County Councillor’s Report from Ozzy O’shea

Email: ozzy.o’shea@leics.gov.uk or ozzyoshea@hotmail.com

Tel 0116 239 4336 Mobile 07808 585825

FLOODING UPDATE: Leicester Road and Ratby Road Junction With Markfield Road, Groby

LEICESTERSHIRE County Council has been working in partnership with Severn Trent Water (STW) since May 2019 to develop a flood alleviation project to cure the ongoing flooding problems that have occurred in the centre of the village and at Leicester Road near the junction with Marston Drive.

I have attended regular progress meetings with STW, Highways Officers and local residents and can report that significant progress has been made.

A scheme to install underground storage tanks in the grass verge opposite Bluebell Drive will require a small number of trees to be removed and STW are preparing to remove them during February.

I am also mindful that this is at the start of the bird nesting season, so I attended a site meeting with STW and Highway Officers on 26th January 2023.

It was agreed to keep tree removal to an absolute minimum and to avoid impact to any nesting birds nearby.

When tree or vegetation work has to be undertaken during the nesting season, a pre-works survey needs to be carried out.

A preliminary ecology appraisal has been done by STW and they were advised to go ahead without needing any further inspections. STW have also agreed to replant to protect the bio diversity, and they will be putting back far more trees than will be removed, at my request. They will plant them around the village and also close to this location.

We then continued to the centre of the village to discuss the drainage improvements planned along Ratby Road to the junction with Leicester Road. I am pleased that we are making significant progress in both areas that have suffered flooding. I would ask residents to be patient during the work as it will require traffic light control and lane closures.

I’m due to be attending the next progress meeting at STW’s office along with Highway Officers and local residents on Thursday 9th February for a further update on progress and will continue to keep you up to date.

Advance Notice of a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order. Leicester Road, Service Road Field Head

A TEMPORARY Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) is to be made for the following location:

• Leicester Road Service Road for Numbers 201 To 329, Field Head. The purpose of the TTRO is to allow Leicestershire County Council to facilitate required drainage work and any other associated work to the highway. The TTRO will incorporate a temporary road closure. The duration of the restriction is not anticipated to exceed a period of 12 days commencing on the 6th March 2023.

A Press Release will be issued to confirm these details approximately 2 weeks prior to the works commencing.

I have been working with residents on the service road in relation to flooding issues, over the past few months. As a direct result of a site meeting with Highways drainage officers, I have managed to progress these works. Residents will have access during these works.

HMRC Scams - Please Don’t Be Caught Out

IT’S THAT TIME of year again when tax returns have to be submitted.

HMRC acknowledged more than180,000 public reports of potential HMRC scams in the 12 months to August 2022, with most being from fraudsters offering fake tax rebates.

What’s more, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recently revealed that HMRC scams were the third most-reported email impersonation scams via its Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS).

Here, I can reveal some of the most common HMRC impersonation scams and how to report scam communications.

Text Scams

Scam texts offering you a tax refund from HMRC may be particularly attractive at a time when household budgets are being squeezed because of the cost of living crisis - but any links in the texts will usually send you to a dodgy website that’s geared up to steal your details. Some refer to the Covid-19 pandemic and offer a tax refund in relation to this. HMRC will NEVER ask you for financial or personal details via text. HMRC also advises that it will NEVER use WhatsApp to contact customers about tax refunds.

Email Scams To Watch Out For

VARIOUS EMAIL scams impersonating HMRC have been circulating. Examples we’ve heard about include emails telling you to update your details, emails to say your details have already been changed, and notifications requesting you to pay customs duty to receive a non-existent valuable parcel - this is also being sent via text.

These emails use HMRC branding to appear genuine - fraudsters can also spoof email addresses, making it difficult to tell if it’s a scam. They’ll usually include links to phoney websites where scammers will be aiming to get your personal and financial information.

Update

LAST MONTH I reported on a ‘Police/Barclays Bank’ scam attempt on a Groby Resident. This scam was featured on BBC East Midland News on Wednesday 1st February. Several vulnerable victims have fallen to this scam, one losing £24,000. Nottinghamshire Police said that local victims of this scam have lost over £70,000 over the past month. Please remain alert to such scams, the callers are very convincing they purport to be police officers. Finally, I would like to thank you all for your continued support and remind you that should you need my help or advice, I always pride myself on making myself available to residents. Remember I am only a phone call or email away.

Ozzy O’shea