As we reported in the last edition of Your Local, we were both very saddened to hear of the passing of one of our fellow borough councillors, Gill Bolton. Gill had represented the Shelthorpe Ward since May 2019. Gill sadly passed away on 19th October 2021, peacefully at home. As a serving councillor her loss will be felt across the chamber. We both attended Gill’s funeral in November and were honoured to say goodbye to a highly respected lady. We have both been busy with casework this month with some very complex issues to try to resolve. We have also been attending a few events and are about to enter the festive season, with lots of lovely Christmas events to attend. We have both missed being out and about, speaking to residents, so we are looking forward to celebrating this month.
We both attended the Remembrance Service, held at the Carillon Tower, Loughborough’s war memorial, on Remembrance Sunday. Serving and former members of the Armed Forces joined together with residents and organisations in Loughborough to pay tribute to our fallen heroes (more detail in Mayoral section below).
A campaign to highlight Charnwood’s fantastic high streets, great attractions, top places to eat and drink, and outstanding open spaces has been launched. The ‘Let’s Get Back’ campaign is encouraging people to support their local area, businesses, and communities by taking the time to go and visit them. The Council wants residents to share what it is that makes Charnwood such a great place to live, visit and work in. Is it the bustling high streets of Loughborough, Shepshed, Birstall, Syston or Thurmaston or the rural retreats of Anstey, Quorn, Barrow or Woodhouse Eaves?
Have you spent time at the Outwoods or Bradgate Park recently or popped along to Great Central Railway, Loughborough Bell Foundry, Charnwood Museum or Loughborough Market? Share your views with the ‘Let’s Get Back’ Campaign by joining in the conversation on social media. The Let’s Get Back campaign is all about showcasing what a great place Charnwood is, and there’s never been a better time to explore it.
Member Grants
The Member Grants scheme for 2021/22 remains open. For the 2021/22 financial year, each borough councillor was allocated an annual budget of £500 to be used to support projects that bring benefits to their ward. Organisations currently running projects with community benefit in Charnwood are invited to apply for a minimum of £250 per member, and up to a maximum of £500 per member, and applications may be made to more than one member. Funding can be provided towards community events, activities, equipment, and uniformed groups such as Scouts, Guides, Cubs and Brownies. Although we have previously advised that this grant is available, no group in Anstey has come forward yet to discuss a grant application with us this year. Time is running out to distribute the money! If you would like to apply for a member grant, please contact either Paul or Deborah in the first instance. There is £1,000 available for community groups in Anstey. For more information please visit:
https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/member_grants
Well Pharmacy
We have received numerous contacts from residents who were disappointed about the service being provided by the village pharmacy. We therefore raised our concerns with Well Pharmacy HQ. See separate article on news pages.
We are hopeful that the service will improve at the pharmacy, but we will continue to keep a close eye on this, as we know this is having a negative impact on residents.
Mayoral Activity
The Mayor has had a busy month! He and the Mayoress attended the Diwali Lights Celebration Programme at Loughborough Town Hall at the request of the Shree Ram Krishna Community, which included turning on the lights, watching a fantastically-varied programme of Asian singing, dancing and even rapping, and the Mayor made a short speech about Diwali and hope and its resonance in times of Covid.
Later in October, he laid a wreath for the University of Leicester’s Poppy Pilgrimage (double-hatted as both Mayor and University of Leicester professor). Later that day, he and the Mayoress were absolutely delighted to meet the ‘Sheriff of Cossington’, David, a volunteer member of the Cossington Neighbourhood Watch (NW), organised by his carer, with the local neighbourhood watch co-ordinator, an enormous Great Dane, and other members of the watch! David’s mum served up tea and biscuits after we did a patrol of the area. It was a heart-warming and inspiring visit, and the Mayor and Mayoress were struck by the dedication of David and the Cossington NW team to maintaining the safety and security of their village. If you are interested in joining your local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme (in Cossington or elsewhere), you can find out more details here: https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/. Later that day, the Mayor/Mayoress attended the Leicestershire & Rutland Royal British Legion (RBL) Festival of Remembrance event at De Montfort Hall in Leicester, organised by the president Colonel Martin OBE. This was a fabulous event, and they were overjoyed to hear a most excellent concert by the Brighouse and Rastrick brass brand. In November, the they opened the garden of remembrance in Queen’s Park. The Mayor attended ‘Men and Women in Sheds’ - an Age UK Leicestershire initiative – in Loughborough, designed to get people aged 50+ learning and sharing skills in a workshop environment (see: http://www.charnwoodshed.co.uk/).
The Mayor and Mayoress both attended the opening of the Loughborough Fair, its 800th year of operation this year. The Mayor went on many of the rides, including the Waltzer, the Dodgems, the Carousel, one of the rollercoasters, and a rather terrifying booster ride. After winning the Mayoress a very big teddy (which they later donated to a raffle for a children’s charity), they had a pie and mash dinner in the Town Hall, before later that evening opening up the wonderful Perilicious fusion restaurant on Baxter Gate (see: https://perilicious.uk/) in Loughborough, whose owners took the brave decision to open up in lockdown. Eve, the manager, was the perfect hostess, and we really enjoyed meeting her and the head chef and tasting some of their delicious food (and taking some home!).
The Mayor attended the Charnwood Veterans Breakfast Club at Toby Carvery (thankfully not eating for a change) and got the chance to talk to a number of veterans and their families about their experiences and lives before visiting the Miniature Fairground Show at John Storer House in Loughborough. It was fabulous to see a number of the actual rides in the town in miniature! Later the Mayor and Civic Officer, re-attended the fair, with a ride on the Ghost Train, see picture below.
Remembrance Sunday was a busy one! The Mayor and Mayoress attended the Loughborough RBL service & parade at the Carillon Tower, led by the RBL Loughborough chaplain, Rev. Wendy Dalrymple, and with the Lord-Lieutenant, Michael Kapur OBE in attendance. It was great to see so many people from Charnwood pay their respects to the fallen. The Mayor gave a short reading. More details about the service are here: https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/news/2021/11/14/remembrance_sunday_service_pays_respects_to_fallen_heroes. After a reception with RBL members at the Fennel Street Club, and a super curry lunch with the troops of 203 (Loughborough) Transport Squadron - an army reserve unit of the Royal Logistics Corps - the Mayor and Mayoress went on to a remembrance service at St Peter’s Church in Mountsorrel and a cup of tea at the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre afterwards. During their meeting with 203 Squadron, they learnt that the Squadron is recruiting so if there is anyone out there looking for a job where you can learn great skills, get paid, work part-time, and see the world (all whilst still keep your main job!), then have a look here: https://tigerssqn203.wixsite.com/loughborough.
The Mayor and Mayoress have encouraged around 30 people to sign up for the Living Without Abuse (LWA) Winter Ball at the Leicester Marriott in early December, raising around £1,200 for the charity by the time ticket sales closed, and another £400 in donations. The next event will be a Burns Night Supper at The Swan in the Rushes in Loughborough for a three course meal for £28 per person on 22nd January in the New Year. Please book early to secure your place and avoid disappointment: https://lwa.enthuse.com/cf/lwa-burns-night-supper.
If you would like to donate to one of the Mayor’s two charities, Living Without Abuse or Marie Curie, please donate in the following ways:
- Living Without Abuse: Donate via the webpage: https://lwa.enthuse.com/pf/paul-baines
- Marie Curie: Donate via BACS using the following details:
- Account name: Borough of Charnwood
- Bank name: HSBC
- Bank address: 41 Market Place, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3EJ
- Sort code: 40-30-24
- Account number: 61820559
- Reference: Please add in ‘Mayor’s Charity’.
Alternatively, you can send a cheque made payable to ‘Charnwood Borough Council Mayor’s Charity’ to: The Mayor’s Office, Charnwood Borough Council, Southfield Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 2TX.
Planning
You will be aware that Anstey is now the subject of numerous, very large planning applications. We have been notified that the planning application for up to 500 houses by William Davis has been submitted to Charnwood Borough Council. There are two separate applications submitted but they will be looked at together. The first one, reference number: P/21/2358/2, is a full application for 150 houses, with access off Bradgate Road, between 176 and 178 Bradgate Road. The second application, reference number P/21/2359/2, is for outline planning permission for up to 350 houses and a primary school. This will be accessed from a proposed mini roundabout off Bradgate Road, just as you exit Anstey, towards Newtown Linford.
Both applications have been submitted but are only at the validation stage, so the consultation stage has not started yet. We will be updating our website and social media with further information once we reach the next stage. We wanted residents to be aware as soon as possible, so you can begin to look at all the proposals as submitted. Once we have had more time to look closely at these applications, we will form our response and share this via our website, social media and in our monthly reports.
