Category: Leicester

Nottinghamshire County Council unveiled a number of the £66,000 machines in May when it started a 12-month trial.Reform Council leader Mick Barton said the Pothole Pro machines could fill “between 200m and 250m a day”.”These are the best bet on the market,” he said.”We have done our homework and been to see them in action.”I know they will work in Nottinghamshire.”Sam Smith, Conservative leader of the opposition on the county council, previously said the authority carried out a “formal trial” of the Pothole Pro machines in 2021, and officers reported back that it was not worthwhile.Lincolnshire County Council conducted a nine-week pilot of the Pothole Pro in 2021, before turning it down because engineers “found better tools”.However, its current Reform leader Sean Matthews authorised another trial in 2025 and in April the council confirmed the equipment would be maintained having “demonstrated clear benefits in efficiency, safety and service across the county’s road network”. A spokesperson for JCB said: “The JCB Pothole Pro has proven its worth in other council areas where it has been evaluated more fully, such as Stoke-on-Trent City Council, which has repaired seven years’ worth of potholes in 12 months, a statistic that unequivocally underlines the machine’s efficiency. “We hope Leicestershire County Council – in light of the recent surge in potholes across the county – will now think differently and undertake a proper, long-term trial and evaluation of the Pothole Pro across its road network. “Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians in Leicestershire deserve nothing less.”

The imaging also showed two faint lines of text at the base of the stone, which read “Affliction sore with patience bore, Physicians w{h}ere in vain.”The university said this was a variant of a popular 18th Century verse often found on the tombstones of those who had died after long illness.It added that the inscription appeared to omit a “he” in the first line and included a stray “h” in “were,” which it said reflected challenges faced by craftsmen before modern text-editing tools.The team, the university said, also identified a third, partially visible inscription on a shield above the main text, which is currently under further analysis.Masséglia said: “Spending your day in a graveyard might sound a bit morbid, but really it’s about putting the people back into the landscape that we’re excavating. “The Reeves were a well-known local family who, we can see from the parish records, were living in Loddington from at least the early 1600s.”Last year, we deciphered the neighbouring stone to Henry’s, and now we realise that it was his mother’s. “She died 20 years after her son and was buried right next to him, their headstones so close that they are touching. “We wouldn’t have understood what we were looking at without RTI. We’re combining traditional fieldwork with digital techniques so we can recover voices that would otherwise remain lost.”

“It’s disused and boarded up now, but Lee Circle has always been a problem,” the Green Party councillor said.”If the price is right, I think Leicester City Council should acquire the car park and then knock it down.”There has been some regeneration in the area, but that’s despite the Lee Circle car park. It attracts a lot of anti-social behaviour.”I’m nowhere near being on the fence with this. It would be better to get rid of it and have a good quality piece of public open space.”I know people say it’s an important piece of Brutalist architecture, but it’s actually not a very good example of the style and I don’t think it would be missed.”The city council has said there are no plans to acquire Lee Circle car park but that it was hopeful a new operator would be found for the site.PwC, administrators for NCP, said it did not wish to comment.

Leicester’s Curve theatre is to stage a new adaptation of Kes Gray’s Daisy and the Trouble With Christmas as one of its festive offerings for 2026. A co-production between Curve and Rebel Sparks, Daisy and the Trouble With Christmas is based on the book of the same name. It will be adapted for the stage by Derby writer Sarah Middleton and co-directed by former Curve resident creatives Hannah Stone and Ria Ashcroft, co-leaders of Rebel Sparks. The show will have new music and lyrics by Darren Clark who in 2024 composed the music and lyrics for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which ran at the Ambassadors Theatre. Clark and Mark Aspinall picked up an Olivier award for outstanding musical contribution. Curve’s chief executive Chris Stafford and artistic director Nikolai Foster said, “it’s wonderful our incredibly talented former Curve resident creatives Hannah Stone and Ria Ashcroft are returning to Leicester, having shared this tremendous idea with us and developed it at Curve. “We’re incredibly grateful they’ve chosen Curve to present this beautiful show. It promises to be a brilliant and fun-filled Christmas adventure.” Daisy and the Trouble With Christmas will run in Curve’s studio from Monday 30 November until Sunday 3 January 2027.

Senior figures from health, education, policing, environmental management and the voluntary sector are among those from Nottinghamshire recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list.Professor Iain Moppett, of the University of Nottingham, has been awarded an OBE for services to perioperative care.Professor Moppett is Professor of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine at the University of Nottingham and chair of the Centre for Research and Improvement at the Royal College of Anaesthetists.Professor Veronica Pickering, the Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, has also been recognised for voluntary service to the county.Other Nottinghamshire recipients include Lisa Pinney, former chief executive of the Mining Remediation Authority, who is recognised for services to the environment, and Ashfaq Ahmed Rahman, chief executive of Nova Education Trust in Nottingham, who is honoured for services to education.- Advertisement -Dr Mark Dale, principal and chief executive of Portland College, has been recognised for services to further education, while Pino De Rosa, managing director of Bridgeway Consulting Ltd, is honoured for services to the railway industry.Jane Dean, a volunteer member of the Nottingham Special Events Committee for Cancer Research UK, is recognised for services to charitable fundraising.Recipients of the British Empire Medal include Donna Hilton, youth services manager at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, for services to children and young people, and Paul Horton, trustee and volunteer at Mansfield Fire Station and Museum, for services to the community in Mansfield and Nottinghamshire.Hayley Crawford, lately an inspector with Nottinghamshire Police, has been awarded the King’s Police Medal.The honours recognise a range of public service, professional and voluntary contributions across Nottinghamshire.  

Leicestershire Police was first called to reports of a gunshot in Cort Crescent, Braunstone, just before 22:30 BST on 2 June.Detectives said gunshots were heard on Tuesday in Station Road, Glenfield, at about 09:50, but was not reported at the time. A cordon remains in place.Less than an hour later, shortly before 22:40, officers were called to reports of gunshots in Brascote Lane, Newbold Verdon.A 40-year-old man arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life has been released on police bail pending further inquiries, police said.Two women, 34 and 36, have also been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and released under investigation.

More council homes are to be built in Clifton as Nottingham City Council looks to reduce a housing waiting list that has passed 11,000 people.The new developments form part of a wider effort to increase affordable housing on an estate that was once regarded as the largest council estate in Europe, but where thousands of homes have since been sold.“If someone were to ask me; what is the best council estate to live in? I would say Clifton,” says Charlotte Jackson, who has lived on the estate since she was a baby.The 47-year-old was born in Top Valley but moved to Clifton with her family soon afterwards. She has lived in her current council home on Farnborough Road since she was 23.“I did enjoy growing up here,” she said. “It has changed a lot, but I wonder if I am thinking that because I’m now older.- Advertisement -“It is a popular place to live. But I doubt there will be many council homes left on the estate, so it is a good thing they’re building more.”Work on the Clifton estate began in the late 1940s, with the construction of sewers and 25 miles of road starting in September 1950.At the time, modern urban housing was in short supply following the Second World War, and the average wait for a council home in Nottingham was five years.The land was bought by Nottingham Corporation, the predecessor to Nottingham City Council, from the Clifton family for £83,000.The development absorbed the small farming village of Glapton, and the first residents moved in by 1951.By 1953, Clifton’s population had risen to 6,000 people living in 1,838 homes. In 1901, the area had just 383 residents.The population later grew into the tens of thousands, and Clifton became known as the largest council estate in Europe.Today, there are 2,486 council-owned properties remaining on the estate.A total of 5,483 properties have been sold, including around 4,000 since the Housing Act 1980 introduced Right to Buy under Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government. The policy allowed council tenants to buy their homes at a discount, but councils were left with limited ability to replace the homes that were sold.Successive governments also failed to build enough new social housing to meet demand, contributing to the current shortage.Nottingham City Council is now seeking to add more affordable homes in Clifton.An extension off Summerwood Lane, on the cleared site of the former Fairham School, was approved in April.A separate scheme at Laura Chambers Lodge, in Swansdowne Drive, will see the former care home demolished and replaced with 52 council properties.Those plans were approved in May.Homes across both sites will be affordable and available for social rent or shared ownership.Clifton East councillor Kevin Clarke, who led the Nottingham Independents group for many years, moved to Clifton in 1972 when parts of the Meadows were being demolished.Cllr Kevin ClarkeHe moved to the estate with his sister after his parents died young.After serving in the Army for four years as a driver and signaller in West Germany and Northern Ireland, he was given a flat in Southchurch Court, the landmark high-rise block built in 1968.Many people moved to Clifton during the slum clearances in Nottingham.“I met my wife and then we moved into the house on Farnborough Road, which we purchased eventually when we got settled,” he said.“We only paid £12,000. The problem is nowadays the kids haven’t got a chance. You can’t even rent off the council because you can’t even get on the list.”Cllr Clarke welcomed the new affordable homes but criticised the cost of homes being built in Clifton Village, which sits separately from the estate on the other side of Remembrance Way.A total of 265 homes are being built there as an extension to the village.“It is a necessity,” he said.“But they have got to be affordable where the young might have a chance.“They have got more of a chance than getting those at the back of the village. That is dreamland, that is.”Summerwood Lane resident Nathan Treece, 47, attended Fairham School when he was younger.The school has now been demolished to make way for an apartment block forming part of the wider housing scheme.Nathan Treece“The expansion is a good idea, within reason, building more homes for people to live in,” he said.“As long as they don’t make the new development too dense, and it needs recreational space.”Cllr Clarke described Clifton as a place of opportunity.He went on to set up a taxi firm, which is now run from above his other business, the Clifton Cob Shop.“I started my first business when I was about 30,” he said. “I’ve run shops. We have a café now, and above that is the taxi firm.“If I was to describe it in one word? Opportunist, I’d say. The opportunities were there. You just had to grab them and be dedicated enough to see them through.”Clifton is often described as having a strong community spirit, but that was not always the case.The estate was designed by planning officer Bill Dennis, who had grown up in Finkhill Street, a slum area later demolished to make way for Maid Marian Way.His aim was to create a modern neighbourhood in a greener, more open setting, with shops and amenities.But in October 1958, a piece from the Woman’s Mirror was published under the headline: “No Wonder Boys Go Astray in New Towns”.It said: “Thousands of parents fear that their teenage sons and daughters will turn into hooligans unless something is done to stop them getting bored.”At the time, rents were high and there were few shops, no indoor sports facilities and limited amenities for young people.The River Trent also separated Clifton from the city centre until Clifton Bridge opened in 1958.After pressure from residents, the estate gradually gained more facilities and became less of what one news broadcast described before the 1960s as a “heartless dormitory”.Today, Clifton is served by a retail park, a shopping arcade in Southchurch Drive and a library.Nottingham Trent University opened its Clifton Campus in 1959, when it was known as the Nottingham College of Education.Cllr Clarke said the arrival of students has helped the local economy, although parking has become a frequent issue. Several permit schemes have been introduced over the years to manage cars left on nearby streets.The tram extension, which opened in 2015, also improved links between Clifton and the city centre.However, some residents say youth provision has declined sharply in recent years.In 2021, a council document showed incidents of anti-social behaviour had increased by 55.9 per cent.The report said police priorities in Clifton East and Clifton West at the time included reducing anti-social behaviour, including mini-motos, noise, intimidating behaviour and tram-related issues.Cllr Clarke said: “There’s been a massive change, especially in youth provision. When I moved onto the estate I think there were five or six youth clubs, and there are virtually none now.“They are trying to introduce it back. I told [the council] at the time all you are doing is stacking up problems for the future.”One mum-of-three, who moved from the Caribbean to the UK, said she came to Clifton because homes were cheaper than in the south of the country.But she said her early years on the estate were “really, really hard” because of racism experienced by her and her children.After her children were exposed to racist comments at school about their mum and the colour of her skin, they moved to South Wilford School.“It was more multicultural there,” she said.“I tried to find community. I found a play group for my children, they accepted me while I was there, but only if I was associated with the group.“I keep to myself now. So do my children. It is good they have the tram and the buses to get out and go to places.“In comparison to other areas it is okay now, but it was really, really hard when I first moved here.”Some residents in older council homes in Eddleston Drive say they feel they have been neglected.In January 2025, the Regulator of Social Housing said it had found serious quality and management failings in Nottingham City Council’s housing stock. The authority was given the second-lowest standards rating possible.“It would not be half as bad if we hadn’t been neglected,” said one resident, Breda Taylor.The council is now surveying all of its council homes, including those in Clifton, as it prepares to deal with a repairs backlog of almost £1 billion across its stock.Clifton has also been awarded £20 million through the Government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods programme.The funding is intended to support a long-term regeneration strategy, including improvements to parks and open spaces, more youth activities and a stronger retail offer through high street improvements.Together with the two new affordable housing schemes, the investment could mark a significant new phase in the development of the estate more than 70 years after the first residents moved in.

A hospital in Leicester still requires improvement after inspectors found that services were understaffed and infection control was poor.Glenfield Hospital was told by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to improve standards in 2022 after inspectors found long wait times and medical equipment used past its service date.The latest unannounced inspection, published on Wednesday, focused on cardiac, thoracic, vascular and hepatobiliary services.Gang Xu, medical director at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: “Patient safety is our top priority, and we will review the findings carefully to ensure our ongoing improvement work remains focused and effective.”The CQC report, compiled after a visit in June 2025, said the services assessed did not have sufficient numbers of “suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced” staff.According to the report, the risk of infection was “not always prevented and controlled” within theatres, which were not always “clean, well maintained and safe”.Concerns were also raised about the culture of a “minority of staff” in one department, who inspectors said did not consistently demonstrate “clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability or good governance”.In total, four breaches of the Health and Social Care Act were found.

Last year, Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council, the county’s seven district authorities and Rutland County Council were asked to set out their preferred visions for the future to the government.The city council’s proposal would see the city boundary widened in all directions to take in suburbs, towns and villages currently served by neighbouring district and borough councils.Areas that would be absorbed by the city include Oadby and Wigston, Blaby, Enderby, Braunstone Town, Glenfield, Anstey, Birstall and Syston.Leicester currently has a population of about 372,000, but that would grow to 623,000 under the proposal.The expansion would provide space for the city’s estimated future housing need of 30,000 new homes by 2046, the council said.The city council has also calculated the move would allow £46m of annual efficiency savings for councils across Leicestershire by reducing duplications of services, saving back office costs – allowing the money to be redirected to front-line services.Leicestershire County Council also believes there should be two unitary councils covering Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.However, it is opposed to losing any political territory to an expansion of the city council.Reform UK-led County Hall says its preferred business case would preserve historic borders and create one large council around the city serving some 800,000 residents.The county council says its proposal would save £40m annually by reducing senior management and back office costs, allowing more council tax to be put into services.Whatever the outcome, the county’s district and borough councils are set to be abolished.They, together with Rutland County Council, are proposing three unitary councils across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, and their preferred option is called, North, City, South.A North Leicestershire and Rutland council would serve the area currently covered by Charnwood borough, North West Leicestershire district, Melton borough and Rutland County Council.A separate South Leicestershire council would cover the areas of Blaby district, Harborough district, Hinckley and Bosworth borough and Oadby and Wigston borough councils.The district leaders said their plan would create three equally-balanced councils, each serving about 400,000 people, delivering economic growth, and saving £44m in efficiencies.

Detectives are investigating reports of gunshots in a village in Leicestershire. Armed officers were deployed in the interest of “public and police safety” to Brascote Lane, Newbold Verdon, shortly before 22:40 BST on Tuesday, Leicestershire Police said.On arrival, they found that damage “consistent with a firearm having been discharged” had been caused to a house and a car. No-one was injured in the incident, the force added. A police cordon remains in place while forensic officers investigate the scene.The force said it did not believe the incident was connected to a separate investigation after gunshots were heard at a property in Cort Crescent, Braunstone, on 3 June. A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life in connection with the earlier incident. He remains in custody. Det Insp Louise Rooke said: “I appreciate incidents of this nature may cause some concern, but I would like to reassure the local community that detectives are working hard to establish the full circumstances surrounding these incidents. “Local officers have been briefed and are providing reassurance patrols. They are approachable and will discuss any concerns you may have.”