Dear readers — welcome back. We hope you spent your weekends basking in Valentine's Day romance. Perhaps following a trail of rose petals up the stairs to a candle-lit bath, a glass of bubbles perched on the side, climbing into the tub and opening up your phone to read The Dispatch’s Valentine's story… about Raja Khan’s ‘empire of dirt.’
In case you missed it, Samuel continued our long-running reporting on Birmingham’s ‘exempt accommodation’ crisis — looking at the shocking quality of housing being provided by Khan’s company Aspire (all while receiving big sums from the taxpayer to provide it).
A huge thanks to the 25 new members who signed up after that story, 14 of which have leapt straight onto our paid list. A reminder as ever that our paying members (all of whom are rich in beauty and spirit) bankroll our journalism. We aren’t beholden to billionaire backers or advertisers — simply to you. If you want to support us and get eight jam-packed extra editions a month for the price of a few lattes a month, please click the button below.
Catch up and coming up:
- Over the weekend, Jack took (subjected?) readers for a stroll down New Street, arguing that the major thoroughfare is in urgent need of updating. “The problem of New Street feels entirely self-inflicted […] there’s only one story you can tell about it: a city that doesn’t know how to sell itself,” he writes. Catch up here.
- We recently learned that Sutton Coldfield’s most famous twins (they played Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter films) Oliver (supports Villa) and James (a City fan) Phelps are football rivals. This got us thinking, how many otherwise close Brum families are divided by the Second City derby? If yours is, let us know in the comments or at kate@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
- Know anything about the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer project being built just off of the M6 near Coleshill? Contact Samuel at sam@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
- Got a tip-off for us? A story that’s simply begging to be told? Send it to editor@birminghamdispatch.co.uk.
Weather
🧣 Tuesday: Cloudy and cool with sunny intervals. Max 5°.
☀️ Wednesday: Sunny again! And a bit breezy. Max 9°C.
🌥️Thursday: More sun, more breeze. Max 11°C.
🍃 Friday: Wind picks up a bit. Max 10°C.
☂️ Weekend: Light rain and a gentle breeze. Max 10°C.
We get our weather from the Met Office.
Photo of the week
The Bull Yard, Coventry City Centre, (Photo by @Dirty.Brum). The Bull Yard in Coventry is a peak example of British 1960s modernist, brutalist and ‘Festival of Britain’ design, built by architects Arthur Ling and Terence Gregory, with murals and sculptures by artist William Mitchell, of Hockley's ‘Brutalist climbing wall’ fame. The Bull Yard is currently up for redevelopment by Coventry City Council and Shearer Property Group.
Brum in brief
🏚️ An update to last Friday’s story on Aspire, the “supported accommodation” provider we revealed was providing substandard housing, full of black mould and cockroaches, at taxpayer expense, has caught the attention of Birmingham’s councillors. Per emails seen by The Dispatch, the Leader of Birmingham Conservative Group, Robert Alden, has called on the Managing Director of Birmingham City Council (BCC), Joanne Roney to “investi[gate] the appalling housing conditions described in the Dispatch article regarding Aspire,” cc’ing in BCC Leader John Cotton.
🔪 ‘Reformed criminal,’ gardener and father Reece Chisholm is leading efforts to organise local men in an anti-crime patrol, after the murder of 12-year-old Leo Ross last month. While some have questioned his efforts as a form of vigilantism, Chisholm argues that the deterioration of law and order in the Birmingham suburb of Hall Green has left him little choice but to take personal action. After the killing of Ross, police promised the community an increased presence in the area, but many feel crime still isn’t being tackled. “All we want to do is what the police are not doing,” says Chisholm, adding that: “We will make citizens' arrests with reasonable force. The police won't come out, so I will put them in my car and take them to the station myself.” According to a report in the Daily Mail, there seem to be enough members to organise a rota, with Chisholm saying: “There will be groups of us at different times and on different days.”
☘️ This year’s St Patrick’s Day parade has been cancelled; a crushing blow to G-splitters across the Midlands. Due to be held on the 16th of March in Digbeth, the parade is one of the largest in the world. What prompted the cancellation is a bit of a mystery. Maurice Malone, chief executive of the Birmingham Irish Association, has cited concerns around ‘safety,’ but hasn’t yet expanded on that. The parade is more than 70 years old, but a combination of COVID and untimely tram works have meant a rough few years. However, many bars in the area are still reliant on the trade Paddy’s Day brings, and the community wants an explanation. “I reckon the parade will never return, COVID and that bloody tram that goes nowhere has killed it…no Irish left in Digbeth,” was one response to the parade’s statement. Another commenter writes: “I think there needs to be some transparency here. The community can’t help if we’re not told exactly what is needed to make it happen.”
🏗️ The former Que Club, and rapidly deteriorating 121-year-old Methodist Central Hall building, has quietly been improved since The Dispatch published our investigation into its debt-laden owners (not that we’re claiming credit of course…). A reader sent in this photo of the outside, which shows where a big patch of graffiti on the tower has been painted over. Additionally, it looks like some vegetation has been cleared. There is, however, still some scrawl on the right-hand-side dome. You can’t win ‘em all. We love receiving photos and updates from readers about our stories so please do keep sending them in: editor@birminghamdispatch.co.uk
Quick Hits
🗞️ A media regulator has called out Birmingham Live for publishing two “actively misleading” headlines. Reach PLC, the publisher that owns the local paper, has added corrections to the stories.
🏏 A £42 million planning application for Edgbaston Cricket Stadium has been approved. The plan includes a slated redevelopment containing a new 3,191-seat facility and a 146-bed hotel.
🏙️ Digbeth has been named one of the coolest places to live in 2025 by The Times — with the paper describing the neighbourhood as a “ground zero for 365 party girls (and boys).” Recent reporting by The Dispatch begs to differ, but what do we know?
Media picks
🎧 BBC Radio West Midlands’ Daz Hale explores the legacy of Leon Salberg, Birmingham’s ‘Panto King.’ Salberg earned his reputation for his string of comedy programming at The Alexandra at the start of the 20th century, ending in his unexplained death in his office. His ghost is said to haunt the theatre.
📰 UnHerd has published a dispatch from Small Heath about the prevalence of violent crime, against a backdrop of police cuts and local authority-imposed austerity. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s recent call to replace pointed kitchen blades with blunter alternatives, as a solution to sky-high knife crime, comes under fire. “A laughable suggestion,” write David Rose and Yasminara Khan, who was brought up in Small Heath. “Doubly so when one considers that Shabana Mahmood, the local MP in Small Heath, is also Keir Starmer’s justice secretary.”
Our to do list
📖 Join Kate in conversation with the journalist and author Dan Hancox at Voce Books tomorrow to discuss his latest book Multitudes. Tickets £3, event starts at 7 pm.
🩰 Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cinderella opens at the Hippodrome on Wednesday at 7.30 pm, promising a magical en-pointe production of this classic fairytale. Tickets from £30.
🎤 Over at Moseley’s Patrick Kavanagh pub on Wednesday, funny fellas Phil Chapman and Jules O’Brien will be taking the mic at the weekly Fat Penguin Comedy Club from 8 pm. This non-profit show runs on recommended donations of £5+, all of which are put back into hiring the next acts.
🎞️ The British International Film Festival takes place on Friday at the Mockingbird Cinema, screening independent shorts, animation, a screening of feature-length film The Last Witness and a workshop led by BAFTA-nominated director Piotr Szkopiac. 12-7 pm, tickets £10.
🇨🇿 Join Birmingham-based Czech artist Tereza Bušková on Friday for a clipping of the Ikon Gallery from 5 pm-7 pm. Clipping is an ancient English tradition which finds parallels with similar Czech practices, involving forming a human chain around a church or other sacred buildings. While this tradition died out across much of England, it survived in the Midlands. Expect bread sculptures and ceremonial lanterns. Attendance is free.
🖼️ This week is your last opportunity to catch the Waste Age: What can design do? exhibition at the MAC. In collaboration with the Design Museum, this show looks at a new generation of designers who are rethinking our relationship to everyday things in the grips of a climate crisis. Book here for a recommended donation of £6.
🖍️ Michael D. Kennedy is a local illustrator whose work has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s and more. Celebrate the launch of his latest book, a short story collection called Milk White Steed, at BMAG this Sunday. This one’s free and begins at 2 pm. Pre-booking is recommended.
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