February 2022 Your Local Anstey, Thurcaston, Cropston, Newtown Linford, Woodhouse & Woodhouse Eaves

YOUR LOCAL 6,000 COPIES DELIVERED EVERY MONTH - ANSTEY, THURCASTON, CROPSTON, NEWTOWN LINFORD, WOODHOUSE & WOODHOUSE EAVES - FEBRUARY 2022

2022 Starts With Another Win For Anstey RFC

News From St Mary's Church Anstey

Art Group In Anstey The Glenfield Ladies Co-Operative Choir Newtown Linford Choral Society Concert

News From Anstey WI

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News From St Mary’s Church, Anstey

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Article by Anne Dutton

Anyone who came to any of our events over Christmas will have noticed that the church was WARM! We are very glad to report that our ancient heating has been replaced at a cost of £50.000. We also anticipate future expense on a church toilet and the external fabric.

When the Pandemic began nearly two years ago services were moved online. We are now back in church, with precautions following national guidelines, and services have alternated between St Mary’s and All Saints’ Thurcaston. Service details can be found on the notice board by the church door, at www.ansteyparishchurch.org.uk or find on Facebook at St Mary’s Church, Anstey.

CHURCH ROOMS have been a valuable community asset since they opened as a school around 1834. If you have heard the rumours going round the village that Church Rooms were

Anstey WI

Article by Sheila Timms Anstey WI welcomed one of their own members as their speaker in January. Sylvia Cole spent four years in the Falkland Islands as director of education, and gave us a fascinating talk about the islands and her time there.

It was intriguing to hear about everyday life in such a remote area, where shops were not always recognisable as such, and often had to wait for supplies coming on boats that were of course subject to the vagaries of the wind. It was a surprise to learn that although there is snow in winter it is not freezing cold. The only planes available for the 8000-mile journey to the Falklands are RAF ones, and there is only one partially made-up road, so all vehicles are 4-wheel drive. The islands are self-financing, and indeed quite wealthy thanks mainly to the sale of squid fishing licences, and, of late, cruise tourism. This is in spite of a population of only 3,200.

As for education, there are primary schools, but in more remote places they are taught

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It would be such a shame to let a such an historic building that has been used by the village for so long be bulldozed and used for housing. With this in mind a small group have begun to look at what needs to be done to SAVE CHURCH ROOMS but we need HELP. This is a plea for anyone locally (you don’t need to belong to the church) who would like to be involved in saving this building for future use by the church and community to get in touch.

A Food Bank, which will be part of the Soar Valley Community Food Project, is planned to start in Church Rooms very soon. at home with occasional twoweek visits from a teacher. At the secondary stage these children have to board in Stanley, and at sixteen if they wish to continue in education they have to come to England. Falkland islanders need to be resilient and resourceful.

Sylvia’s talk was illustrated by slides taken and shown by husband John. She expressed concern about how well they would be seen, but they were excellent, and left the audience wanting to see more. In fact, seldom has a talk provoked so many questions. Most of us had known little about the Falklands apart from the “war” of 1982. (The islanders acknowledge it as only an invasion rather than a war.) We were so interested we were thirsty for more. Luckily Sylvia is willing to oblige.

Film Presentations Thurcaston And Cropston Parish Council Article by Richard & Diane

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“Nomadland” will be shown on February 11th 2022 and lasts 108 minutes.

We will be pleased in February, to show a film which won BAFTA’s and three Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. In the drama Nomadland, Fern’s husband dies and she loses her job. After losing her house, she remains positive in her rusty van along snowy-laden roads. Chloe Zhang is the first Asian to become Best Director, as she encourages, in Fern, the enduring power of the human spirit.

“1917” will be shown on March 11th and lasts 110 minutes.

This World War 1 epic, “1917, has won a remarkable seven BAFTA’s and three Oscars. Two British soldiers are given a seemingly impossible

mission to cross enemy territory and deliver a message which will save 1,600 lives. This is a contemporary take on an historic event, a truly breathtaking story from the award winning director Sam Mendes.

"Spencer " will be shown on April 8th.

We will be keeping the hall well ventilated and there will be room for us to space out. We would like to remain cautious at this point and make sure that everyone feels comfortable. You are asked to wear face masks whilst you are in the hall.

Thurcaston and Cropston Parish Council will be showing these films at Thurcaston Memorial Hall, starting at 7.30pm. Film tickets will cost the usual £5, which includes a lucky prize draw and refreshments during the interval. We ask you to pay for tickets in advance from Richard 0116 2363 066 or Diana 0116 2362619

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Thurcaston & Cropston Local History Society Article by Peter Smith

In the last couple of years, many of us have made more use of our local network of footpaths. Perhaps that explains the good number of members and visitors who attended our meeting in January to hear from Vicky Allen, President of the Leicestershire & Rutland Bridleways Association, about the history of rights of way.

Protecting Your Family Inheritance Article by Klara Hesling

Our frontline staff follow Government guidelines for visiting you in your home and they are in the vaccination program with second course completed. LevLaw Ltd remains here for you.

Most people hope that their estate will pass on to their children and grandchildren eventually.

Brooky Lane in Thurcaston.

Taken by Peter Smith, as featured on the front cover.

In ancient times, the easiest way to transport people and goods was by water – but as it didn’t always flow where you needed to go, roads of various kinds have always been necessary. Some of those ancient routes may be the oldest man-made features to survive in the landscape. The Romans famously built good, straight roads, which continued to be used long after the Roman occupation. Their technology was not improved on until the scientific advances of Telford and Macadam in the 1800s.

In the right conditions, the early roads made it possible to travel quite rapidly: for example, Richard II was able to ride 70 miles along Watling Street in one night, with only a single change of horse. However, in wet weather routes over Leicestershire clay could become “foundrous”, meaning bad enough to bring a horse to its knees. In some cases, horses were better off following the bed of a brook, while lighter pedestrians would walk alongside. Individual parishes were made responsible for maintaining the roads that passed through them but they often failed to comply. Although the responsibility has now passed to county councils, parishes do still retain some rights of veto in highways matters.

Richard II’s journey shows that, in medieval times, even kings would travel on horseback, while peasants would go on foot and goods would be transported by packhorse. There was also a network of drove roads across the country, along which herds of cattle and sheep would be driven from Wales, Scotland and the North of England to be sold in the South-East, grazing along the way. Pub names such as the Durham Ox and the Black Bull might indicate a drove road, as might wide verges and clumps of Scots pines, which were planted to mark favourable stopping places.

County maps did not begin to show roads until about 1600 and, even then, the maps were for display by the gentry, not for practical route-finding. Later in the century, writers such as Celia Fiennes made travelling fashionable and strip maps began to be published showing the routes between principal towns. In the 1700s, turnpike trusts built better roads funded by tolls and it became practical to make journeys by carriage. Surveying also improved and the military established the Ordnance Survey to plan the movement of guns (ordnance) in the threat of invasion. At the end of the century, parliamentary enclosure transferred large areas of the countryside into private ownership and established the distinction between roads, bridleways and footpaths for the first time.

The 19th century landscape movement, which led to the founding of organizations such as the National Trust, increased interest in preserving footpaths. In 1850 the artist John Flower – who painted in both Thurcaston and Cropston – set up the Leicestershire Footpaths Association, which went on to publish comprehensive maps of paths in the county. The new pastime of cycling gave rise to its own maps, with routes marked in different ways to show the quality of the surface.

Rights of way in the countryside (but not in cities) are now recorded in Definitive Maps. A recent law has set a deadline of January 2026 for any new claims based on historic rights to be submitted and a huge number of them is expected. However, after many years of campaigning to re-establish historic bridleways on the routes of footpaths, Vicky has concluded that the distinction should be abolished. She advocates “greenways” that can be used by all non-motorized traffic, with the money saved in legal fees being used to educate users and landowners to share them responsibly.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, 15th February, when our member Jane Smith will explain how Guild Close in Cropston got its name and tell us the interesting history of the site. Members are very welcome (fee: £4). www.thurcastoncropstonhistory.org.uk

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But this will not happen for many, unless careful arrangements have been made to protect their assets from being taken towards the end of their life to pay for care home fees. The solution to help protect your estate is a Will incorporating a Property Protection Trust (PPT).

A testamentary PPT can only be executed whilst both partners remain alive. Upon death of the first partner, their Will specifies that their share of the property is placed into trust and names the ultimate beneficiary of this share, normally the children and grandchildren of the deceased. The surviving partner, under the terms of the trust, has the unequivocal right to remain living in the property for the rest of their life. On the death of the second partner the Trust comes to an end and the property passes to the beneficiaries.

As the surviving partner does not own the deceased’s share of the property it is fully protected for the beneficiaries, so if the surviving partner requires care, or even remarries, this share of the children’s inheritance is protected. This last point can be particular interest to couples who have come together and have children with different partners.

A PPT can help each person in a relationship ensuring that their children inherit their share of the property, while giving their surviving partner the ability to live in the property for the rest of their life. If the surviving partner wants to move to another property, they can still sell the property and the proceeds to be used to purchase a new property, the terms of the Trust remain over the new property.

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Anstey Parish Council Article by Liz Hawkes

Reserves and section 106 money (developer contributions) from the Councils budgets will allow the following work to be completed.

Cost code

Description

Amount

4615/600

Setting up of the allotment site at Groby Road

£14,000

4505/600

Churchyard expenses

4625/600

Contribution towards community building project

4626/600

Purchase of a new ground’s vehicle

£20,000

4627/600

Grounds Equipment

£10,000

4628/600

Contribution towards a Neighbourhood Plan

4629/600

Open space improvements

£10,000

4630/600

Repairs to packhorse bridge

£10,750

www.facebook.com/MiniMoversAnstey

4631/600

Re-Location of the bus stop

£62,400

Wed Bradgate U3A 9 - 1pm (1st - Quilting Wed of month)

www.u3asites.org.uk/bradgate

4636/600

Play equipment

£10,000

Bradgate U3A - 2 - 4pm (1st Main meeting Wed of month)

www.u3asites.org.uk/bradgate

WI - Anstey

Evening (2nd Wed of month)

www.leicestershire-and-rutland.thewi.org.uk

History Society

Evening (3rd Wed of month)

www.ansteyhistory.com

Train with Tash

5.45 - 6.45 pm

trainwithtashabootcamp@gmail.com

Jitterbugs

8 - 10pm

lin_d_hop@hotmail.com

Train with Tash

9.15 - 10.15 am

trainwithtashabootcamp@gmail.com

Lunch club

Noon - 2pm

Elizabeth Jarvis 0116 236 2646

Jubilee Hall is still open as usual, if you are interested in joining any groups or trying something new for the New Year, please see what groups run from the hall below. If you need any further information, please contact the Parish Office Day

Activity

Time

Contact

9.15 - 10.15 am

trainwithtashabootcamp@gmail.com

Pilates

12.30 - 1.30 pm

Info@Charlotte-Jane.co.uk

D. G. Martial Arts Karate

5 - 7pm

dgkarate@hotmail.co.uk

Mini Movers

10 - 11am

Mon Train with Tash

Tue

Thu

Fri

Sat

dgkarate@hotmail.co.uk

First Class Learning

rothley@firstclasslearning.co.uk

Sun

Budget for 2022-23 The budget setting process is finalised and the Council confirms its budget for 2022-23 financial year showing estimated payments of £627,032, estimated income of £633,799 and a £283,840 contribution from general reserves, ear marked reserves and other income.

A precept will be raised by Charnwood Borough Council in the sum of £320,284 equating to approximately £120.21 Band D and a 2% increase for the financial year 2022-2023 (5 pence per week, £2.36 per week).

The main changes to the budget for 2022 / 23 are due support that is required for the growing community of Anstey.

There are few variances throughout the budget from 2021/22 to 2022/23 these are detailed below.

Cost Centre

Increases to the budget 2021/ 22 – 2022/23

Comments

Administration

22,541

Including the running of the Council administration and staffing costs.

Jubilee Hall

929

This coming year it is difficult to predict the income from Jubilee Hall lettings due to the works that are planned to take place at the Jubilee Hall.

Public Toilets

(1,576)

Savings will be made on running this facility

Open Spaces

27,877

An increase in Ground staff costs as this now needs to be paid from the open space budget.

Disposal of dog waste is managed with a contract.

Cemetery

(3,076)

£7,625

Total

D. G. Martial 5 - 7pm Arts Karate 10.45 - 12.45 am

£500 £130,000

Administration costs associated with running the cemetery have been transferred to the admin cost centre

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£275,275

Vacancy: Grounds Operative – Seasonal Worker Anstey Parish Council are looking to recruit an enthusiastic person to carry out grounds maintenance on land under the control of the Council.

Dates of employment from 1st April – 31st October. Terms of Employment 7 months. Hours of work Monday - Friday min 2 days (16hours) increasing to 5 days if required. The salary scale point 6 (£19,698 per annum pro rata) £10.21 per hour paid monthly We are looking for a self-motivated, experienced person who is willing to work outside in all weathers to maintain the highest possible standards throughout the Parish Council land. This includes grass cutting, strimming, weeding, hedge cutting, clearing leaves, planting, pruning and seeding.

Candidates should have some good interpersonal skills and be able to work on their own and as part of a team. Grounds works qualifications would be helpful, as well as experience of using a ride on mower, although not essential and training where required will be provided. The Parish is responsible for open spaces, play parks, recreational land, cemetery and will soon be responsible for an allotment site.

The Application form and person specification are available on the website www.ansteypc.org.uk Completed applications should be returned to the Parish Office for the attention of Liz Hawkes, Parish Office, Jubilee Hall, Stadon Road, Anstey, Leicester LE7 7AY or emailed to clerk@ansteypc.org If you would like to receive a paper copy of the application form or would like an informal chat about the job please telephone the Parish Office (0116) 236 2646.

Closing date for applications is Friday 11th February 2022 at 12 Noon.

Interviews will be held on Thursday 17th February 2022.

Neighbourhood Plan for Anstey A lot of work has been happening towards the Neighbourhood Plan for Anstey. A very successful open day was held and questionnaires completed, thank you to all who have contributed to these. Theme groups have now set up and are looking in more details at the housing requirements, the environment needs and sustainability needs for the future. If you run a business in Anstey or are part of the schools you may be approached by members of the theme groups asking you questions about your needs.

Please do take the time to contribution to this community wide project.

Parish Council Meetings will be held on the 1st March 2022, 5th April 2022 and then the first Tuesday of the month at the Jubilee Hall starting at 7.30pm. Details of meeting are shown on the website, the agendas for meetings are published on the website at; www.ansteypc.org.uk/councilmeetings.html all members of the public are welcome to these meetings.

Your Councillors

Your Councillors can be contacted through the Parish Council Office:

Tel: 0116 2362646 Mobile: 07458 305025 Email: clerk@ansteypc.org Jubilee Hall, Stadon Road, Anstey, Leicester, LE7 7AY

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Thurcaston And Cropston Gardening Club

Anstey Local History Society Anstey Local history have concluded another successful year with a mixture of Zoom and face to face meetings.

Thank you to everyone who has continued to support us, throughout what has been a very difficult year.

Article by Richard Elks ‘Sell My Spade, I Wouldn’t Dare’ with Steve Budding The Thurcaston and Cropston Gardening Club’s first meeting of 2022 was an illustrated talk by Steve Budding.

The Club finished 2021 strongly following a difficult time due to Covid. Whilst Covid is still very much with us, the Club has published a full Programme of Events for 2022 and we approach the new year with optimism.

Steve was once the owner of the much-missed Brookside Nurseries in Anstey. He has talked to the Club before and provided an entertaining evening. This talk took us on his personnel journey of ‘no-dig gardening’.

Steve moved to Cossington in April 2019 to a bungalow on a goodsized plot. The plot was largely uncultivated, but since moving there Steve and his wife have extended the house, laid a large patio, brought the garden into productivity, and Steve also treated himself to a large greenhouse (30 x 12 foot)!

One of the features of their new house is a one-acre paddock.

When Steve started to work this, he discovered that the soil was good loam with no clay. Steve knew about ‘no-dig gardening’ but had never tried it. His investigations led him to Charles Dowding, a pioneer of the no-dig movement. The basic principles of no-dig gardening are to feed the soil and the soil will feed the plants.

No-dig means just that! It means the soil is undisturbed and you feed the soil with organic matter.

Because the soil is undisturbed through digging, soil organisms can multiply, and the soil is feed with organic matter. Adding annual organic mulches also improves the soil structure. This increases the ability of plants to find food.

Steve bought in 30 tonnes of soil improver from the Council gardenwaste site and used it to create seven vegetable beds. He also made some large cloches using ‘wonder mesh’ to protect brassicas.

Steve has been delighted with the results so far and has become self sufficient in vegetables. Whilst it is early days for Steve’s venture into no-dig, he feels sure that it’s the way forward.

The Gardening Club meets in the Thurcaston and Cropston Memorial Hall

Whether an experienced gardener or an enthusiastic beginner we are sure you will find something of interest in this year’s programme.

New members are made most welcome. What’s more, it is excellent value!! The membership fee is still only £12 for the year (pro rota) or £3.00 per meeting. So, if you are interested in gardening come and give the Club a try.

The next Club events are:Wed 9 February, 7.45 pm The Social History of the Allotment Twigs Way This talk uses contemporary material to highlight the social history of the allotment and is entertaining and highly illustrated.

Twigs Way is a garden historian, writer and researcher. She is fascinated by the past and intrigued by the role of flowers, gardens and landscape in art and culture.

Born out of the struggles of 18th century land Enclosures, allotments became a political rallying cry and an essential lifeline for many labouring families. Soon fashion overtook them, and the Allotment Craze resulted in popular postcards, poems and even allotment hats!

Plot holders became the nation’s heroes in wartime only to fall foul of development whilst trying to lead the ‘good life’ Wed 9 March, 7.45 pm Propagation, Philip Aubrey New plants from seed, cuttings and division. This talk gives a practical demonstration of the various aspects of propagation. This covers sowing seeds of different sizes, the many different types of cuttings and which plants you can increase by division. It is an up close and practical demonstration to help members improve their skills and level of success.

Philip began his career as a student at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and then studied at Pershore College of Horticulture. He became a nursery manager Dorset before returning to the Midlands to work at a retail nursery. These were then just starting to be called ‘Garden Centres’ and in time was promoted to Managing Director.

He joined Birmingham City’s Parks Department and, through promotion, managed one third of the City’s parks and open spaces.

In 1987 he returned to Birmingham Botanical Gardens as Director.

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Out first meeting of the New Year will be the AGM, followed by a number of short talks by members, recounting what they have discovered whilst researching their family history.

The full programme for the first half of 2022 is below.

16th February: The WWI Alexander Bedspread Speaker: Debbie Moxam 16th March: Leicester Abbey Speaker: Peter Liddle 20th April: Visit to the At Risk Memorial Project All Saints Church, Highcross Street, Leicester 18th May: Queen Elizabeth 11 Platinum Anniversary Event 15th June: TBA

We meet on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, at the Jubilee Hall, Stadon Road, Anstey at 7.30pm.

Members: Free Non-members: £3.00 www.ansteyhistory.com TEL: 07870197958

Newtown Linford Gardening Club Article by Anne & David Couling

A new year brings a new beginning and we hope that our activities will be able to take place without interruption for the first time since 2019. In April 2022 we will be celebrating our twentieth anniversary, so following our successful restart at the end of last year, we have a varied and exciting programme planned for the year ahead, which brings to Newtown Linford some of the most prestigious gardening names in the country.

Our two celebrity evenings will be held in March and October. In March we welcome Matthew Wilson who is a regular panellist on Gardeners’ Question Time and in October we are very pleased to invite James Alexander-Sinclair to our village. Regular viewers of Gardeners’ World will recognise him immediately by his trademark trilby hat, working alongside Monty Don at Chelsea or elsewhere. We will be selling tickets for these meetings so that non-members will be able to hear them speak.

In April we have a return visit from Jack Willgoss whose speciality is violas.

His Wildgoose Nursery has won gold medals for these at Chelsea. He is a fine speaker and most entertaining and we will be going on a trip to see his nursery in August.

We open our season with a visit from local garden expert Mick Eaton, formerly of Leicester Parks, talking about vegetables and in February our speaker will be Jim Buttress, the author, broadcaster and TV presenter, who is also a judge for Britain in Bloom, talking about the royal parks and gardens in London.

We will again hold our Summer Garden Party in July and our Christmas Party in December and we have a trip to a local attraction pencilled in. This should make our anniversary year one to remember.

We meet on the fourth Tuesday of the month in Newtown Linford Village Hall and anyone interested in our activities can contact the Secretary (tel.01530 242452) or e-mail us at 32couling@gmail.com . Visitors to a particular meeting are also welcome for only £3.

The Glenfield Ladies Co-Operative Choir

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In the interval everyone was treated to tea and cakes. If they had not eaten enough cake in the interval there were cakes, Christmas stockings and candle arrangements on sale in the foyer. The charity, Linking Lives benefitted from the ticket sales, with the choir and St Andrews adding some money to their funds as well. A worthwhile night for everyone despite the weather.

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The choir’s next event is an Open Evening on Monday 7th March at 7:15 pm in the Glenfield Methodist Church on Station Road, Glenfield, opposite the Nags Head. Any Ladies who just enjoy singing are welcome to come along and sing with us.

We welcome all ladies whatever their ability as long as they enjoy singing. No auditions!

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Deborah Taylor

County Councillor for Bradgate Division T: 0116 2350126 E: deborah.taylor@leics.gov.uk It has been a very busy start to the new year. My diary for 2022 is already very full. There is plenty of exciting work happening at the county council that I am involved in. I hope this will bring much increased funding into Leicestershire to improve the quality of the lives of all our residents.

We started the new year with a surge in the Omicron variant of Coronavirus.

The rates in the county hit a peak of just over 2000 cases per 100,000 population in mid-January, a high rate. For comparison, Leicester City cases were at 135 per 100,000 population when they went into their extended lock down back in 2020. Hospital numbers are high as I write this report but 75% of the people admitted into hospital due to Coronavirus had not been vaccinated or not had the full course of three injections. This demonstrates that the vaccination is working. We have been able to avoid another full lock down and keep our economy going, even with the high numbers of cases due to the vaccination program.

I would urge you to take up the vaccination when offered if you haven’t already and continue to limit your contact with other people as much as you can. I am still attending council meetings as the legislation doesn’t allow for virtual decision-making meetings, but I continue to work from home.

The County Council is currently suffering from staff shortages along with many other sectors within the county. There is a web page now set up to provide residents with up-to-date information regarding any changes to services. We will continue to ensure we are able to cover our most critical frontline services, but this does mean there are likely to be delays in other non-critical areas. Over January, I have been highlighting the issues affecting the council services by appearing on TV news bulletins and conducting radio interviews. The main areas affected at the moment are: waste and recycling sites; home to school transport and special educational needs transport services; school food services and a reduction in staff in the customer service centre is causing longer telephone waiting times. There will be regular updates here: www.leicestershire.gov.uk/popular-now/ council-service-updates Leicestershire Police: Chief Constable Simon Cole, the Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police has announced his retirement in spring 2022. Simon is the longest-serving chief constable in the UK having taken on the role in 2010. Simon has worked incredibly hard over the last 12 years and it has been a pleasure to work alongside him over the past seven years. I wish him all the best in his hard-earned retirement and now the process of finding his replacement begins.

I have also been working alongside the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Rupert Matthews, over the past few weeks in my role as the Chair of the Police and Crime Panel (PCP) for Leicester. Leicestershire and Rutland.

The PCC is setting up a new Ethics and Transparency Committee and I have been involved in the short listing and interview panel. The PCP has two independent members who serve on the panel. Their term in office has ended and I have been leading the shortlisting and interview panel to recruit the two new members.

Greener Leicestershire The county council aim to plant 700,000 trees over the next four years. Our aim is well under way, and the county council is calling on more members of the public to help support the project by volunteering as tree wardens.

There are currently over 87 tree wardens, representing 65 parish councils.

They help to organise tree planting in their communities, as well as helping to monitor and care for trees. The tree warden scheme initiative began 30 years ago, but as the County Council steps up its plans to increase tree cover across Leicestershire, a call has gone out for more people to join the scheme – particularly in the areas of Harborough, Hinckley and villages such as East Goscote in Charnwood. Tree wardens can organise tree planting in their village as well as set up woodland areas with support from the County Council. They can also look to create a community orchard. Leicestershire is poor when it comes to good quality hedges. Hedges offer enclosures to land, with hedges consisting of mainly Ash and Elm in Leicestershire. Elm disappeared about 30 years ago and now Ash trees are dying because of

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Ash Dieback Disease, so there’s a real need for getting more trees planted to replace those that are diseased.

You don’t need to be an expert to become a tree warden – full training is provided, along with a booklet explaining how to plant trees and how to look after them, as well as what rules and regulations to bear in mind when planting trees or cutting them down. For more information about the tree warden scheme and how it could benefit your parish/town council, contact your local tree warden coordinator at: EnvironmentTeam@leics.gov.uk Leicester City Workplace Parking Levy Leicester City Council are out for consultation on the potential introduction of a workplace parking levy for the city. This levy is to encourage car commuters to consider other modes of transport, and to provide a sustained funding source to implement the sustainable transport measures proposed in the draft Leicester Transport Plan.

The scheme being considered will be similar to the levy in Nottingham city and would mean that employers would be charged a levy on commuter car parking spaces. Any workplace parking levy payments received could only be spent on transport improvements.

The parking levy will be £550 a year per space and any business that has 10 or more parking spaces would have to pay the levy. This includes the NHS (hospitals), schools and colleges, and GP surgeries.

This could affect many of the villages surrounding the city boundaries, including Anstey in my division. The village could suffer from dispersed parking in the area by workers trying to avoid paying the levy. I would urge people to respond to the consultation by the deadline date to have your say.

The formal consultation is currently available here: https://consultations. leicester.gov.uk/sec/wpl/ and the closing date is 13th March 2021. If taken forward, the workplace parking levy will require approval by the Secretary of State for Transport. Workplace parking levy receipts would contribute to delivery of the Leicester Transport Plan projects post 2024.

Fostering Maybe you are looking for a change of lifestyle this year? Looking for a change of career? Have you ever thought about fostering?

An appeal has been launched to find people who are willing to ‘foster without having to say goodbye’ in Leicestershire. There has been an increase in the need for long-term foster carers for primary school aged children in Leicestershire. More children have entered the care of Leicestershire County Council over the last two years. There are now 126 children aged five to nine in care in the county - up by 15% since 2018.

Long-term fostering means that the child will still remain in care but will be able to stay with their fostering family until they reach adulthood.

Their ages vary from four to 14 and some may still have contact with their family. They will, however, have the security of being part of a caring foster family and a sense of belonging - and the foster carers continue to receive the ongoing support from the local authority. Foster carers don’t need specialist knowledge. Simple things such as knowing who is picking them up from school and having a clean uniform could make such a big difference to a child.

Foster carers must be over the age of 21 and have a spare room in their home. To find out more, visit www.fosteringleicestershire.com or call the Fostering Team for an informal chat on 0116 305 0505. You can also join the council’s next virtual ‘Find Out About Fostering’ event. All information will be on the council’s Facebook page: www.facebook. com/fosteringleicestershire and the next two events are being held on 3rd February 2022 and 24th February 2022 starting at 6.30pm.

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Deborah Taylor

Paul Baines

Borough Councillor for Anstey

Borough Councillor for Anstey

T: 0116 2350126 E: cllr.deborah.taylor@charnwood.gov.uk Member Grants Time is running out for the Member Grants scheme which is run by Charnwood Borough Council every year. For the 2021/22 financial year, Paul and Deborah each have £500 to be used to support local projects that bring benefits to Anstey residents.

Organisations currently running projects with community benefit in Charnwood are invited to apply for a minimum of £250 per councillor, and up to a maximum of £500 per councillor, and applications may be made to more than one councillor. Funding can be provided towards community events, activities, equipment, and uniformed groups such as Scouts, Guides, Cubs and Brownies.

Examples of eligible organisations include: • Community Groups • Charities • Uniformed Groups (e.g., Scouts / Guides / Cubs / Brownies) • Residents’ associations • PFA/PTA groups (if they can demonstrate a wide community benefit and not for national curricula activities / items) • Faith groups (if they can demonstrate a wide community benefit) If you would like to apply for a member grant, please contact either Paul or Deborah in the first instance, to give you further guidance. There is £1,000 available for community groups in Anstey. For more information please visit: www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/member_grants If this money is not applied for and used by a local Anstey group, the money will be lost, and the funds will go back into the pot to use for grants for the wider communities in the Charnwood area. Let’s make sure we use our grant money locally for the benefit of Anstey residents. The deadline for applications is the 28th February 2022 so time is running out.

Post Office We are aware that there are rumours circulating on social media and on Leicestershire Live, that the Anstey Post Office is closing in April 2022. We are very concerned as this Post Office is needed not just by Anstey residents but by many residents in the surrounding villages. We have therefore raised the matter directly with Post Office Counters in London and await their reply. As soon as we have a reply confirming the situation we will update our website, Facebook, Twitter and in our monthly reports here.

Loughborough Building Society As residents in Anstey and the surrounding villages are aware the Nationwide Building Society closed its local branch in the Nook, Anstey on 31st March 2021. During that time, we had numerous email exchanges with the Nationwide and Zoom meetings with the Directors before the planned closure date, expressing our concerns, stating how this closure would affect our local residents. We also contacted the Daily Mail newspaper, who printed 2 articles on the planned closure and we also organised an online petition gathering over 660 signatures of support. Unfortunately, our residents’ concerns about the closure were not taken into consideration.

However, we are delighted to see that the Loughborough Building Society is coming to Anstey, and taking over the old Nationwide building in The Nook.

This service is so needed by the residents of Anstey and our surrounding villages. We look forward to welcoming Loughborough Building Society to our village in the Spring. We would encourage local residents to make full use of the new branch (by opening a new account, or taking out a financial services product/service from them) when they arrive (so that they have a viable business) and we would like to wish them every success in their new venture in the village.

Barwood Homes We were contacted by several residents regarding the boundaries on their new properties on the old Brookside Nursery site off Cropston Road. After a lot of investigation and email exchanges with Charnwood Borough Council’s (CBC) planning department, we have reached a conclusion.

It has been confirmed that the boundaries of some of the houses on the development have not been built in the correct place. This has left some residents unable to access part of their land at the bottom of their gardens,

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T: 07977 178869 E: cllr.paul.baines@charnwood.gov.uk

due to the boundary fence being brought forward. Planning officers at CBC have advised that the developers, Barwood Homes, have agreed that they have not erected the boundaries in the correct place. We asked Barwood Homes to correct these errors but so far, they have not taken any action.

CBC planners have decided not to take enforcement action against Barwood Homes, a decision that we do not agree with.

Therefore, we have requested that this decision is brought before the Plans Committee at CBC to ask the members to agree for CBC to take enforcement action against Barwood Homes. We think this error has a huge impact on those residents’ lives who bought the houses in good faith. We are also concerned over the longer term as we anticipate there will be issues over an area of land that nobody has access to.

We are hoping the Plans Committee will look at this application in February/ March this year and we will be personally attending to make our voices heard and to support our residents.

Planning We thought it would be useful to give an update about all the planning applications submitted or due to be submitted within Anstey. To say the village is being overwhelmed in our opinion is an understatement. When all the houses planned are added up, we have over 1,000 new houses proposed for the village, along with a new primary school.

We are both working hard to try and stop what we see as the overdevelopment of our village, but we will need as much local support as possible, if you agree with our views. Many of the planning applications are in the very early stages and some have not even been officially submitted to CBC yet. We will continue to update you through our monthly reports, website, and social media as the plans progress. Once we have some more information, we will be able to advise what local support would be helpful for us to add as much weight as possible to our objections.

This is a list of the latest information regarding major planning applications (along with their reference numbers) we are aware of and can share with you: Land South of Groby Road Peartree

P/20/2252/2

120 houses

Davidsons

Land North of Groby Road

P/20/2251/2

100 houses

Davidsons

Gynsill Lane

P/21/0869/2

50 houses

David Granger

Bradgate Road

P/21/2358/2

150 houses

William Davis

Bradgate Road

P/21/2359/2

350 houses

William Davis

200 houses

Davidsons

Land South of Groby Road Cemetery

These applications can be viewed on the CBC’s Planning Portal by entering the reference number: https://portal.charnwood.gov.uk/Northgate/ PlanningExplorerAA/Home.aspx Mayoral Update The Mayor attended the Annual General Meeting of Citizens Advice Charnwood in December. They offer advice to residents on a wide array of problems including advice on debt and money problems, energy costs and supplier switching, scams, work and skills, and much more. They also offer a rewarding place to volunteer, if you wish to use your skills to support others.

For more information, see: www.charnwoodcab.org.uk The Mayor also attended two of the winter graduation ceremonies at Loughborough University. It was great to see the graduands collect their certificates after several years of hard work in tough circumstances in what was a well organised and socially distanced event.

The Mayor hosted the Community Carol Service at All Saints Church, ably led by The Reverend Wendy Dalrymple, Rector and Chaplain to the Mayor, and he and the Mayoress both delivered a reading at the service. This was a really enjoyable event but, unfortunately, the public were only able to attend online rather than in person due to the Plan B restrictions. The recording has been released on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/TkBTAVTs22k

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David Snartt Borough Councillor for Forest Bradgate T: 01530 244804 E: cllr.david.snartt@charnwood.gov.uk

Neighbourhood Plans.

Now that the Woodhouse Neighbourhood Plan has been ‘made’ and part of the Development Plan, I have some concerns that the Plan does not meet the criteria set out in paragraph 14b of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The policies and allocations in the Neighbourhood Plan should meet the identified housing requirement in full.

At the last Council meeting I asked how many Neighbourhood Plans in the Borough fulfil the criteria set out in paragraph 14b. The answer I received was, no Neighbourhood Plan currently meets the criteria. In my view, this will be disappointing news to all the people involved in completing Neighbourhood Plans, especially volunteers that have spent many hours developing a Plan that outlines future development numbers and sites within the Plan area.

In my follow up supplementary question at the meeting I asked: Most strategic policy making authorities to set housing requirement figures for designated neighbourhood areas, therefore why has this not been achieved within the Borough? Although I received a verbal answer at the meeting, it didn’t seem to satisfy the detail in my question. Therefore, I will be following this matter up to have a clearer understanding about the current position with the Woodhouse Neighbourhood Plan, so that it is robust to deliver the identified housing requirement within the Plan area.

I will keep you informed on progress with this matter.

New Armed Forces Bill New legislation which ensure Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families are better supported when accessing key public services has been passed in Parliament. The Armed Forces Bill places the Armed Forces Covenant in law for the first time to help prevent service personnel and veterans being disadvantaged when accessing essential services like healthcare, education and housing. It will ensure councils pay regard to the sacrifice made by our Armed Forces community.

Charnwood Borough Council signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2013 and employs an Armed Forces Community Covenant Development Officer, in partnership with Melton and Rushcliffe Borough Councils to help develop and support the Armed Forces community. One way the Council demonstrates its commitment to supporting the Armed Forces community, is with a guaranteed interview scheme for veterans who apply for jobs with the Council. Those who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview.

More information about support available to Armed Forces personnel can be found on the Council’s website.

Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant.

Over 300 businesses in Charnwood have applied for a new business grant which aims to help hospitality and leisure firms impacted by Omicron.

Charnwood Borough Council is administering the Government funding and is urging eligible businesses to come forward and take up the funding offer.

A new earlier deadline has also been set for applications which need to be in by February 14th.

The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure grant aims to support hospitality, leisure, and accommodation businesses in the Borough which have been impacted by the Omicron variant. The scheme will provide eligible businesses with a one-off grant of up to £6,000. Grants are available to businesses that have a business rates account as of Thursday December 30, 2021. Full eligibility criteria and how to apply can be found on the Council’s website at www.charnwood.gov.uk/omicron_grant. To stay up to date about business news including grant schemes involving Charnwood Borough Council, please sign up to the Council’s e-mail alerts at www.charnwood. gov.uk/email_alerts Have Your Say on Council Housing Issues.

Two places on a housing advisory board are available for Charnwood Borough Council tenants and leaseholders. Board members can have their say on how housing services are run by the Council to help make them better. The Housing Management Advisory Board discusses important issues that affect its council tenants and leaseholders, including performance of the Council’s landlord services, budgets, policies and investment in properties.

The board is currently made up of 10 members: six council tenants/

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leaseholders, three Borough Councillors and an independent member.

The board is an important part of ensuring that the Council’s service is tailored to the needs of tenants and leaseholders. Members serve a threeyear term of office and the board meets six times a year. Owing to the threeyear term of office expiring for two existing members, two member positions are available for interested council tenants and/or leaseholders. The Council is looking for applicants who are keen to get involved and make a difference to the way services are delivered.

Any tenant or leaseholder who is interested in becoming a member can apply on line via the Council’s website at www.charnwood.gov.uk/hmab_ recruitment. The deadline for applications is Sunday February 13th 2022.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea. I have received this information from the Charnwood Museum about their latest exhibition, the tiger who came to tea. The exhibition originated by Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books, features a number of Judith Kerr’s original illustrations from the Seven Stories collection and promises to bring this delightful book to life for a new generation of family audiences.

There will also be a reproduction of Sophie’s kitchen, where young visitors can sit down to tea with a 4ft cuddly tiger, a reading area, dressing up, puzzles, games and lots more Tiger-related activities to appeal to the latest generation of young readers. The exhibition is currently running until Saturday 5th March 2022. For more information on what is happening at Charnwood Museum visit their website at www.charnwoodmuseum.co.uk Calling Budding Young Writers.

Do you like telling or sharing stories? Do you like writing stories and illustrating them? Inspired by ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ exhibition currently running until 5th March 2022, Charnwood Museum are running a children’s writing competition with prizes to be won in different age categories. Using ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ by Judith Kerr as inspiration, the Charnwood Museum are looking for short stories to be submitted in the following age categories: Under 7’s: 7-11: 12-16 The closing date for entries is Monday 28th February 2022.

Terms and Conditions: All submissions should be a maximum of 500 words: The stories can be illustrated as well, although this is not essential to enter: All submissions should be sent in with the name and age of the child on them and the contact name and telephone or e-mail address of the parent/ guardian: Send all entries through to museum@charnwood.gov.uk or drop into Charnwood Museum during normal opening hours addressed as ‘Tiger Writing Competition’: Please note that if you submit an original piece of work, they will not be able to return it to the sender.

If you need to contact me on any issue, please write to 10 Groby Lane, Newtown Linford, Leicester. LE6 0HH e-mail cllr.david.snartt@charnwood. gov.uk or telephone 01530 244804.

Art Group In Anstey Article by John Morfey

We are a small, friendly group who have different interests: drawing, lino-cutting, 3D paper pictures, painting…

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If you want to make a bit of time for something (anything!) creative, you’d be welcome to come and have a cup of tea and meet us. Or contact John on 07808143772 or jandbmorfey@hotmail.com

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Anstey Chess Club

Anstey Nomads

Article by Matt Johnson

Article by Ben Vaughan Venue: Anstey Methodist Church, Cropston Road When: Thursday evenings from 7pm Happy New Year everyone! 2022 is here - where did 2021 go??

Answers in person to Anstey Chess Club please.........

League Chess Results We have had some positive results in our recent games: 4/1/22 - Syston 2 1-3 Anstey 1 A brilliant win for the 1st team.

John put up a brilliant fight against a 2000 rated player and could have won but missed a crucial move and came second after that in a lost endgame. Myself, Julian and Mick all won our fairly onesided games.

12/1/22 - Melton Mowbray 3 2-3 Anstey 2 A superb win for the 2nd team away at Melton, which lifts them off the bottom of the table but having played more games.

Brilliant wins for 2nd team captain Oskar, Hal and a respectable draw (along with Mike) for webmaster Boris on his competitive debut for the club. Boris and Hal are certainly creating positive futures for themselves in OTB chess. The one blob of the night was Leo, who defaulted at the last minute.

Venue We are now playing at the Methodist Church in Anstey, on Cropston Road near the pedestrian lights until June. We have had to hire this spacious playing room and we have received some excellent financial support so far from our members.

We are also very grateful to: The Anstey Town Charity - an organisation which helps local clubs/organisations in Anstey with funding for £200.

Anstey Parish Council - they have donated £250 to the club, received with humble thanks from all at the club.

We wish to place on record our thanks as a club for these donations to help us with keeping the club running.

For player safety, hand sanitiser is available at all times. Due to more (premature in my opinion) Government rule changes regarding mask wearing we are now making mask wearing optional from Thursday 27th January whilst at the venue. Some of our players will wear masks.

New Website!

Our new webmaster (did anyone notice that I called Boris our webmaster in the match summaries?) has been hard at work creating a new website for us which is absolutely superb. Please do check it out - it really is exactly what we were looking for from a website and apologies in advance for the mugshots! www.ansteychessclub.co.uk Junior Coaching/Lessons I am delighted to announce that in partnership with Beanies Soft Play and Cafe (top floor above Potters Carpets) in Anstey, we are now putting on Junior chess sessions for children of all ages and abilities. It has been great to see children attending and learning whilst making the sessions relaxed and informal.

Sessions are on Saturday mornings from 9-11am and will cost £3 per session per child for chess (payable directly to Beanies) and this will include some juice for the little ones.

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First Team With the winter, Nomads have had somewhat of a stop-start couple of months with postponements due to weather. This has seen Nomads not play any fixtures at home since their 1-1 draw to Quorn on the 13th of November. Despite this though, they have been on a good run away from home winning 5 out of 6 with the 1 being a defeat to Walsall Wood on penalties in the FA Vase Third Round.

Out of those 5 games, they started it off with a strong performance and result as they blew away Aylestone Park 5-1 in their Vase match back in November. The momentum from this game saw the nomads score another 5 as they swept aside Pinchbeck United 5-0, again, away from the Callingtons Community Complex.

At this point, the Nomads had an FA Vase against Walsall Wood, who had, as recently as April of 2021, dumped the nomads out of the competition (5th Round) on penalties following a scrappy 0-0 draw. Sadly, it ended in the same way as Walsall Wood were victorious once again through penalties, despite the late Nomads goal in the 90 minutes to make it 1-1. Since then Walsall Wood have been removed from the competition for fielding an ineligible player in that game, and as a result, have handed Nomads a second chance in the Vase.

Following a break over the festive period, Anstey were back in action away from home as they faced an in-form Quorn team. It ended up being a hard-fought victory as we narrowly edged it 1-0.

Following a postponement for the highly anticipated game between Anstey Nomads and Gresley Rovers, they had another Saturday off. Since then they have secured away victories at Leicester Nirvana, which ended 4-2, and Melton Town, which ended 3-0.

Upcoming is a tough game away to Norfolk club Wroxham in the FA Vase. With a win, it could match the Nomads best-ever finish in the competition, equally last year. It could also see them just 4 wins away from playing at Wembley but for that, they need to secure a win against Wroxham.

Nomads find themselves the least favoured to win the competition with bookies putting them at 66/1.

Nomads see out the month with a home fixture against high flying Boston Town, on the 29th.

February Fixtures: 05/02/22 - Skegness Town (H)

12/02/22 - Sleaford Town (A) 19/02/22 - Heather St. John’s (H) 22/02/22 - Long Eaton United (A) 26/02/22 -Heanor Town (H) Youth Teams With the Nomads now having around 40 youth teams, we have for example THREE Under 18’s sides. Anstey Nomads U18’s and the U18 Swifts sit 1st and 4th respectively in the Leicestershire Midweek Floodlit Youth League Central Division. Meanwhile, the Reds sit 4th in the Northern Division.

Most of the youth sides have played limited football over the Christmas period, for example, the Under 18s side has played twice since December, but they have made up for it in goals! Both games have seen them score 9+ goals in each. The Swifts side have followed suit with their 9-0 win away to G.N.G Oadby Town.

For younger boys and girls, aged 4-6, we hold training sessions twice a week with the name Mini Dribblers. This is great to get your youngster into football with the pathway to U7’s and highlighted with our FOUR U7’s teams this season, one for each division. The only team in Leicester to achieve this!

Events Continuing from last year, they hosted another Christmas raffle.

We would like everyone who bought tickets and attended the draw on the 23rd considering the circumstances we are in! This year we had around 40 prizes to win and more for the kids. For any who are yet to receive their winnings, you will be contacted soon to collect your prize, if you haven’t already.

We are looking to host more events for our community, we have hosted live performances in our clubhouse, live football screening and more! But we’re not done there, keep an eye out for any events upcoming this year.

For clubs in the community, you are welcome to join our End of Season Tournament in May for young Boys and Girls aged U11* to U7’s. For more details visit www.ansteynomads.com/events/ tournament Our Clubhouse is also available for private hire. Contact: bookings@ansteynomads.com

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Newtown Linford Choral Society Concert Article by Peter Sayer

As a result of the Covid situation it was decided to postpone the Choral Society’s concert which was to have been held on 29 January. The new date is Saturday 12 March at 7.30 pm, in Emmanuel Church, Forest Road, Loughborough. The Church is spacious, warm and comfortable, with good car parking facilities, and we hope that our concert of stirring and inspiring pieces of music will interest you in buying tickets. The choir will be accompanied by a chamber

orchestra, and also featured will be the highly accomplished 4tissimo orchestral quartet, and talented soprano soloist, Ella McNamee.

Two of the pieces to be sung by the choir, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and the Pergolesi Magnificat, were composed in the eighteenth century, and much performed over the years since then. The choir will also sing two recent songs by the living Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo, which were included in his Winter Songs collection. In addition, the 4tissimo Quartet will be playing the Bach Double Violin Concerto.

You can purchase tickets online at www.ticketsource.us/newtownlinford-choral-society/t-egaxqq, or by phoning 01530 243822. The prices are £12 for adults, and £6 for under 18s and students.

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2022 Starts With Another Win For Anstey RFC Article by Chris Apperley

On 8th January Your Village Rugby Team made the journey to the other side of Leicester to Oadby Wyggs for a highly contested game. The team we played was Oadby Wyggs 3rds who were a mixture of ex colts some lads in their twenties topped up by four or five veterans. This team therefore had speed in abundance and plenty of dark arts in their game plan.

It was well contested, however Anstey had control for most of the game.

Anstey scores five tries in the first half and two in the second topped up with five conversions. Wyggs battled hard and scored a try towards the end of the game. Final score 45-5 to Anstey. We were due to play a Cup game at South Leicester the following week, but sadly for the first time in a long while injuries, work commitments and a little bit of Covid got in the way meaning we could not raise a full side.

Unfortunately the following week’s trip to Newark succumbed to the same fate. Looking forward we are due to be away at Mellish on 29th January, then home hosting Cosby and Old Newtonians on the first two Saturday’s in February, then away at Market Bosworth on 26th.

During the cold winter months Wednesday training has proved difficult at times outdoors, so we plan to conduct indoor gym sessions at Martin High over the next few weeks to keep fitness levels up and go through routines.

Very sad to note the passing of Steve Myring, who was a highly pro-active member of Anstey RFC, particularly in the 1990s at the height of our large mini/junior set up at the time.

A full fixture list is in place right round until the first weekend in May when it will be President’s Day followed by our 40th/42nd Dinner in June and the AGM in the same month.

The full 2021/22 Updated fixture list is on our website at www.pitchero.com/clubs/anstey/teams/41334/fixtures-results If you would like to get involved and start playing rugby, contact either our Chairman Shane Frear on 07725 642525 or Captain Graham Waring on 07764 461961 Visit www.pitchhero.com/clubs/anstey or our Facebook Group Page at www.facebook.com/groups/20694012567 for updated information.

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