Planning Permission.
We have both continued to work on the planning application submitted by Callington Construction Ltd on Anstey Lane; looking into the issue of the number of large lorries travelling on Cropston Road also and whether or not they exceed the weight restrictions for the road and consequently break the law.
We have received a response from the Local Highway Authority (LHA). They have reviewed all the information we sent to them and they have discussed it with their Traffic & Signals team who deal with weight restrictions. In this case, the issue of HGVs/large vehicles using Cropston Road (which is a weight restricted road to 7.5 tonnes) is not something which the LHA is reviewing at this time and they consider it a matter for the Police to enforce and address. However, we have since learned that HGVs are exempt in abiding by weight restrictions such as this one when they are accessing a site for the purposes of loading/unloading, when that site is within a weight restricted area.
In relation to the planning application at Callington Construction Ltd, the LHA have reviewed the submitted trip information and considered the level of trips including HGV trips (2 two-way trips in both the AM/PM peak period and 16 daily trips) cannot be considered to have a severe impact on the public highway network and thereby warrant a reason for refusal.
We have also spoken to the Police Commander for Charnwood to ask for his support in the enforcement of the weight limits on Cropston Road. The Inspector has confirmed that they will enforce the law when they are able to, but in this case the police are unable to enforce the weight restriction as the vehicles have an exemption given that they are loading and unloading at the site. At the same time, he acknowledged the impact on residents from the noise and on the impact on the environment from the weight of the vehicles. Nevertheless, what drivers are doing is lawful. We have had a number of people contact us to say they believe that wide-load lorries are forcing cars approaching from the other end of Cropston Road onto the kerb, and therefore causing obstruction as well as being a hazard to pedestrians. If anyone has any footage of such incidents, please do send them through to either or both of us. This will allow us to look into this further.
We are both continuing to push the planning authority to make a decision on this application and we’ll update you in due course.
Cropston Road Burglaries
We have been supporting residents from the Cropston Road end of the villages after a spate of burglaries and attempted burglaries. It has been a very unsettling period for residents in that area. We requested that the streetlights were turned back on all night to aid residents to see clearly outside overnight. This did happen though not as speedily as we would have liked. Streetlights numbers 15 to 31 have been switched on all night for a period of 3 months, this happened on the 12th July. After 3 months, a review will be undertaken with the police and they may then be converted back to part night operation if they are no longer required to be lit all night.
We urged the police to carry out some reassurance work in the area and to ensure that residents have support to make their properties as secure as possible. We also requested that the police carry out additional patrols overnight in the area and we were assured that was happening. The patrols have been carried out in marked and in unmarked police cars. Patrols on foot were also carried out, during the day and night. We welcomed the setting up of a WhatsApp group for residents in the area and the start of a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. We are always stronger when working together. The police have provided updates to us and they are working hard in the background to catch the perpetrators. We are unable to share that current activity with you, but we wanted to reassure residents that police work is ongoing. We are hopeful that all the measures that have been put in place have sent a strong message to would-be burglars that Anstey is on high alert and that they will be caught. Please continue to report incidents to the police on 101 or via 999 if your report concerns a burglary that is happening at the time of your call.
Your Store
A social supermarket is being launched in Charnwood to help people access affordable shopping and support. ‘Your Store’ is being created by a partnership involving Charnwood Borough Council, John Storer Charnwood, The Bridge and Charnwood Food Poverty Group.
Located at John Storer House in Loughborough, ‘Your Store’ will help people currently using foodbanks become more independent by offering food at discounted prices. Support will also be offered across a wide range of areas including mental health, debt advice and budgeting. Customers will initially be identified by the Charnwood Food Poverty Group and ‘Your Store’ is aiming to open its doors to its first customers in August. Each ‘Your Store’ membership will give the member access to two weekly shops at ‘Your Store’. Each shop will be made up of a range of food items and will cost from £3, this will be around a quarter of the cost in a typical supermarket. Members will also be able to buy additional items such as cleaning, personal hygiene, and baby products.
The store in Loughborough is a pilot scheme for a year and it is hoped ‘Your Store’ will become self-sustaining over time through income from members shopping there, sponsorship and donations. Alongside the shop at John Storer House there are plans for a number of weekly pop-up versions across the borough. Mountsorrel will be the first pop-up ‘Your Store’, which is being supported by Mountsorrel United Charities Relief in Need Fund. ‘Your Store’ aims to help around 300 households during the pilot project.
Charnwood Local Plan
Charnwood Borough Council has launched a six-week consultation about its new Local Plan and vision for the area over the next 16 years. The consultation runs from 12th July 2021 to 23rd August 2021.
This public consultation will enable residents, businesses and other interested parties to submit comments about the ‘soundness’ of the local plan.
The Local Plan is a key strategic framework for supporting future growth and developing healthy communities and environmental safeguards. It guides development and identifies locations for housing and employment land. The Local Plan also considers the impacts of climate change, infrastructure needs and protection of green spaces.
The purpose of the consultation is for interested parties to comment on the ‘soundness’ of the Local Plan in meeting standards set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Representations will be collected by the Council and submitted to Government alongside the Local Plan. A Planning Inspector will then be appointed to consider the documents during a public examination.
Guidance on ‘soundness’ and how to make effective representations is available on the website along with some frequently asked questions.
The Council has provided a host of information about the Local Plan on its website, including a set of frequently asked questions. In addition, the Council will also be holding two virtual briefings for people to attend. To find out more about the Local Plan, make your comments during the consultation and sign up to the briefings, please visit www.charnwood.gov.uk/localplan.
You can also email [email protected] or call the Local Plan Team on 01509 634929 to find out more about how to have your say if you do not have access to the internet. Hard copies of the documents are available for viewing at the Council Offices at Southfield Road in Loughborough. Visitors will require a pre-booked appointment. Please call 01509 634 560 to arrange a time for viewing.
We have submitted a more detailed report in this edition of ‘Your Local’ on how this affects Anstey and our thoughts and responses to the Local Plan.
Online Forms
Charnwood Borough Council has a large number of online forms that customers can access 24/7. The online forms cover the majority of services and are listed in alphabetical order on the website here: https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/onlineforms
Some examples of the forms available are:
- Abandoned Vehicles
- Anti-Social Behaviour
- Council Tax
- Dangerous Trees
- Dog Fouling
- Graffiti
- Housing
- Litter
- Noise
- Recycling and Refuse.
If you wish to contact the Council to make a general enquiry, comment, compliment, complaint or suggestion about council services you can use the general contact form, found on the link above.
If you find that any forms are not working, please email [email protected] and they will investigate the problem.
Mayoral Activity
The Mayor’s charities for this year are Marie Curie (caring for people with terminal illnesses) and Living Without Abuse (a local domestic abuse charity).On July 24th, I'll be taking part in the Marie Curie 'trek' of 26.2m in the Peak District with the Mayoress Ning Baines, Cllr Deborah Taylor, Laura Knights and Karen Widdowson (both officers from Charnwood Borough Council). At the time of sending in our report to ‘Your Local’, we will be days away from setting off on our charity walk. Our training has been going well: we walked the 17 odd miles from Leicester Abbey Park to Loughborough Train station along the canal tow-path last Sunday in 31°C heat and completed it in 6 hours 45 minutes including a short lunch break. At the time of writing, we have nearly hit our team target of £2,000 for Marie Curie. There is still time to sponsor us though as we would like to go well above and beyond our target! All the details are on our Just Giving website here: https://www.justgiving.com/team/charnwoodmayor. Just to put it all in context, one hour of nursing care in someone’s home costs Marie Curie £20. Please do therefore consider giving no matter how small the amount as even little donations help! Photos and a summary of the day will be shared in our report, next month.
We are now in the process of organising tables for the Living Without Abuse Winter Ball on Saturday 4th December at 7pm at the Leicester Marriott. The early bird price is a very reasonable £40 for a 3-course meal with a drink on entry at the present time. If you wish to attend, and support the Mayor and this excellent charity, please visit the following website for further details: https://lwa.enthuse.com/cf/lwa-winter-ball. If you have any questions about the Ball, please email [email protected]. If you wish to organise a table of up to 10 people, say for a sports or hobby group you are a part of, and have all the details of the people who want to attend, please email Carol Hardy at Charnwood Borough Council on [email protected] with your request and we will be able to arrange your table for you.
Mayoral events are now starting up a bit more than in the past months. In the last couple of weeks, we've opened a charity run, a new Hobbycraft Store, painted the eyes on a new dragon boat, attended various Loughborough University events, supported Armed Forces Day, recognised a retiring market stall-holder, attended the Annual General Inspection at Welbeck in its final, closing year, and much more. You can engage, follow and share Charnwood’s Mayoral events as they happen on Facebook; please search for ‘Charnwood Mayor’.
Many thanks for taking the time to read this circular. We do hope that you have found it useful. In the meantime, although we are now freer of restrictions than we were, it doesn’t mean that the health risks from Covid have gone. We therefore urge everyone to continue to be considerate of others especially the vulnerable, to continue to wear your masks in crowded places and, above all, to stay safe
