Category: Councils

A report for the Council Cabinet on 23 September laid out the dire financial position for local government and for Leicestershire County Council in particular. The Council’s budget gap is set to grow from £8m to £28m next year and could surpass £140m by 2026. The Council has had to face and plan for many budget challenges in recent years. However, this is on a scale never seen before in my 21 years as a County Councillor.

The Parish Council held their monthly public meeting on 27 September in the Studio at the Kibworth Grammar School Hall.

Work is progressing on the proposal for a replacement skatepark for Kibworth. This follows the removal of the old park a number of years ago. A contractor has been selected and they are expecting to deliver the final design in mid October.

Since the June Chronicle, the parish council has held two meetings on 28 June and 23 August in the Studio at the Kibworth Grammar School Hall.

Since the last report, the parish council held its annual parish walkabout on 7 July and its monthly public meeting on 4 August in the Studio at the Kibworth Grammar School Hall.

Ash dieback will desolate many of our rural roadsides and landscapes. This is a serious disease of ash tree. It is caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (it used to be called Chalara fraxinea). The fungus is spread by the wind or by the movement of diseased ash trees. The disease causes leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees and can lead to the death of the tree. The disease was first identified in England in 2012. Research has shown that it is likely to have been present since at least 2005.

Parish Council Team – Thank you to our hard-working team of councillors; Heather Munroe, Martine Browne and Irene Ward (we still have a vacancy), our very busy Clerk– Alison Gibson and our Heritage and Tree Wardens, Mark Newton and Joan Gray.

The parish council held its public annual and Parish meetings on 24 May held in the Studio at the Kibworth Grammar School Hall.

Yellow lines along streets are governed by traffic regulation orders (TROs).  These are legal documents that restrict or prohibit the use of the highway network. Communities are often surprised at the length of time it can take to progress a scheme.

Smeeton Westerby Parish Council has a vacancy for a councillor to be co-opted.