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Helping to feed families in Lutterworth. A new ‘community fridge’ is helping to bring people together in a Leicestershire town. Based in Lutterworth’s Family Hub, it’s filled with donated food, which members of the community can take for free. It’s the fifth community fridge to be opened by Leicestershire County Council to help reduce food waste and support the community – others are based in Family Hubs in Coalville, South Wigston, Hinckley and Loughborough (Shelthorpe). Since it opened in May, volunteers and ‘customers’ have been sharing recipes, trying new food, cooking with food they have never used before and making meals for neighbours - and even the wider community. Sam Peverett, volunteer development officer at the county council, said: “We get given a lot of fresh items and as a result we’re seeing some people trying fruit and vegetables they’ve never eaten before. “We’ve also seen people swap recipe ideas while waiting for their bags and we know others make meals, or things like strawberry jam, for neighbours from the food. “George Street Church even made hot meals using some of the ingredients, which it then served to the community for free. “Our volunteers have really gelled well, and some have been sharing their own recipe ideas with people. They have been such an asset and have helped to make this all possible.” In the space of a year, the council’s fridges were used by more than 11,000 people across the county and saved around 42 tonnes- the equivalent weight of around 21 shipping containers - of waste going to landfill. Deborah Taylor, county council cabinet member for children and families, said: “It’s great to hear that the Lutterworth fridge is already having such a positive impact. “Food waste is a really big issue across the country but the brilliant thing about community fridges is that people can make use of perfectly good food that would otherwise be thrown away. “We’d like to thank all our volunteers and the businesses who support and help run our fridges. Your support in invaluable.” The council’s community fridges are run thanks to a partnership with the environmental charity Hubbub UK. They’re stocked with donations from local residents, projects and supermarkets. In Lutterworth this includes E and R Tearooms and Sweet Sisters but regular donors also include Greggs, Lidl, Aldi, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco, Waitrose, Milner’s Bakery and The Coop. Lutterworth Community Fridge is based in the Family Hub on Coventry Road LE17 4RB and opens from 10-11.30am Mondays and Wednesdays and 1-2pm on Thursdays. For more information, please visit the Family Hubs Leicestershire page. (Link is external and opens in new window) Leicestershire County Council News Wednesday, 4 September, 2024

The opening of Leicester’s Jewry Wall Museum and Visitor Centre – currently under-going a multi-million pound transformation – has been delayed following the collapse of a second contractor working on the project. Elmwood Projects, which was commissioned by the city council to design and manufacture the exhibition and displays for the centre, announced it was going into liquidation earlier this month. Located in Scotland, the company was providing the design, build and installation of exhibition cases, large mosaic displays, object mounts and some of the audio-visual elements for the centre. The news follows the unexpected liquidation of NMCN – one of the biggest construction companies in the Midlands - which was originally brought in to carry out the external works needed to the existing museum building and heritage site. The council managed to appoint Olivetti and Jeakins Weir last year to continue with the construction work, and good progress was being made on the ambitious refurbishment. This new blow to the project is likely to result in some further delay to the opening, although the council hopes this will not be significant. Richard Sword, the council’s strategic director for city developments and neighbourhoods said: “It is very rare for two such well-established companies working on the same project to be hit in this way, but these are very difficult times for the construction industry, with three of the four companies that originally bid for this work now in administration. We sympathise with everyone affected by these company closures. “We are grateful that Elmwood had already completed most of the work we had commissioned." "Leicester already benefits significantly from tourists interested in our 2000 years of history and the discovery of King Richard lll. The new-look museum and visitor centre has the potential to bring in many more thousands of visitors and huge economic benefits to Leicester. "At this point it is difficult to say exactly how this will affect the opening date and our costs, but I am hopeful we can resolve this without too much of an impact.” Following the loss of the first contractor, the council had been working towards an opening date of January 2025. It’s now more likely this will be around summer 2025, although this is yet to be confirmed. The council is planning a celebration of Roman Leicester to tie in with the opening of the museum, details of which will be announced later this year. Leicester city council press release 05/09/24

Work is under way to build a new children’s home in Leicester, boosting the number of council-run placements available for children and young people in care. Leicester City Council has commissioned the new £1.8m home, with backing of £800,000 from the Department for Education. Located in the west of the city, it will be the first children’s home to be constructed in Leicester for more than 40 years. The home will provide purpose-built accommodation for six young people, between the ages of eight and 17, offering five bedrooms with ensuite facilities as well as two semi-independent living flats, a kitchen, lounge, games room and sleeping quarters for staff. The build is the latest phase of work by the city council to expand its in-house provision of places for children and young people who can’t live with their birth families. Work was recently completed to convert two council-owned houses in the south of the city into a children’s home, providing residential care for five young people. The two projects mean the city council will be able to care for more children and young people in-house, increasing the number of council children’s homes from six to eight, caring for up to 48 children and young people. Deputy city mayor for social care, Cllr Sarah Russell, said: “We are determined to provide the best possible care for the children and young people we look after. Most children who can’t live with their birth families live with foster carers, but this isn’t right for everyone, and increasing demand for children’s social care services in recent years means there has been a significant rise in demand for residential children’s homes. This is the case across the country. “Providing more children’s homes within the city means children and young people can continue to receive support within their communities rather than them moving away from Leicester. This continuity and stability can be very important to children experiencing major disruption to their lives. “There are also long-term financial advantages to providing more places ourselves.” The new home will feature a range of energy efficiency measures including roof-mounted photo-voltaic panels, and air source heat pumps. It will also serve as a hub for training for social care staff, foster carers and other professionals. Leicester City Council has appointed Loughborough-based Scope Construction as its development partner for the ambitious project, following a competitive tendering exercise. Maz Patel, Managing Director of Scope Construction said: “We are delighted to have been appointed by Leicester City Council to deliver their first new build children’s home for many years. “It is great to be breaking ground on this latest project. Scope and our local supply chain take pride in the work we do and we aim to deliver a first-class project for the client and the local community. We look forward to continuing our strong working relationship with the council.” Construction is expected to take around one year to complete, with the new children’s home likely to open in late-2025. Photo: Representatives of Leicester City Council, Scope Construction, A+G Architects and BSP Consulting join Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby (front left) and Maz Patel of Scope Construction (right) for the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of Hillview Children's Home.

In light of National Nest Box Week (14th to 21st February), Barratt and David Wilson Homes are encouraging Leicestershire homeowners to flock to their online quiz to test their knowledge on garden birds. Following the success of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, the five star housebuilders have once again shared their Bird House Quiz for homeowners to learn more about their feathered friends, with RSPB vouchers worth up to £100 to be won. Garden birds need a safe place to raise their chicks, and the online quiz shows how residents can open their gardens and give them a home for the season. Prizes to be won are designed to help homeowners make their own gardens wildlife-friendly and do their bit for nature’s neighbours. It comes as part of Barratt and David Wilson Homes’ commitment to supporting wildlife on developments and celebrating their national partnership with the RSPB. Each entrant of the quiz will be able to learn more about a range of birds as they’re asked to match common species to the homes that suit their needs. Martyn Parker, Sales Director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes, said: “As part of our long-term partnership with the RSPB, we always try to give nature a home at our developments and create new habitats. Alongside National Nest Box Week, we hope this quiz can encourage all generations to learn more about wildlife and nature.” National Nest Box Week is organised by the British Trust for Ornithology and aims to encourage more people to help the birds by putting up nest boxes. To test your knowledge, visit the homebuilders’ Bird House Quiz website and enter the prize draw by Friday 23rd February 2024. With RSPB vouchers up for grabs for seven winners, homeowners can make their garden inviting for birds, in addition to other wildlife such as hedgehogs, bees and butterflies. When looking to place a nest box in a garden, it’s important to find a sheltered, shady location, preferably facing north through east to south-east to avoid prevailing winds and strong direct sunlight. Nest boxes also need to be kept out of reach of cats and other predators. There are many ways that residents in the county can help the birds in their garden, such as providing a regular supply of clean water by using a bird bath, providing nest boxes and putting the right bird seed out including flaked maize and sunflower hearts. For details about any developments in the area, visit the websites at Barratt Homes in Leicestershire and David Wilson Homes in Leicestershire. Click here https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/new-homes/east-midlands/leicestershire/

Lightning-fast broadband will be delivered to tens of thousands of Leicestershire and Warwickshire homes and businesses after a £71 million contract was signed under the government’s national Project Gigabit rollout. Independent broadband provider Cityfibre will deliver top-of-the-range full fibre connections to around 38,000 rural premises in the counties which, without government intervention, would have missed out on the industry’s rollout of faster, more reliable ‘gigabit-capable’ broadband. Full fibre is capable of delivering speeds of up to 1,000 megabits (or one gigabit) per second - up to 30 times faster than superfast connections which rely on traditional copper cables. Gigabit speeds mean households can download a high-definition film in under one minute, stream and download entertainment and shop online across several different devices at once. The upgrades will help grow the economy and create jobs by making it easier to set up and grow a business, and mean rural Leicestershire and Warwickshire communities will have access to networks designed to meet people’s needs for decades to come as the demand for fast connections continues to rise. Rural communities across the counties will benefit, including those in or surrounding Bosworth Charnwood, Harborough, Kenilworth and Southam, Loughborough, Meriden, North Warwickshire, North Leicestershire, Rugby, Rushcliffe, Rutland and Melton, South Leicestershire, Stratford-on-avon and Warwick and Leamington. Now the contract is signed, Cityfibre will begin detailed surveying work with spades expected to enter the ground from the summer. The contract is one of several announced today as part of a £453 million commitment to delivering next-generation broadband to around 236,000 hard-to-reach homes and businesses across England. More than £1 billion in contracts have now been awarded through Project Gigabit to connect around 677,000 homes and businesses, with tens of millions of pounds worth of additional contracts to be awarded across the country in the coming weeks. The UK is building gigabit networks faster than any country in the EU, thanks in part to government measures to stimulate competition and bust barriers to rollout. Last month the government announced that gigabit coverage had reached 80 per cent of the UK, up from just 6 per cent in 2019, and the UK is on track to achieve 85 per cent by 2025. As a result of this investment, CityFibre has committed to offer 40 apprenticeships - a minimum of eight per year - across the UK in telecoms and highways maintenance for the duration of the contract, giving young people the chance to develop vital new skills and build a rewarding career. It comes as the country marks National Apprenticeship Week, a government-led campaign celebrating the impact apprentices make to communities, businesses, and the wider economy. The rollout of Project Gigabit is overseen by Building Digital UK (BDUK) - an executive agency of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Data and Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez said: “Tens of thousands of rural homes and businesses from Harborough to Stratford-on-avon will soon be connected to the fastest broadband speeds on the market. Thanks to government’s Project Gigabit. Communities are a big step closer to enjoying next-level connectivity, supporting our mission to unlock opportunity and fuel growth.” CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch said: “We’re thrilled CityFibre has been selected to deliver government’s Project Gigabit programme in Leicestershire & Warwickshire, bringing the benefits of full fibre connectivity to thousands of hard-to-reach homes and businesses that have so far been left behind. “The rollout builds on our significant existing footprint in the region and thanks to Project Gigabit, we’ll be expanding our commercial build even further to include thousands more homes and businesses.” Cllr Martin Watson, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economy said: “Improving the county’s digital infrastructure is one of our key priorities given the significant economic and social benefits it can provide for residents and businesses and so we are delighted with today’s Project Gigabit announcement. "This substantial level of investment will promote further digital inclusion ensuring that thousands more Warwickshire residents and businesses will have access to lightning fast, ultra-reliable internet connectivity for decades to come.” Councillor Pam Posnett , Leicestershire County Council’s Lead Member for Digital, said: “It’s great news that more Leicestershire homes and businesses will now be able to access increased speed and reliable broadband through Project Gigabit. Faster broadband will improve the day-to-day lives of our communities and businesses, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas of the county, enabling access to a variety of services such as banking, education and health, as well as improving connectivity and productivity for business operations.”

Fresh Cops is back for a second season. Starting tonight on BBC3, the docuseries features some of Leicestershire police youngest recruits as they navigate the early stages of their career. The episode kicks off with a grade one call-out for 26-year-old PC Jake Bull. At the end of series one, Jake was seconded to join the child exploitation unit, but a year later and he’s back doing what he loves best response. New to the series is 23-year-old Philippa. Phillippa is as fresh as they come, only on week three as a PC. She admits to feeling overwhelmed – her new motto is ‘fake it ‘til you make it’. She’s mentored by 26-year-old Jenny. The pair are called to an electronic tag breach, and the suspect owns a XL bully dog that’s known to be violent. It’s Philippa’s first ever arrest – with a dangerous dog on the scene and the pressure of the arrest she’s definitely feeling the nerves. Will she remember the words of the caution correctly? Fresh Cops returns Thursday 25th January at 9pm on BBC Three. And will be available on BBC iPlayer #LeicsPolice #FreshCops

Stories from the Leicester road that dates from Roman times and is now one of the most ethnically-diverse shopping streets in the country will be told in a new exhibition at Newarke Houses Museum. From Friday (26 January), Popping to the Shops will shine a spotlight on the city’s Narborough Road, looking back at its past and focusing on some of the people who live and work in the area today. Featuring panoramic photos and interviews, the exhibition will also include memorabilia from past and present shops, including a teaching keyboard used at IntaSound (70 Narborough Road) and a pricing gun from the Narborough Road Wilko, which closed in 2022. Anyone interested in the subject should also visit Westcotes Library, where a second exhibition will feature archive photographs of the Narborough Road area. Popping to the Shops is supported using public funding by Arts Council England and continues until 28 April 2024. A special family-friendly event on Saturday (27 January), inspired by the new exhibition, will feature storytelling and shopping-themed craft workshops. The workshops – aimed at children aged five and over – will take place at 12 noon, 1pm and 2pm and tickets are £3. Places should be booked in advance by calling Newarke Houses Museum on 0116 225 4980. Tickets can also be bought online Also taking place at Newarke Houses this week is an illustrated talk by local historian Cynthia Brown that focuses on another popular Leicester shopping street. A nostalgic look back at some of the old shops on Charnwood Street (pictured), including the Aladdin’s cave that was Paddy’s Swag Shop, Issitt’s clothes shop and the first ever Wilkinson’s store, provides the theme for the hour-long talk at 2pm on Sunday 28 January Tickets for Charnwood Street Shops cost £5, which includes refreshments. Tickets can be booked online or by calling the museum on 0116 225 4980. The shopping theme continues into February, with another special event for those aged seven and under. Story Imagin-ory will provide interactive storytelling sessions, coupled with a chance for youngsters to enjoy a fun, shopping-themed, role-playing experience. Sessions will run on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 February, with tickets priced at £8 per child. Places for each session must be booked in advance by calling the museum on 0116 225 4980 or by completing the online booking form. Details of all events taking place at Leicester’s museums can be found at leicestermuseums.org/whats-on Leicester City Council News Release

There's still time for people to have their say on the next phase in Leicester’s aim to become a net zero and climate-ready city. Leicester City Council’s new draft Climate Emergency Action Plan sets out an ambitious five-year action plan to help the city further reduce carbon emissions and adapt to a changing climate. The draft plan was launched for public consultation in November 2023, and people have until Sunday 28 January to have their say. The draft plan restates the ambition to reduce Leicester’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2030, or as quickly as possible after that, with government support. It also sets out how the city needs to adapt to climate change to protect people, buildings, critical infrastructure and the natural environment against the impact of floods, storms, heatwaves and prolonged periods of low rainfall. Deputy city mayor Cllr Adam Clarke, who leads on climate, economy and culture, said: “When we launched Leicester’s first Climate Emergency Action Plan in 2020, we were under no illusion about the scale of the challenge we had set ourselves as a city. “We’ve achieved a great deal since then, building on Leicester’s already strong record on carbon reduction, but we know we still have a huge amount do as a city. “Our ambitious new action plan will aim to build on that momentum of the last three years. As a council, we will continue to lead by example and do all we can to reduce our carbon footprint to net zero. We also want to continue to encourage and help others to reduce their own impact. “The council can’t achieve the goal of a net zero city on its own. To meet this ambition will require significant and ongoing support from the Government and from local stakeholders. “We all have a role a play. That’s why we’re really interested to hear people’s views on what we’re proposing in our new draft action plan and what we can do to encourage more local action.” Among the proposed areas of focus that will guide actions over the next five years are: further decarbonisation of council buildings, business units and vehicles; improving the energy efficiency of council homes; promoting access to grants for low carbon improvements for owner-occupied homes; and, helping more local small and medium-sized businesses save energy and reduce their carbon emissions. Work to encourage more sustainable methods of transports will continue. Plans include more investment for safe routes for walking, wheeling and cycling; further improvements to the city’s bus services, with more electric buses to come; support for freight operators to reduce their emissions; and, increasing the availability of charge-points for electric vehicles across the city. The new plan also sets out a renewed focus on the city’s need to adapt to a changing climate. This includes ensuring the council’s own construction projects create low carbon, climate-ready buildings and infrastructure; making sure the council’s existing buildings and infrastructure are resilient to climate change; managing council-owned land to reduce flood risk, help tackle heatwaves and support biodiversity; creating new schemes to help prevent flooding; and, ensuring that new development is low carbon, climate-ready and enhances local biodiversity. Other proposed areas of focus include: improving recycling services; buying low-carbon, sustainable goods and services for the council; supporting people in fuel poverty with information, advice and signposting to grants; helping to ensure that private rented homes meet at least minimum levels of energy efficiency; continued environmental education in schools; and, supporting National Grid to improve the local electricity grid to cope with anticipated increases in demand. People can have their say on the council’s proposed priorities, including what would make it easier for them to do their bit as part of city-wide efforts, by completing an online survey at www.leicester.gov.uk/consultations

Work to further improve a busy shopping street and important gateway into Leicester City Centre is due to get underway. Leicester City Council will begin works to widen footpaths and create more space for pedestrians on a stretch of Granby Street. The first phase of work will begin on Monday (22 Jan). The works will make permanent a pop-up scheme introduced in 2020 as part of the city council’s response to Covid-19. The improvements will see former pay-and-display parking bays along Granby Street – which have been out of use for more than three years – converted into wider, high-quality footpaths with outdoor-café seating areas to help improve the route between the city centre and Leicester railway station. Additional on-street parking bays will be created on Chatham Street, York Street and Dover Street. During the work, which is expected to take up to ten weeks, Granby Street will be closed to traffic between its junctions with Dover Street and Chatham Street. A short, well-signed diversion will be in place. The scheme will also permanently close the junction of Dover Street and Granby Street to motor vehicles to help improve safety. The city council plans to create a new turning facility on Dover Street, to maintain access for general traffic to nearby businesses and attractions, including The Little Theatre. These latest works are part of wider, ongoing investment to improve the street scene and shopping environment on Granby Street. This includes the refurbishment of the landmark Grand Hotel buildings and restoration of its historic shopfronts, supported as part of the city council’s successful bid for £1.5million from Historic England towards a High Street Heritage Action Zone for the Granby Street and Church gate conservation areas. Fifteen new businesses have opened in Granby Street since May 2021. Deputy city mayor Cllr Adam Clarke, who leads on climate, culture and economy, said: “Granby Street is an important gateway into the city centre and a busy shopping street in its own right. These latest works will build on recent improvements to this popular part of the city centre, supporting the major heritage-based investment now being made to landmark buildings along the route. “It is vital that we continue to invest in Granby Street to support local businesses and to improve the look and feel of the area, making it feel safer and more welcoming to all.” Future phases of improvement work, which will see pavements widened along Granby Street towards the main shopping area in the city, will take place later this year. Leicester City Council News Release

Wingtrapp, a popular quick food outlet that offers Buffalo, New York style wings is preparing for big things in 2024 after a successful 2023. Having expanded to four locations - Leicester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Coventry – Wingtrapp is on the rise after the successful launch of two new outlets this year In 2023, Wingtrapp delighted customers with tantalizing new additions to its menu including the flavourful African Gazebo range, now a part of their growing list of signature sauces. Looking ahead, Wingtrapp is set to broaden its culinary horizons in 2024 with plans to introduce four or five new products throughout the year. As part of its ambitious expansion, Wingtrapp is actively seeking new single and multi unit franchise partners, aiming to solidify its positions as the leading chicken wing brand in the country. Founded in 2018, Wingtrapp was born with the vision of evaluating the wing culture in the UK and providing customers with an unparalleled wing experience. Committed to delivering fresh, mouth watering and 100% halal authentic wings, the brand has garnered a loyal following. A spokesperson for Wingtrapp said: “We believe wings are a growing market in the UK and we aim to capitalise on this gap in the market in the years to come. We welcome all new franchisees who are aligned with our brand vision and growth strategy and can add to value to the brand as a whole. While wings will always be our core product we understand the need to diversify our menu to continue to meet customer demands. This isn’t something we intend to stop doing in 2024 with several exciting new products in the pipeline.” Wingtrapp Leicester 54 Granby St, Leicester, LE1 1DH Tel 0116 319 262 https://www.leicester.wingtrapp.co.uk

Work is due to begin on re-cladding a landmark Leicester building. Cladding materials are due to be replaced on Phoenix Square in the city’s Cultural Quarter, as part of a Government-financed scheme to improve fire safety on residential buildings. Phoenix Square is a mixed-use building, with residential apartments, business units and also Phoenix cinema and art centre within the development. Leicester City Council applied to Homes England’s Building Safety Fund for money to carry out the work, and was awarded £14million in November from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities scheme. The council is working with contractors Willmott Dixon, which constructed the building back in 2009, to undertake the re-cladding work. Discussions and consultations have taken place with the three main tenants’ groups, including Phoenix cinema and art centre, Metro PM which manages the venue’s residential units, and LCB Depot which manages the business units on site. Work is due to begin on site from early January 2024, and is expected to last 18 months, during which the building will be clad in scaffolding. The façade to the whole of the building will be re-clad, including the central courtyard but excluding Phoenix cinema’s new extension. The Phoenix Square building – including Phoenix cinema and the business units – will remain open for the majority of the works but there may be times when access is restricted. Advance notice will be given for any restrictions. The work will also include a series of temporary road closures nearby, which will be signposted and managed by the city council’s highways team. Leicester deputy city mayor for climate, economy and culture, Cllr Adam Clarke said: “This Government-funded work is being carried out due to a change in legislation following the Grenfell Tower tragedy – not because of any particular risk at Phoenix Square itself. “This funding means the new cladding will meet the stringent modern standards required by law. “The building will very much be open for business throughout the work, and we’ve been in contact with groups representing all users to ensure they are kept abreast of the planned work and how we can minimise the impact on them.” John Rance, CEO of Phoenix cinema and art centre, added: “Phoenix has worked closely with the city council in the lead up to this major project on their Phoenix Square development. “While work takes place on the building’s exterior under its veil of scaffolding, it will be business as usual for Phoenix – we’ll continue to bring a fantastic programme of film, art and education opportunities to Leicester audiences, plus meeting room hires, conferencing and events, and a superb dining experience in our Café Bar. “Our new extension, which opened in January 2023, is outside the scope of the re-cladding project, so our wonderful roof terrace will still be open to Phoenix visitors, and we’ll continue to work with the city council to minimise any disruption to our customers.”

Motorists are being advised that traffic restrictions will be in place on a busy Leicester route as work on a major road improvement scheme continues. Leicester City Council is carrying out highway improvements to the A50 Frog Island and Northgate Street to make the route safer and more attractive to walkers, wheelers and cyclists, as well as improving facilities for bus users. To enable work to be carried out safely, the road will be closed to traffic in its inbound direction, between Abbey Gate and Sanvey Gate, from Monday 8 January. A short, well-signed diversion will be in place along Blackbird Road, Ravensbridge Drive and onto St Margaret’s Way for the duration of the works, which are expected to last up to 12 weeks. Inbound bus services will also be diverted from Woodgate onto Abbey Gate and Ravensbridge Drive, before joining St Margaret’s Way into the city centre. The scheme is a continuation of works recently carried out along Woodgate. Improvements will now continue along Frog Island and Northgate Street, towards the new Waterside housing development. This will create a safer and more attractive route through the neighbourhood with wider footpaths, a new off-road cycle lane, raised tables at junctions with key side streets, and an improved pedestrian crossing close to Salter Street Primary School The main carriageway will also be resurfaced. This work is due to be carried out in late-March and will require a full road closure. Full details will be publicised nearer the time. The works will be the final phase of improvements carried out as part of the major redevelopment of the A50/Fiveways junction and its connecting roads, in northwest Leicester, to help make this important route safer and easier to use for all road users. Martin Fletcher, Leicester City Council director of highways, said: “This is a major scheme that will make huge improvements to this important route and its nearby neighbourhoods, including the new development at Waterside. “It will create safer and more attractive routes for residents and pedestrians. But the work will also improve this important route and its busy junction for cyclists, for the public transport network and for motorists. "We’re working hard to keep disruption to a minimum. The ongoing works mean that we will still need to manage a rolling programme of short-term and partial road closures as we approach the final phases of the complex scheme.” Work on the major improvement scheme is expected to be complete by late spring 2024. The A50/Fiveways improvement scheme is being paid for through a mix of Enterprise Zone funding through the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP), and the Transforming Cities Fund following the city council’s successful bid for £32million of second tranche funding to support improvements to public transport and provide more safer routes for walkers, wheelers and cyclists in the city centre and local neighbourhoods. Work is being carried out by Thomas Bow City Asphalt – one of the biggest building and civil engineering contractors in the East Midlands – under contract to Leicester City Council. Leicester city council news.