A Month-long series of activities taking place in Leicester is encouraging more people to get their shoes on and to discover their local area. The Walk Leicester Festival takes place throughout May, as part of the UK-wide events marking National Walking Month, and includes a wide-ranging programme covering guided walks and the chance to explore the city, as well as taster sessions on a range of walking-based sports activities. The festival runs from May 3 to 31, kicking off at with a celebration of walking sports in Victoria Park on May 3. Introductory sessions will be run by coaches from Leicester City Football Club, Leicester Tigers, Leicester County Cricket Club, Leicester Riders, and ic2tennis, followed by a full programme of walking sports held throughout May. For those wanting to stretch their legs at a more leisurely pace, De Montfort University is running a programme of walks, with options to explore both its medieval heritage with buildings such as St Mary De Castro, The Magazine and the Turret Gateway, or the more recent history of its modern campus. The Canal and Rivers Trust will be leading walks that take in both the heritage to be found along the River Soar, and exploring more modern street art installations, as well as the Spirits of the Canal aimed at younger visitors. Members of the Saving the Saffron Brook project – a scheme to improve the diversity and sustainability of the waterway – will be taking walkers on a guided journey through the areas undergoing conservation work to showcase the brook’s natural beauty. Throughout May, Live Well Leicester will be encouraging people to get involved in a series of short walks setting off from a number of sports centres, community centres and other city landmarks, while advising people on the benefits of gentle regular exercise. There will also be a series of self-guided walks for people who aren’t able to take part in the arranged programme. Full details, dates and booking information on all Walk Leicester events are available from Choose How You Move, here. In addition, the Betterpoints app which rewards points for walking or cycling activities, will be doubling its points throughout May and providing 100 bonus points to people taking part in walks throughout the festival. Leicester deputy city mayor for the environment, Cllr Adam Clarke, said: “Walking is a great way to discover your local area by exploring parts of the city which might be away from the beaten track. “It is also a valuable, free form of daily exercise which everyone can take at their own pace. There’s nothing better than getting out in the open air, whether it is to try out a new sport or learn more about the city’s heritage and history. “In addition to the health benefits, encouraging people to walk more helps improve air quality and the environment more widely. Active travel, such as walking, is a key contributor to carbon reduction as set out in our climate emergency strategy. “This year’s Walk Leicester Festival once again has a wide-ranging programme of walks and other activities, aimed at all ages, interests and abilities, so I’d encourage everyone to see what is going on near to them and get involved.” Leicester City Council News - 03/05/2022

Emergency boxes aimed at providing urgent assistance to victims of knife crime have been launched in Leicester as part of the council’s strategy on knife crime and serious violence. The boxes contain vital medical kit – similar to boxes that contain a defibrillator – and are being installed across the city to help someone who is experiencing severe blood loss while awaiting an ambulance. They have been installed at key community locations as part of Leicester City Council’s knife crime and serious violence strategy. One of the strategy’s over-arching commitments is to enhance the feeling of safety in outdoor spaces by improving the physical infrastructure of the local environment. As a result, the emergency boxes have been located in areas that supported the development of the knife crime and serious violence strategy through ‘community conversations’– which demonstrated communities are determined to work with the city council, police and other partners to tackle the problem. Leicester City Council has invested £5,200 to buy and install eight boxes. Training in their use will also be made available for community groups in the area, but in an emergency, anyone calling 999 who is near an emergency kit would be directed to it by operators and talked through what they need to do. The boxes contain equipment including protective gloves, gauze and dressings to maintain pressure over a wound and stop bleeding. The council has worked on the project with voluntary community groups, organisations and families affected by knife crime, including the Daniel Baird Foundation and the AAA Foundation. The Daniel Baird Foundation was set up in memory of 26-year-old Daniel Baird, who was fatally stabbed in Birmingham in 2017. The AAA Foundation was set up in memory of 20-year-old Antoin Akpom, who was fatally stabbed in Leicester in 2013, and whose family have been closely involved in the community conversations around Leicester’s knife crime strategy. Assistant city mayor for neighbourhoods, Cllr Kirk Master, said: “Although in major UK cities, it takes an ambulance an average of only seven minutes to get to the scene of a major emergency, an adult can bleed to death from a catastrophic injury in just four minutes. These cabinets can be vital in bridging this gap. “At the heart of our knife crime and serious violence strategy is making communities safer by listening to and working with our communities. This project is doing both, by bringing vital life-saving kit onto our streets with support for communities through relevant training. We hope we never have to use them – and we’re working very hard on preventative strategies so that we don’t have to. But should the worst happen, one of these boxes could mean the difference between life and death.” Boxes are located at: Cossington Street Sports Centre, Belgrave The Grove Community Hub, Braunstone E2 Training Centre, Beaumont Leys New Parks Library Aylestone Leisure Centre Eyres Monsell Community Centre St Matthews Centre Medway Community Primary School, Highfields All the boxes are located in areas where they can be accessed by the public 24/7 upon calling 999. To read Leicester’s knife crime and serious violence strategy, see leicester.gov.uk/citymayor and click on ‘Key Strategy Documents’. Leicester City Council News - 03/05/2022

A man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries following a fight in Market Harborough. The incident took place in the High Street in the early hours of Sunday morning. Leicestershire Police have said that a 36-year-old man remains in hospital in a serious condition after the fight, which broke out on High Street in the town centre at around 2.50am on Sunday morning (1st May 2022). The road was closed between Church Square and Abbey Street while enquiries were conducted at the scene. A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm (GBH).

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Can you help to identify the driver of this Ford Mondeo after a collision with a motorcyclist on Saturday 23rd April at 9:30pm The collision happened at the junction of Fosse Road South and Upperton Road in Leicester The driver of the Mondeo left the scene soon after the collision. The rider of the motorcycle received significant injuries and was taken to hospital. If you have any information or details of the Car / driver please contact Leicestershire Police on 101. Quote Ref LEP 230422-0710. This video is now updated with a picture of the driver. The car would have received front end damage, the driver did not stay around after the collision before the emergency services arrived to give insurance details.

A New augmented reality experience at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery will give people the chance to see themselves alongside a giant plant-eating dinosaur that lived in Rutland more than 168 million years ago. The museum’s famous Rutland Dinosaur, a Cetiosaurus, will have flesh put onto its bones, thanks to a new interactive display that will also bring other fossils in the museum’s collection to life. From Saturday (30 April), people will be able to stand next to a computer-generated version of the 18m-long Cetiosaurus (pictured), giving them a real sense of the creature’s huge size, and get close to a long-extinct marine reptile known as the ‘Barrow Kipper’ – the 200 million-year-old Plesiosaur that will be brought to life through technology too. Other interactives will allow visitors to go face to face with the fearsome Neovenator – the theropod that lived more than 120million years ago – and anyone who’s brave enough will be able to feed the hungry carnivore too! A mobile version of the app will let visitors interact with the dinosaurs in a number of ways and even let them ‘take’ a Leicester dinosaur home with them. Deputy city mayor Cllr Piara Singh Clair, who’s responsible for Leicester’s museums, said: “The dinosaur gallery at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery is a firm favourite with both children and adults, but it’s been more than a decade since its last update. “It’s really important that we keep our displays fresh, and try to ensure that there’s always something new to see or do in our museums, so I’m delighted that we’re able to offer these new permanent displays. “The development of new technology means that we can now make more of our collections accessible to people who aren’t able to visit our museums in person – and thanks to our mobile app, people will be able to meet Leicester’s dinosaurs wherever they are in the world.” The free app – Meet Leicester’s Dinosaurs – can be downloaded from the Apple Store and Google Play from Saturday (30 April). An augmented reality-compatible mobile device will be required to access all the app’s features. Extra features on the mobile app include a dinosaur quiz, as well as the chance to interact with an additional dinosaur – the small, carnivorous Coelophysis that lived more than 200million years ago. Meet Leicester’s Dinosaurs can be found in the dinosaur gallery on the ground floor at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery on New Walk. It will open to the public on Saturday (30 April), in time for the Bank Holiday weekend. Innovations in Leicester’s museums are made possible thanks to regular funding from Arts Council England (ACE). A £407k National Portfolio Organisation grant has been secured from ACE for 2022-23. Leicester City Council News

People who live and work in the Stocking Farm area of Leicester are once again being asked for their input into ambitious regeneration plans for the neighbourhood. Over 2,000 letters have been delivered to homes and businesses in the area, inviting people to take part in a third and final round of public engagement as development plans for Stocking Farm begin to take shape. Emerging plans could see around 50 new low carbon council homes built on the 3.34-acre site, along with new community facilities and shops. The area would also be re-landscaped to provide more attractive outdoor space, with improved footpaths, sustainable drainage and places for wildlife to flourish. The existing Stocking Farm farmhouse – which dates back to the 19th century – could be redeveloped to provide supported living apartments, while a new access road with improved crossing facilities could be created. As a result of the first stage of public engagement – which took place in early 2021 – the city council has already worked with award-winning social enterprise Community Shop to bring a new branch to the former youth centre on Marwood Road. The new community-focused hub, which opened earlier this month, provides members with cheap and affordable groceries in the supermarket, while the wider community can benefit from a community kitchen, a café where children can eat for free, and a new indoor ‘community zone’. A new online survey will ask people for their feedback on more detailed proposals, which will help inform the final phase of developing the plans. These will be subject to planning permission and an application is likely to be submitted this summer. City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “We think we can deliver something very special for people who live and work in Stocking Farm and we are working up some very ambitious plans. “The feedback that we have received so far has played an important part in helping to shape the proposals, and it’s really vital that people continue to let us know what they think through this next phase of engagement. “I’m really proud and pleased that Community Shop has opened a store in the area but this is just a first step in our plans to revamp and help revitalise this important neighbourhood.” People can take part in the online survey by visiting my.engaged.space/stockingfarmstagethree/ The consultation closes on 15 May. Two drop-in information events have also been organised. These will take place in the new community zone inside Stocking Farm Community Shop on Friday, May 6, from 1pm to 7pm, and on Saturday, May 7, from 10am until 2pm. Paper copies of the survey are also available by calling Freephone 0800 170 1223. Leicester City Council successfully secured £86,750 from the Government’s Proptech Digital Engagement Fund in March 2022 to pay for its programme of engagement activities for the Stocking Farm neighbourhood redevelopment. Leicester City Council News - Published on Monday, April 25, 2022

HRH The Princess Royal this week officially opened a new training facility for military working dogs and their handlers at the Defence Animal Training Regiment (DATR) at Remount Barracks, Melton Mowbray. The Canine Training Squadron (CTS) is home to around 200 highly skilled working dogs, training in a variety of roles including police force protection, arms and explosives searches, Counter Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED), and drugs search operations in the UK and overseas. DATR Commanding Officer Lt Col Mike Robinson RAVC said: “The Defence Animal Training Regiment provides innovative and crucial training for our personnel and military dogs. “I am pleased the Canine Training Squadron headquarters is officially open and can continue to provide a great learning environment for our Armed Forces whilst fulfilling our NetZero objectives.” Following £4.1 million investment, the new training centre will be carbon neutral and 96% self-sustaining. HRH The Princess Royal met service personnel who showcased the training of military dogs and their handlers, and the range of capabilities they provide to the MOD. HRH was also invited to plant a tree on site as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy. This initiative is part of the national celebrations to commemorate Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Defence Infrastructure Organisation Area Delivery Manager for Lincolnshire and East Midlands, Greg Piper, said: “The state-of-the-art new training facility will provide a modern and self-sustaining operating capability for the Unit going forward. The project was a complex and challenging piece of work, but excellent collaborative work with partners, stakeholders and the customer ensured successful delivery and we are delighted to see this very important facility now in full operation.” An Army Safety and Environmental Award was presented to the DATR in March, recognising the collaborative approach between the Unit, Defence Infrastructure Organisation and Amey in delivering the new, sustainable training facility. The new facility includes three new classrooms, indoor and outdoor training areas, a new Station Headquartersoffice space and training accommodation. Using its own solar panels and a battery generator the facility will fulfil its own electricity requirements, and an air source heat pump and recovery system will regulate heating across the entire site. A grey water harvesting system will recycle water for non-drinking requirements, reducing the main water supply by up to 60%. The new facility has achieved a Defence Related Environmental Assessment Methodology (DREAM) rating of ‘excellent’ and will help the Army to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions targets for 2050. In addition, cost savings from the project will be invested into Army infrastructure.

Some site closures are planned and people are urged to check if sites are open before they set off. People planning a May bank holiday weekend trip to Leicestershire’s household waste and recycling centres are being urged to check opening hours before they set off. The county council expects its waste sites to be extremely busy over the weekend and on Monday 2 May. The council has plans in place to deal with extra demand but has warned staff shortages and difficulty in recruiting staff, could lead to unplanned changes. At the moment: Sites at Barwell, Coalville, Loughborough, Market Harborough, Mountsorrel, Oadby and Whetstone will be open on Bank Holiday Monday. However, the Lount, Lutterworth and Melton sites will be closed on the May bank holiday because of staff shortages. The normal opening hours at most sites are 9am to 7pm (Tuesday to Friday) and 9am to 5pm (Saturday, Sunday and Monday). The Coalville site will be open 9am to 5pm on its usual opening days which are Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Shepshed site will be open 9am to 7pm on Thursdays and Fridays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays. Bottesford and Somerby waste sites are currently closed due to staff shortages and Kibworth waste site will be closed until late autumn as it undergoes a major refurbishment. “This is always an extremely busy time of year at our waste sites. We can sometimes have difficulty in accommodating all the extra waste and recycling delivered as our sites do not have an unlimited capacity. This may mean we are unable to accept certain waste types if sites become full as many landfill and material recycling facilities are closed during the May bank holiday. I’d urge people to check our website before they set off and I’d like to thank residents in advance for their understanding and co-operation.” Councillor Blake Pain, cabinet member for the environment and the green agenda. All the latest information on waste site opening times is available on the county council website.

Leicestershire County Council's Trading Standards Service prosecuted the company after an investigation into how the birds died. A company that manages poultry farms has been fined £44,000 after a computer malfunction in a broiler shed ventilation system caused the death of more than 27,000 chickens. Leicestershire County Council’s Trading Standards Service prosecuted Hudson & Sanders Limited after the birds died at a farm near Melton Mowbray. The firm pleaded guilty to four charges under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in a hearing at Leicester Magistrates Court on Wednesday (27). Some 50,000 chickens were being kept in a large shed at Hose Lodge Farm in Colston Bassett when, on May 26, 2020, the systems that regulated air flow, vital for the welfare of the chickens, failed. The court heard that inlets on the side of the building closed during a rest period for the birds in the afternoon, but another tunnel ventilation system failed to open creating a sealed unit. On what was a warm day, the temperature within the shed rose rapidly. The birds could not cool down because of the ventilation failure, causing them heat stress, suffering and death. An alarm sounded when the temperature rose to 37 degrees and staff were alerted but council investigators said that should have been set to go off at 27 degrees. At the time of the incident, the farm manager was on leave but still attended as he lived on the site. A relief manager provided by Hudson & Sanders Limited, had left the site to take a break when the incident occurred. By the time staff were able to get into the shed 27,249 of the chickens had died. The council prosecuted the company for being negligent in its care of the birds, which were being farmed for their meat. Trading standards also said the company had failed to ensure there were enough staff to look after the chickens and that they were not trained to the level they needed to be, which led to a situation where they didn’t know what to do in time. The county council argued the offence was aggravated because an Animal and Plant Health Agency vet had visited the farm in November 2019 and raised concerns about there not being sufficient staff or a ventilation plan. District Judge Nick Watson described the May 26 incident as ‘a disaster’ and said those birds that survived would also have suffered. He fined the company £44,000 and ordered it to pay the county council’s costs of £12,634.83. In mitigation, solicitors for the defendant said the company, which managed poultry operation on behalf of the farm’s owner, regretted the incident. The court heard Hudson & Sanders Limited had no previous conviction for animal welfare offences and had an otherwise excellent reputation in the industry. After the hearing, the county council’s head of regulatory services Gary Connors said: “This was an awful but thankfully rare incident in terms of the scale of unnecessary suffering. “However, we hope the level of fine prompts businesses operating in this sector to review their operations to ensure they have adequate staffing and procedures in place to avoid such a distressing incident happening again.” Leicestershire County Council News

Basketball stars from the Leicester Riders are swapping hoops for wheels as they lend their backing to Santander Cycles Leicester, the city’s e-bike share scheme. Darien Nelson-Henry, Riders captain and GB International Conner Washington, both part of the BBL Championship-winning Riders team this season, tried out the bikes to celebrate the installation of a new docking station at Foundry Square, close to the Riders’ home at the Morningside Arena, in Charter Street. It means people visiting the Morningside Arena will be able to arrive by e-bike. Kevin Routledge, Riders Chairman, said: “This is a fantastic scheme and it was great to try out the e-bikes. We are really pleased to have a docking station close to our arena. We’re on a great route here, with traffic-free access to Abbey Park and the Space Centre. It’s only a short distance to the city centre, Leicester College, the bus stations, the train station, the universities and other sports stadia, so it’s the perfect place for people to pick-up an e-bike and ride like the Riders!” Santander Cycles Leicester offers anyone visiting, living or working in the city the opportunity to get around by e-bike. New docking stations, where you can pick up and return the bikes, are currently being added at key neighbourhood locations, including Queens Road, the National Space Centre, the Brite Centre in Braunstone and St Margaret’s bus station. Scheme sponsors Santander will also host a docking station at their HQ in Carlton Park, Narborough. Thirty-eight docking stations are currently online, with a total of at least 50 planned once the current round of expansion is completed in the next few weeks. This will make Santander Cycles Leicester and its fleet of 500 bikes the largest docked e-bike scheme in the UK. Since the lifting of lockdown restrictions in April last year, the e-bike share scheme has already been used by more than 20,000 people, with 50,000 trips made on the electric bikes. Deputy city mayor for environment and transportation, Cllr Adam Clarke, said: “Leicester is an ideal city to explore by e-bike, with journeys possible from the outskirts of the city to the centre in around half an hour. There aren’t many major hills, but an e-bike can make light work of them anyway! “What this scheme offers is affordable, green, congestion-busting transport for anyone moving around Leicester, and I hope lots of people will join the Leicester Riders and thousands of others who have already given it a try.” Santander Cycles Leicester is operated by e-mobility specialists Ride On, on behalf of Leicester City Council. To use the scheme, you register online, buy a plan based on your needs and then use your smartphone to unlock an e-bike and start riding. Pay as you go, monthly and annual memberships are all available. To find out more and to sign up to Santander Cycles Leicester, visit www.rideonleicester.com Leicester City Council News 28/04/22

Detectives investigating a serious collision in which a pedestrian was struck by an electric bicycle (e-bike) off Saffron Lane have arrested a man in connection with the incident. The man – who is 26 and from Leicester – was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving this afternoon and remains in custody. Shortly after 2pm last Tuesday (19 April), police were called to Broughton Road following a report of a collision. It was reported the cyclist had left the area prior to officers arriving. The pedestrian – a man in his 30s – remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition. Detective Constable Emma Neeves, from the force’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU), said: “While we have arrested a man and spoken to a number of people in connection with this incident, I am still asking for anyone who may be able to help but has not yet come forward to do so. “I would still like to speak to anyone who witnessed the collision or who has dashcam footage of the incident. Anything you’re able to provide could help our enquiries.” You can pass on information by visiting https://www.leics.police.uk/ro/report/rti/rti-beta-2.1/report-a-road-traffic-incident/ and quoting reference 22*221399. Alternatively, call 101. Leicestershire Police News 28/04/22