Grants of up to £500 are available for organisations and projects which are working to bring different groups of people together in Leicestershire.

The ‘Communities Together’ grant is intended to support community and voluntary organisations who are involved in local projects which:

• play an active role in getting different communities and groups of individuals together to increase understanding and communication
• promote inter-cultural education and relations
• introduce and engage new audiences, organisations and community groups to each other.
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Pubs Minister John Healey today announced a 12 point action plan to give practical support to community pubs up and down the country, backed by £4million in government funding.

New help will include £3.3million for business support to make pubs more successful and help communities buy into struggling pubs to keep them running. Business support is also in place for struggling membership clubs, “beer ties” will be slashed, and a consultation is underway on proposals to cut the requirement for music licences in certain venues. More »

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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Volunteers are needed to help deliver library books to people who have difficulty getting out and about.

The Home Library Service is looking for reliable volunteers who have an interest in books and are able to relate to a variety of people. The role will involve choosing and delivering books to customers in their own homes.

Leicestershire Libraries depends on volunteers to help provide this important service which can make a very real difference to people’s lives.

Jane Butler has been volunteering for the Home Library Service for twenty years now. She said: "I get a real sense of satisfaction from doing something for my local community. I enjoy getting to know the customers and feel that my visits help to improve their quality of life, even if it's only in a small way. I've always loved reading myself, so I enjoy my regular visits to the library where I can chat to the staff about what's new and what my customers might enjoy." 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 »

“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

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 »

Coalville Library is hosting its second Health and Wellbeing Day on Friday, March 19.

The event will run from 10am to 4pm and will include a wide range of activities throughout the day.

Library Development Worker Liz Evans said: “The theme is health and wellbeing, and the emphasis will be very much on enjoyment.

“There will be cookery demonstrations, fun ways to get fit using dance mats, a rowing machine and ‘speed stacking’ to test your hand-eye coordination. Alternatively you can relax, read a book and get your nails painted.” 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.

The recently appointed Archdeacon of Loughborough, the Venerable David Newman, was a guest of Leicestershire County Council earlier this week.
Following a welcome by Chief Executive, John Sinnott, the role and structure of the Authority was explained through a series of presentations, including, the Council's work around partnership delivery, faith communities and community cohesion.
Later in the day David was able to see at first hand a small selection of LRP supported projects. The afternoon began with lunch at the new tearoom in Twycross garden centre, which was supported through an LRP Vibrant Villages grant, the affordable housing scheme at Sheepy Magna (pictured). Finally, he was also shown the new community room at St Michael and All Angels Church in Fenny Drayton which was also supported through Vibrant Villages.

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.