Rural communities must ensure they can play a role in the economy of the future or they face becoming "dormitories for the elderly".
That is the warning from the chairman of a group aimed at helping the Leicestershire countryside thrive.
Councillor Lesley Pendleton, from Leicestershire Rural Partnership, was speaking after a recent Government-commissioned report warned young people were being driven from rural areas by a lack of jobs and affordable housing.
The report calls for loosening of planning rules, better transport links and broadband access.
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PC 500 Andy Smalley (Beat Officer for the Lutterworth area) and PCSO 6143 Neil Patel (Neighbourhood officer for the Broughton Astley area) will be holding an open day at Lutterworth Police Station on Saturday the 20th of March between 10am and 2pm.

The open day will be an opportunity for local residents to come along and meet their local policing team to discuss local policing issues and to find out more about Smart Water.
Smart Water is a colourless liquid solution that is simply dabbed onto the uneven surfaces of your valuables. It can be used to code all sorts of items such as jewellery, ornaments, electrical items and even your motor vehicle.
Each bottle contains a unique chemical ‘code’ which is registered to you – conclusively proving ownership. It cannot be easily seen by the naked eye and is almost impossible to remove. The liquid glows under ultraviolet light making it easy for the Police to detect. More »

Do you know anyone who is driving without a valid license or driving unaccompanied on a provisional license?

If so the Roads Policing Unit at Leicestershire Police would like to hear from you.

We can be contacted via our confidential e-mail address at road.policing@leicestershire.pnn.police.uk all e-mails will be treated in the strictest confidence. More »

This is a message to all watch members and key individuals living and working within the Harborough District

Use this link to find the latest Neighbourhood Policing Newsletter for your area. It contains news about your neighbourhood policing priorities, a message about performance from our Local Policing Unit Commander as well as the names, faces and contact details for your local beat officers.

“Just a note to say how useful and enjoyable I found last-evening's event - dare I say it, "more of the same, please"!”

“I really enjoyed the event, full marks to all concerned. I came away feeling really inspired by the speakers and wishing that more could be achieved in our village. “

"We found the event really useful in reaching out to local parishes - thank you for allowing us to attend. We would be interested in our charity becoming a member of the RCC - could you please let me know how to go about this. " More »

AAA NORCAP are holding two services for those affected by adoption at St Lukes Church, Halifax Drive, Stocking Farm, Leicester on the afternoon of Saturday 13th March - the day before Mother's Day. See attached for more information, and further enquiries, please contact Liz McGregor on 0116 2789324

These are special meetings, workshop style, which will allow local groups and individuals to decide how to spend up to £20,000 in each Have Your Say area in line with the following priorities:
- Supporting vulnerable and young people
- Access to services & facilities
- Communities interested in their local area

NB: Booking is free but essential.
A buffet and refreshments will be available.

To find out more about any of these meetings, please follow the links below or contact Derk van der Wardt or Juan Pardo on 0116 305 7581 or by e-mail at derk.vanderwardt@leics.gov.uk or juan.pardo@leics.gov.uk

Congratulations to Andrew Wright, Angela Wright, Keith Olivier, and Mark Twittey. They are the four lucky winners of our competition to win a VIP day at the Walkers Stadium.

Their prizes include:

• watching the Foxes play a home game against Coventry City on Sunday 21st March, 2010
• having a stadium tour of LCFC
• a pitch side photograph
• a meal with wine in the restaurant
• viewing the game from the Director’s box.

They all correctly told us that Andy King is the LCFC player that the Leicestershire Villages website sponsors.

A year after Google launched Street View for many parts of Britain, the service is finally going live in Leicestershire.

The internet giant has sent its camera cars along every public road in the county, collecting photos which it has turned into 360-degree pictures online. The images show homes, shops and takeaways, street signs, landmarks and football grounds.

What are your views on this, Neighbourhood Watch in Leicestershire would like to know? Use this link for the full story

Have you ever noticed anything in a public area or open space that captured your attention because you liked it or because it concerned you? Do you know how you can currently report your concerns, ideas, suggestions and opinions regarding public spaces? Or do you have suggestions how you would like to report such issues?

The VoiceYourview project is interested in finding out how people’s knowledge of public areas and open spaces can be captured in order to create safer and more inclusive spaces. Please fill out our questionnaire and voice your view! More »

In order to tackle local concerns we want to know what matters most to you in the area where you live or work/visit. You can help shape local priorities by completing this short questionnaire.

The information you provide will be collated and discussed by a Joint Action Group made up of Police and Partners from your area. The purpose of this group is to agree local priorities and take action to resolve them.

Use this link to fill in the survey.

Officers have issued a warning after receiving a number of reports of thefts from ATMs in Leicester.

Officers have so far received three reports of similar incidents that happened on Melton Road, Narborough Road and Belgrave Road in January and February this year.

In all three incidents the victims were approached by a man who told them that the ATM was out of order and the ATM then appeared to swallow their cards. Following this the victims went into the bank to see what had happened to find that money had already been taken out of their account and their card had been stolen.

Leicestershire Constabulary is backing Operation Liberal’s national public awareness campaign against distraction burglars called ‘Not Sure?…Don’t Open The Door.’

It has been sponsored by the Energy Retail Association (ERA) and aims to make people aware of the tactics used by distraction burglars and how they can prevent themselves from becoming potential victims.

After a successful first year of delivery, LandSkills East Midlands, part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), is now looking for someone to manage the programme on a full time fixed term basis until January 2012.
Lantra, who manages LandSkills East Midlands on behalf of the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), is looking for an enthusiastic individual to join its regional team to work on the programme aimed at improving the competitiveness, efficiency and profitability of the region’s agriculture, horticulture and forestry industries through skills and knowledge transfer.
Working closely with EMDA’s rural team the individual who is offered this role will manage delivery of the RDPE skills funding in the region; facilitate workshops with livestock farmers; build relationships with training providers to maximise their output and be pro-active in highlighting and dealing with any potential for under performance; produce reports for EMDA.
To be successful in this home-based role you should be: More »

Anastacia and jeff Hordley from Emmerdale have joined, why not you?

We have 420 members in Leicestershire and Rutland. So if you want to find out more, or have been diagnosed with having either Colitis or Crohn`s and feel alone, with a sense of relief, you now know why you’ve been feeling so tired and unwell, if you have questions to ask, about your illness which could affect you for the rest of your life, that you want answering, we hope that you will find the information you are looking for within our website www.nacc.org.uk

In a second development in the waterways field; as part of its ‘Twenty Twenty Debate’, British Waterways is proposing that its 2,200 mile, 200 year old waterway network is moved out of direct state control and into a new third sector trust organisation.

The recently published report – ‘Setting a new course: Britain's waterways in the third sector’ – sets out some of the opportunities such a path would offer. British Waterways is encouraging partners, stakeholders and customers to get involved and share their opinions. Jo Gilbertson from the Inland Waterways Association (IWA), which is a member of The Heritage Alliance, said: “A change in status should enable British Waterways to develop its property income stream in a more effective manner, freeing it from some of the limitations on borrowing and investment that it is currently shackled with. This should allow it to focus more on active restoration and regeneration as well as generating more income. IWA therefore supports further investigation of this approach.” More »

The winner of February’s pair of LCFC tickets (February competition) is Mark Twittey. He guessed the attendance for the home game with Nottingham Forest on 27th February 2010 would be 31,600 which was closest to the actual number of 31,759.

Mark first registered to the Leicestershire Villages website in 2009 and uses it to find out what is going on in his local community. He’s also become hooked on our competitions which have resulted in him winning tickets for a second time! So well done Mark, enjoy watching the match.

Building on the success of the Rural Business Support Programme, 2006-09 and Market Towns Initiative the Leicestershire Rural Partnership has successfully secured further funding to support rural businesses. There are five grant schemes which businesses can apply to for funding support, please open the attached document for further details and contacts.

The LRP is keen to encourage funding bids from local partnership organisations to help support Leicestershire's food and drink, equestrian and tourism sector. The funding is part of the INSPIRE Leicestershire programme which aims to deliver projects against our rural economic priorities.

Eligible activities could include promotional literature, events, partnership websites etc. These are not exclusive so please call 0116 305 6179 to discuss your project ideas.

Applications will be considered on a first come first served basis. There is no match funding requirement and no upper funding limit. More »

Motorists looking to purchase a second-hand car are being warned of a scam operating in Leicester.

Police in the city are investigating three robberies and one attempted robbery in which the victims responded to an advert for a high performance car being sold at a bargain price on the internet.

The people advertising the vehicle arrange to meet the buyers in Leicester, provide them with a postcode and ask them to bring cash to pay for the vehicle. Upon arrival the buyers are confronted by a group of up to three men who threaten them with violence before escaping with the cash.