News | Page 25

A new enterprise hub has opened for businesses in Northamptonshire, the Corby Enterprise Centre (CEC). The centre was officially opened by the Mayor of Corby, Gail McDade and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Northampton, Nick Petford. CEC was helped with £700,000 funding from Corby Borough Council.

Widespread congestion was caused by part of Newark being shut down due to an attack on a man. Lincoln Road was closed for much of the day and police are in the process of interviewing the victim to establish what happened. Detectives say the man was found in a car park in Lincoln Road at the weekend.

News that dozens of Birmingham City Council staff are to see their jobs outsourced to India has prompted Gail Cartmail from the Unite union to declare the move was "socially irresponsible". As many as 100 posts are to be transferred by the end of the year.

A transport union said it would ballot for industrial action unless the firm ruled out compulsory redundancies under new plans.

Intruders forced their way into HMP Sudbury prison and stole equipment. The burglars broke through the perimeter fence at the open Derbyshire jail, which houses about 580 inmates, before breaking open the door of an outbuilding. A prison service spokesperson said: "There was a break-in at one of the workshops at HMP Sudbury.

Bolsover District Council has just announced it is considering selling Sherwood Lodge, off Oxcroft Lane, and its site after interest in turning it into a retail development. Bolsover District Cllr Keith Bowman said the authority moved there from its former Mansfield base and hopes any new offices will remain in the town.

Derbyshire fire service has already held one public meeting outlining proposals to lose the second engines from three stations. Other public meetings it is arranging from 7pm will be held at Clay Cross Social Centre, on Friday, May 13, The Dome, at Derby University, on Monday, May 16, and Asbourne Leisure Centre, on Tuesday, May 17.

A former public toilet block has gone up for sale in the centre of Leicester. The city council says it no longer needs the single-storey building on St Margaret’s Way and is accepting sealed offers for it.

West Midlands Police was the only force in England and Wales to record a rise in crime during last year. Total crime there rose 1 per cent in 2010, compared with a national fall of 6 per cent. The upward trend was due to rises in the number of robberies, burglaries and fraud offences. The number of robberies rose by almost a fifth.

The car plant at Burnaston in Derbyshire will be closed for two days each week in May by parent company Toyota to manage the current shortage of car parts. The firm said workers had also agreed to limit production to half a shift on the other three days during May. Car makers have been facing a shortage of parts because of the damage caused by the earthquake in Japan.

Jaguar Land Rover said it will create 1,000 jobs in the Midlands over two years. The company headquarters is based in Warwickshire, with Land Rover vehicles mainly produced in Solihull. Jaguar cars are produced by the same group, which is owned by Indian car manufacturer Tata, at Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham.

A Leicester pub that was destroyed by fire is about to be knocked down. The Invincible in Sturdee Road, Eyres Monsell, was wrecked in a blaze last month a number of years after it was shut down. Many complaints had been received about the derelict building. Local residents living on the estate are now hoping the land freed up can be used for redevelopment, possibly including a new shopping centre.