The schools have just finished for the summer break and here at the council, we are also heading into the summer recess.
This time of the year means there are fewer meetings, but this allows us to catch up and do some reading and work over the summer.
At the end of June, I enjoyed a visit to Warning Zone, a life skills centre, in Leicester. This fantastic charity is open to all year 6 primary school children.
Their mission is to deliver life-saving messages to children aged 10-11, catching them on a key transition in their lives as they venture into secondary schools where they are introduced to many new experiences.
We were shown around all the different zones, including water safety, online safety, and drug and alcohol use.
As part of my portfolio responsibilities for children, on the 3rd July, I enjoyed attending our Children in Care Choir, Beacon Voices, at their summer concert.
They sang beautifully, and I particularly enjoyed the Abba Medley at the end!
It is great to see this group of vulnerable children forming friendships and gaining confidence as they progress through their lives.
I was invited to the Anstey WI annual garden party in July. The weather was not kind to us and on a very wet Wednesday afternoon we headed off inside. I did manage to enjoy some lovely homemade cakes before I had to rush off for a meeting. Thank you for the invitations, it was lovely to see you all, and great that you all enjoy getting together outside of your regular meetings to enjoy a social afternoon. Community spirit at its best!
As Lead Member for Children, I was invited to visit the Agar Nook Community Centre in Coalville, to meet the children enjoying activities provided by the HAF programme (Holiday Activities and Food).
HAF is a free and exciting holiday programme for school-aged children and young people receiving benefits-related free school meals. HAF sessions offer a variety of fun activities alongside a nutritious meal.
I enjoyed painting ‘Be Kind’ stones and speaking to the children about how they were enjoying the activities provided by KISP (https://www.active-together.org/directory/knowledge-is-power).
HAF is a great programme to keep children entertained and learning throughout the school holidays. Further information is available here:
Trees
Tree planting is continuing at pace in Leicestershire, with more than 250,000 now planted towards our target of 700,000 – and people are being urged to play their part in preserving them for future generations.
New urban trees need at least 50 litres of water a week, so now that the warm summer months are here, residents are being urged to do their bit by giving them a much-needed water. Volunteer tree waterers are also being encouraged to source the water sustainably, by using harvested rainwater or ‘grey’ waste water, including dishwater, bathwater, and water from washing cars, windows, and even clothes, as long as it does not contain bleach.
Young trees which need a helping hand are being marked with easy-to-spot ‘please water me’ tags.
According to the Arboricultural Association, young trees need regular watering during the first three years of their life to allow them to thrive. The best time to water the trees is in the early morning or evening.
Please help us keep the trees in our area healthy.
Consultations
Homelessness Support
Leicestershire County Council is running a consultation on their role in homelessness support.
The upper tier authority - which is required to give a range of advice and support on health and wellbeing – will be asking key stakeholders for views on not renewing the current homeless support service when the current contract with Falcon Centre and Nottingham Community Housing Association runs out next March.
District councils are responsible for preventing homelessness and supporting people who are homeless and receive Government funding to do so.
The county council is investing an extra £57m in supporting vulnerable people over the next four years and making £22m available to ease the cost of living pressures.
The consultation is now available for you to give your views and runs until 3rd September 2023. The link to the consultation can be found here: https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/have-your-say/current-engagement/homeless-support-services
Street Lighting
Cost and energy savings through dimming streetlights are outlined in a questionnaire that residents are encouraged to complete.
The online survey seeks views on the Council’s proposal to dim most streetlights in the county to levels of 30% from 8:00 pm (down from 50%), depending on the location, and to understand where there should be exceptions to this approach.
The majority of residential street lights are already dimmed to 30% at 10:00 pm, which will help give residents an understanding of what this lower lighting level looks like.
Making minimal changes to lighting levels during less-busy periods would mean a large reduction in carbon emissions by 315 tonnes as well as a big saving on council budgets - around £500,000 over the next four years.
The consultation will run until Thursday, 3rd August, and can be found at: leicestershire.gov.uk/street-lighting-consultation and for more information, email: [email protected]
Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS)
A new statutory duty will see Leicestershire County Council and other partners working together to take action to preserve and improve habitats and protect and recover nature.
The council has been appointed as the ‘responsible authority’ by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), to lead on the work to enable nature recovery across the city, county, and Rutland.
As part of developing the Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland Local Nature Recovery Strategy, individuals and organisations including landowners, farmers, parish councils, environmental groups, and walking groups will have the opportunity to be involved in co-creating the strategy and inputting into how to increase and improve habitats and biodiversity, and provide opportunities for nature to thrive across Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland.
The main purpose of the LNRS is to identify locations to create or improve habitat, and to provide the greatest benefit for nature and the wider environment.
Further details can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Every year all elected members are required to produce an Annual Report. I have now published my 2022/23 report and it can be found here: https://www.bradgateconservatives.org.uk/news/deborahs-annual-county-councillor-report-0
