GLENFIELD PARISH NEWS SUMMER 2023

Extract from the Parish Council’s Annual Report for 2022/2023

WELCOME to this year’s Glenfield Parish Council Annual Report.

The past year has been challenging in many ways, the pandemic restrictions were all finally lifted, that crisis very quickly being replaced by the issues created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine namely massive hikes in energy costs and the knock-on effects of that in supply chains and other product costs, something that has impacted on every person in Glenfield. This has also affected the work of the Parish Council.

This has also been a year of total contrast with the huge joy shared by all on the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee followed far too quickly by the shock and grief of her passing.

I would again like to offer my thanks to all Councillors and Staff for their efforts throughout the year and those members of the public and other agencies who have assisted with projects and initiatives that we have undertaken during this time.

I wish everyone good health for the coming year.

Councillor Lee Stephens

Vice

Chairman at Glenfield Parish Council

(The whole report can be found on the Council website www. glenfield-pc.gov.uk)

New Chairman for Parish Council

CONGRATULATIONS to Cllr Nick Chapman who has been elected Chairman of the Parish Council for 2023/2024 and was presented with the chain of office from outgoing Vice Chairman Cllr Lee Stephens, at the Annual Parish Council meeting on May 15th.

Cllr Chapman said: “It is a privilege to have taken over as Chairman of the Council for the forthcoming year and I’d like to put my thanks on record to the outgoing Vice Chairman, Cllr Lee Stephens for his tremendous contributions during the last year in the absence of the Chair. “Lee was also re-elected to Vice Chairman of the Parish Council and I look forward to working with him for the forthcoming year”.

Cllr Chapman also serves as a District Councillor for Glenfield Ellis Ward and as a County Councillor for Glenfield, Leicester Forest East, Kirby Muxloe and Thurlaston. He is also Chair of the Licensing Committee at Blaby District Council.

Your new council - leaner, but more active!

WITH SEVERAL long serving older members having left the Council it is time for new ideas and reintroducing some old ones dropped by the old regime.

We have streamlined our processes, reduced the number of committees (talking shops) and brought a lot of expensive contracted work in-house by providing our workforce with more modern equipment.

The new Council wants to reintroduce more fetes if we can find more volunteers to assist, reintroduce village walks and fire up our garden competitions, which will need new judges.

The Councillors judging that competition and the old Chair of the committee responsible for community activities have all left the Council now and our new Chairman is keen to see these revitalised.

He also wants to explore the practicalities of expanding our Christmas offering. Father Christmas has confirmed he will be here again and is looking for local elves to accompany him walking alongside handing out the presents.

We have vacancies and could use more councillors to help us fulfil these ambitions. An application to become a Councillor can be found on our website www.glenfield-pc.gov.uk.

Under the new regime we intend to appoint individual councillors to keep us on our toes including a Public Health Champion and an Environment Champion to ensure we keep up the already good work on reducing our carbon footprint.

As we cannot close roads these days, and have to do our lights switch-on at Park House, the new Council are to look at what else we could add to those festivities.

Blaby District Council are responsible for litter picking but as a Parish we usually employ additional efforts to keep the village tidy and will be looking to recruit new operatives shortly.

Glenfield Community Food Hub

FOLLOWING a successful grant application, the Glenfield Food Hub has been awarded £4,900 of funding from the County Council out of their Household Support Fund for 2023/2024 to continue its work to support residents of Glenfield who require that little bit of help with food supplies.

We are very grateful for the funding as other sources have now dried up and we would struggle to continue until the end of the financial year 31 March 2024 without this additional windfall from Leicestershire County Council. We are extremely grateful and thank the Council and our other donors for their continued financial assistance with this project.

The Glenfield Food Hub operates every other Saturday (next date is 3rd June 2023) from the green portable cabin located near Morrisons at The Annexe. Any resident of Glenfield (you will need to show proof of address as living in Glenfield) who requires additional food supplies can pop down and be served with a maximum of 20 items from the store.

Meetings of the Parish Council are open to the press and public and all meetings are publicised on the Parish Council’s notice boards and web site (www.glenfield-pc.gov.uk). There is an opportunity for members of the public to raise any comments or queries that they have with the Parish Council. It is helpful if you contact us prior to attending the meeting so that the Council is better informed and able to help you.

MUGA Re-opening

FOLLOWING discussions at Council it has been decided to re-open the MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area) court which is open usually for the public.

There will be increased CCTV coverage over the area to enable any vandalism of the court to be recorded and passed to the Police. Parents and Guardians are urged to encourage their children to use the facility with respect.

Any similar bouts of vandalism occurring will result in the facility being closed to the public once more.

Spring Garden Competition Winners

THE WINNERS of this year’s Spring Garden competition are Mr & Mrs Richards of Forge Close Glenfield.

The Chair of Glenfield Parish Council is pictured (right) presenting the trophy to the successful winners for their beautiful front garden. Thank you to everyone that took part in the competition.

No Mow May - let wild flowers bloom

FIRST LAUNCHED in 2019 by the botanical charity Plantlife, No Mow May is a campaign that encourages gardeners to not mow their lawn during the month of May, in order to let wild flowers bloom and provide a nectar feast for pollinators such as honeybees, bumblebees and solitary bees, butterflies and moths, and beetles.

Glenfield Parish Council took part in #NoMowMay and decided not to mow selected areas of grass within the parish during May - we didn’t actually completely stop mowing in May, particularly as we need to have shorter grass in places, i.e. in the children’s play areas or where dogs are regularly walked, but we aimed to keep as much of the wildflowers as possible.

The aim of No Mow May campaign is to encourage people to change their mowing regime – mowing less, and leaving patches of long grass in places if possible. A healthy lawn with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away carbon below ground.

Grow Wildflowers - plant for a brighter tomorrow!

GLENFIELD Parish Council is committed to protecting and enhancing our local environment, and we have proudly installed wildflower tracks at Brantings Park and Jubilee Wood to promote biodiversity and improve the landscape.

The success of these projects goes beyond the visual, since wildflowers attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies, contributing to a diverse and healthy ecosystem. We thank all our grounds staff for their hard work in making these initiatives a success, and look forward to the positive effects they will bring.

Advice on bonfires

IT IS PERFECTLY legal to have a bonfire on your land if it is suitable to do so. There are no restrictions as to what time of the day or day of the week you can have it. There ARE rules in place to ensure that bonfires do not break the Environmental Protection Act.

REPORT A NUISANCE

Garden Bonfires

BONFIRE - Before reporting a nuisance bonfire, please try and speak to the neighbour and ask them politely to look at putting the bonfire out if it is causing you problems. Bonfires can become a statutory nuisance if they are frequent and persistent. The material being burnt that causes excess smoke and/or an unpleasant smell may also cause a statutory nuisance. If your neighbour ignores your request, Blaby District Council can investigate your complaint - if they feel it may be a statutory nuisance.

WHAT BLABY DISTRICT COUNCIL WILL DO - If deemed a statutory nuisance, they will visit the site of the bonfire and then speak to the person responsible for the fire. A letter may also be considered the best course of action. If the issue continues, they will consider any legal action that needs to be taken for that particular case.

BONFIRE ADVICE - It is essential to keep a bonfire away from windows, trees and other materials that will burn easily and have a bucket of water nearby. Neighbours should also be informed of any plans you have for a bonfire. You can find more information by downloading the Garden Bonfires leaflet from our website https://www.glenfield-pc.gov.uk/news.html Before having a bonfire, consider other methods of disposing of your waste such as composting, recycling or visiting your local household waste site/tip.