Dear readers — welcome to your first Monday briefing under our new roof. Just look at the place! We’ve upholstered the furniture, we’ve knocked up an oakwood decking with an Ooni pizza oven in the back yard and we’ve perched little bespoke candles from Jo Malone on the sides of the bath (in case you read The Dispatch exclusively via email and don’t have a clue what the fuck we’re talking about, we’ve got a new website — take a look).
But of course, what makes a house a home is the people. And what makes a home a thriving HMO is people who pay the rent (don’t worry, this is a nice HMO, nothing like the sort of HMO your local councillor would run). Of the almost 25,000 Dispatch readers 1,152 of you are currently on our paying members list. If that doesn’t yet include you, help us keep the bayliffs at bay (and build a sustainable model for carefully reported, investigative local journalism in the process) by hitting the subscribe button.
In other news — we’re hiring! The Dispatch’s parent company, Mill Media, needs more freelance editors to help craft our writing. If you’re an editor with experience working on long and complex stories, including narrative long reads and investigations, we want to hear from you. All the information you need, including how to apply, is at this link.
Catch up and coming up:
- Over the weekend, Alex Taylor went on a journey through the past and into the low-budget but highly entertaining world of long-gone local soap opera Crossroads. It’s a “terrific read” as one happy Dispatch member put it, so make sure to check it out here.
- Have you ever done a bootcamp or course with Redstone Training provider? Kate wants to hear from you at kate@birminghamdispatch.co.uk
- Know anything about the charity Islamic Relief (headquartered in Digbeth) — contact Samuel at sam@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
Weather
🌥️Tuesday: A sunny start turning to overcast. Max 9°C.
☔Wednesday: Light showers, overcast skies. Max 8°C.
🌥️Thursday: Sunny, then overcast. Max 8°C.
🍃Friday: Sun and a gentle breeze. Max 8°C.
🌤️Weekend: A mix of sun and cloud. Max 9°C.
We get our weather from the Met Office.
Photo of the week
Atherstone Ball Game, 2025. Photo by Samuel McIlhagga/The Dispatch. The small Warwickshire market town of Atherstone saw in the Spring and the start of Lent with a violent and ancient form of football. Read our dispatch on the event here.
Brum in brief
💲 Labour Edgbaston MP Preet Gill has come under scrutiny for accepting £10,000 in donations from a company that helps the super-rich obtain foreign citizenship. The story — published on the Democracy for Sale Substack — describes how opposition parties have urged Labour to explain the donation by Mayfair-based CS Global, which helps “affluent” clients from around the world secure citizenship in countries with “minimal taxation.” A presentation given by a CS Global employee cites an example where a man called Roger Ver renounced his US citizenship in 2014 after obtaining St Kitts and Nevis citizenship through investment. Ver has since been indicted for income tax evasion in the US, although his lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, claiming it is politically motivated. So-called ‘citizenship by investment’ schemes—dubbed ‘golden visas’— enable foreign nationals to acquire citizenship in exchange for significant investments, ranging from £185,000 to several million pounds, granting rights to live, work, and study in the host nation or regions like the EU. They are highly controversial and some have drawn criticism for facilitating corruption, fraud, and money laundering. John Heathershaw, professor at the University of Exeter and co-author of Indulging Kleptocracy, urged Gill to explain the donation, adding that it “raises questions for the government to answer.”
🎨 Birmingham City Council (BCC) is investigating whether to impose a ‘tourist tax’ on key arts and culture venues in the city. The policy, which the city’s Liberal Democrats are pushing, is now being considered by council leader John Cotton. Lib Dem Councillor Deborah Harries of Yardley East had proposed a hotel levy of £1 to £2 a night, per occupied room to help prop up the city’s “crumbling” cultural venues, after BCC pushed through a slate of budget cuts. Multiple European cities, including Barcelona and Manchester, have created tourist levies to fund their attractions. While some naysayers might posit that Barcelona is a more obvious ‘tourist’ destination than our own fine city, they should ask themselves which of the two was voted Time Out’s Second Best UK travel destination of 2023? Exactly. The policy has been hesitantly supported by both Owen de Visser director of the Lux Gallery and Lyle Bignon, a night time economy specialist. Although, de Visser has jokingly argued that because “it’s a good idea” he “doubt[s] it will happen.” Should we tax tourists? Let us know in the comments.
👨💼Taxi for Gerald Manton? The Westside Business Improvement District (BID) has erupted into ‘civil war’, with its manager and chairman both resigning following a chaotic series of mutual accusations. The BID represents the interests of leading businesses (big fish like Deloitte and Symphony Hall) in the Broad Street and Brindley Place areas of the city. Recently the BID ousted its manager Mike Olley, allegedly over gross misconduct after a complaint was brought against him by then-chairman Gerald Manton. However, Olley has since accused the BID of firing him over whistleblowing as he pursues legal action against the organisation. Manton then stood down after Olley brought allegations against him to the BID’s board. Manton’s apparent crimes? Excessive taxi use and a botched fireworks display.
🪩 Two of Birmingham’s most popular gay venues (The Loft and the Village Inn) will move under one roof and into the city’s iconic Nightingale club, it has been announced. “WHO’S READY FOR THE WORST KEPT SECRET IN BRUM HISTORY 👀😂,” the Nightingale announced on Instagram, promising an “AMAZING” (also block capitals) new site. Fans of the venues were less convinced though, pointing out the obvious: three great venues have been replaced by one. Behind the scenes, the reality — as The Dispatch has been reporting — is that finances are shaky. The news comes nine months after the company behind all three hospitality businesses, GB Holdings Ltd, announced it had appointed administrators amid rising debts. GB Holdings Ltd was run by entrepreneur and Birmingham Night Life Economy champion Lawrence Barton, but Barton’s mom and his business partner Terence Runcorn came to the rescue when they bought out the company in July. Barton has also come under scrutiny recently for disputed claims for £8.4m owed by his separate skills training company.
🏨 Two brothers involved in the construction of a Birmingham hotel have been charged alongside the ex-mayor of Liverpool and nine others with offences related to the awarding of contracts from Liverpool city council between 2010 and 2020. Julian and Paul Flanagan, the founders of the Liverpool building company the Flanagan Group, are both accused of bribery. The Flanagan Group built the Aloft Hotel on Woodcock Street in Birmingham city centre, which opened in 2021 and is owned by Unite the Union. It has been the subject of two inquiries into how the project cost ballooned from £7m to over £100m, commissioned by Unite’s general secretary since 2021, Sharon Graham.
Quick Hits:
🏙️ A large housing unit on the Smithfield site, near the Bullring, is set to be approved on 13 March. The tower is planned to have 408 homes and address supply shortages in the city — although some organisations have criticised the development on aesthetic and affordability grounds.
🗳️ Shaz Saleem, a former Dudley Conservative councillor and independent parliamentary candidate has been cleared at a magistrate’s court of sending illegal voicemail messages.
☪️ Community organisers in Small Heath have committed to holding a series of ‘Ramadan Streets’ in the area over the next week. These events will be markets outside the hours of fasting: catering to both Muslims and non-muslims in the area.
🚋 Metro journeys in the city have finally risen above pre-COVID levels. Over 8.3 million journeys were made in the previous year according to recently released data.
🏗️ Controversial plans to massively redevelop the 1960s Druid’s Heath estate have been submitted. The council wants to deliver 3,500 energy-efficient homes in the area and demolish many of the tower blocks erected in the 1960s. 1,785 of these homes are to be classified as affordable and 400 will be for social rent.
Home of the week
When a home has its very own name, that’s usually a sign it’s something pretty special. Northfield House in Bournville is just that, with stained glass, bay windows for days and gardens plural. The five-bedroom property is available for £850,000.
Media picks
📰 As Aston Villa gear up for this week’s Champions League clash with Brugge, the heroes of ‘82 — Tony Morley, Peter Withe and Nigel Spink — sit down with The Times. They’re two “different eras,” says Morley but the trio are loath to say players today are either physically or mentally fitter than they were back then, regardless of how much more the club spends on nutritionists and psychologists when four decades ago it made do with a manager. By way of illustration, Spink recalls: “Tony’s house burnt down and Ron Saunders told him to get his head around it as he’s got to play the next day.”
📰 We all know that the Cadbury family built housing for their workers. But did you know that they also put on plays? A piece in the Times Literary Supplement from 2024, where Michael Dobson reviews Catherine Hindson’s Theatre in the Chocolate Factory, describes how amateur dramatics were used as a form of in-house entertainment at the Bourneville Estate between 1900 and 1935. Performances included comedy, pantomime, operettas, folk dancing, Punch and Judy shows, and avante-garde plays. Does your boss make you watch modernist theatre? Let us know...
📺 The controversial situation regarding Station Street’s Electric Cinema has been featured on BBC Politics Midlands. The news segment highlights the support Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne have given the closed-down cinema on the The Osbournes Podcast. Dudley Labour MP Sonia Kumar, who was a guest on the show, has promised to bring up the cinema with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)’s head — MP Lisa Nandy.
Our to do list
🖼️ Take to Solihull High Street this week for a free, outdoors exhibition of under-celebrated Surrealist painter Emmy Bridgewater. Read all about it here.
🎤 Jazz Emu, the viral character by the award-winning musician, actor and writer Archie Henderson, brings his new show Knight Fever to the Town Hall on Wednesday. Tickets from £23.
🧑🎨 Ikon Gallery launches two new shows on Wednesday: an exhibition of Mahtab Hussain’s portraits of Birmingham’s Muslim community and a multidisciplinary show by the artist Htein Lin from Myanmar — including paintings made while he was a political prisoner.
🎸 Millennial nu metal kids assemble: Limp Bizkit are playing BP Pulse on Thursday. Tickets from £70.80.
🎤 Comedian Jenny Eclair comes to the Town Hall on Friday with her autobiographical show Jokes Jokes Jokes Live! Get tickets from £28.50.
☘️ The parade has been cancelled but the craic is going nowhere — head to Norton’s on Sunday for a St Patrick’s Day to remember (or not, depending on how much Guinness you sink). Grab a ticket for £22.
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