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Leicestershire MattersMay 2007 - Issue 1COMPETITION
We have five vouchers each to give away for the Shire’s RoadCraft course and the
Police BikeSafe Scheme.
Simply answer the question below and fill in the motorcycling
online form.
What is the name of the County Council’s bike safety campaign?
A free event is being held this summer for anyone interested in motorcycling.
 Motorcycle trainers, retailers and safety experts will be taking part in the Leicestershire
Bike and Scooter Experience at County Hall in Glenfield on Sunday, 3rd June
from 10am – 4pm.
The event coincides with our Think Bike campaign, where we encourage bikers to give
their machines and the roads the respect they deserve. Posters will be put up at sites of motorcycle
accidents across the County, reminding all road users to take longer to look for bikes.
The event will include:
For more details call James Gibson on 0116 305 7232 or e-mail: jdgibson@leics.gov.uk
 DO you want to be a better motorway driver?
If so, a free presentation is being held to help drivers to use motorways more safely
– whether you are a newly qualified driver or have years of experience.
We have organised the event with Leicestershire Constabulary, for Thursday, 7th
June from 7.30pm at Police Headquarters in Enderby.
Motorway driving is now an integral part of many people’s daily life and while statistically
motorways prove safer than other roads, there is no room for complacency.
Please call John Budulis, Road Safety Officer at Leicestershire Constabulary to
book a place, on 0116 222 2222 ext 2436 or e-mail: john.budulis@leicestershire.pnn.police.uk
DRIVERS will be more likely to get a fine for not parking sensibly
from this summer.
From July, almost 50 wardens will be taking to the streets of Leicestershire, to
improve parking and reduce congestion.
Currently, the police enforce parking restrictions but this role will become the
job of the County, district and borough councils.
Wardens across the County will issue tickets to drivers who park incorrectly or
without consideration for others.
Although most drivers park correctly, some are inconsiderate, causing congestion
and disrupting traffic flows. Parking in the wrong place can be dangerous as it can jeopardise
the work of our emergency services.
If parking restrictions are ignored, wardens will issue a penalty charge notice
of £60, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days (with no penalty points.)
Money collected will pay to run the service and any extra will go towards parking
and general traffic management improvements.
For more information visit our website on Parking Matters
Your parking questions answeredWhat will the difference be?
How will the change benefit me?
How do I avoid getting a ticket?
What if I think I’ve been wrongly ticketed?
What if I have further questions?
Parking AdviceDo not park:
Please do:
YOU can now visit our website to look at, and give your views on,
proposed road improvement schemes in Leicestershire.
 Details of each of our transport projects are published online throughout their
public consultation period.
Log on to view artists’ impressions of some of the larger schemes, together with
a photo gallery of locations where road safety measures, such as traffic calming and new pedestrian
crossings, are proposed.
As well as being able to give your views online, you will be advised of forthcoming
public exhibitions and given contacts, with whom you can discuss schemes.
To view our road schemes visit the Transport Projects and Consultations
page.
Pictured - New Look... proposed redevelopment of Loughborough town
centre
… find highways forum papers on the web tooAGENDAS, reports and minutes for all our Highways Forum meetings are
now available on our website.
The forums are held in each Borough or District area of the County. They are
joint discussion groups involving County and Borough/District Councillors, and provide a local focus
for the work of our highways and transportation service.
To view the agendas, reports and minutes, and for a list of forum dates, visit our
Highways page. For paper copies call 0116 305 7122.
MOTORISTS face a £60 fine and three points if caught using a hand-held
phone whilst driving – or up to £2,500 if taken to court.
To drive this message home we are using one of our mobile libraries to advertise
the phone warning:
Missing a call won’t kill you – turn it off while driving.
Nicholas Rushton, our Cabinet Member for Highways said: “Research proves that talking
on a mobile whilst driving affects your concentration and ability to react. The graphics on the mobile
library will act as an important reminder to drivers.”
John Budulis, road safety officer for Leicestershire Police said: “Too many motorists
have been prepared to take risks by using a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving. It is important for
drivers to stop using mobiles – or face tougher penalties.”
NEW speed restrictions have been introduced to improve safety around
many schools in Leicestershire.
In the last year 15 schools have benefited from new 20mph zones and another 50 should
get them in the forthcoming year.
Signs remind drivers to slow down around schools. In addition, some schools have
had pavement markings installed to help children follow a safer route to school.
A competition was held recently, where schoolchildren sent in designs and the winning
design by Megan Hurst of Brocks Hill Primary School in Oadby, featured brightly coloured paw prints.
All schools which qualify for a 20mph zone will have completed a school travel plan
– a series of practical steps to reduce the number of cars arriving at the school gate.
Walking or cycling to school not only reduces congestion, but has numerous health
benefits.
For more details, call 0116 305 8136, e-mail: its@leics.gov.uk
or visit the School Travel Plans page.
Pictured - Safety First... new speed restrictions are helping school
children
LOOK out for the latest edition of our FREE guide to events and activities
taking place in our museums, libraries and country parks.
 The latest issue of the Leicestershire Events Guide, which runs from the beginning
of June to the end of September, is packed with ideas to keep you and your family entertained over the
summer months.
These include our Pirates of Leicestershire events taking place
around the County and the 25th
birthday party celebrations at Snibston Discovery Park.
Don’t miss out – pick up your copy from any County Council library or museum. Alternatively,
to receive regular copies, e-mail: eventsguide@leics.gov.uk
or fill in the Events Guide Request Form and send it to The Marketing Team, Room
409, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicestershire LE3 8TD.
WITH 239 children and young people in the County needing foster care,
an extra-ordinary family gave a special interview to Leicestershire Matters on what it’s like to foster.
Not everyone could look after someone else’s child – especially a child with challenging
behaviour, who has been emotionally damaged by abuse or neglect.
Steve and Wendy can, though. They’ve fostered many children with heartbreaking stories,
who react with anger, confrontational behaviour and aggression. But it’s just water off a duck’s back
to this couple.
They began after seeing an advertisement for fostering teenagers with challenging
behaviour.
 Wendy said: “We’d had a big house full of our children and their friends. Then they
left and there was silence, it was driving us mad. We thought fostering would be a challenge!”
Steve added: “All children have challenging behaviour, so we thought we’d be ok!
You get a lot of training, and this grows with you.”
They tell stories of children who have been excluded from school for disruptive
behaviour, who run away, don't listen to the word ‘no’ or are physically or verbally aggressive. Then
they tell you about the children’s hard lives, and say that fostering them is the least they can do.
They know they can’t change the lives of every child, but they can provide a safe
and secure base while the County Council looks for long-term foster homes.
Wendy said: “It’s nice to give them a reasonable idea of family life rather than
what they’ve been through.”
Steve explained how they cope when things get difficult. He said: “Wendy and I bounce
back off each other. If Wendy gets stressed I’ll take over and she’ll do the same, but the children’s
problems aren’t ours. It’s also easier to be more detached, because they’re not your own children.”
This couple may seem completely ordinary – but they’re not. They do something that
most of us wouldn’t dream of – and they’re giving teenagers a taste of a home-life they never knew existed.
Pictured - Family life... Wendy, Danielle and Steve
 Danielle’s storyDanielle is one of the couple’s success stories. She said: “Steve and Wendy made
me feel welcome and the best thing is that I never want for anything anymore – the fridge is always
full! It’s nice and normal and how it should’ve been.
“Before, I just did what I liked. I hadn’t been to school for three years, but Steve
and Wendy helped by getting me out of bed in the morning! When I go to college they get up with me and
I haven’t missed a day. I’m doing an equine course and it’s wicked! If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t
be doing it.”
Danielle experiences the behaviour of the couple’s other foster children – but she
also takes it in her stride, and she’s become a mentor to some. They confide in her because she’s ‘one
of them.’
Pictured - Education... Danielle at college
Can you help Tim?Tim is 14, his brother Danny is 12 and his sister Kim is 9. They suffered serious
neglect and injuries at home and were adopted by the same family when Tim was seven. But, when Tim was
12 the adoptive parents physically abused him and Danny, so they all went to foster carers.
Tim behaved badly at school, he is excluded and is educated at a special unit. He
became aggressive towards his brother and sister and was very confrontational towards his carers. After
one incident with his brother, Tim ran away and refused to go home. He is now with short-term carers
until a long-term placement can be found for him.
Could you help a young person like Tim? We need people to foster children aged 12
and above. These are usually single children and could be short or long-term placements. All expenses
of a child’s care are paid for by the County Council.
For more details call 0800 587 7767, e-mail: familyplacements@leics.gov.uk
or visit the County Council's Fostering page
THOUSANDS of people contact trading standards each year and we have
asked our head of consumer services, Keith Regan, to focus on one main issue.
Dear Keith,
How can I be sure that I’m buying a legitimate second-hand car?
Sellers can ‘clock’ vehicles, so it seems to have travelled fewer miles. Our advice
for avoiding buying a ‘clocked’ vehicle includes:
Consumer Direct is available on a low-cost national helpline number – 08454 04 05
06 from 8am to 6.30pm (Mon to Fri) and 9am to 1pm (Sat) (excluding bank holidays.) Or visit: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk
WE aim to develop the best possible learning environment for children
and young people at our schools.
 That is why we have been investing in an award-winning programme creating new schools
across the County.
Castle Rock High School in Coalville was the first to open as part of the initiative.
The state-of-the-art development won both the large and sustainable building of the year prizes
at last year’s ProCon awards, and has been short-listed for the Scala building of the year, which recognises
public sector construction.
More new high schools, in Shepshed and at Oadby Gartree will be completed and open
in time for the academic year beginning in September.
A new primary school is being planned for Birstall, while a further special school
is to be opened in Coalville in 2009.
All our new schools are built considering the latest environmentally friendly and
energy-saving ideas, for example, high levels of insulation are used to make the buildings heat-efficient.
For more information about new school buildings in Leicestershire call 0116 305
6808, e-mail: nking@leics.gov.uk or visit our New
Buildings page.
Pictured - Award-winning development... Castle Rock High School in
Coalville
A project encouraging County residents to take more exercise is going
from strength to strength.
The Active Together campaign was launched by Leicestershire and Rutland
Sport and is supported by Leicestershire Together - a strategic partnership of local
organisations led by the County Council through the Local Area Agreement.
Activities, including exercise sessions for the over 50s, healthy eating workshops
and a tea dance in Stoke Golding have already taken place. Look out for forthcoming family activity
sessions in Hinckley and Bosworth and street dance classes for young people in North West Leicestershire.
For more information call 0116 305 8117 or e-mail: LT@leics.gov.uk
Pictured - Strictly tea-dancing... event at Stoke Golding
THE tremendous success of an innovative children’s safety education
centre has led to the need to recruit more volunteers.
 The Warning Zone project, based in Syston, teaches youngsters aged 10-11 how to
stay safe in their everyday lives and understand about personal responsibility.
It deals with issues such as the consequences, both to themselves and others, of
becoming involved in offending or anti-social behaviour and the dangers of playing by railway tracks
or building sites.
Since opening last October, the centre has hosted around 4,000 pupils from 87 schools
in the County, City and Rutland.
Due to the project’s success more volunteers are required to act as guides for visiting
school groups.
Volunteers must be 18 or over and willing to undertake at least two half-day sessions
per month during term-time. Full training is given and travelling expenses reimbursed.
Dave Webster, from Glenfield, is a volunteer. He said: “This is a great way
to put something back into the community. The work at the centre helps kids to understand the
possible consequences of their actions, both in terms of accidents which could happen and breaking the
law.”
The project is run by the High Sheriffs’ charity Leicestershire & Rutland Crimebeat
and is supported by the County Council and its partners. The County Council initially invested
£70,000 into the project and will be providing a further £30,000 for each of the next two years.
To find out more and obtain a volunteering pack, contact Alan Godber on 0116 260
4181 or e-mail: volunteering@warningzone.org.uk
Pictured - Potential hazard... youngsters learn about the dangers
of planing by railway tracks
HAVE you ever wondered what happens to the unwanted bicycles left
at the County’s Recycling and Household Waste sites?
 Rather than going to landfill, they are all recycled and many are refurbished through
the innovative Bikes 4 All project and then sold back to local residents.
The bikes are revamped by people who are long-term unemployed, asylum seekers and
refugees and socially excluded young people. Working on this project gives them the opportunity
to be involved in a worthwhile initiative and boost their skills under the supervision of qualified
cycle mechanics.
You can buy a reconditioned child’s bike from just £10 and an adult bike from £30.
Any profits made from the sales are reinvested back into the scheme.
The charity-run project is based at 26-28, Queen Street, Leicester, LE1 1QW. If
you are interested in buying a bike you can call in Monday-Friday, 9am-4:30pm and from 9am-1pm on the
first Saturday of every month.
For more details call Bikes 4 All on 0116 246 0048, e-mail: bikes4all@gwll.org.uk
or visit: www.gwll.org.uk
Pictured - As good as new... workshop manager Leroy Luke (right),
helps a young person with his repairs
WE are appealing for more budding countryside detectives to join our
network of heritage wardens.
 By volunteering to be a heritage warden you will be helping to monitor and conserve
the countryside and landscape in Leicestershire and Rutland.
Wardens are not expected to be experts; the most important qualification is that
they genuinely care for the local environment.
Volunteers receive monthly newsletters, can borrow field equipment and are provided
with information and support to carry out surveys in their parish.
For more details about becoming a heritage warden visit our Community
Heritage Initiative page. Alternatively, call the Community Heritage Initiative on 0116 267 1377
or e-mail: chi@leics.gov.uk
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