PUBLISHED: January 14, 2016 2:58 pm A Grade II-listed college targeted by arsonists will be renovated – while part of a listed school building at the same site is to be flattened. The former Sandwell College site on Crocketts Lane The move comes under new plans for 178 homes in Smethwick.The scheme for the former Sandwell College and Crocketts Lane Primary School site has been hailed by council leader Darren Cooper as a key part of the regeneration Read more [...]

Image copyright Network Rail Image caption Network Rail said the gates were not closing fully and the locking mechanism was worn An "unsafe" Victorian railway crossing barrier will be permanently removed despite initial opposition Read more [...]

ONE of Chepstow’s most treasured buildings will soon open as a backpackers’ hostel after years of work which has cost up to £1.2 million.  The Grade II* listed former British Legion Building was bought by Mike Lewis in 2007 and since then, six years of work has gone into changing it into accommodation.  The transformation should be complete at The Green Man by the end of the month. The oldest part of the historic building is its moot Read more [...]

David Bowie's final album 'Blackstar' has sold out on vinyl in the UK just four days after being released. Bowie released his final album 'Blackstar' on his 69th birthday last week (January 8). Two days later he passed away. With 'Blackstar' expected to top the charts in both the UK and US this week, The Vinyl Factory reports that the UK first pressing has completely sold out with retailers unable to satisfy the huge increase in demand. It is reported that up to 10,000 vinyl copies of the record Read more [...]

NINE modern new properties have been created within the historic Smithills Coaching House site but the history of the building goes back nearly a 700 years. THE first historical records relating to Smithills Hall come from when William Radcliffe obtained the manor from the Hulton family in 1335. When the last of the Radcliffe family to own the estate died in 1485 — without a male heir — the hall was passed on to the wealthy Barton family. The Bartons remained Read more [...]

Barnet have transfer-listed Andy Yiadom after the defender rejected the club's offer of a new contract. Mauro Vilhete, 22, who is on loan at Boreham Wood, and Ben Tomlinson, 26, have also been made available. Yiadom, 24, has made 161 appearances for the Bees since joining them in January 2012, scoring 11 goals. "As he is out of contract this summer, we felt that it was best to make Andy available now," Read more [...]

Brewood and Coven Parish Council wanted Old Hall, on the A5 at Ivetsey Bank, to be listed but Wheaton Aston Council overwhelmingly rejected the plans.The 18th century Old Hall used to host Utopia, a popular adult venue for couples who would swap partners and use the venue's 15-metre heated indoor swimming pool, 16-person jacuzzi and sauna and steam room.But Utopia dissolved in 2007 and the building has remained derelict ever since, with the site now boarded up with blacked out windows Read more [...]

Not much has changed regarding the Lakers’ injured players.Kobe Bryant now has been listed as probable for Tuesday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans because of a strained right Achilles tendon. See the most-read stories in Sports this hour Rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell has been listed as probable for the game with a sprained right ankle, and forward Brandon Bass also is probable after he missed the last game with a scratched right cornea. Read more [...]

A planning application has been submitted to convert a historic private school into nine apartments. The planning application is to turn Winston House Preparatory School, in High Road, South Woodford into nine flats and a build a separate two-storey building for use as a nursery, along with parking and communal amenity facilities. The school building is a Grade II listed building, meaning it is of special historical and architectural importance. Read more [...]

The iconic Playboy Mansion is officially being put up for sale for one of the highest asking prices for a private residence in the United States, but as a condition of the sale, Hugh Hefner can continue living there..Playboy Enterprises announced the West Los Angeles estate, the backdrop of many film shoots and celebrity parties, was listed on Monday for $200million.Hefner, the magazine's founder who is now 89, can continue living there as he has since the company bought the mansion 45 years ago Read more [...]