The Midlands
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| Google books | books.google.com |
|---|---|
| Originally published | 2014 |
| Authors | Tony Williams |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 1945429 |
About The Midlands
Williams's delight in word play and tomfoolery belies a darker, stranger undertow between rhyme and reasoning. Strange forces are at work in the heartlands, where we find ourselves travellers in perpetual motion, stopping only to gather our disappointment at the OK Cafe on the A1.
UK temperatures plunge as cold snap disrupts roads
... Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice have come into effect for the north west of England, The Midlands, the south, and parts of Wales and Scotland...
New UK weather warnings for snow and ice as sporting events cancelled
... Forecasters say the latest alert will cover much of The Midlands, Yorkshire and north and central Wales...
UK weather: Snow forecast and warnings in place as temperatures plummet
... There is even the chance of perhaps some significant snow in Wales, The Midlands and parts of northern England by Sunday morning, even at low levels...
Colder days and nights ahead - BBC Weather
... This could form on Friday night, particularly in The Midlands and eastern England, and hang around through Saturday...
Chilly UK dips to -8C as snow and ice forecast
... Freezing fog is making travel treacherous in parts of The Midlands, north-west England and Northern Ireland, and could develop elsewhere...
Wilko shops set to return to the High Street before Christmas
... It expanded across The Midlands initially and by the 1990s became one of Britain s fastest-growing retailers...
HS2: England's buses get £150m boost from cancelled leg
... Ministers say the funding for bus services in The Midlands and northern England is part of a £1bn investment...
Storm Babet floods could last for days - officials
... The agency has also warned widespread flooding is probable in parts of The Midlands and the North of England...
HS2: England's buses get £150m boost from cancelled leg
By Tim Dodd and PABBC England
Bus services in parts of England will get a £150m boost due to the scrapped Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2, the Prime Minister has said.
Rishi Sunak scrapped the northern leg of the high-speed rail project earlier this month, promising to put The Money into smaller transport projects.
Ministers say the funding for bus services in The Midlands and northern England is part of a £1bn investment.
However, some transport campaigners said the funding did not go far enough.
Mr Sunak said he was delivering a " fairer and improved transport system".
He previously said, as he confirmed at the start of October the northern leg between Birmingham and Manchester - as well as The Eastern leg to East Midlands Parkway - would no longer go ahead due to huge costs and delays.
The largest single allocation of More Than £16. 6m will go to the West Midlands Combined Authority, while £16. 3m will go to Greater Manchester and almost £13. 4m to West Yorkshire .
The funding is The First allocation of a £1bn investment into bus services across the North and Midlands as part of the government's " Network North" plan.
" We're backing buses with one of the biggest-ever support packages and keeping bus fares down to ensure the country's favourite means of transport is more affordable for millions of people, " the Prime Minister said.
" This government is taking The Right long-term decisions to deliver on our vision for a fairer and improved transport system by investing billions back into The Transport projects that matter most to people and their communities. "
Local authorities and bus operators will be able to decide How To use the funding, but the government said The Money was enough to support up to 25 million miles of new bus services across the North and Midlands.
It could mean reintroducing evening services, increasing the frequency of buses on busy routes or introducing new services to connect areas, officials said.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper told the funds for transport projects would " benefit people more quickly" than the Second Phase of HS2.
" The fundamental point with the [HS2] project is that the costs have increased significantly, the benefits have reduced, and that's why we've taken the decision to cancel the Second Phase of HS2 and take every penny we've saved and invest in transport projects across the country, " He Said .
But Matthew Topham, a campaigner at Better Buses for South Yorkshire , said The Announcement " doesn't begin to touch the sides".
" We've been losing services for decades and a small pot of cash split between all the North can't begin to fix that, " He Said .
" What's more, it's like turning on the tap and leaving The Plug out.
" Due to private control of our buses, whenever public money - Your Money - is used to boost bus services, any financial benefits are seen by shareholders, not local people. "
He Said bus services needed to go back to being under public control so " we can keep the returns on our public investment and get into a growth cycle where more passengers mean more money from fares to improve services".
'Not HS2 alternatives'Andy Street, The Conservative mayor for the West Midlands , told the funds were " clearly very Good News for bus services" but added the government should still be trying to improve the high-speed link between Birmingham and Manchester .
" I don't quite see them as alternatives, but in the government's eyes The Money not being spent on HS2 is being redirected and that is something to be celebrated, " He Said .
The Money will help protect the West Midlands ' current routes and improve services such as through better customer information and simplified ticketing, he added.
The government also confirmed the until The End of 2024.
Most bus services in England outside London have a £2 cap on The Price of single tickets.
Community services for older people and vulnerable passengers will also receive a 60% funding increase in the amount they can claim for fuel to help keep costs down.
Related TopicsSource of news: bbc.com