THE BIRSTALL POST JAN 2013
Complaint rejected A COMPLAINT against Parish Council Chairman Pat Cleere has been rejected by Charnwood Borough Council’s Monitoring Officer, Adrian Ward. The complaint was made in December 2012 and involved allegations of potential failures relating to compliance with the Council’s policies and the conduct of meetings. A spokesman for Charnwood Borough Council said: “Having undertaken a fact finding review the Monitoring Officer decided that the complaint did not merit a fuller investigation, as the matters raised related to issues other than the code of Conduct. “This view was supported by one of the independent persons appointed by the Borough Council, who the Monitoring Officer must consult with in reaching decisions about complaints relating to the conduct of councillors. “A recommendation was made that the Parish Council should ensure that their own policies and relevant best practice requirements are followed. The Monitoring Officer made no judgement as to whether or not there had been any breach of those, and neither did he recommend that the Parish Council needed to investigate any element of the complaint themselves.”
Census stats FIGURES RELEASED by the Office for National Statistics in December reveal how the city of Leicester and the county of Leicestershire are changing. The number of people employed in manufacturing has fallen by 34.4%, those employed in the retail/service sector has risen by 5.3%. The data, which comes from the 2011 census, shows that the number of cars/vans in Leicestershire has risen by 16% to 54,000 since the last census in 2001. 1.9% of people in the county do not have English as their first language. The white British population has decreased by 3.9% to 88.9%. In the city of Leicester the white British population is 50.5%. The Asian population now represent 37% of city residents, up from 30% in 2001. 65% of Leicester’s population was born in England. 6500 city residents (1.9%) are Polish. The population of Leicester is 333,000, an increase of 50,000 since 2001. The City Council have welcomed the publication of the figures as they say the government has used inaccurate figures for the last ten years, resulting in reduced government funding for Council services.
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Fly tipper fined A FLY-TIPPER has been prosecuted after being traced by a Council’s envirocrime unit. Matthew Charles Bindley, 29, of Manor Road, Loughborough was ordered by a court to pay £635 after he admitted fly-tipping on the Archery Field, Meadow Lane, Birstall in September 2011. Charnwood Borough Council enforcement officers were called to the scene and spoke to witnesses who had seen a vehicle turn up and dump a pile of waste which included bush cuttings. Officers traced Bindley through DVLA records and he was prosecuted. Councillor Jane Hunt, the Council’s Cabinet member for Regulatory Services, said: “The council has been running the Don’t Muck Around campaign to raise awareness of the penalties of fly-tipping. In this case witnesses gave our officers the suspect’s registration details so we were able to trace him and take action. The Council takes its responsibilities very seriously and does not tolerate environmental crime. Where appropriate, we will take enforcement action.” At Leicester Magistrates’ Court on November 16, 2012, Bindley pleaded guilty to a fly-tipping charge and expressed his remorse. He said that he had been given permission to dump green waste at the site but was not responsible for plastic and other waste which was found at the scene. Taking into account his means and early guilty plea, magistrates fined Bindley £320 and ordered him to pay £300 towards the Council’s costs plus a victim surcharge of £15 was imposed, bringing the total sum to £635.
Birstall cricket club BIRSTALL VILLAGE Cricket Club are in early preparation for the 2013 season. We are looking for any new players for the senior team to contact Andy Merry 07708473308. We are looking for a Junior Co-ordinator to help with our junior under 15/17 teams. Anyone who is interested please also contact Andy on the number above. Pre season nets training will be starting soon, please check out our website below for up to date information or February’s edition for dates of pre-season training. www.birstallvillagecc.co.uk From Birstall Village Cricket Club
Pic: James Toone, James Turner, Rob Mckay, James Foy, Paul Clements and Holly Benfield
Pub’s jumper day STAFF AT the White Horse in Birstall wore Christmas jumpers as part of Save the Children Jumper Day. A collection in the pub raised £142. Landlord Charlotte Foy said: “We heard about the Save the Children Christmas jumper day from a neighbour and thought why not get involved. The staff really enjoyed dressing up and customers were extremely generous in making donations to this very worthwhile cause.”
Blitz on dog waste A COUNCIL led three month campaign targeting ‘envirocrimes’ saw a 63% reduction in dog fouling and a 44% drop in cigarette litter. Charnwood’s Don’t Muck Around campaign ran for three months from September 2012 and targeted Loughborough town centre, Shepshed, Syston, the Outwoods and the Quorn and Hastings ward of Loughborough. Officers monitored hotspot areas before and after the campaign to see what impact the education and enforcement work had on the number of incidents. 115 fixed penalty notices were issued during the campaign, which also included some areas in North West Leicestershire. The campaign also aimed to raise awareness of the issues by presenting an ‘ash mob’, a dog show, a fly-tip in Loughborough town centre and working with schoolchildren and local businesses. Cllr Jane Hunt said: “The results of the campaign are absolutely incredible. Not only have we made inroads into raising awareness, but the campaign team has been able to significantly reduce incidents in hotspot areas through a combination of education and enforcement.” In 2011, the campaign won an award from Keep Britain Tidy
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