WITH the disappointing results from the Harriers, due partly to the low level of support and hence the available cash and the loss, hopefully only temporarily, of the Wyre Forest Birth Centre we need some good news.

Thank goodness there is some thanks to the efforts of our elected district councillors led by Health Concern.

l The Kidderminster town centre development progresses well and parking is improving. I understand that the level of car parking charges has been held whereas two hours parking at the hospital is now £1.

l Funding has been agreed for the installation of CCTV equipment in Kidderminster town centre.

l A rescue package has been worked out for Bewdley Museum that otherwise would have been such a sad loss for ourselves and visitors including schoolchildren.

l The small business start-up scheme has helped its first client.

l The council has been invited to bid for Neighbourhood Pathfinder 2 status that, if successful, will provide £2.5 million for a previously deprived area.

l The new system of waste collection has commenced. I know there are doubts and teething problems with this but the huge benefit is that it will increase our recyclable waste to levels nearer those achieved by other European countries.

I attended the 24th annual meeting of the Wyre Forest Talking Newspaper recently and heard how this organisation flourishes to help our neighbours with poor vision.

The Talking Newspapers concentrate on local issues and it struck me forcibly at the meeting that without this voluntary service visually impaired people would have little knowledge of local affairs and hence less to talk about.

Although Broadband is available for much of Wyre Forest there are still rural areas without access. The threshold for Wolverley, for example, has been set at 500 expressions of interest. So far there have only been 77.

I have requested a reduction as it seems an unrealistic total for Wolverley but I gather that the threshold depends on factors in addition to the size of population.

I have not seen it yet but there is a useful publication, Broadband in Rural Areas available free from the Countryside Agency.

Finally here are words referring to birth centres from the recent House of Commons Health Committee Report on Choice in Maternity Services. "Community-based intrapartum care of healthy women results in lower rates of analgesia, lower rates of caesarean section, makes women feel more in control and generally results in a better experience of birth."

I hope our maternity service managers will bear this in mind while resolving safety issues in our birth centre.

As it is such an important local service for us it must receive the willing and vigorous support from staff in the consultant midwifery units that it needs for viability.