Category: Leicester

An investigation is underway following the discovery of a woman’s body.Emergency services were called to Congleton on Friday morning, June 5, after a woman’s body was found at an address on Elmwood Drive.Cheshire Police remain in attendance as of 4pm and say that the death is currently being treated as ‘unexplained’.A spokesperson for the force said: “At 9.41am on June 5 police attended an address on Elmwood Drive in Congleton and discovered the body of a woman.”Enquiries are in their early stages, and the death is currently being treated as unexplained.”An investigation is underway to establish the circumstances.”

Saturday 6 June is expected to be unsettled, with rain likely early on and further showers possible through much of the day.Temperatures will reach around 17°C, but it will feel cooler in the wind, with gusts strengthening during the morning and evening.Early morningThe day will start cloudy and wet, with temperatures around 12°C from 5am to 7am, rising to 13°C by 8am. The chance of rain is greater than 95% from 5am to 7am, easing slightly to 90% by 8am.Winds will come from the south-east to south-south-east at around 10 to 13 mph, with gusts increasing from about 23 mph to 29 mph. UV levels will remain low at 1.- Advertisement -MiddayLate morning and lunchtime will stay unsettled, although the chance of rain should ease compared with the start of the day. Temperatures will rise from 13°C at 9am to 14°C at 10am, 15°C at 11am and 16°C by midday.The chance of rain falls from 70% at 9am to around 50% from 10am to midday. Winds will be from the south-south-east at around 14 to 15 mph, with gusts close to 30 mph. UV levels will rise from 2 at 9am to 3 at 10am, 4 at 11am and 6 by midday.AfternoonThe afternoon is expected to remain cloudy and showery, with temperatures reaching around 17°C from 1pm to 4pm. The chance of rain increases again, from around 60% at 1pm to 70% at 2pm and 80% by 3pm and 4pm.Winds will turn from south-south-easterly to southerly at around 11 to 14 mph, with gusts between 23 and 29 mph. UV levels will ease from 4 early in the afternoon to 3 by mid-afternoon.EveningThe evening will remain unsettled at first, with showers likely before conditions gradually improve later. Temperatures will stay around 17°C at 5pm and 6pm, then fall to 16°C by 7pm and 8pm, 15°C at 9pm and 10pm, and 14°C by 11pm.The chance of rain is around 70% at 5pm, 60% at 6pm, 50% at 7pm, 30% at 8pm, and 20% by 9pm, before falling to 10% later. Winds will turn from south-south-west to south-west, west-south-west and westerly, at around 10 to 15 mph, with gusts reaching up to 32 mph. UV levels will be low in the evening, falling from 2 at 5pm to 1.

Created by Stroud and Notes
Music and Lyrics: Kyla Stroud, Natalie Stroud and Olivia Zachariah
Writers: Hannah Sands, Kyla Stroud, Natalie Stroud and Olivia Zachariah
Director: Hannah Sands
Six years in the making, Public – The Musical arrives at Curve carrying considerable festival pedigree. Born from songs written during lockdown in 2020, developed through a first run at VAULT Festival in 2022 – where it won the Origins Award – and honed further at Edinburgh Fringe in 2023, where it took Playbill’s Pick of the Fringe Award, this is a production that has earned its place at a full-scale venue. The Curve run marks its most substantial staging yet, with an expanded script and a 90-minute running time that dispels any concern about whether the material can sustain the stretch. It can, and with room to spare.
The premise is simple: four strangers, trapped overnight in a public toilet. It’s the classic device – incompatible people forced into proximity, obliged to confront one another and, eventually, themselves – but the setting gives it a fresh and often very funny dimension. We meet each of them before they enter, glimpsing the small indignities that send them through the door: a café that won’t let you use the facilities without buying something, a shoe requiring urgent attention after an encounter with a dog. Amy Jane Cook’s set is spot on – entirely recognisable, the hand dryer and all, and a surprisingly versatile space for the action that unfolds within it.
The expanded version wisely abandons real-time constraints, playing the piece across the course of a night. It’s a good decision, as the relationships and revelations here – and there are several, carefully timed – could not realistically have developed in an hour. The extended form allows scenes between smaller configurations of characters, some of them asleep, creating space for the more intimate, reflective exchanges that add extra emotional strength.
The four characters are clearly drawn and played with real skill. Matt Corner is Andrew, a macho investment banker whose world has contracted to his expensive bike and his own blinkered certainties – misogynistic, contemptuous of anyone who doesn’t fit his worldview, and entirely unaware of it. It’s a difficult type to play without tipping into caricature, and Corner keeps him just credible enough to make his eventual shifts land. Grace Towning is Zo, an activist en route to a protest, and it’s a tribute to the writing and to Towning’s performance that Zo is genuinely, recognisably irritating – well-meaning to her core, but incapable of meeting people where they are. You understand her completely and find yourself exasperated in equal measure. Ivano Turco brings a quiet, fragile quality to Finlay, a fast-food worker holding himself together with some effort, and sometimes failing; his is the most inward of the four performances, and the most affecting. Cole Dennis rounds out the quartet as Laura, non-binary, good-natured, instinctively diplomatic – the person trying to keep the peace while missing a flight to a wedding. The four work well together, and the ensemble vocal work throughout is exceptional with tight harmonies that never come at the expense of clarity.
The pop-rock score is one of the production’s real strengths. There are numbers that catch the ear immediately, upbeat and propulsive, and others that pull back into something gentler and more reflective as the night wears on and the characters begin to lower their defences. Crucially, every lyric is audible – no small thing in a musical where the songs are doing genuine narrative work, as here they are.
Hannah Sands’ direction keeps the 90 minutes moving without sacrificing the quieter moments that give the piece its depth. What they have all built together – five years from bedroom to Curve – is funny, warm, and genuinely moving. The laughs are plentiful, but what stays with you is something rather more than that.
Public – The Musical is well worth catching before it leaves Leicester on 13 June though surely it will have a life beyond that.
Runs until 13 June 2026

The Reviews Hub Star Rating

100%

Flush with heart and humour

“We’ve got a rise in demand for special needs places that’s national and that’s also reflected locally,” Browne said. “It’s very clear the Harborough district has a real shortfall so it’s important we start looking at increasing capacity in that particular area.” He said the school “would absolutely pay for itself very quickly” despite the £30m price tag for taxpayers.This is because independent specialist placements for SEND children cost Leicestershire County Council nearly £70,000 a year, whereas specialist schools maintained and run by the county council cost between £23,000 and £30,000, he said. The school would include dining halls, music studios, drama spaces, and “ample” playing fields, including multi-use games areas and parking, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Browne said the council hopes to open the school by September 2028, which he admits is an “ambitious target”.

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 4 June 2026

A consultancy which has been designing and delivering leadership and coaching programmes for more than two decades has joined Space Park Leicester.

Jones Consulting – and its team coaching arm True Team – worked with the University of Leicester and its £100m space research and innovation hub, Space Park Leicester, to pilot the Women Leading in Space & STEM development programme.

It has also delivered coaching and skills workshops for Space Park Leicester and, over the next six years it will provide professional development workshops to prepare nine doctoral students at Space Park Leicester for leadership and a career in the space sector, as part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Doctoral Focal Award in Humanity and Space.  

Jones Consulting Managing Director Deborah Jones, who is an International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach, said:

“I’ve attended Space Park Leicester networking meetings for years and following the establishment of the University of Leicester’s Leverhulme Centre for Humanity and Space at Space Park Leicester, and my collaboration supporting future AHRC doctoral students, I see an exciting opportunity to add value to the Space Park Leicester community.   

“Having a base at Space Park Leicester will allow us to attend community and networking events, work alongside space companies, keep up to speed with the latest thinking and developments in the sector and tailor our training and coaching offer so that it supports innovation.

“Being here, alongside Leverhulme fellows, doctoral students, and the companies on site, means our coaching and training will stay genuinely relevant to the challenges people are actually facing in the space sector.”

Space Park Leicester Head of Commercial and Innovation, Vinay Patel, said:

“We’re delighted to welcome Jones Consulting and True Team to Space Park Leicester.

“Prior to working with us, Deborah had worked with the University of Leicester to design and deliver the highly successful Women Leading with Purpose programme which helped more than 100 academic and professional women to develop in their careers. Deborah is also part of the University of Leicester’s coaching pool, coaching senior executives in a variety of roles across the University.

“Jones Consulting has extensive experience of delivering systemic team coaching, leadership development experiences, and one-to-one executive coaching to diverse, cross-disciplinary communities, which makes it a natural fit for Space Park Leicester.”

For further information about Jones Consulting visit https://www.jonesconsulting.org.uk or to learn more about True Team go to https://trueteam.co.uk 

To explore Space Park Leicester partnerships, missions, residents, facilities, training programmes and innovation products, visit https://www.space-park.co.uk or to learn more about the University of Leicester, visit https://le.ac.uk/.

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Drama and Theatre Arts students from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) will test their skills when they perform in a professional co-production with the city’s Curve Theatre.
This year’s DMU x Curve collaboration sees students working alongside professional theatre-makers to stage Jemma Kennedy’s Second Person Narrative – a funny, relatable and moving portrait of a life unfolding through the choices we make and the stories we tell ourselves.

The annual Curve and DMU co-production programme has been providing DMU students with professional performance opportunities since 2012, giving them the chance to rehearse and perform in a professional theatre environment while gaining valuable insight into the collaborative nature of the theatre industry.
Running at Curve’s RR2 Theatre from 4th to 6th June, Second Person Narrative follows a character known simply as “You” through 30 episodes across an entire lifetime, exploring how choices, relationships and chance encounters shape who we become.
Directed by Kitty Benford, whose previous credits include Fantastic Foxes at Curve and Acceptable Rebellion for the National Theatre’s Speak Up programme, the production is performed by a student ensemble from DMU.
Sorcha Drinkwater is a third year on DMU’s Drama and Theatre Arts BA (hons) course. Althought naturally inclined towards writing a dissertation for her final year project, Sorcha decided to challenge herself by opting to perform at the Curve instead and is now playing several parts as a member of the ensemble cast. She said: “It’s been brilliant working with the Curve – challenging at times for me, but I’ve learned so much about the industry doing this production.”
Sorcha, who plans to pursue a career teaching drama rather than performing, added: “I must admit I was a bit nervous, but I thought I’ll never get another chance to perform with my friends from the course, and it’s been really good – really fun actually much more than I expected. I would say that if you think this is something that you don’t necessarily want to do, that’s probably exactly the reason why you should – it’s good to do something that scares you sometimes.”
Second Person Narrative runs at Curve from 4th to 6th June. Tickets are available from Curve’s Box Office and at www.curveonline.co.uk.
Posted on Wednesday 3 June 2026

Grace Towning (Zo), Cole Dennis (Laura) and Ivano Turco (Finley) in Public – The Musical, © Mark Senior
First look photos have been released for Public – The Musical.
The new musical is playing at Curve, Leicester, until 13 June, following its earlier runs at VAULT Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
It follows four strangers trapped inside a public toilet, with Grace Towning playing Zo, Matt Corner playing Andrew, Ivano Turco playing Finley and Cole Dennis playing Laura.
Cole Dennis (Laura), Grace Towning (Zo), Matt Corner (Andrew) and Ivano Turco (Finley) in Public – The Musical, © Mark Senior
Matt Corner (Andrew) and Grace Towning (Zo) in Public – The Musical, © Mark Senior
Ivano Turco (Finley) in Public – The Musical, © Mark Senior
Cole Dennis (Laura), Grace Towning (Zo) and Matt Corner (Andrew) in Public – The Musical, © Mark Senior
Public – The Musical is created by Stroud and Notes and is written by Hannah Sands, Kyla Stroud and Natalie Stroud. The musical is directed by Sands, with music composed by Kyla Stroud, choreography by Natalie Stroud and musical supervision and orchestrations by Olivia Zacharia.
The creative team also includes Amy Jane Cook as set and costume designer, Katy Morison as lighting designer, Livs Needham as musical director, Anita Gander as associate designer and Harry Blumenau Casting as casting director.
Ivano Turco (Finley), Grace Towning (Zo), Matt Corner (Andrew) and Cole Dennis (Laura) in Public – The Musical, © Mark Senior
Ivano Turco (Finley), Grace Towning (Zo), Matt Corner (Andrew) and Cole Dennis (Laura) in Public – The Musical, © Mark Senior
Matt Corner (Andrew), Grace Towning (Zo), Cole Dennis (Laura) and Ivano Turco (Finley) in Public – The Musical, © Mark Senior
Grace Towning (Zo) in Public – The Musical, © Mark Senior
The musical premiered at VAULT Festival in 2023, where it received the VAULT Festival Origins Award, and later ran at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The production is presented by Roast Productions in association with Curve and is created by Stroud and Notes.

Leicester City Council is also carrying out a simultaneous consultation on future term time calendars,Poland added he was concerned the two authorities were proposing term times that were not exactly aligned.He said this could be a problem for families living near the city and county border with children who go to schools in both.Both the city and county councils have said they will work closely together to co-ordinate future term times where possible.The county council’s Reform UK cabinet member for children and families Charles Pugsley said he was pleased both options kept the July Fortnight. “It [the July fortnight] defines part of who we are as a county,” Pugsley said.”Generations of families have built their summers around the fact our schools on average break up a couple of weeks earlier than anywhere else.”It’s something people in Leicestershire evidently really value so whichever way the consultation goes the early summer break is safe.”A final decision on future school term dates is expected in September.

LEICESTER City Council has started legal proceedings to enable it to secure Lee Circle car park, which closed in March when NCP went into administration.
The council says neither the owners, administrators or NCP have taken action to ensure the site is not accessible to members of the public, which has resulted in anti-social and criminal behaviour there.
The council has today issued a legal notice to the owners of the car park, and will make an application to Leicester Magistrates Court on Thursday 4 June for an order to enable it to secure the car park.
Nicola Odom, head of the city council’s safer communities service said: “We have made numerous attempts to get the owners of this site to make it safe and secure, and prevent it from being a hazard to the public, but they have failed to do so.
“We were not able to seek this order at an earlier stage as the court will require evidence of the likelihood, and where possible evidence of, anti-social behaviour taking place there. We now have this evidence which will be presented on Thursday.
“If the court grants the order, the council will make the site safe and inaccessible, and will re-charge the owners for all costs incurred.”
The city council has been working alongside Leicestershire Police to try to prevent ASB at the site. Inspector Ryan Ludlam, commander for the Central Leicester Neighbourhood Policing Area (NPA), said: “Leicestershire Police fully support the council’s action to secure this site, which has been linked to ongoing anti-social behaviour and criminal activity.
“This is a positive step in protecting the public and preventing further incidents while longer term solutions are put in place. We would continue to encourage our communities to report any such issues to us by calling 101 or visiting our website.”
Lee Circle is one of five car parks which closed when NCP went into administration. Three of these – Abbey Street, St Nicholas Circle and East Street – have been re-opened by Euro car parks. The Rutland Centre car park, which is located near to Curve theatre in the city’s cultural quarter, remains closed, and has been secured by its owners.
Martin Fletcher, the council’s highways director said: “We know there is interest from operators in both of these car parks, and we are hopeful that they will eventually re-open. In the meantime we are working to increase the number of on-street parking bays, and dedicated disabled parking spaces in the cultural quarter.
Details of all parking spaces and disabled parking spaces in Leicester are on the council’s website at leicester.gov.uk/parking 

A key decision is due to be made on more than 150 new homes in Linby. A total 763 homes are being built at Top Wighay, near Hucknall and the village of Linby.The site is also home to Nottinghamshire County Council’s £19 million Oak House office building, which had been built with the intention of entirely replacing the ageing County Hall.Plans for phase 3B of the development, which totals 158 homes, are due before Gedling Borough Council’s planning committee on Wednesday (June 3).- Advertisement -These reserved matters plans, which include the appearance, landscaping, layout and scale, have been tipped for approval.They have previously been approved for Vistry to build, however they have since returned under a new housebuilder; Persimmon.“The density of development is acceptable, and the layout considered to respect the character of the area,” planning documents say.“The design of the dwellings is acceptable with a mixture of materials and scale of properties, with public open space overlooked and residential amenity respected.”The whole site is 40.347 hectares (just over 99 acres), while the development site is 5.61 hectares (almost 14 acres).It is located to the north of Hucknall, and west of Linby village.The village’s parish council has objected to the new reserved matters plans.According to the parish council, the proposed development under Persimmon seeks “the removal and material alteration of pedestrian and cycle connections and green amenity space shown on the outline planning permission.”“Reserved matters cannot materially depart from the approved plans,” the authority said.It also criticised the boundaries of the scheme, and the “poor design of proposed dwellings, by virtue of a number of blank or inactive street-facing elevations, close-boarded fences facing the public realm, a cramped layout, large areas of hardstanding, and too little soft landscaping.”However, planning documents say the council’s planners consider the layout to be “in accord” with the site masterplan, while design concerns “are not shared”.The meeting will take place on Wednesday at 6pm at the council’s chamber.