation Dudley cabinet member for corporate strategy told full council: “We must not govern by slogans or sentiment “The evaluation of tenders already submitted prior to the motion’s success meant existing commitments need to be assessed “Cabinet is determined to act in a manner that upholds the core principles set out in that motion protecting staff terms and conditions and affordable access to facilities for our residents.” Campaign leaders say they have 5,000 names on a petition opposing changes to how leisure centres are run and don’t accept the council’s argument Paul Quigley said: “What the council are trying to do is draw a distinction between outsourcing and privatisation they argue because they maintain ownership of the properties that it does not count as privatisation “Outsourcing and privatisation are the same thing – the effect on people is the same “They are choosing not to use the word because they know privatisation is deeply unpopular.” The Mayor of Dudley will be attending a drop in community health event in Lye next month The event on Saturday 10 May has a particular focus on cancer screening but other health and support services will be available on the day including free health and diabetes checks This is a drop in event for the local community which aims to encourage and educate people about services available to them such as Breast and Cervical Screening and encourage uptake of these free and potentially life-saving services  Other services such as Dementia support Healthy Living and Adult Learning will also present on the day This is a repeat event which was extremely successful in 2023 as a women only event with over 100 women attending the first session from 10am – 1pm is for men only and will offer screening for AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm) - a condition which primarily affects men.  The second from 2pm – 5pm is for women only and will include information about breast and cervical screening These separate sessions are designed to encourage those attending to feel comfortable and more confident in asking questions There will be a male GP in attendance for the morning session and a female GP for the afternoon session “This event was hugely popular when it was held in 2023 and so the team at DGOH have decided to run it again this time with an additional session aimed at men too “Accepting and attending invitations for routine cancer screening is so important I’m looking forward to attending and finding out exactly which services are on my doorstep and how I can make the most of them I hope other people in the community do so too.” For more information email Jayne.burness@nhs.net An appeal has been launched to ask for public help finding a missing teenager from Netherton Dudley Police has launched the appeal and released a photo of Kalub who the force said had last been seen at around 2.50pm on Sunday afternoon It said the 15-year-old was last seen wearing a white hoodie with a Mickey Mouse emblem blue jogging bottoms and white/grey Jordan shoes and asked for anyone with any information to get in touch as soon as possible A spokesman for Dudley Police said: "Have you seen Kalub "Kalub was last seen at 2.50pm on 04/05/25 wearing white hoodie with a Mickey Mouse emblem blue jogging bottoms and white/grey Jordan shoes There were extraordinary scenes at a meeting of Dudley Council after a ‘rant’ from the mayor sparked a walkout During her last outing as chair of council on April 28, outgoing Dudley mayor Hilary Bills clashed with Councillor Steve Edwards from the Dudley Independent Group (DIG) over her decision not to allow a notice of motion to be debated Councillor Edwards raised a question to the leadership of the ruling Conservative group asking if councillors should have the right to challenge decisions made by top councillors after advice from non-elected officers Councillor Bills insisted on answering instead she said: “I don’t think you are telling the truth I understand when something is in order and when it is out of order “I had already ruled it out of order before I even spoke to the officer the monitoring officer worked with you to put together a motion that was in rule that you chose to ignore “I am the person in charge of this meeting and I ruled it out of order.” The contentious notice of motion called for headteachers to consider taking a softer line with parents taking their children out of school in term time for holidays Currently parents can be fined for taking children out of school for a holiday as it is not considered an exceptional circumstance said: “I don’t like doing what I am about to do but do you know who I am “I joined the National Union of Teachers in 1970 and to this day I am still a trustee of half a million teachers you are trying to incite headteachers to break the law “To say we have got to change things because you did not get what you wanted; I do not agree you have been rude about democratic services Councillor Edwards tried again to put his question to the leader of the council or cabinet member Councillor Simon Phipps who is working on alterations to the authority’s constitution and suggested the mayor did not understand the question He was was interrupted by Councillor Bills Councillor Edwards said: “I haven’t called out anyone in this chamber what I am saying is democracy shouldn’t leave absolute power with one person calling me a liar is out of order and disrespectful.” Councillor Bills said: “I have done everything according to what a mayor can do – I did the right thing.” The mayor then attempted to move to another question but Councillor Edwards continued to address her as the meeting became unruly he was ordered to leave the chamber along with the other five members of the DIG group left hummed a tune and added: “I am not going to be lied about.” Dudley's new multi-million pound Health Innovation College is making progress as the latest images show The  new education campus is being built at a cost of £26m on land formerly occupied by the vacant former Dudley Hippodrome in Castle Hill It will be home to a medical services college providing further education courses including nursing midwifery and paramedic science as part of the borough's efforts to offer more training opportunities to residents on the doorstep Dudley Council’s hopes of protecting the borough’s beauty spots from developers have been given a huge boost The local authority has submitted the Dudley Local Plan to the Secretary of State for consideration It lays out plans to build nearly 10,500 new homes in the borough by 2041 – with 97 per cent on brownfield sites and none on green belt land Brownfield sites are ones that have been previously developed but are either no longer in use or being under-utilised The authority’s hopes of getting the green light have been boosted by a decision this month by inspectors to approve the Wirral Local Plan It is believed to be the first council in the country to get a blueprint approved using a brownfield only approach to house building Despite around half of the borough being green belt land there will be no building on beauty spots in the Wirral before 2040 “The news of the Wirral Plan is massive for us “It shows that a brownfield first approach which protects the green belt from development can pass the litmus test with the Secretary of State and get over the line “It has been approved despite being nearly 3,000 short of the government’s recommended figure for the amount of houses being built there “Ours is nowhere near that – we are only around 700 short will get the green light from the government It will allow us to deliver on our promises to do all we can to protect the borough’s green spaces from developers.” The council submitted its plan for examination in February with hearings to rule on it expected to start in the summer It lays out plans to build 10,470 homes by 2041 with 97 per cent on brownfield sites and three per cent on greenfield There is no proposed release of green belt – which makes up just over 18 per cent of land in the borough - to meet the demand An Essington farm and attraction is inviting the public to come and take a walk through a stunning natural setting to help raise vital funds for charity Essington Fruit Farm is inviting the public to take a walk through its Bluebell Walk a walk which it puts on every year when the bluebells have grown With the weather having been better than previous years the bluebells have grown earlier than expected and so owner Richard Simkin has opened up the walk for Bank Holiday weekend Visitors are being invited to make a donation to charity, with the farm giving all donations raised to the Brain Tumour Charity a cause Mr Simkin said he was a firm supporter of due to knowing people afflicted by it He said: "We had several people that we knew had been affected by it and one of our regular customers lost his wife to a brain tumour while we also came into contact with three or four cases close together "That was what influenced us to pick that charity for this year and what we're doing is leaving is up to people to make their own mind how much they want to donate to the cause "We ask for donations on the way in and we would settle for a minimum of £2 to £3 so we're hoping to raise a few hundred pounds for the charity." Mr Simkin said the bluebells were something quintessentially English with the bluebells grown at the farm being of the English variety and said they could form part of a full day out at the farm He said: "They started growing at Easter because of the warm weather but we've managed to get them to this weekend and so we've opened up normally for the Bank Holiday "We've also got a stunning selection of plants on sale as the sunshine has brought them all out and people can also visit our shop and cafe so there's lots to see at the farm over the weekend." there are a number of other locations where people can take in the beauty of bluebells: Saltwells nature reserve covers 247 acres and is known for it's 'spectacular' bluebell walks Visitors can enjoy a long walk through Saltwells Wood and admire the bluebell covered ancient woodlands which has well marked trails for all abilities Not only do the 524-acre Worcestershire woodlands offer incredible views but a bluebell trail that is a mile and a half long through the trees An 'easy' four mile walk passes through picturesque wooded valleys with pools visitors can head to Brockswood sanctuary and meet the animals The local nature reserve is 25 acres of ancient woodland between Northway and Pennwood Farm in Sedgley The bluebells and woodland flowers in spring and early summer create 'a wonderful display' Bunkers Hill in Stourbridge is over 100 acres of beautiful woodlands treating visitors to views of Kinver Edge to the west and countryside stretching towards Stourbridge and Birmingham to the east There are a number of trails and terrains for all visitors It is thought that these woods can be traced back to the Ice Age due to the presence of ancient woodland species Managed by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust it is the second largest woodland area in Worcestershire Near the town centre is a 20 acre 'secret' oak and beech woodland that blossoms with bluebells in the spring The main path leads to a woodland pool and bridge as well as a playing field for picnics and games.