Dear readers — today’s edition is something a little different. Something a little more personal, even. Rather than our usual Wednesday feature, about the behind-the-scenes machinations of Birmingham City Council, the latest output from one of Birmingham’s esteemed cultural organisations, or whatever else, today I’ll be taking the reins (that’s Kate, by the way) for something we’re terming an editor’s edition.
The idea is something of a throwback to the early days of newsletters (before they started developing ideas above their station and pretending to be newspapers), where the writer would simply throw out a load of ideas, thoughts and observations about things that were interesting to them at the time. A smorgasboard of sorts. Today’s includes thoughts about Birmingham itself, including the future of the city centre (and the ever-discussed but still unresolved fate of Station Street) and the city’s lesser-known ancestral land-owners, as well as more personal segments, such as my deep dislike for Louis Walsh and the story of my brother’s ill-fated and extremely short-lived foray into the world of pop music.
This edition is a bit different, so any feedback is appreciated, but hopefully the format will encourage you all to get into the comments section and give your own takes. One of the best parts about doing The Dispatch is reading all the messages and emails we get from readers and the sense of community we want to foster. Often we’ll share the nice ones (or even the rare not so nice ones) in our work chats because they’re great motivation and give us loads of new ideas.
Brum in Brief
🏉 The chief exec of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Bill Sweeney, has threatened to move the home of English rugby to Birmingham or Milton Keynes in the face of licensing restrictions at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium. To fund a long-desired £600m redevelopment of the arena, the RFU needs it to be able to host major concerts throughout the year to compete with other London venues like Wembley. To make that possible, they want the local council to change Twickenham’s licence to allow an increase from three non-rugby events per year, each with a restricted crowd of 55,000, to 15 events for audiences of up to 82,000. It’s not the first time Sweeney has suggested a move to the Midlands: last year, the RFU considered the relocation as well as an alternative plan to sell Twickenham and buy a 50 per cent stake in Wembley. However, these ideas were shelved in favour of a modernisation plan to begin in 2027. In a recent appearance on the Business of Sport podcast, Sweeney revealed the move could be back on the table if Richmond borough council refuses to increase the licence. Revealing how restrictive the current arrangement is, he said: “We have had The Rolling Stones. We could have had Beyoncé but she wanted three nights and we are only allowed two nights consecutively.” That said, Sweeney might be running out of opportunities to sound off: next week he faces a vote of no confidence at a special general meeting after The Times revealed soaring levels of executive pay at the RFU, including Sweeney’s own performance-related bonuses that took his income to over £1m.
🚮 Bins latest! As headlines about Birmingham’s bin woes stack up higher than the black sacks outside your front door, there’s now more bad news for the city council. New figures reveal BCC was struggling to meet targets to tackle flytipping and refuse collection even before the bin workers went on strike in January. A council performance report, covering the third quarter of 2024-25, said the number of 'reported missed bin collections per 100,000 collections scheduled' had missed the quarterly target of 90. Instead, 356 collections were missed — a 31 per cent increase compared to the second quarter. Cabinet member for the environment Councillor Majid Mahmood says he knew the service was not performing well and that is “exactly why” the council wants to transform it. Refuse workers and members of Unite the Union are currently walking out every day in rejection of the council’s plans, claiming the plans are “heartless” and will “slash pay”.
🔥 Police are investigating a suspected arson attack at the Coyote Ugly bar on Broad Street. A fire broke out on the premises in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Detectives said a sign and part of a door had allegedly been set on fire outside the bar. Firefighters, who forced their way into the bar to isolate its electrics, left the scene just before 6am.
Ancestral land owners, gangster pop stars and everything in between
Where I’m from: Something that has become apparent lately when out and about reporting and meeting sources is that a lot of people think I’m not from Birmingham. Several people have said things like “I’m not sure if you’ll remember this part of Birmingham history — when did you move here?” This probably has something to do with the fact I have the kind of voice a lot of people who grew up in Harborne have. Ie, I sound a bit posh. But rest assured, I was born in the long-gone Sorrento Hospital in Moseley and lived my first 18 years out in a house near Harborne Swimming Baths before moving, unforgivably, to London for uni. My parents were outsiders: mom grew up in Rotherham, South Yorkshire (which my Sheffield-born boyfriend will never let her live down) and dad was from near Belfast. But my brother and sister and I are proud Brummies, through and through. We’ve got photos of us riding the Cadbury World ‘Cadabra’ cocoa bean ride to prove it.
What I’m reading: Until now, the modern British royal family has never interested me much. Unless we were talking about Henry VIII gruesomely beheading his wives and imprisoning dissidents in the Tower of London, I didn't really want to know. That has all changed since I picked up The Palace Papers by Tina Brown. The book charts the tribulations of the House of Windsor from the death of Princess Diana to Prince Harry’s shock resignation from royal duties and his and Meghan’s explosive Oprah interview following their move to America. Brown, who made her name after becoming the editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair in 1984 at the age of 30, transforming it from dull and humourless into a gripping mix of insider celebrity detail with serious reportage, has the knack for absorbing her reader in a world completely unfamiliar to most.
