Category: Leicester

County council leader Dan Harrison said: “This new primary academy will help meet demand for places and give local families greater choice.”The council said it was inviting academy trusts to bid to run the school when it opens.It said there were five further primary schools nearby but all were popular and had a high demand for places.”Broadnook shows how house builders can help fund the infrastructure communities need as Leicestershire grows,” Harrison said.The Reform UK county council said it planned to build 45 new schools for about 26,000 more pupils over the next decade.Managing director of Davidsons Homes James Wilson said: “We’re delighted to see work begin on the new Broadnook primary school, which will become a real focal point for the community. “It’s fantastic to see another key piece of the vision for Broadnook becoming a reality.”

Plans to empty bins earlier and get bin men to work on bank holidays are being considered by waste bosses.Officials at South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) are considering getting refuse collectors to start emptying bins at 7am instead of 7.30am across the district.Residents can put out wheelie bins and sacks from 6pm the evening before collection day and should take them back by 6pm after their collection.Bins could be emptied earlier under new plans. Photo: South Kesteven District CouncilWhen the weather is particularly hot, the council said it may collect bins before 7am but stressed this would be communicated to residents beforehand.Bosses are also planning to get staff to collect bins on bank holidays instead of emptying bins a day later as is the case currently.Cabinet member for environment and waste, Rhys Baker (Independent – Bourne Austerby) told members of SKDC’s environment overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday that the earlier start times for bin collections were aimed at improving staff wellbeing. Coun Baker said: “This is largely to acknowledge some of the challenges we are seeing, particularly in the summer where things are getting very hot.Coun Rhys Baker. Photo LDRS“But it also allows for vehicles to move when traffic patterns can become a little more predictable.”Coun Baker also said that the council is planning to get staff to empty bins on bank holidays and pay them extra for working on these days. The costs of doing this have not yet been worked out. Under the plans, collections which fall on Easter Monday, early May bank holiday, spring bank holiday, and summer bank holiday will take place on the usual collection day and not be re-scheduled to accommodate the Bank Holiday.Coun Baker added: “We’re also suggesting that there are changes to the bank holiday working – whereas at the moment, we tend to delay our collections by one day.“Everything gets knocked along one. We are proposing that we do not delay our collections on bank holidays. “It has a number of wellbeing benefits for our staff, not least that they haven’t had an extra day or sometimes two days, if they have a later in the week collection worth of mass just to pick up – these things get heavy.“It also means that we don’t have to put any word out to see if anybody wants to work extra shifts on Saturday. It is a better deployment of council resources. It is more efficient.”Officials are also considering introducing communal food waste bins for residents who live in flats above shops.Kay Boasman, head of waste management and market services at SKDC, said: “The pilot options for flats above shops include communal food waste bins on the streets. “So, these look a bit like litter bins and it’s for residents who don’t have capacity to store a caddy to use.“There have been some issues with that just around marking and stickers and signposting – which we’re working on.“It is a pilot project. We want to get it right for those residents. We’re collating feedback and improving that as we go.”She added that the proposal would help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness” of the council’s food waste collections.A final decision on these proposals will be made at a later cabinet meeting.

The Amos report also heard from staff across the trust, who said shortages across midwifery, medical, nursing and support roles “affected their wellbeing and the care they could provide”.It said: “They described starting shifts short-staffed, missing breaks, working beyond their contracted hours and struggling to protect training time, which contributed to exhaustion, sickness absence and difficulties in staff retention.While Holland said she was “absolutely” concerned to hear about staffing pressures, she felt it could “be easy to be hoodwinked slightly” into the narrative that problems with maternity services in Leicester were “all about” insufficient staffing levels.Holland felt hospital bosses did not learn from cases where babies had died or suffered harm and that learning bulletins given to staff were often “inadequate”.”It’s half-page, there is no measuring whether staff have read it and staff have reflective conversations,” she said.”That is absolutely inadequate, that is inappropriate when you have caused in some way the death of a child.”Julie Hogg, chief nurse at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: “We have made important progress in recent years to improve our maternity and neonatal services, including strengthening how we listen to families, increasing staffing, improving triage and introducing digital systems to support safer care.”We know there is more to do, and we are continuing to work closely with partners to ensure women, babies and families experience these improvements consistently in the day-to-day care.”We will continue to listen to families and colleagues, act on what we hear, and ensure learning translates into meaningful and lasting change.”

Organisers of an Armed Forces Day event say they wanted to strike a balance between community and military attractions.The Stamford branch of the Royal British Legion staged an event at the Recreation Ground on Sunday to recognise the role of the Armed Forces.A programme of live music ran from 11.30am until 6pm with contributions from Bomber Country Pipe and Drums, The Alibi, The Vintage Singers, Ellie James, Cottemore Military Wives Choir and the Huntingdonshire Concert Band.Chris Tasker, Ian Field, Ross Smith, Paul Ampleford and Mo Gout represented the Royal British Lgion. Photo: Iliffe Media/Chris LowndesAlso keeping the crowds entertained were craft and trade stalls, community stands, a bar, refreshments, fairground rides, military displays and circus skills workshops.The refreshments tent was manned by Legion volunteers while Stamford Action hosted a Pimms bar. Young people from Stamford and Ketton Explorers and 4th Stamford Christchurch Guides were raising money for camping trips with a selection of games while 2nd Stamford Scouts offered the chance to make a stamped leather keyring.Stamford and Rutland Cancer Support, Stamford Prostate Support Group, the Men’s Shed, Hero Paws and Blesma, The Limbless Veterans also held promotional stands.Explorer scouts manned a human fruit machine to raise money for a trip to the World Scout Jamboree. Photo: Iliffe Media/Chris LowndesA Hurricane flypast also proved popular with the crowds. Event organiser Matt Wade, secretary of the Stamford branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “The idea was to bring the community together for Armed Forces Day. We felt that Stamford was worthy of a celebration because of its close links with military bases.“We also wanted to make sure everyone who wanted to join us was able to attend so there was no charge for stallholders.“There was good football during the day and everyone seemed to be pleased with the activities and the range of live music.Bomber Pipes and Drums performed throughout the day. Photo: Iliffe Media/Chris Lowndes“We would like to thank all those that supported Armed Forces Day. Special thanks to all the community groups and traders, to the fantastic music groups that performed, to all the helpers and contractors but most of all to those that came and supported the event. We hope they enjoyed it as much as we did organising it.”The Vintage Singers. Photo: Iliffe Media/Chris LowndesThe branch committee will now decide whether to make the event a regular feature in Stamford’s calendar.

Talks are underway on how to improve a bridge which has been labelled as a “bottleneck” and a “nightmare” for commuters. The Trent Bridge at Gainsborough is a key route between Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, but often has traffic queuing to cross it.Greater Lincolnshire Mayor Andrea Jenkyns commissioned a feasibility study earlier this year into options, including widening it or an entirely new bridge.The authority is now speaking with Nottinghamshire County Council, East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward and the STEP fusion project about the possibility of joint funding.“The combined authority is aware of the issues with the bridge serving Gainsborough,” Ms Jenkyns told a meeting of the mayoral authority on Wednesday, June 24.“I’ve sat in the traffic myself so many times. You’re talking half an hour for the last mile, it’s a nightmare.“We’ve had the feasibility study done and have spoken to the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, and are going to progress meetings with the East Midlands Mayor and STEP.“We need the new bridge. I think we all ought to work together and fund it as it equally benefits the East Midlands and STEP. I want to ensure it finally happens.”The bridge was built in 1791 and was last widened more than 60 years ago, according to a plaque on it.A Gainsborough couple said: “You often see the bridge backed up for a long way – often all the way past the pub on the other side.“It’s a bottleneck, and you have so many tourists coming from the Sheffield area which have to pass over the bridge to get to Skegness.“The problem is there are so few crossings over the Trent. You’ve got the Lincoln bridge miles in one direction, and you have to go all the way up to Keadby [in North Lincolnshire] in the other way.“Ideally, they’d improve the traffic lights and roundabout near this bridge to help the traffic flow better.”The STEP fusion project at the former West Burton power station is expected to become a major employer for the area in future, highlighting the need for stronger transport links.By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter

HAMMERWICH’S wait for a win goes on after they suffered an agonising one-wicket defeat at home to Wombourne.

The hosts opted to bat first as they looked to halt a run of four games without victory, but lost John Jennings early on after he was bowled by Ben Jewkes.

Imran Qadir become the next victim of Jewkes as both openers were back in the pavilion with the score on 36-2.

Callum Brodrick was caught off the bowling of Ben Thomas after scoring 21 before Tom Wright was trapped lbw by Thomas.

With the score on 80-4, the Hammers had Andy Malkin and Scott Elstone at the crease – and the pair provided some stability with knocks of 29 and 71 respectively.

The Hammers eventually reached 189 before being skittled out.

In a close-fought encounter, Wombourne followed their hosts in making a stuttering start with the bat as Haider Pervaiz claimed the wickets of Sam Flavell and skipper Zachary Smith to leave the visitors on 29-2.

Jack Hussey dug deep to make 37 before he was trapped lbw by Jennings.

But Michael Hill’s 85 from 136 balls proved decisive as Wombourne reached 188 before he became the eighth wicket to fall.

Jewkes went for a duck as the Hammers sensed the victory might be within their grasp.

But Joel Craner’s crucial unbeaten five from seven balls saw his side over the line.

Hasnain Nawaz was the pick of the Hammerwich bowlers as he claimed figures of 5-53.

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East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust has declared a critical incident following sustained pressure on ambulance services and the wider NHS.The declaration was made at 2.30pm on Saturday, June 27, 2026.EMAS said the escalation follows a period of sustained pressure on ambulance services across the country, including within the East Midlands.Over the past 24 hours, the trust has experienced a significant increase in demand for its services, alongside ongoing pressure within the wider NHS and the additional challenges created by this week’s extreme heat.EMAS said these factors have combined to create a situation that has led to this level of escalation.In response, the ambulance service said it is continuing to work closely with NHS partners to help reduce risk to patients and maintain emergency ambulance availability.Actions being taken include working with hospitals to support the timely handover of patients so ambulance crews can return to responding to 999 calls.EMAS is also working with healthcare providers to direct patients to the most appropriate care for their needs when it is not a life-threatening emergency.The trust said it will continue to prioritise its response to the most life-threatening and serious incidents.In its announcement, EMAS said: “Like many across the NHS, EMAS colleagues have been working tirelessly to respond to patient need.“All available internal actions to mitigate risk have been taken.“Therefore, a critical incident has been declared to secure additional support and help reduce the risk of avoidable patient harm.”The public is being asked to help by using NHS services wisely and by taking regular medication to manage long-term conditions.EMAS said that if an illness or injury is not immediately life-threatening, people should seek alternative care through a pharmacy, urgent treatment centre, or general practitioner, including out-of-hours services.People are also advised to visit the NHS website for services near them.The trust added: “Given the additional weather-related pressures being responded to, please act responsibly and do not take unnecessary risks.”EMAS escalated to Resource Escalation Action Plan, known as REAP, Level 4 on Monday, June 22, 2026, in response to sustained pressures across the NHS and ambulance services.REAP Level 4 is the highest level of ambulance service escalation and indicates there is a risk of service failure unless immediate action is taken.The Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response framework describes a critical incident as: “Any localised incident where the level of disruption results in the organisation temporarily or permanently losing its ability to deliver critical services, patients may have been harmed or the environment is not safe requiring special measures and support from other agencies, to restore normal functions.”

Officers are appealing for information after a motorcyclist died in a crash in Leicester.Leicestershire Police said it was called to Narborough Road, near to the junction with Somerville Road, just after 14:45 BST on Friday.The crash involved a blue Toyota Auris and a Yamaha YZF R6 motorbike, the force added.The motorcyclist, a man in his 30s, suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Toyota suffered minor injuries.The motorbike was travelling towards Braunstone Lane at the time of the crash, police said.Officers have appealed for witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.

Prior to this, Gordon Banks chose to wear an Admiral-manufactured shirt during the 1966 World Cup after he was impressed with a new lightweight fabric the company had designed a year prior.Buckler said a visit to the factory swayed him, she added: “Just before the World Cup they designed a really powerful and new type of fabric which was ideal for playing sports and football in and he was personally impressed with it.”He was aware of Admiral when he was playing at Leicester City, he really thought the kit was really high quality, really practical as well and cutting edge.”Local historian, Bill Boulter, said that much of the expertise and skills needed to create these products could be found in Wigston.”Right from framework knitting in the 1800s all the way through, the skills were here to make different things when men’s trousers got longer, socks got shorter.”Making underwear the skills were there, making up, overlocking, lock stitching, cutters, so the skills were there to produce the goods and introduce fashionwear into it moving forward,” he said.

A spokesperson for the county council said surface dressing work was carried out to “help protect the road and prevent potholes”.”But on this occasion, we are aware this has caused disruption and we understand how frustrating it’s been for people living nearby and using the route,” they said.”This type of treatment seals the surface, improves grip and stops water getting in, helping the road last longer and reducing the need for more disruptive repairs later. “We carry this surface dressing out in warmer summer months as the dry conditions help the new surface set and bond properly.”Some people may have noticed more dust than usual. “In these very hot, dry conditions that can happen for a short time while the new surface settles, this will ease. “We’ve been sweeping the road daily and will continue to do so this week to help clear as soon as possible.”The authority advised motorists to abide by the temporary 10mph (16km/h) advisory speed limit in place and leave extra space between vehicles to “help everything bed in more quickly”.”We’d like to thank residents for their patience and understanding,” it added.