Archive for category: Local News

Putting communities at the heart of future local government services

An emerging preferred model for new local government structures which puts residents at the heart of public services and ensures councils stay connected to communities has been outlined.

The Leaders of the seven district and borough councils in Leicestershire and Rutland County Council have set out their current thinking and initial preferred way forward for the reorganisation of councils in the area.

It follows the publication of the Government’s English Devolution White Paper, which advocates not only for the devolution of powers and funding to the regions, but requires all councils in two-tier areas to submit proposals to reorganise into unitary authorities.

Having reviewed the options and considered how best to secure the benefits of devolution and ensure the right balance between scale and maintaining connections with communities, there is a clear case for three unitary councils to serve the region. One to serve North Leicestershire and Rutland, one for South Leicestershire and the third for the city of Leicester (based on its existing boundaries).

The district councils and Rutland County Council are clear that this would enable areas to retain a strong sense of place identity, would ensure the new councils remain connected to their communities and would facilitate opportunities to work with partners across neighbourhoods, while making significant savings and enabling more effective service delivery.

The districts and Rutland council leaders remain clear that Leicestershire County Council’s proposal for a single unitary for the whole of Leicestershire would be too cumbersome, too remote and inaccessible for local communities, and will fail to unlock the benefits of devolution.

The Leaders said in a joint statement: “We don’t believe the current system is broken, but if it has to change it is absolutely vital we get this right for our communities, as what we do will affect how public services are delivered for many years to come.

“That’s why we are taking a very balanced and measured approach and have put collaboration, evidence and communities at the heart of our considerations.

“We have attempted multiple times to engage with the County Council to seek the best outcomes for our communities, but they have consistently refused to work with us and they are now pushing forward with a unilateral, unbalanced and outdated proposal from six years ago which failed to find support then.

“A single county unitary for 800,000 people covering hundreds of square miles is far too large.

“To be clear, nothing has been finalised, and today we are sharing our initial ideas. We will be engaging with our stakeholders and communities and want to hear their views so that collectively we build the best possible future for local government across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.”

The district councils and Rutland County Council will launch some initial public engagement during week commencing 24 February 2025 and want to stress there will be ample opportunities to get involved both now and throughout the process over the coming year.

This first phase of engagement will inform the councils’ interim plans for reorganisation which must be submitted to Government by 21 March 2025. As the process continues, there will be a much wider and more comprehensive package of public engagement to fully inform the final proposals which must be submitted in November.

Under the preference for a three-unitary approach:

• The areas currently served by Charnwood, North West Leicestershire and Melton district and borough councils, and Rutland County Council, would be served by one unitary authority (North Leicestershire and Rutland)
• The areas currently served by Blaby, Harborough, Hinckley & Bosworth and Oadby & Wigston district and borough councils would be served by another unitary authority (South Leicestershire)
• Leicester City would continue to be a unitary authority based on its existing boundaries.

The approach would deliver significant savings and ensure a strong focus on neighbourhoods, community partnerships, and preserve local heritage and civic identities.

The three authorities would have broadly similar populations of 400,000 residents and be part of a strategic authority across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland with an elected Mayor; securing the full benefits of a new Devolution Agreement.

This web link provides further detail  www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk/devolution

“With the new Taste Adventures Map, these great places will be hidden gems no longer. My family and I will certainly be visiting some new places, and I encourage you to do the same.”

 

Many of the establishments on the map hope it will help build their business and be able to grow the existing sense of community they thrive off in the borough.

 

Kirsty Taylor from the Cosy Café in Hinckley, which features on the map, said: “We really appreciate the sense of community within Hinckley and its surrounding areas.

 

“The people are friendly and supportive to our small business. It’s great to see the town come together with regular events held throughout the year.”

 

Jo Thorp from the Dreamy Cow, Twycross said: “We feel very blessed with how lovely our customers are that visit. There is no better feeling than seeing a smile on someone’s face when enjoying your product or seeing them relax and have a good time with friends and family over an ice cream.”

 

To download the map, visit www.visitleicester.info/taste-the-place/trails and select Hinckley and Bosworth or visit www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk/tastetheplace or for a paper copy email cultural.services@hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk or Tel. 01455 255856.

Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council

Hinckley Hub, Rugby Road, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 0FR

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

ISSUED 20 JANUARY 2025

 

Hinckley students to showcase talents at creative arts exhibition

 

An upcoming free-to-enter exhibition in Hinckley will showcase the work of talented artists from a local college.

 

Students from creative courses at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College’s Hinckley campus will have their work displayed at the Atkins Gallery from today (Monday 20 January) to Friday 31 January.

 

Visitors will have the chance to choose their favourite artwork. They can scan a QR code on their device to submit a vote online or leave a physical vote in the comment book. The three students responsible for the artworks with the most votes will win prizes for their creations.

 

Next month, the college’s creative arts teaching team will run a ‘Collaboration’ themed exhibition to showcase the creative arts facilities available at the Hinckley campus. This will run from Monday 10 February to Friday 21 February.

 

Cllr Mark Bools, Deputy Leader of the Borough Council, said: “These promise to be two fantastic exhibitions by both students and staff. The College has such a fantastic range of talent and I urge people to go and see the creativity on display at both exhibitions.”

 

Carrie-Anne Abdulai, Assistant Principal at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, said: “We are incredibly proud of the talent and hard work of our students and staff.

 

“These exhibitions are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate their creativity and provide a glimpse into the vibrant student life at our Hinckley campus. I encourage everyone to visit the gallery and experience the incredible artwork on display.”

 

The Atkins Gallery, on Lower Bond Street in Hinckley, is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. The exhibitions are free to enter for all. Look out for additional evening and weekend viewings on the Atkins Building website and social media @AtkinsBuilding.

 

A series of open events will be held in February for students looking to discover more about studying at NWSLC. To register, visit www.nwslc.ac.uk/openevents/

Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council 

Hinckley Hub, Rugby Road, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 0FR 

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

 

ISSUED 10 January 2025

 

 

Local Leaders express serious concerns about the Single Unitary Council Proposal for Leicestershire

 

Leaders from Rutland County Council and the seven district and borough councils in Leicestershire have made it clear they have concerns about proposals to create a single unitary council for the county.

 

The Leaders are disappointed that a statement relating to local government reorganisation was issued by Leicestershire County Council without notice and without consultation.

 

As Local Leaders we are closest to our communities and have a responsibility to ensure local voices are heard and properly considered in any reorganisation of local government. A single unitary council over a wide and diverse geographic area, which is being proposed without proper consultation, has the potential to be too remote, and inaccessible, from the communities we serve.  We must keep the local in local government.

 

As Leaders we acknowledge the government’s white paper sets a clear direction of travel, but it must be properly considered, evidence-led and ensure that residents and businesses are fully engaged in shaping the future local government of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. We are open to exploring all options, but have not agreed any boundary changes, and are clear that any changes must be based on evidence which gets the right balance between scale and physical geography. Any boundary changes would also have to be limited and balanced. Councils perform best when boundaries reflect the way people live their lives.

 

We believe there are credible alternatives to a large single unitary, which will facilitate a better sense of place, deliver savings, boost regional growth and provide better outcomes for our residents and businesses.

 

We want to work collaboratively with all our local authority partners to agree how best to reshape local government within our area. We have written to government to confirm that we are keen to work with them and that we expect our propositions to be taken seriously. There is simply too much at stake to have a change railroaded through.

 

ENDS