Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

New Hindu temple to come up in Dudley

The Mandir will be open from 10am to 4pm

New Hindu temple to come up in Dudley

DUDLEY COUNCIL planners have given the go-ahead for a new Hindu temple in a locally listed building.

The three-storey building, on the junction of Stourbridge Road and Dudley Road in Lye, is currently occupied by an off-licence and restaurant.


Planners have granted permission for a change of use to a Mandir (place of worship) which will include 11 prayer rooms.

The Mandir will be open from 10am to 4pm, visitor numbers are expected to be between two and ten people on Monday to Saturday with up to 40 people on Sundays.

A historic pub in Brierley Hill is to get a new lease of life after planners granted permission for its conversion into four new apartments

The Dog and Lamp Post on Dudley Road closed in 2021 after 151 years operating as a public house.

Approval has now been given for the building to be converted into three apartments with the construction of a further apartment at the rear of the premises.

Planners have also agreed the installation of a hot food takeaway at a supermarket on Stafford Street in Dudley opposite the Three Crowns pub.

The catering facility has permission to open between 9am and 7pm.

A scheme for three houses in Brierley Hill has been thrown out after planners concluded it was overdevelopment of the site at Forge House on Stourbridge Road.

The plan, for terraced houses next to a new housing development, was also deemed to be of poor design and likely to cause a danger to the highways.

Permission has also been refused for the addition of two new apartments at Forge House on Stourbridge Road.

The rejected proposal would have seen an undercroft car park enclosed to add the flats to 14 existing units in the building.

Planners concluded the development did not provide adequate parking and would also result in the loss of an area of mature planting which is ‘worthy of protection’.

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)

More For You

Sri Lanka's former presidents condemn Wickremesinghe’s imprisonment

Ranil Wickremesinghe with his wife Maithree

Sri Lanka's former presidents condemn Wickremesinghe’s imprisonment

THREE former presidents of Sri Lanka expressed solidarity with jailed ex-leader Ranil Wickremesinghe last Sunday (24) and condemned his incarceration as a “calculated assault” on democracy.

The former political rivals of Wickremesinghe, who was president between July 2022 and September 2024, said the charges against him were frivolous and politically motivated.

Keep ReadingShow less
Labour MPs Jeevun Sandher and Louise Jones marry in multicultural wedding

Louise Jones and Jeevun Sandher (Photo: Facebook)

Labour MPs Jeevun Sandher and Louise Jones marry in multicultural wedding

TWO of Labour’s newest MPs, Jeevun Sandher and Louise Jones, have announced their marriage after a week-long celebration that combined Sikh and Christian traditions.

Sandher, elected last year as MP for Loughborough, and Jones, MP for North East Derbyshire, tied the knot earlier this month in ceremonies that reflected their different cultural backgrounds. The couple shared photographs on social media, calling the occasion a celebration of “two heritages” as they began their life together.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK sees sharp increase in sex crime convictions of Indian nationals

Figures show a 257 per cent rise in convictions of Indian nationals for sexual offences between 2021 and 2024 (Photo:iStock)

UK sees sharp increase in sex crime convictions of Indian nationals

INDIAN nationals have recorded the sharpest increase in convictions for sexual offences among foreign nationals in the UK, according to an analysis of official government data.

Figures from the UK Ministry of Justice, based on the Police National Computer and assessed by the Centre for Migration Control (CMC), show a 257 per cent rise in convictions of Indian nationals for sexual offences between 2021 and 2024. The number of cases rose from 28 in 2021 to 100 last year — an increase of 72 cases.

Keep ReadingShow less
pashupatinath temple nepal

A general view of the Pashupatinath temple complex in Kathmandu on August 27, 2025.

Getty Images

Nepal court allows unclothed Hindu ascetics to enter Pashupatinath temple

NEPAL’s Supreme Court has ruled that Hindu holy men who follow the tradition of remaining unclothed cannot be barred from entering the Pashupatinath temple. The court said that nudity, when practised as a religious custom, is not the same as obscenity.

The ruling concerns the Naga sadhus, ascetics devoted to Lord Shiva who renounce family ties and worldly possessions, including clothing. Covered in ash and wearing dreadlocks, they are a familiar sight at the temple during major festivals.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi begins Asia tour to boost ‘Make in India’ and counter US pressure

Narendra Modi addresses the audience during the launch of Maruti Suzuki's new assembly line for the Suzuki e-Vitara, Maruti's first electric car, at the Hansalpur plant, some 80 km from Ahmedabad, in India's Gujarat state on August 26, 2025. (Photo by SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Modi begins Asia tour to boost ‘Make in India’ and counter US pressure

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi heads overseas on Thursday (28) to meet the leaders of China, Japan and Russia, seeking to build closer diplomatic ties as New Delhi battles fallout from US president Donald Trump's escalating tariff offensive.

By drawing nearer to some of the world’s largest economies, including his first visit to China in seven years, Modi hopes to to boost support for his flagship "Make in India" initiative, mainly from Japan, as Trump's measures spur new partnerships.

Keep ReadingShow less