Mountsorrel Post (82) March 2023

Nursery’s 10th anniversary

She reports: We are very excited to be planning events throughout the year to celebrate turning 10, and we hope to include both past and present families who have supported us throughout this time and helped us to develop into a real family-orientated business. We have become part of the local

community by supporting village events, such as the revival, Christmas tree festival and remembrance Sunday. We help to support other local businesses such as cafes, post office, shops, The Heritage Centre and Stonehurst Farm through visits and by sharing local information with our families.

Coincidentally the premises that Castle View Day Nursery operate from was purchased in 2012. The engraved granite block on the Watling Street side of the building says, "Mountsorrel Constitutional Club - AD - 1912."

I have managed to find some fascinating facts about the history of the building, which I think may be of interest.

Continued on page 3

Play area funding

A MOUNTSORREL play area has secured grant funding from Charnwood Borough Council.

Mountsorrel Parish Council successfully applied for £250,000 funding to help pay for new cricket and football pitches in Halstead Road, to support the local sporting scene and ease the pressure on the existing pitches there, and at the Memorial Playing Fields. The Council also wants to build a new pavilion at Halstead Road.

It is one of 10 projects in the borough that will receive a share of £4million of government funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The projects will see improvements to parks and sports facilities, support for town centres, a village hall expanded and the backing of a project to improve the well-being, life chances and employability skills of young people.

Continued on page 3

Pic: Children & staff at the Castle View Day Nursery

Alpine House Surgery

86 Rothley Rd, Mountsorrel, Loughborough LE12 7JU Tel: 0116 216 9947

The good news!

We are pleased to let you know that we are currently in the very early stages of planning to make improvements to the surgery site in the form of an extension and refurb to our minor surgery room.

Recruitment

We have recruited and welcome our new Reception Manager, Laraine. Laraine has a wealth of Primary Care Management experience and is your first port of call for any difficulties you may face when navigating the reception system.

We are also in the process of recruiting additional reception staff and have two new staff members who will be joining the team during February and March.

Contacting us

We do offer routine appointments so if you do not require an “on the day” appointment do consider calling later in the day and asking for the next routine appointment. Don’t forget, the GP is not always the most appropriate person for your needs but the more information you can give, the better our reception team can help you.

Online access

We have recently reinstated online access for routine GP appointments, if you have online access to book appointments, you will be able to use this to book. These appointments are released for 10 weeks at a time and are on a first come first served basis. All our online appointments are faceto-face but if you prefer a telephone call, please state this when booking your appointment.

Pharmacist, Paramedic & Nursing Teams

Our pharmacists can help with medication reviews and many medication queries. Our Paramedic team are

Plans were submitted and approved by the local council, and we are now awaiting approval from the NHS estates team. The additional space will provide us with additional capacity for our attached staff provided by our local PCN.

Frontline news

In our last article we informed our patients that the Alpine House reception team has been depleted recently and this was having a huge impact on the team and the ability to answer the phones in a timely manner. We are pleased to report that call waiting times are improving and the average wait time at our busiest times has reduced to 30 minutes, this is not deemed unreasonable. We are not an emergency service and if your call is of a life threatening or emergency nature, please direct your call to 999.

highly skilled health professionals and can help with a wide range of problems. Both teams can prescribe independently and have direct access to a GP for support. Our Nursing team are on hand to help you with your longterm conditions, along with vaccinations, cervical smear testing and minor illness, both of our nurses are independent prescribers. Our HCA and phlebotomy team undertake all our blood testing and can help with simple wound care, stitch and clip removal, routine ear care, flu vaccination, ECGs and BP monitoring.

We continue to see patients face to face, and patients can choose if their GP appointment is face-to-face or by telephone. Our latest data continues to show that our GPs are seeing more than 50% of patients face to face. We also carry out home visits for our most clinically vulnerable patients where appropriate.

We would like to reassure all our patients we are doing all we can to improve the service and we thank you for your continued patience.

Whilst we are continuing to address the current frustrations of accessing healthcare, we are, unfortunately, still noticing an increase amongst a small cohort of patients who have resorted to being abusive to our staff. This is upsetting for staff, and other patients who witness this behaviour, and we would ask that patients always treat all of our team members with kindness, courtesy and respect. We do have a zero-tolerance policy in place to allow us to manage patients who are abusive, and your registration with us may be at risk if you are abusive in any way to any of our team. If patient behaviour is deemed, in any way, violent or threatening, then an immediate removal from the practice list will be instigated.

We are fortunate that this is a minority of people, and we recognise and thank all our patients for your loyalty, kindness and understanding.

All the team at Alpine House look forward to continuing to support you.

Laura Newbold Practice Manager

Nursery continued from page 1

Once formed, the club must have recruited a lot of members quite quickly as, in 1916, 60 members joined the Armed Forces to fight in WW1.

Billiards was a popular pastime in the Club, and the results of matches against competitors from neighbouring clubs and pubs were given in the local press.

An article in the Loughborough Echo from March 6, 1987, says that the Club was to spend £30,000 on refurbishing the premises. Residents of Watling Street and the Market Place were, however, against this as they had suffered problems with people making a noise at closing time, using bad language, and causing damage to property. The Club Chairman, Bob Cross said that there had

non-members. Rock and Roll beginners’ class was on Thursday night with the same admission prices. On August 8, there was a Race Night when all draught beers cost 50p/pint. The Club also advertised a luxurious function room which could be hired out for weddings, birthdays, parties, and anniversaries.

Volunteers planting bulbs at Castle Gardens

THE FRIENDS of Castle Gardens volunteer group has planted a mixture of over 200 bulbs.

rel Parish Council and the volunteers. post office on Leicester Road and was an

been some noise at closing time, but this wasn't caused by people leaving the Club, but by drinkers at other pubs in the village who used Watling Street to get home. Mr Cross invited anyone who had a complaint to come to the Club to discuss the matter.

An article in the Leicester Mail dated August 2, 1990, advertised Rock and Roll night on Mondays, with admission being 50p for members and 60p for

Local actress and dancer, Deirdre Quemby, ran dancing classes at the Club for some years.

In 1992 the Club went into liquidation, and in the Echo on July 23, 1993, was the notification of a planning application made by Leicestershire County Council for the building to be turned into a Social Services Day Care Centre. This application was granted, and the Day Care Centre was, after some years, succeeded by the Castle View Nursery in 2012.

A6 roadworks start

HIGHWAY WORKS on the A6 between Birstall and Rothley started in February and are expected to last 52 weeks.

Developers Davidsons and Cora Homes are starting the main access works off the A6 into the 1950 home Broadnook Garden Suburb, a planned garden village development.

A county council spokesperson said: “Throughout 2023 there will be an ongoing requirement for phased and approved traffic management and a website will be launched to ensure the public get updates on phasing and progress. Overnight preparatory works are commencing very soon. The scheme will also include the formation of new roundabouts and diversionary works in the area of the A6/A46 interchange, as well as various highway improvements.”

B&Q store

THE THURMASTON B&Q, located within the Asda superstore, is to close.

The company has said that no jobs will be lost as a result of the changes. Staff are being offered alternative roles at stores nearby.

Pics: The Mountsorrel Constitutional Club

Parish Council raises precept by 5%

MOUNTSORREL PARISH Council agreed to increase its precept by 5% for 2023/24, to £554,926.

At a meeting of the full council on January 16, councillors considered an 11% increase, as recommended by the council’s Finance & General Purposes committee, which met on December 12, 2022.

A council spokesperson said: “Despite huge pressures on rising costs, the council has kept the rise in its share of the Council Tax element to 5% through the sound management of its finances. The council has achieved this by using £31,725 of its reserves. This equates to approximately 17 pence per week increase for a Band D property.”

In 2023/23 the precept was £524,201, and the rate for a Band D property in Mountsorrel was £173.41.

In 2023/24 the precept will be £554,926, with a Band D rate of £182.08.

Parish Councils forecast how much money they are going to need in the next financial year. This figure is then divided

Trouble with your figures?

by the tax base – the average number of Band D equivalent properties in the area.

When calculating the precept, Parish Councils have to consider:

• Their anticipated spending levels for the ongoing services for which they are responsible, such as play areas, the cemetery, allotments and the cost of the parish office and ground staff

• The levels of anticipated income e.g. from rents, hire charges, burial fees and grants

• The costs of any additional spending plans or projects

• Maintaining a prudent amount of money in reserves

Once the precept has been agreed, it is added to residents’ council tax bills and collected by Charnwood Borough Council, which then pays it to the Parish Council.

The 2023-24 Budget for Mountsorrel Parish Council:

Total Budgeted Expenditure: £858,967.00

Total Budgeted Income: £272,316.00

Total to be used from Reserve: £31,725.00

Total Precept Request: £554,926.00

The Parish Council provided this list of the improvements planned for 2023/24:

A new play area at Halstead Road

Starting work for the relocation of cricket to new land at Halstead Road

Continued support to the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre (MMC) ensuring it goes from strength to strength.

Some new play equipment at the War Memorial Playing Fields

New and upgraded CCTV provision to protect vulnerable sites with monitoring by Charnwood Borough Council

New grit / salt bins for winter

Improved floral displays in the village

Bulb planting with the help of the Friends of Castle Gardens

Increase in the grant to Leicestershire & Rutland Youth and Family Services to support young people in the village and the successful ‘Mug & Mingle’ sessions

The creation of a Volunteer Co-ordinator at the library with the aim of increasing opening hours and other activities to support learning.

vehicle activated signs and are consulting on their location

A range of health and safety improvements across council owned buildings

Provision for the increase in the minimum wage to £10.42 per hour from April

Provision for the 100% + increase in energy costs

Improved management of Castle Hill and necessary repairs to the War Memorial

Come & sing with us

WATERMEAD SINGERS attracts people with all kinds of singing experience and welcomes anyone who fancies having a go at singing.

“Some of our members are seasoned singers, and others are complete novices with no musical experience at all,” said spokeswoman Caroline Sharpe.

“And that’s the real pleasure that comes from singing with others - it doesn’t matter how you think you sound on your own when you sing in a choir, you are part of making a great collective sound,” she added.

The choir meets at the Elizabeth Park Centre in Thurmaston. Caroline said: “Life has changed for so many people over the last three years, but one thing we’ve learnt is how important it is to be with other people.

“We were all impacted by lockdown, and not wanting to dwell on the particular challenges faced by singers and choirs over that time, it’s just worth saying how amazing Watermead Singers is, surviving 18 months of rehearsing on Zoom, a summer of outdoor rehearsals and six months of indoor socially distanced rehearsals.

“We are delighted that we are now

almost a year into being back to normality, and each Thursday afternoon Elizabeth Park Centre is filled with music, singing, laughter and chatter as Watermead Singers are back to making music in the way that choirs are supposed to!”

Singing is beneficial to mental and physical health. Caroline said: “You might have heard about singing releasing happy hormones – well it’s true. Something which I hear often is how good someone feels after an hour or two of singing. And singing with a friendly, easy-going, and fun group doubles the benefits.”

The choir is now back to singing at events and giving concerts – the next is at St Hilda’s, East Goscote on Friday May 26 at 7pm. “We would love to see you there,” said Caroline. “The singers are a really lively group from Birstall, Thurmaston, Syston, Queniborough and beyond. Membership of Watermead Singers comes with the added bonus of being able to visit and sing with any of the Charnwood Community Singers choirs who meet in Rothley, Tilton on the Hill, Quorn and Woodhouse Eaves.”

You can find out more about the choirs and concerts by visiting the website: www.charnwoodcommunitysingers.com Pic: The Watermead Singers

Table shows budget & amount of parish precept from 2017/18 to 2022/23

Mountsorrel’s Main Street, in the 1880s

THIS PHOTOGRAPH from Mountsorrel Heritage Group shows Loughborough Road (or rather Main Street as it then was) sometime in the mid-1880s.

On the right of the photo, we can see William Jacques’ bakery (later Gibson’s Bakery) and next door John Smith’s joinery. The bakery dates from at least 1770 and is probably older, as is John Smith’s house and workshop.

Beyond and just visible is the sign for the Railway Inn, then run by Elizabeth Barrs, and beyond that the roofline of Jenkins Cottages which were demolished in 1888/9 to make way for the new offices of Mountsorrel Granite Company.

There are no names to go with the photo, but it’s just possible that the chap with the beard is William Jacques, and with him is Helen, one of his daughters,

Continued from page 1

Cllr Jonathan Morgan, Leader of Charnwood Borough Council, said: “I am delighted we can now push forward with the Future Charnwood Investment Plan using the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to help level up Charnwood.

“We appealed for projects to come forward last year to be part of the plan and we were overwhelmed with the response.

“The projects included in the investment plan will benefit all corners of the borough and make a difference to thousands of residents.

“I am now looking forward to these projects taking shape and making Charnwood’s future much brighter.”

One of the projects is a plan by Sileby Parish Council to improve the village’s Memorial Park and Sports Pavilion. It will receive almost £500,000.

Summary of the projects:

Improvements to Anstey community facilities

Anstey Parish Council wants to extend the Jubilee Hall in the village to increase its usage by community groups.

New Multi-use Games Area in Birstall

Birstall Parish Council wants to install a multi-use games area on the School Lane playing fields to enhance the area for all age groups and abilities.

Sileby Memorial Park and Pavilion

Sileby Parish Council is intending to regenerate Sileby Memorial Park and Pavilion to improve the community green space at the heart of the village.

Expanding Mountsorrel sports facilities

Mountsorrel Parish Council wants to create new cricket and football pitches in Halstead Road to support the local sporting scene and ease the pressure on the existing pitches there, and at the Memorial Playing Fields. The Council also wants to build a new pavilion at Halstead Road.

Living Wall & Charnwood Growers' Fair Project

Love Loughborough has proposed an exciting project to transform an ugly concrete façade in Loughborough town centre into a beautiful living feature. The façade above a row of shops in Devonshire Square would be covered in a

and the nattily dressed chap next to her may be her husband Thomas Dennis, who was a hosier from Loughborough. Now that’s only a supposition, but it is based on the rough dating of the photo and checking census details.

Quite what is happening on the other side of the road we are not sure, but it looks like a bit of repair work near to New Road.

The second photo was taken recently and shows roughly the same scene as it is now.

Photos courtesy of Facebook: Mountsorrel Heritage Group, which is regularly updated with historic photos of the village

Living Wall, which would see panels of plants added to the building to grow and bring nature into the town centre. Also, a weekly Charnwood Growers’ Fair would be held in the summer to bring more visitors to the town centre.

Regenerating Shepshed’s Market Place

Charnwood Borough Council is planning to transform Market Place in Shepshed by creating an open and more pedestrian-friendly space while retaining parking for shoppers.

Re-imagining Loughborough’s iconic Carillon Tower and War Memorial Museum

The floors of the tower will be transformed with purpose-built units and flexible display cases for the museum’s displays. The project will also seek to inspire the next generation of Carillonneurs with the purchase of a practice clavier, the device used to play the bells in the tower. There will also be a learning programme developed for school and group visits, a campaign to increase volunteers at the museum and a project to better understand the museum’s audience. The project is being led by Charnwood Borough Council.

Gorse Covert Youth Project, Loughborough

This project proposed by Gorse Covert Community Association proposes a three-year programme of youth support, including the appointment of a dedicated youth support worker. The programme would facilitate drop-in sessions, workshops and activities as well as develop opportunities to improve young people’s, confidence, and capabilities.

Generation Charnwood

Youth Sport Trust, in partnership with Active Together, has proposed the Generation Charnwood project. It aims to improve the well-being, life chances and employability skills of young people –especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds - in the borough through sport.

Nanpantan Scout Hut

Nanpantan Scout Group is planning to build a new scout hut, which will secure its future as a thriving group for young people. The new hut would also be available for use by the local community.

Pics: (top) William Jacques’ bakery on Main Street; (aboe) the scene as it looks today

Admission charge at Heritage Centre

AN ENTRANCE charge of £2 for adults has been introduced for the Mountsorrel & Rothley Heritage Centre to help it meet a large rise in its operating costs and to remain open.

The entrance fee came into effect from February 2023. The Heritage Centre building itself and Granite's Coffee Shop will remain free to enter.

Spokesman Steve Cramp said: “It has always been our aim for the site to be free for our visitors to enter and enjoy. Over the past almost seven years, we have worked very hard to achieve this, depending entirely on donations from visitors and the income generated through our “Not For Profit” Granite’s Coffee Shop, to pay the running costs of the site. We have no grants to support the running of the site and no income from local councils or other organizations to help with running costs.”

Steve says that over the last 12 months, there have been huge cost rises for operating the site, for things like servicing/repair/replacement of equipment, machinery and legal requirements such as fire and safety. Electricity costs have increased from £12,500 per year

to £42,000.

He said: “There’s also been large increases in the cost of the products we buy to sell in our Granite’s Coffee Shop. For Granite’s to stay affordable for our customers, we haven’t been able to pass most of these rises on and have had to absorb

most of the increases ourselves. This greatly reduces Granite’s ability to support the site.

“The cost of living crisis means that visitors have reduced the donations they make, and have reduced what they spend in Granite’s. For example, in August 78% of visitors didn’t buy anything from us, nor leave a donation.

“So it's a perfect storm of everything mounting against us at the same time, and means that we can no longer afford to cover all the costs of operating the site.”

Pressure on the finances became clear in the summer of 2022. Steve said: “We have spent the past six months trying to find alternatives and, reluctantly, we have been left with no other choice but to start to charge a small entrance fee for visitors to access the site beyond the Granite’s patio. Visits to Granite’s, the heritage rooms in the main building and the play area will remain free. We’ve set the entrance fee at the very low rate of just £2 for adults and £1 for children aged 2-15. Under 2’s remain free.”

He added: “Introducing an entrance fee has been a difficult decision for us to take as we are very much aware of how the cost of living crisis is affecting everyone, but we simply have no choice if the Heritage Centre is to survive into the future.”

The centre will be opening several new areas for visitors in 2023.

Steve said: “From early 2023 our

newly arrived traction engine will be operational, and may be joined by a second working traction engine around Easter. There’s the new King’s Coronation Garden opening in May. Passenger train rides around our narrow gauge railway are targeted to start at the end of May (small additional charge payable) the LMS Wagon Museum with its working vintage Hornby Dublo train set, will open mid to late January. The Great Central Railway will be starting to run passenger trains on the branch line again, possibly as soon as March. The railway has won several awards, including “independent railway of the year”, a gold award for the East Midlands' best visitor experience and is a quality-assured visitor attraction as designated by Enjoy England. Trains can also be hired for private parties and corporate events.

“You’ll also be able to see our volunteers bringing Robert Stephenson’s historic 1834 lift bridge back to life through 2023. So the Heritage Centre site continues to grow and will become even better for next year! Thanks to your support and the dedication of our hard-working and committed volunteers over the past seven years, the Heritage Centre has become a much-loved and valued resource for the people of Leicestershire and beyond to enjoy and learn from. We very much hope that you’ll continue to visit and support the Heritage Centre to allow it to flourish into the future!”

Pic: King Charles visiting the Heritage Centre in 2017

Noticeboard

Syston and District University of the Third Age

Open Day

Wednesday April 26, 11am – 2pm.

Not in full time work? Is this what you’ve been waiting for? A chance to meet future friends, become more active, enjoy new interests and socialise. Does having fun appeal to you? Discover more about these opportunities and talk to both Group Organisers and members of Syston and District u3a.

Visit our Open Day at Grosvenor Snooker Club, Syston, LE7 2EN. We are waiting to welcome you

From Classics to Jazz

Rachael Lawson:

Clarinet/Saxophone

Stephen Waterhouse: Piano

Saturday 1st April 2023, 7pm

Syston Methodist Church

High Street, Syston LE7 1GP

Tickets £8 including light refreshments

Tel no 0116 2609804/0759 462

8961

In aid of LOROS

Rothley and Birstall Birdwatchers

Tuesday March 14, 7.30pm

This has been changed to a talk on his visit to Mongolia by Andy Smith

Tuesday April 18, 7.30pm

Please note this meeting will be on the third

Tuesday of April, the 18th, not on the second

Tuesday as usual, due to Easter being the previous week.

"Nature's Darning Needles"

An introduction to Dragonflies by Kevin Reynolds

Membership £15 p.a. Talks free to members but if you just want to come and listen, come as a visitor for just £3

* Birstall Methodist Church

Ratcliffe Chorale & Knighton Community Choir present

A Spring Concert

At Birstall Methodist Church, Wanlip Lane, Birstall

Saturday March 18, 2023, 7pm

Birstall Flower Club

Wednesday March 22, 2023

Birstall Village Hall 7.15pm

Demonstrator: Pauline Foster

Title: Let Us Dance In The Sun

Visitors £5

Queries to: Sylvia 0116 267 4206 or Carol 0116 267 1437

Syston Model Railway Society

will be holding its Annual Model Railway Show at ROOTS @ Thorpe Farm, Barkby Thorpe, Leicester, LE7 3QE on April 29th/30th.

Opening times are 10am –4:30pm on Saturday and 10am –4pm on Sunday.

Admission is £5 per adult and £4 per unaccompanied child. Accompanied children go free. There will be a number of layouts in various gauges as well as specialist traders and demonstrations. Refreshments will be available.

Plenty of free parking

For further information please contact John on 07948419664 or email systonmodelrailway@gmx.co.uk. www.systonmrs.org.uk

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All Leading Makes Serviced 20 Years Experience

Washers • Dryers • Dishwashers Fridges • Cookers GAS & ELECTRIC

Home Grown Potatoes: White Red Mozart

Horse & Pony Feeds, Goat Feeds, Poultry Feeds, Rabbit Food, Hay Straw & Shavings

FIREWOOD:

all details printed free James 07802 915559

Conductor – Simon Lubkowski

Organist – Ron Berry

Free entry – Raffle and retiring collection in aid of Action for Children & Church Funds

All Welcome

Based in Rothley with 20 years experience as an Estate Agent, I would love to help you move home in 2023.

Parish Council notes

A FULL meeting of Mountsorrel Parish Council was held on September 27, 2022.

In public participation, some homeowners from Little Lane, and Grapes Garden Close proposed that the rent charge should be reduced by around 20% and that the Parish Council should make an appropriate contribution to the maintenance of the road in recognition of its public use.

It was reported that Mountsorrel Community Team have thanked the Parish Council for its support for Mountsorrel Revival.

Councillors resolved to sign the Civility and Respect pledge and to adopt the Dignity at Work policy.

Councillors agreed to spend £7910 on essential tree work.

Ross Willmott, the parish manager, reported that the fire at Castle Hill had caused some damage to property. The parish manager is meeting with homeowners, has a report from the Fire Brigade, and has contacted the council’s insurers, Natural England and Historic England for advice. It is expected that a management plan will be needed to mitigate the risk of damage to property, should this happen again.

Councillors considered a report on Little Lane and Grapes Garden Close. It was agreed not to reduce the amount of the rent charge and to continue with the collection of the rent charge at the full amount set out in the legal agreement. The council will contribute £500 per annum to the sinking fund with effect from April 2023, in recognition of its use of part of Little Lane. It was reported that the adoption of Little Lane has been explored and the advice from the County Council is that the design of the road is incompatible with adoption.

Councillors agreed to appoint a depu-

ty manager at the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre. It was agreed to appoint Worknest on a 36-month contract as adviser to the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre for human resources matters and as adviser to the Parish Council for human resources and health and safety matters.

A meeting of the Projects & Amenities committee was held on October 31, 2022.

It was reported that all burial records are now on the mapping software system.

Leicestershire County Council has proposed designs for twinning signage to add to the existing gateway signs, located at the various entrances to the village. The council agreed to accept these design proposals as an interim measure due to them being free of charge and to explore the purchase of more attractive gateway signs that could incorporate planters.

It was agreed to request salt bins, at a cost of £325 per bin, at the junction of Rothley Road and Hawthorn Road, the junction of Laurel Close and Hawthorn Road and on Marsh Road.

It was reported that the County Council does not have any plans to introduce a 20 mph speed limit on Rothley Road in the vicinity of the school.

It was agreed to pursue this issue by investigating the use of an online petition for a 20 mph speed limit on Rothley Road, and the side roads off it.

Allotment tenants have requested a skip to dispose of accumulated rubbish and it was agreed to provide this, at a cost of £250.

It was reported that the council had successfully applied for grant funding of £13,907 for work to repair the Castle Hill memorial and to replace the chains that historically were in position around it.

It was reported that the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner had agreed to provide £10,000 towards CCTV in the village. The council agreed to spend £3960 on 30 hanging baskets to be erected in the village. The council will explore options for extending the floral displays to other areas of the village for 2023/24.

A meet-

ing of the planning and policy committee was held on November 7, 2022.

The crime figures for October 1 – 28:

Vehicle crimes 3, theft 5, burglary 2, criminal damage 4, antisocial behaviour 2.

A full meeting of Mountsorrel Parish Council was held on November 21, 2022.

Certificates of Commendation have been awarded to Linda Tyman, Mountsorrel Community Team and Paul Reeve. Paul Reeve was not able to attend. On behalf of the Mountsorrel Community Team, Ross Tomlyn thanked the Parish Council for the award and support it provided to Revival.

Councillor Liz Blackshaw spoke about the work that Linda Tyman had done for the Mountsorrel United Charities over many years. Linda said that it was an honour and a privilege to have served as a trustee.

Borough Councillor Hadji-Nikolaou reported that £12,400 from the Members’ Highway Fund had been allocated to Mountsorrel for vehicle-activated speed signs, and benches.

Councillor Fred Newitt has resigned from the council. He was thanked for his 37 years of service.

A meeting of the Planning & Policy committee was held on December 5, 2022.

The crime figures for November 1 –30:

Criminal damage 3, theft 5, vehicle crime 4.

A meeting of the Finance & General Purposes committee was held on December 12.

In public participation, a member of the public asked about the precept for 2023/24. The parish manager reported that the precept would be decided by the council at its meeting on January 16, 2023.

The current budget preparation for 2023/24 is showing a shortfall of £52,000. The council would need to consider how the shortfall could be met.

It was reported that there were approximately £550,000 in reserves of which approximately £300,000 were earmarked reserves for specific projects, and there was £250,000 in the general reserves. This level of general reserves was in accordance with the auditor’s advice.

Councillors considered an acceptable level of increase for the parish precept. Comment was made that it was important that local people were made aware of the planned expenditure for 2023/24, and the ambition for facilities in the village to be improved, so that any increase can be better understood.

It was agreed that budget papers for the council meeting to be held on January 16 be prepared in anticipation of an 11% increase, to match the current rate of inflation.

A meeting of the planning and policy committee was held on January 9, 2023.

Crime figures for December 1–31:

Criminal damage 2, burglary 2, theft 3, vehicle crime 2, antisocial behaviour 1.

Local elections in May

THE NEXT scheduled elections taking place in this area will be on Thursday May 4, 2023 to elect councillors to:

Charnwood Borough Council (all seats)

All parish councils in the borougharea (all seats)

Charnwood Borough Council is currently controlled by the Conservative Group, the 52 seats being broken down as follows:

37 Conservative councillors

13 Labour councillors

One Independent councillor

One Green Party councillor

Registering to vote

To be able to vote in these elections, you must have registered to vote by midnight on Monday April 17, 2023. You can register to vote at any time, so if you’re not already registered, it is best to make sure you do this in plenty of time. If you are not sure if you are registered to vote, you can find out more information on the register to vote webpage of Charnwood Borough

Continued on page 11

Council.

How to vote

You should also think about how you would like to cast your vote early so you have time to prepare:

All voters in the polling station will need to show photographic ID before voting.

Voting by post

Voting by post is an easy and convenient way of voting if you do not want to vote in person at a polling station. Your voting forms are posted to you together with a postage paid return envelope.

You can apply to vote by post for a particular election or referendum, for a set period of time or for all future polls. Postal votes can be sent to addresses in the UK and abroad.

You must be registered and eligible to vote.

How to apply for a postal vote

Your completed postal vote application form must be received by the Electoral Services office before 5pm on Tuesday 18th April 2023 if you wish to vote by post for the upcoming elections being held on Thursday May 4, 2023.

If your application is received by Friday March 17, 2023 and is successful and you are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections, then your postal vote pack will be sent out 1st class to you on Friday April 14, 2023.

If your application is received between Monday March 20, 2023 – 5pm on Tuesday April 18, 2023 and is successful and you are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections, then your postal vote pack will be sent out 1st class to you on Monday April 24, 2023.

Download a postal vote application form from Charnwood website, print off, read the information, follow the instructions, complete and return the form. Alternatively, contact Electoral Services on 01509 634546 and they will send you an application form.

The deadline to apply is 5pm on Tuesday April 18, 2023

Parish Council election

A poll will only take place if there are more nominations than there are seats for the particular parish ward. If there are the same number or fewer candidates than there are seats available, no election is required and the seats are allocated to the candidates.

If you would like to stand as a parish councillor, obtain the nomination papers from Electoral Services at Charnwood and return them by April 4, 2023.

Bowls club holds open day

ROTHLEY BOWLS Club extends a warm welcome to everyone to its Open Afternoon on Sunday April 16, from 1pm to 4pm.

Please come and visit us for a chat to find out more about the game and the club or to have a go. All you need to bring with you is a flat pair of shoes, we provide all the necessary equipment to get you started! Bowls is a great sport for all ages and Rothley Bowls Club, with its great community spirit, is the perfect place to do just that. We are located off Mountsorrel Lane in Rothley just behind the library. Disabled access has recently been upgraded and new fencing installed. The Club will also be taking part in the Bowls England Big Bowls weekend with another open afternoon on Sunday May 28.

Following a successful 2022 season, the club is happy to announce that the

Wednesday Social Bowling afternoons will start again from April 19. These sessions (from 2 to 4pm) are open to all. Why not come along and join us?

For just a £10 joining fee for the first year for those new to bowling, there is

exercise and make new friends. Further information and contact details can be found on the website: www.rothleybowlsclub.org

From Rothley Bowls Club

Group reopens village museum

MOUNTSORREL HERITAGE Group reopened the Village Museum in Mountsorrel library at the start of February with an exhibition looking at the Barrow on Soar Union Workhouse (pictured).

The workhouse stood at the junction of Linkfield Road and Leicester Road. This was originally produced by our friends in the Rothley Heritage Trust, and we have since added to it. This display will be in place until late May and will be replaced by one about quarrying in and around the village over the centuries, which we are currently preparing.

The museum, upstairs in the library, is open Thursday and Friday, 2 - 4.30pm and Saturday 10.30am - 12.30pm.

Monthly Talks

The New Year saw the start of our 2023 programme of monthly talks held at the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre. Through to the start of summer, we have:

14th March ‘The history of the biggest machine in the world’ with Ross Tomlyn

11th April ‘Leicestershire’s Suffragettes and Suffragists’ with Jess Jenkins

16th May ‘Animal War heroes’ with

Eric Makin & Pat Neal

13th June ‘Archaeological finds from Mountsorrel, Rothley, Barrow and Cossington’ with Peter Liddle.

Talks commence at 7.30pm. Members £3, non-Members £4.

Wildflower Meadow

The small wildflower meadow that we have developed over the last 15 years looks quiet at the moment, with just a few celandines and snowdrops showing, but deep in the sward there are the shoots of a host of wildflowers starting to sprout. The meadow is at the foot of the Navins by Christ Church and is marked by a stone courtesy of Tarmac and a plaque, with artwork by pupils at Christ Church and St Peter’s School.

Fortnightly photos

Our fortnightly photo posting on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mountsorrel archive/ ) remains popular, with readers' comments very helpfully adding to information for the archive.

Other comments and queries are coming in via our website http://mountsorrelarchive.org

As ever, we welcome new members, and you can contact us either at the museum when open, via the website and Facebook pages, or at mountsorrelheritagegroup2022@gmail.c om

From Mountsorrel Heritage Group

Pic: Rothley bowls club

Pic: a model of the Barrow on Soar Union Workhouse

Plans to convert care home to flats

A MOUNTSORREL care home could be converted into nine flats.

Quarry Hill Grange Residential Home on Watling Street is a 20-bed residential home for older people. The owners have submitted a planning application to Charnwood Borough Council for permission to convert the building.

The plans include the demolition and rebuilding of a two-storey extension at the rear of the property. The building is within the Mountsorrel conservation area.

The Care Quality Commission gave the care home a rating of ‘Good’ at its last inspection in September 2019. The health and social care watchdog said the home provided “personal and nursing care for up to 23 older people and people living with dementia”.

Agents A&G Architects Ltd, on behalf of the owners, Mr and Mrs Mawani, said in the application: “The proposed site has been an established C2 residential care home use and consists of the predominately double-storey building with double-storey extensions to rear and side. The two-storey frontage of the

application site has the appearance of a typical country house.”

The proposals would create six one-bedroom flats and three two-bedroom flats.

Each one-bedroom flat will be provided with a single parking space, and each two-bedroom flat will have two parking spaces. The agent added: “The impact of the proposed development on the conservation area will be very minimal as the proposed extension to the rear of the property will maintain the character and appearance of the dwelling.

"The new extension will improve the appearance of the elevation from Crown Lane. The proposed pitched roof to the rear extension will offer benefit to the conservation area by bringing the building more in line with the traditional aesthetic.”

Mountsorrel Parish Council has objected to the plans on the grounds of:

Traffic and parking issues - the number of parking spaces allocated is insufficient for the number of residents

anticipated.

The entrance from Watling Street is very narrow.

Overdevelopment

Effect on trees and wildlife/nature

conservation

Potential drainage issue

Loss of privacy

Highway safety

Impact on neighbouring land

Residents have objected to the plans on the grounds of parking, highway safety, drainage and flood risk and the impact on wildlife.

Details of the plans can be seen on the planning pages of Charnwood Borough Council’s website. The reference is P/22/1947/2.

Special car’s lasting legacy

THE SALE of a Ferrari sports car for £5.5million by a Mountsorrel businessman has left a legacy that continues to change the lives of people throughout Leicestershire.

In 1988 a Swiss entrepreneur purchased a Ferrari P4 for the record price of £5.5 million from David Clarke, a well-respected local business owner, racing car driver and railway enthusiast.

The sale of this stylish, iconic vehicle, which was owned by David of Clarke Boxes in Mountsorrel, became the key to Mr Clarke establishing the Shuttlewood Clarke Foundation, a unique charity which provides well-being and educational opportunities to adults living with an illness or disability from its

picturesque base in the heart of the Charnwood Forest.

The Shuttlewood Clarke Foundation’s unique values and ethos were progressive at the time. Through the provision of his charitable trust, David’s wish was to ensure that no individual became increasingly vulnerable or isolated. In the decades since David’s passing, the Foundation continues its valued work in the local community, and in 2023 it pledges to progress further with its founder’s pioneering vision.

Since 1989 the charity has welcomed over 300,000 visitors and in recent months, it has seen a significant increase in requests for activities and services. Today, the Foundation provides a varied range of drop-in and organised activities in a personalised, home-from-home setting.

Helen Baxter, of the Foundation, said: “Our comprehensive timetable of activities and support sessions are heavily subsidised, mak-

ing them accessible and affordable to enable our visitors to remain connected and engaged in a safe and supportive setting”.

She added: “The Foundation facilitates a wide range of well-being sessions, including seated mindfulness, relaxation, and meditation, as well as yoga, tai chi, and Pilates.” In addition, our monthly support groups bring together people who are going through or have gone through similar experiences. The Foundation’s calm and relaxed setting makes people feel confident and comfortable to share their feelings, helpful coping strategies, and first-hand information about their diagnosis and treatment options.”

“It is amazing to think that the sale of the Ferrari P4 has been integral in making a difference to the lives of so many people in the local area and beyond. A truly amazing car, with a legacy to match,” said Helen.

Ulverscroft Grange tearooms and charity shops are located on Whitwick Road, Ulverscroft, LE67 9QB (close to Copt Oak) and are open to the public from 10am – 4pm Monday – Friday.

Pics: David Clarke & the Ferrari P4

TRAFFIC CALMING measures are planned for Walton Way.

Leicestershire County Council has received a Section 106 contribution from developers William Davis Homes for traffic calming measures, including seven speed humps, along Walton Way, Mountsorrel.

The county council carried out a speed survey which showed the 85th percentile speeds at both AM and PM peaks to be in excess of the speed limit along Walton Way.

The provisional location for the traffic calming measures:

Walton Way, Mountsorrel - One set of two cushions 75mm high approximately 50m south of Edinburgh Way

- One set of two cushions 75mm high between Barnard Way and Kenilworth Close

- One set of two cushions 75mm high approximately 15m north of Carisbrooke Road

- One set of two cushions 75mm high between Kirby Close and Caernarvon Close

- One set of two cushions 75mm high between Grange Lane and Meadow Road

- One set of two cushions 75mm high between Castle Road and Renning End

- One set of two cushions 75mm high outside property numbers 14 – 18 Walton Way

- One raised table 75mm high at the junction of Walton Way and West Cross Lane

Details of the proposed scheme, which was subject to a public consultation that ended on March 1, can be viewed at https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/roadsand-travel/cars-and-parking/traffic-management-consultations

Pic: Quarry Hill Grange residential home