Category: Councils

As regular readers of my County Council Gartree News column will know, I  have been monitoring the positive Covid-19 cases. I have been looking at the numbers and rates per 100,000 daily for the  Kibworth and Great Glen Middle layer Super  Output Area (MSOA) since mid October.  There was an unexpected spike in the  numbers for this MSOA for the 7 days to 23  January. The increase in case numbers continued for a few days. Case numbers rose  from 26 (rate of 239.2) to 54 (rate of 445.5)  over a 4 day period. I was alerted to a possible  outbreak and contacted the Director of Public  Health over the weekend. He was able to  confirm that 35 people (23 residents and 12  staff) had indeed tested positive at a local care  home. The residents had been offered vaccinations prior to the regular testing process giving the positive results. The majority were  asymptomatic. I understand relatives were  informed as a matter of course. 

Two families were lucky to escape, without apparent injury, a near head on collision on Saturday 7 September. A Mini, heading west, collided with a Mercedes saloon heading east  – on the wrong side of the road – with such force that it took 50 yards for the Mini to stop. A second car with a very young baby in it could not stop and hit the Mercedes; miraculously, the baby and Mother were unhurt. The driver of the Mini was driven away by Police.

We have had two public meetings since the last report. Our regular meeting was on 24 November and we held an extraordinary meeting on 1 December.

The monthly meeting was held on 3 December using Zoom.

Leicestershire is leading the way in the fight against climate change, as the county council has committed to being carbon neutral ahead of national targets.

 The council Zoom meeting was at 7pm on 5 November; there were no members of the public present.

The council Zoom meeting was at 7pm on 5 November; there were no members of the public present.

I have noticed that with darker evenings and foggy mornings some cyclists are not always very visible especially to drivers. Cycle lights being small are not especially visible particularly if the rider is wearing dark clothing. I’d like to remind cyclists in the area to wear hi-vis clothing or arm bands to make them more visible.

The Government has announced its intention to publish a White Paper on Devolution and Local Recovery either this autumn or early 2021.