Deborah's County Councillor Bradgate Villages Monthly Update - January 2021
Happy New Year and I hope you all managed to enjoy a somewhat different Christmas for 2020. At the time of writing this report, I have no idea what tier we will be in over the festive period and afterwards, but I hope that the additional mixing of households allowed over the Christmas period has not raised the infection rates too much and we are still managing to contain the virus. I am hoping that 2021 brings us a much better year and that the vaccine program continues to gather pace and we begin the long recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
I have volunteered for a new Covid-19 Vaccine Trial. The trial is sponsored by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and run by staff through the new National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Patient Recruitment Centre (PRC) at Leicester General Hospital. Up to 400 people were asked to enrol in Leicester as part of 6,000 people across the UK. The Phase 3 vaccine trial is the third potential vaccine to enter clinical trials in the UK. This trial is testing the safety and effectiveness of a two-dose regimen of a new COVID-19 vaccine which uses a weakened common cold virus and part of the COVID-19 virus to stimulate the immune system to later fight a real COVID-19 infection. I attended my first appointment on Tuesday 8th December 2020 and was at the trial centre for 4 hours. I received multiple health checks and screening before being accepted, I then received the first injection. You are not told whether you have received the vaccine or a placebo injection. I have several health monitoring checks to complete every week online and the results are sent into the study doctor and I will have a number of clinical check appointments to attend. I will receive a second injection on February 5th 2021, and I remain part of the study trial for up to two years. I am hoping that by taking part in the trial this will enable another vaccine to become available for us to provide immunity from this awful virus.
Bradgate Park Trust
In March 2020, the Trustees for the Park agreed to a full review of the whole operation of the running of the park. This included improving access, offering greater educational opportunities and creating financial stability for the long-term future of the park. There was an urgent need to reduce the parks costs, even before the park’s income was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Some changes have been made and include:
- Opening the visitor centre to the public at peak times and for special events. Outside of these times it will be used as a dedicated educational resource
- Introduced changes to the parking tariffs, including new rates for three-hour parking, early bird (before 9am) and late afternoon (after 4pm). There has also been a reduction in the day rate at the Hunts Hill car park
- There are further discussions being held around the pressure on the Newtown Linford car park. A planning application has been submitted to Charnwood Borough Council around improvements to both the Newtown Linford car park and Hallgates car park
- From 14th December a ‘pay by phone’ app will be available for all car parks, apart from the Newtown Linford car park, to remove the need for cash payments and prevent penalty notices where a ticket has fallen off the windscreen.
The Trust are now in a position to look to recruit a full-time Director to continue the excellent work of the Interim Director and continue to move the park forward to deliver on its strategic objectives and build relationships and community links.
Bradgate Park Parking Proposals; Newtown Linford; Cropston; Anstey
The public consultation was launched on 26th November 2020 and closed on 17th December 2020. I have received many responses from residents, both by email and telephone and I did urge everyone I spoke to, to respond to the consultation, to ensure that their views were taken into account. I look forward to understanding more about the comments in the New Year. I am very aware that we are likely to have a difficult time over the festive period, when the park will be very busy.
The Nook; Anstey
Since the alterations in The Nook were carried out a couple of years ago, I have asked for the data to see if the improvements promised in the planning application have actually been achieved. I am still concerned about the additional queuing that we see on Cropston Road at particular times of the day.
I have been advised that observations were carried out around June 2020 last year and found that although there was some queueing on Cropston Road the delays were of no more than a minute during the morning peak period. A more detailed survey was due to be carried out in September 2020 once the works at A46 / Anstey Lane roundabout were completed. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, that survey was not carried out as the traffic levels were significantly less than at the same time in previous years. The average workday volume of traffic on Cropston Road for September 2020 was 5820 compared with 6545 in 2019. Once the traffic has returned to what will be classed as our new ‘normal’, further observations will be carried out.
I also raised the issue of vehicles blocking the roundabout and stopping traffic entering from Cropston Road. Highways have agreed to assess the feasibility of installing a yellow box in that area rather than the keep clear markings that are there currently. However, this will need to be agreed with the Police, as it is an enforceable marking.
I will continue to monitor the situation as we return to ‘normal’ life.
Leicestershire Communities Fund
The third round of funding has been agreed by Leicestershire County Council to enable charities, community groups and social enterprises to respond to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of £600,000 is being made available in Round 3 of the Leicestershire Communities Fund, for voluntary and community sector organisations to continue to provide essential services for vulnerable people and communities in Leicestershire. The funding can also be used for community-based organisations to develop new and innovative ways of working, to help deliver services for vulnerable people more effectively now and in the future. The maximum amount of funding available to any one organisation through this grant round is £15,000, and the deadline for applications is 22nd January 2021.
The online application form, along with further details can be accessed on this webpage: https://www.leicestershirecommunities.org.uk/communities-fund-round-3.html and any enquiries regarding applications can be sent to: [email protected]
Disposal of Batteries
Leicestershire residents are being urged not to throw out dead batteries with household rubbish or recycling, following a string of fires at local waste sites. There have been three fires at Loughborough Waste Transfer Station within the last six weeks of the year, believed to have been caused by improperly discarded batteries and small electrical items.
Waste and recycling centres house combustible materials and lithium-ion batteries, (powering mobile phones, laptops, tablets and toothbrushes) which can be extremely volatile and cause fires if damaged during collection and processing. Further advice on how to safely dispose of batteries and electrical goods is here: https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/waste-and-recycling
