County Councillor for Gartree – February 2023

20th February 2023 | Councils

Kibworth tip re-opening

The site was handed back to LCC on 9 January 2023. There are still some finishing touches to be concluded by the contractor. In the interim, LCC will continue preparing the site in readiness for opening. This is now expected to be mid to late February. An exact date cannot be given at this time. LCC are still awaiting the permit to operate the site being issued after an inspection by the Environment Agency.

New tree selection guide

This new resource will be used by highway planners to guide the re-establishment of trees along the highway and in the creation of new developments. This Value of Trees toolkit provides valuable guidance on the planting of trees. It helps ensure that the right trees are planted in the right place. It has been developed by Leicestershire County Council. The kit is intended to be used, after testing, by the authority’s highway planners. It will guide the re-establishment of trees along the highway and in the creation of new developments.

The resource provides information on:

how to select the right species of tree for specific locations
the cost of looking after trees over their lifetime
best practice on planting and maintaining trees to ensure they thrive
and guidance on the monetary value of different species in terms of the ecosystem benefits they provide. Including carbon storage, erosion prevention, flood management and reducing air pollution.

Tree selection tool

There is also a tree species selection tool. This helps planners decide on the right species for planting in a particular location. This is dependant on the local environmental conditions and the required characteristics of the trees.
The toolkit will allow the council to draw up ideas for the Leicestershire landscape of the future. It factors in such details as climate change and how that might affect species choice and the planting design of trees and hedges. The toolkit aims to help reverse the decline of highway trees and hedgerows. These have suffered from the impacts of pests and diseases such as Ash Dieback.
The Value of Trees toolkit is now being piloted by the council and may be adopted by other local authorities across the country as good practice.
Trees improve not only the visual aspect, but also the environment for both people and wildlife.
Leicestershire County Council currently manages around 321,000 trees (including 404 hectares of woodland). With diseases such as Ash Dieback placing more trees under threat, the authority’s strategy and action plan, adopted in May 2020, will see the number of trees across the county increase dramatically. The ultimate aim is to plant 700,000 trees – one for every person in the county.

See LCC’s page for more information http://bit.ly/3X0X8TU

Voter ID needed for elections

Local elections, Parish, District and for the Kibworths, the Neighbourhood Plan referendum, are taking place across the Harborough District on 4 May. Residents will, for the first time, need to show photographic ID when voting.
A full list of accepted forms of ID, such as driving licence, passport, bus pass etc. is available on the website: www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voter-id.
Anyone who does not have one of the accepted forms of ID will be able to apply for free for a Voter Authority Certificate with photo online or by completing a paper form.

Police surgery in Kibworth

The local Beat Team from Leicestershire Police is holding a surgery at The Well Coffee Shop on High Street, Kibworth Beauchamp from 11am-12pm on 24 February. No appointment needed.
kevin.feltham@leics.gov.uk