A very Happy New Year to you all. We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and found time to have some rest and enjoy the festivities with family and friends.
We both enjoyed some time away from official meetings as they are not held over the Christmas period. This enables the staff at Charnwood to take some leave with a skeleton staff remaining on duty for on-call services.
In addition to our normal working duties, we have continued to work on local issues and individual casework. Here is a short summary of some of the work that we have been doing:
- We have been working on some boundary issues on the Barwood Brookside development site and are supporting the residents in discussions with planning enforcement at Charnwood.
- We have made representations for concerned residents to the Plans Committee on an application to extend the use of the beer garden until 9pm at the Mash and Press pub on Albion Street. Residents were concerned about the noise from the beer garden in this very built-up area. The planning application conditions were updated to allow the beer garden to remain open until 9pm on Friday and Saturday evenings only.
Charnwood Local Plan
The Council has submitted the Charnwood Local Plan 2021-2037 and supporting documents to Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. This marks the start of the formal examination of the Local Plan which will be carried out by the Planning Inspectorate to assess whether the Local Plan meets the tests of soundness’ and legal tests set out in legislation and the National Planning Policy Framework.
The Local Plan sets out where the housing developments will go in the borough up to 2037 and the policies that shape what the housing will look like. There is a lot more information about the Local Plan here: https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/examination
Budget
Charnwood Borough Council has produced a draft budget for 2022/23 which was considered by Cabinet on 9th December 2021. The Council’s overall draft budget for 2022/23 is £17.6 million. The Council is proposing to make around £600,000 of savings and generate additional income of around £400,000 through some increased charges. It is proposed to increase the Charnwood element of Council Tax by £5 on an average Band D property per year.
Summary of budget proposals
- It is proposed to amend the opening hours of the Council’s reception and the telephone contact centre to reflect the changing habits of customers and the move to the use of more online services. The reception has been appointment-only since the summer of 2020 due to the pandemic and the Council still sees people in emergency situations and operates an out-of-hours service.
- It is proposed that the Shopmobility scheme in Loughborough town centre not be reintroduced. The scheme was paused in March 2020 due to the pandemic. It had low usage before that and was down to around 13 bookings a week and nine regular users a month. It would also have needed further investment before it could reopen. Parking spaces used by the scheme will be retained for people to book. The proposal will save £34,000 a year.
- It is proposed to increase the charge of the Garden Waste Service by £9 to £50 per bin, per year (if paid by direct debit) from April 2022. It means the cost is rising from around £1.64 per emptied bin every fortnight to £2 which the Council feels is still very good value for money. The garden waste service is discretionary, and residents can choose to compost instead. Other authorities in the area charge more for a similar service.
- It is proposed to raise the charge to collect bulky waste items from £20 to £25. The charge is comparable with other councils and it is a discretionary service. Residents can choose to take their items to the tip or use a similar service from other providers. The fee can be waived for people who can prove exceptional hardship.
Christmas Waste Collections
The Christmas period will see NO CHANGES to waste and recycling collections this year.
However, there are important dates to remember in relation to other waste collection services - including garden, bulky items, clinical and commercial/trade.
Please continue to ensure your bin is out by 6am on your collection day.
Real Christmas Tree Collections
Charnwood will collect real trees from subscribers to their garden waste service. Residents with a garden waste bin can present the tree at the side of the bin and it will be taken. Trees should be no bigger than 6ft and placed next to the bins at the edge of the property for 6am on collection day.
Collection dates will be between Monday 10th January to Friday 21st January 2022.
More information on how to dispose of real Christmas trees can be found at www.charnwood.gov.uk/christmas_tree_collections.
More information on what can and cannot be recycled can be found here: https://www.lesswaste.org.uk/recycle/items-accepted-for-recycling-at-casepak/#Items%20accepted%20for%20recycling%20at%20Casepak
Mayoral News
This month, the Mayor and Mayoress attended:
- The Royal British Legion’s Quorn Poppy Concert - where we were treated to performances by the Quorn Ukelele Orchestra (http://thequo.org/), Suzanne and Friends, and the Leicestershire and Rutland County Pipe Band (http://www.lrcpipeband.co.uk/). All three sets of performers were brilliant, as was compère, Reverend Howard Ketton!
- The Leicestershire and Rutland Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) President’s Luncheon at the Leicestershire County Cricket Club hosted by Chairman, Lady Gretton.
- The Lougborough Christmas lights switch-on – where the Mayor was forced to do an impromptu sing-along with the cast of Aladdin!
- The Panto Gala night at Loughborough Town Hall – Aladdin was the panto and what fun it was. ‘He’s behind you! No he’s not! Yes, he is!’ etc. For a list of other excellent events on at Loughborough Town Hall, see: https://www.loughboroughtownhall.co.uk/events.
- Shepshed Christmas Lights Switch On & Market – this charming little market, organised by Gary Willis and Lou Cavner, was complete with a DJ, a band, and (very competent) local singers knocking out Christmas numbers. With the local café selling fabulous turkey and stuffing sandwiches, and the local pub offering mulled wine at one of the stalls, this all made for a really enjoyable afternoon.
- 45th Anniversary Living Without Abuse (LWA) Winter Ball – we encouraged an extra 30 people to sign up for this event at the Leicester Marriott, raising an extra £1,200 for the charity by the time ticket sales closed, and another £400 in extra donations as well as donations and raffle sales on the night.
- Mountsorrel Christmas Lights Switch-on at the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre (this time with the cast from Cinderella!) – it was great to see the crowd all ready for Christmas, and the kids loved the countdown. There is a fantastic line-up of events at this busy venue. See: https://www.mountsorrelmemorialcentre.co.uk/upcoming-events.
- The Carol Service at Loughborough University – in what must have been freezing weather, with the new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Jennings CB and his partner, and colleagues.
The Mayor also: attended the Loughborough Student Union international day to celebrate the cultures and cuisines of the University’s new student intake, with about 27 countries represented; delivered a presentation with Charnwood Borough Council Civic Officer, Carol Hardy, to the 6th Loughborough Brownies (and faced being asked some of the most challenging and intelligent questions ever devised); attended the Gordon Hallam Tote Draw in Queniborough to support their charitable events; attended ABF The Soldier’s Charity Christmas Curry Luncheon (with Cllr Taylor), attended the formal opening of the Loughborough Wellbeing Centre, and attended the virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Citizens Advice Charnwood.
The next Mayoral charity 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 2022. 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 two Mayoral charities this year, Living Without Abuse or Marie Curie, please donate in the following ways to your preferred choice of charity:
- Living Without Abuse: Donate via the webpage: https://lwa.enthuse.com/pf/paul-baines
- Marie Curie: Donate via the webpage: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-baines9
Alternatively, you can donate via BACS to the Mayor’s Charity Appeal 2021-2022 using the following details and the funds will be divided equally or as specified by the donor:
- 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’.
Or 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.
More details about the Mayor’s Charity Appeal are here: https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/currentcharityappeal. Please do consider giving generously.
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