Application materials are now available for the fifth funding round of the vcashpoint scheme. Grants are awarded to young people in England, aged between 16 and 25, to set up exciting and creative voluntary projects that benefit their communities. The scheme has a total budget of £1 million available for distribution, with individual grants capped at £2,500.

Projects that involve young people in their organisation, planning and implementation will be supported. The funding can be used to design and undertake schemes that will benefit the applicant's community and will have a positive impact in the long-term. More »

Responses to policing consultation show widespread support for cutting police red tape.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, ‘On visits up and down the country I have seen first hand the positive impact of neighbourhood policing and the growing involvement of communities in the fight against crime.'

She added, ‘The public are our strongest weapon in tackling crime and I passionately believe that empowering them to get a good deal through the policing pledge will play a powerful role in driving up the quality of policing for our citizens and in our communities.’

The Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network (NHWN) was launched across the nation with a brief to keep an eye on crime and crime fighting on our home front.

With the backing of the police and Home Office we will keep you up to speed on developments both locally and nationally via a constantly-updated website and regular newletters. Use this link to download your copy and to register to receive future editions.

Christmas shoppers in Leicester city centre are being given purse bells and chains to try and prevent thefts from handbags over the festive period.

The chain can be used to attach a purse to a handbag to make it more difficult to steal. Meanwhile the bells will alert shoppers if someone is tampering with their handbag.

www.mynhw.co.uk will be releasing the Winter edition of their Newsletter soon. To ensure that you receive this newsletter and future editions to be published in 2009 please register your details with us using this link.

We are also looking for events and news to add to the site, please let us know what is happening in your local area.

Marion Lewis - Chair NHWNetwork (England & Wales)

There are now new publications available for Watch members to use to promote and develop Neighbourhood Watch and Home Watch in their areas.

Motorists are being reminded to check their vehicle lights are all working properly now that the evenings are getting darker earlier.

With increased road safety in mind, officers from Leicestershire Constabulary's Road Policing Unit are going to be on the look out for vehicles with defective lights.

Defective brake or head lights can be a sign of poor vehicle maintenance and can put lives at risk.

Eat out for 1/2 price using the Gourmet Society at the UK's best restaurants.

The Gourmet Society has over 32,000 members in the UK who regularly dine out at their favourite restaurants throughout the Midlands, North East and Southern England.
With almost 2,000 restaurants members are spoilt for choice whether they wish to dine in Leicestershire, Newcastle, Birmingham, Nottingham, Oxford to name but a few places with Gourmet Society restaurants.
Leicestershire Villages users are able to save £20 on membership, by using the promotional code: VILLAGES

During the afternoon of Tuesday 4th November a number of distraction burglaries occurred around the force area. 3 of these were in the North of the county in the Coalville and Thurmaston areas but later in the evening a further distraction burglary occurred in Enderby which is in our South area.

Current and potential volunteer promoters of Centre Screen, the mobile cinema scheme for Leicestershire, are invited to attend an informal event to be updated on developments and to provide feedback. If you’ve not yet had Centre Screen come to your village then you can find out how it all works. It is an opportunity for you to meet fellow volunteers and share experiences and you will also have the opportunity to look at what films are coming up. The events will be attended by representatives from Phoenix Arts, who manage Centre Screen, Leicestershire County Council, who fund it and the Arts Development Officer for the nearby local authority who also fund and support the scheme.
Dates of events are:
Monday 10th November, 7pm – 9pm at Hoby Village Hall, 32 Main Street, Hoby, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 3DT
Tuesday 11th November – 2pm – 4pm at Botcheston Village Hall, Main Street, Botcheston, Leicestershire, LE9 9FF
Tea, coffee, biscuits & cake will be provided!
For further information, directions to the venue and to book your place please contact Emily Horwood on 0116 267 0015 or ehorwood@leics.gov.uk

Recycle for Leicestershire - Recipe Competition Are you creative in the kitchen? Can you turn last night's left overs into a three course meal? If so then recycle for Leicestershire want to hear from you!
They are looking for innovative ways to turn that forgotten carrot or potato into an impressive dish!
All you have to do for a chance to win one of the fabulous prizes, including a first prize of vouchers to the value of £150.00, is submit a recipe of your own choice. For details see the attached leaflet or log onto www.leics.gov.uk. Competition closing date 28.11.08.

Pupils from a Wigston primary school are the first in the county to have successfully completed the Junior Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

The nine and ten-year-olds from All Saints Primary School, Wigston, have been attending workshops ran by the local police to teach them about Neighbourhood Watch and crime prevention.

Chief Superintendent Garry Forsyth, police commander for the South area of the Force, presented the certificates to the pupils at a ceremony held at the police station on Tuesday October 28, 2008.

The Rural Community Council is now delivering Suicide Awareness Training to Leicester City. On November 26th there is an all day training course which targets occupational groups at risk e.g. vets, doctors, dentists, haulage workers and those working in the mental health area,

If you know someone who might benefit from this training and they are in one of the above groups, do please give Nickie Philbin a ring or drop her an email.

Direct line is 0116 268 9712 or email nphilbin@ruralcc.org.uk

How messing about on boats saved Britain’s waterways

On 25 October 1968, a single piece of Government legislation transformed the UK’s ailing waterways from an all but abandoned Georgian transport network into a booming tourism success story now enjoyed by more than 1.5 million people every week.

To mark the 40th anniversary of one of the most important moments in the 200 year history of the UK’s canals, British Waterways is calling on visitors old and new to help celebrate the vibrancy of today’s 2,200 miles network of waterways by contributing their holiday memories to a giant virtual scrapbook. More »

The new RCC Community Funding Guide has just been published. In addition to hints and tips on applying for funding you will find details of over 150 funders.

The Rural Community Council(Leicestershire & Rutland)are hosting 2 seminars that will help people to understand and react to climate change issues and rising fuel costs.
VENUE 1 : Kibworth Grammar SchoolHall (Harborough District)
DATE: 22nd October 2008

VENUE 2 : Thornton Village Hall (Hinckley & Bosworth)
DATE: 30th October 2008

To book a place please contact dcook@ruralcc.org.uk
0116 2689706

Leicestershire Constabulary is launching a series of community engagement events seeking views from members of the public on the review of the Race Action Plan, which forms part of the Equality Scheme.

The Race Action Plan delivers accountability and scrutiny applied to policing by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 to eliminate institutional racism, cultural stereotyping and exclusion and to promote a culture of inclusiveness which embraces and respects diversity.

The Rural Community Council (Leicestershire & Rutland) has been awarded a national quality standards accreditation, making it only the 7th RCC out of 38 in the country to reach this standard.

In 2005 the RCC reached Defra Level 1 followed in 2006 with Level 2. In August 2008 the RCC submitted a wide range of documents and policies for inspection. In September telephone interviews were conducted by the inspection team with key stakeholders. On 14 /15th October an inspecting officer from ACRE (Action for Communities in Rural England) visited the RCC and carried out a series of interviews and a further inspection. More »

The public in Leicester will have the chance to get a unique glimpse into the Criminal Justice System. This year's Inside Justice Week gets underway between 18th and 25th October with major community events at the Highcross and the Samworth Enterprise Academy, Saffron Road from 11am, Saturday 18th October.

Rural businesses including shops and post offices can apply for new grants of between £750 and £5,000 and benefit from free, expert business advice through the new Vibrant Villages programme which has been set up to support and enhance vital community facilities.

Vibrant Villages will also support existing facilities such as community halls to become multi-purpose venues incorporating, for instance, a meeting space, youth facility, crèche, training venue or drop in service offering health or citizens' advice. More »