Leicestershire Matters

The latest issue of the Leicestershire Events Guide, which runs until the end of September, is packed with hundreds of events and activities to keep you and your family entertained throughout the summer.

Find out about the Jurassic Leicestershire roadshow and other dinosaur events taking place across the County, new exhibitions in museums and a host of activities at our beautiful country parks!

Don’t miss out – pick up your copy from any County Council library or museum. Alternatively, to receive regular copies, e-mail: libraries@leics.gov.uk or fill in the Events Guide application form.

ARE you young and in need of a rewarding and challenging career?

If so, why not consider working for the County Council? We want more young people to work for us, to reflect the community we serve.

We are the largest employer in the County and offer a huge variety of jobs, such as HGV drivers, finance clerks, social workers and park rangers.

We offer good conditions of employment including flexible working patterns, we will try to accommodate part-time requests, have over 200 offices throughout the County and pay a competitive salary.

Please visit: www.leics.gov.uk/jobs for more information or call: 0116 305 8044, or visit www.lgcareers.com for local government careers.

The plan considers how best to manage and develop the Public Rights of Way network in the County over the next five years.

It is the largest initiative we have ever undertaken to enhance your access to the countryside.

The plan will look at upgrading the condition of pathways, improving signs and reducing the number of barriers and fencing to aid access.

A public consultation has taken place on a draft strategy. We plan to have the final document, incorporating views, available and ready to put into practice by the end of the year.

For more information e-mail: emcwilliam@leics.gov.uk or call Edwin McWilliam on 0116 305 7083.

The guide maps out a 100-mile walk through the Leicestershire countryside.

It is crammed with useful information, maps and directions for areas including the wide river valleys of the Wreake and Soar, the rugged rocky area of Charnwood and the high ridges of East Leicestershire and Rutland.

The book is arranged in short, village-to-village sections, allowing the route to be undertaken as a challenging hike or a series of more gentle strolls.

For your copy of the Leicestershire Round guide book send a cheque for £2.50 payable to ‘Leicestershire County Council’ to the Rights of Way Team, Community Services Department, County Hall, Glenfield, Leicestershire, LE3 8TE.

We have introduced new locations across the County, to give you more places where you can visit us – to ask us questions and access our services. There are already 43 Connect help points, and we are planning on further improvements.

We want to be welcoming and friendly, so helpful people will be available at our Connect help points right across the County. We welcome you to call in for an informal chat, to get information and to find out more about County, District and Parish Council services.

You can get advice on dealing and coping with life’s major events, such as when you’ve experienced a bereavement, being a parent and getting married or divorced, as well as for information on your child’s education, health, community groups, jobs and sport.

The County Council services we are most regularly asked about are:

A lot of the information we provide at these help points will come from the Connect website, which has a broad range of information, as well as links to all council websites in Leicestershire. You can access this at the centres or from any computer linked to the internet at www.leicestershireconnect.org.uk  If you visit our Connect help points, our friendly staff can help you navigate through the website, or you could ask them to find information for you.

Of course, you don’t need to visit us to find out information – you can call during working hours on: 0116 305 6252 or access our website at any time at:  www.leicestershireconnect.org.uk

Connect help points have been set up in locations including a school, a church, village halls and parish offices, meaning that help and advice is available on residents’ doorsteps.

Oakthorpe Primary School is hosting one of our Connect help points and head teacher, Norman Jones, is very enthusiastic about how it is benefiting the community.

He said: “Local people come to me asking for advice, from domestic issues to bereavement. They don’t know where else to go and they know us – there’s a sense of confidentiality about a school so they trust us.

“Before this, we had to do our own searching for information, now it’s all in one neat package that we can use quickly and easily.”

Lesley Pendleton runs the parish office and Connect help point in Kegworth. She agreed: “Instead having to travel, people can get the same service and information without leaving the village – and they can give their opinions or ask questions to a real person.”

YOU can visit our Connect help points at all the following venues. Please call 0116 305 6252 to check opening times, or for details of new Connect help points in your area.

We bought a graffiti-removal trailer last year which is operated by the Leicestershire & Rutland Probation Area’s Community Punishment Unit.

Material for removing graffiti has been funded by Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, which involve several local authorities working together across the County.

By removing graffiti from the County’s towns and villages, carefully assessed people who have committed certain offences in Leicestershire can give something back through unpaid work sentences, improving the appearance of our communities.

So far more than 50 offenders have been supervised to remove graffiti from more than 30 locations in Leicestershire, ranging from community buildings and parish halls to bridges and play equipment.

The project aims to make towns and villages in the County cleaner and more attractive and help residents to feel safer and more positive about their local neighbourhoods.

For further information and details on how to ask us to remove graffiti in your community, call James Fox on 0116 305 8077 or e-mail: jafox@leics.gov.uk

If so, our new on-line archive index is the perfect place to start.

The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland has launched a new computerised catalogue to make searching for records as easy as possible.

You will already be able to access a substantial amount of information, but this is constantly being updated as thousands of pages of paper catalogues are added to the database.

To start your search log on to www.leics.gov.uk/records

Our new system enables parents to make requests easily and quickly at their own convenience, without the paperwork.

The website is easy to use and has been tested thoroughly to ensure that all children’s details are kept secure.

This autumn term, if your child is in their last year at primary or high school, you could use the system to make a request for your child’s next school. You will get a letter about the transfer in September and can choose to make your request in writing, by telephone, or using the new online system.

If your child is due to start school for the first time you can also use the system. Applications should be made during the year before your child is due to start school.

Visit www.leics.gov.uk/admissions or for more information, call 0116 305 6684.

We want to ensure that we have the right books, cds and dvds, in the right libraries. Details of this consultation will appear on our website in due course.

To find out more, please visit: www.leics.gov.uk/libraries e-mail: rwalkuski@lecs.gov.uk or call: 0116 267 8023.

The concessions are available when hiring DVDs, CDs, talking books and also apply when charges are made for books that are returned late.

They are available to under 16s, people with dyslexia, people with learning disabilities, basic skills students, people with arthritis and people with physical disabilities.

If you think you might benefit from lower charges, or know someone who may, and would like further details then e-mail: libraries@leics.gov.uk or call 0116 305 6988.

More than 250 people responded to the competition and four people suggested the winning name.

The competition was organised by mosaic: shaping disability services. This charity delivers information and services that people with disabilities want; to promote inclusion, independence, choice, empowerment, respect and dignity.

Lake Mosaic will dominate the view from the proposed Watermead Centre.

You can visit the lake from the park’s northern entrance – it is the first lake visible from the Reedbed Nature Reserve Car Park.

For details on Watermead call: 0116 267 1944 or visit: www.leics.gov.uk/Country_Parks