On Thursday 31st August, I was delighted to attend the opening of the new Youth and Community Hall, Woodhouse Eaves. The Woodhouse Eaves Scouts received £100,000 to put towards the new hall and the rest of the money was raised through the local community fundraising and some very generous donations.
The hall is a great space for everyone to enjoy and the next project is to create a lovely open garden at the front.
The formal meetings are back in full swing after the summer recess, and it was great to be back at County Hall.
I have also spent two days back at Warwick University for Module 2 of my Leadership course. It was great to catch up with colleagues from across the country again and share the issues we are all facing with local government finances.
On an extremely hot Saturday afternoon on 9th September, I attended the Anstey Gala and Swithland Flower and Vegetable Show. Both events were very busy, and it was great to introduce our new Parliamentary Candidate for Mid-Leicestershire, Peter Bedford, to local residents and show him around the new constituency area.
I also attended the Anstey Gala Service on Sunday 10th September on the recreation ground, organised by Churches Together in Anstey.
Service for Pets
A service many residents may be interested in is the service for pets, being held at St Mary’s Church, Anstey on Sunday 8th October at 10am. My two badly behaved dogs will be bringing their responsible owners, it will be a fun event so please come and support this event with or without your lovely pets.
Levelling Up
We welcomed Minster Lee Rowley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to County Hall on Thursday 14th September.
We had an interesting conversation on the council's funding issues and the pressure that the Council is currently seeing in some service areas. We now await the government’s proposals for the Local Government Finance Settlement 2024-25, usually announced towards the end of the year. It was especially useful to give Minster Rowley some frontline feedback as to what is happening at the current time in our council that he wasn’t aware of, and we will be sending him some further information following the meeting.
On Monday 18th September, I visited Belvoirdale School in Coalville with my Cabinet Support Member, Craig Smith. The Head Teacher, Richard Dax, showed us around and I learned about the wonderful things that this school is doing. The children and staff enjoyed telling us all about the school and the things they love to do.
On Wednesday 20th September, I visited the Hinckley Children and Families Centre, where they were hosting a visit from UK Harvest (www.ukharvest.org.uk) a charity whose mission is to prevent food waste and food insecurity by enriching and educating our communities.
There is a wealth of information on their website, including some great recipes to use up left over food.
School Applications
If you have a child due to start primary or secondary school for the first time in Leicestershire next year (autumn 2024), you can apply for their place now.
Applications for children moving from primary to secondary need to be made by October 31st, whilst first-time primary applications need to be in by January 15th 2024.
Applications for 2024/25 can be made via the school admissions page: https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools-colleges-and-academies/school-admissions where there is also information about all county schools and hints and tips on applying.
Here are a few important hints and tips:
• Select three schools, including one in your catchment area
• Make sure you’re happy with your order of preference
• If you’re applying for an education, health, and care plan (EHCP) and you think your child might attend a specialist school, it is still important to fill out an application for a mainstream school place. This will ensure they will have a school place in the autumn.
If you’re not sure if you live in a school’s catchment area, check out their website or drop them a line. For further advice on your preferred schools and information about open days, please contact individual schools directly.
Allocated school places will be announced on national offer days – March 1st 2024 (secondary) and April 16th 2024 (primary).
Electric Vehicle Charging Points
More than £3 million in Government funding has been allocated to install electric vehicle charge points across Leicestershire.
Working with a number of other councils and Midlands Connect on the bid, Leicestershire County Council has been allocated funding through the government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure scheme (LEVI).
The earmarked funding will be used from 2024/25 and is expected to deliver up to 2,500 public electric vehicle charge points in Leicestershire by the end of 2030 to meet the needs of the growing electric vehicle (EV) market.
It also enables the county council to continue its green agenda and significant contribution to securing EV infrastructure across Leicestershire.
The locations for the charging points have not yet been identified and the council will now develop a delivery plan. The focus will be on locations with the greatest public need, focusing on residential streets where there is a high proportion of housing without access to private off-street parking.
Residents, businesses, shoppers, and commuters will be able to have an input on where they would like to see EV charging points across Leicestershire with a countywide survey set to launch in the autumn. This will help the county council better understand current and future demand for public EV charging points.
I already have some charge points installed in my division. The Nook, Anstey car park now has eight charge points installed, ready to go live in the next month or so.
Newsletters
Leicestershire County Council provides many services to residents, and I like to keep you as informed as I can.
You can now subscribe to their newsletters and pick what topics you would like to read information about.
On the front page of the website (www.leicestershire.gov.uk) there is a button to press to add your name and email address and tick the boxes to make your selection on the topics you are interested in.
Community Orchard Scheme
Community groups, parish councils and schools are being invited to apply for free packs of fruit trees and use them to plant new orchards.
Leicestershire County Council has launched the new community orchards programme as part of its annual free tree scheme.
Under the new initiative, groups are being encouraged to apply for the free orchard packs, which contain 10 apple and pear trees, stakes, and other equipment needed to establish the orchard.
The trees can be used to create a new orchard for the local community or to help restore and boost an existing orchard. The trees must be planted on sites that are open to the public, groups must have permission from the landowner to plant the trees, and all groups applying to the scheme need to commit to maintaining and nurturing the orchard in the long term.
Groups who would like to apply for one of the tree packs should contact the council’s Forestry team at [email protected]
The packs will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, and will be available for collection during ‘National Tree Week’ in November.
School Streets Scheme
A County Council scheme, which reduces ‘school run’ congestion and improves air quality at two Leicestershire schools, has now become permanent.
In the final months of term-time earlier this year, ‘School Streets' were put in place at both Latimer Primary School in Anstey and Coalville’s Belvoirdale Primary School, creating safe and clear pedestrian and cycle zones at drop-off and pick-up times.
This resulted in dozens of children and their parents walking, cycling, and wheeling to schools.
The schools have selected local volunteers to support the scheme with the necessary training so that roads can be cordoned off at specific times.
Residents on the two streets will still be able to use the roads for access using a permit.
To find out more, visit: choosehowyoumove.co.uk/leicestershireschoolstreets
If you have any issues or concerns, I’m here to help.
