Anstey Village Update - February 2021
Nationwide Building Society
We are continuing to investigate ways to keep the Anstey Branch open, as we know how important this is for many in our community. The closure is due to occur on the 25th February 2021. We have also been working with Cllr Snartt, as this closure will affect many residents in the surrounding villages. Cllr Snartt has written a letter to the Nationwide Chairman, and to date, has not received a response. Our MP, Edward Argar, has also taken the matter up the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Joe Garner. Mr Argar wrote his first letter on 7th December 2020 and his second letter on 5th January 2021. Mr Argar has asked for further information and requested a meeting with the CEO. To date, he has not received a response. We have now emailed the Regional Director (the only contact we have) to ask why no response has been received and to ask them to re-consider their closure decision, along with a meeting to discuss this issue further. To note – Just as we were sending our report in, we have received a telephone call to advise that a response to our correspondence will be with us in the next week and a meeting is in the process of being arranged.
Member Grants
We are each allocated £1,000 per annum to spend in our communities to support local groups and projects. Due to the pandemic this year, many local groups have not been up and running. We have both agreed to donate £500 each to Charnwood Community Action, which is assisting with emergency support offered by Charnwood Borough Council and John Storer Charnwood. They have been delivering food parcels to residents in need, befriending and signposting residents that need further support. Deborah has possibly agreed to commit £250 so that leaves £750 remaining between the two of us that we would like to give to support a local community group or project. The deadline for applications is 28th February 2021, so please get in touch with us if you require funds to support your local community group. More information is available here: https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/member_grants
Anstey DIY Shop
Unfortunately, on Boxing Day, a vehicle drove into the front of the DIY shop in The Nook. Thankfully, the store was closed at the time and no injuries occurred. If this had been a normal busy Saturday, it’s likely someone would have been injured. We have asked the Highway Department to consider the possibility of adding a barrier at the pavement side to protect pedestrians from road vehicles. However, the area has been assessed and we have been advised that due to the layout of the area and the width of the pavement, it will not be possible to add any safety features to this area. Physical features added to the highway, such as barriers, can cause inconvenience to pedestrians and vulnerable users (e.g. pushchair, mobility scooter and wheelchair users).
Highway records show that there have been no personal injury accidents recorded at this location in the past 5 years, which is a good indication that drivers are aware of the road layout and are driving accordingly. This appears to be an unfortunate one-off accident.
Loughborough Fair
Do you have any memories of Loughborough Fair? If so, you are being urged to share your memories of Loughborough Market and Fair as part of the plans to celebrate its 800th anniversary this year. The first fair was held in Loughborough on 31st July 1221 to mark the feast day of St Peter. It was in the same year that a charter to hold a market in Loughborough was granted to the Lord of the Manor. Both a market and a fair have taken place in some form in Loughborough ever since.
To mark the occasion, Charnwood Museum will host an exhibition to celebrate the milestone. People are being asked to share their memories, pictures, films and memorabilia for use in the exhibition and as part of an archive. The exhibition is a partnership between Leicestershire County Council and Charnwood Borough Council, with Loughborough Local Studies Volunteers leading on the historical research. Organisers of the exhibition want to hear from people of all ages with memories of the fair, whether from many years back or from much more recently. No memory is too small or insignificant for inclusion, as the organisers are hoping to include as much of the sights, sounds and smells of the fair as they can. As well as sharing the memories in the exhibition, they will also be used to create a community film, add to the East Midlands Oral History Archive and catalogue in the archives at the Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Anyone who would like to get involved and share their unique connections to Loughborough Fair is asked to get in touch by emailing: [email protected]
Vaccination Centres and Vaccination
The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Groups have started vaccinating residents at four new community-based vaccination centres including one at Charnwood Borough Council's offices on Southfields Road, Loughborough.
The locations are: -
- Rutland County Council’s Offices, Catmose Street, Oakham
- The Kube Conference Centre, Leicester Racecourse, Leicester
- Melton Sports Village, Melton Mowbray
- Charnwood Borough Council’s Offices, Southfield Road, Loughborough.
Nurses, paramedics, pharmacists and other NHS staff will work alongside GPs to vaccinate those aged 80 and over, as well as care home workers and residents, identified as priority groups for the life-saving vaccine.
More information about visiting the community-based vaccination centre at the Council offices in Loughborough including details on parking can be found here: https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/vaccinations
The vaccination priority ranking at the moment is as follows: -
- residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
- all those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
- all those 75 years of age and over
- all those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals
- all those 65 years of age and over
- all individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality
- all those 60 years of age and over
- all those 55 years of age and over
- all those 50 years of age and over
- the rest of the population (priority yet to be determined but likely to be key workers first)
The current target is that the top four groups (identified in red ink) are vaccinated by mid-February.
Paul has recently been accepted onto the Janssens Ensemble-2 vaccine trial run out of the Leicester Diabetes Centre at the Leicester General Infirmary. Whilst he does not know whether he’s received a placebo or the trial vaccine, he is happy to support the national effort to develop suitable vaccines to help build the armoury of different vaccines we will need to help us treat the people of Charnwood, the UK, and throughout the rest of the world. Whilst the end is hopefully in sight, we must all get our jab when it is offered, and we should all continue to keep washing our hands, not touching our faces, and maintaining a 2m space between us and our fellow residents until told we can do otherwise.
