Telford News

Auditor KPMG is ‘anticipating’ giving the council an “unqualified” audit report and officials told a scrutiny committee that its budget is a “really positive place to be”.

The council’s audit committee was told that technical amendments to property and pension valuations have had no effect on the final budget for 2024-25.

A group of developers have come together to give the St John Ambulance training centre in Wellington a fresh new look.

The building on Haybridge Road has been completely repainted as part of a social value programme tied to the New College development on King Street. The work was carried out by sub-contractor Deluxe on behalf of a partnership including Lovell Partnerships, NuPlace, Telford & Wrekin Council and Housing Plus Group.

Telford & Wrekin Council made payments of £12,431,116 in respect of a private finance initiative (PFI) contract last year, budget papers say.

The council has a 28-year PFI contract in place for the building and servicing
of school and leisure facilities at Hadley Learning Community and Queensway for £289m.

Some 38 objections to the change of use of a three-bed family home in Pemberton Road, Admaston, to a care facility for up to three children were lodged by the public.

Applicant Turnstone Residential Ltd wants to provide a home for up to three children between the ages of seven and 17 under the care of two full-time staff members and one manager, “in a safe and secure environment”.

Twenty-six of the 33 people who left the council in 2024-25 cost the authority up to £20,000 at a total of £167,856.

One individual who departed the council in that year had a package of £132,466, with six others making up the difference to the £682,401 total, the figures reveal.

A new care home focused on sustainable living is preparing to open its doors on Marsh Meadow Way in Redhill this April.
Archbridge Manor, operated by Crystal Care Collection, has been built with several eco-friendly features designed to reduce its carbon footprint while providing residential, dementia, and respite care.

A meeting this week will be told that the current  ‘clustering’ of NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin with Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent is set to be a full ‘merger’ in 2027.

Staff who have been caught up in a government shake up of commissioning bodies will find out soon if their applications for voluntary redundancy have been accepted.

A petition and other public objections to the new Lawley & Overdale Parish Council building at Bryce Way have been lodged with Telford & Wrekin Council’s planning committee.

Parish council documents reveal that local Band D council taxes in the parish will rise by about 44p a week to help the project proceed. The money will be needed to pay off a 40-year loan with an annual fixed rate of £263,113 per annum.

The housing scheme will see the Council purchase 10 properties, as part of its Telford & Wrekin Homes programme, which will be prioritised for veterans. The Council would then look to expand the scheme in future phases.

Firefighters from Telford Central were called to the Sutton Maddock Roundabout and Parkway, Madeley this afternoon.

Councils will be given the power to crack down on problem pavement parking but there remain question marks over how it will be enforced.

Lib Dem Councillor Thomas Janke (Newport South) asked at a Telford & Wrekin council meeting last week “when we expect these powers and associated enforcement responsibilities to be devolved to the council”.

A member of the public asked council leader Lee Carter at a meeting last week to note that some three million people had signed a national petition against the move.

Councillor Carter (Labour, Arleston & College) said he “fully understands and respects the feeling against the concept of mandatory digital ID”.

Telford’s Member of Parliament has renewed his call this morning for the immediate closure of Madeley Court Hotel, which continues to be used to accommodate asylum seekers, and has urged Ministers to hand the site back for use by the local community.

Ahead of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day, Burton Borough School laid on a powerful and immersive learning experience.

Nearly 70 students took part in Testimony 360 – a digital education programme created by the Holocaust Educational Trust that has been designed to transform how the Holocaust is taught in schools across the UK.

Beauty spots in Newport could be given special nature status but there will be no quick solution to chronic parking problems near one of them, a meeting heard.

After the meeting Councillor Janke posted on social media that creating a local nature reserve is a “significant milestone and will help ensure these much-loved green spaces are properly protected against development in the future, including any extension of the car park.”

A cat was rescued and given oxygen by firefighters after a kitchen fire broke out at a property on Park Lane in Madeley this morning.

A meeting this week heard that residents have concerns over child pedestrian safety, parent parking, and speeding at Cadman Drive in Priorslee.

The road is behind Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) secondary school which has more than 850 pupils on its roll.