Agenda and draft minutes

Cllr. Martin notes that he was present at the previous meeting but his attendance has not been recorded.

Item 104, Council Budget – The figure of homeless people in temporary accommodation should be 100 and not 1000.

Item 105, Flags on Lampposts – Wording queried, proposed change to “A residents asked about the many flags…”

PC Morgan introduced himself and PCSO Hayter to residents. As far as Wigston has gone from the Police’s position some nearby areas suffered from a spate of burglaries but Wigston has not seen an increase.

The Police have today received a green light to take planned actions around eScooters / eBikes in the Borough. Parking on Meadow Way was raised by residents within Item 4, the lack of restrictive road markings were raised where the zig-zags outside of the school are the only markings. Parking is a deferred power which sat with the Police for some time but now sits with LCC, and has done for some years. Police will get involved in parking issues if the parking is dangerous, i.e. putting pedestrians and other vehicles at risk, or parked in a way which forces people into oncoming traffic. The Police and Council can remove vehicles that are blocking the egress of a driveway, but no power exists to remove vehicles blocking access to driveways. If a vehicle is out of road tax for 2 months and 1 day and on the highway the Police can remove the vehicle under DVLA powers. The Police noted that some recent parking issues have related to vehicles that have broken down in the cold weather, and that a balanced approach needs to be taken to this. As a beat team the control team will defer to LCC normally, but PC Morgan noted he is happy to visit areas where problem parking is reported but can’t promise action will be taken if powers do not exist.

A resident raised concerns with the volume and speed of vehicles using the shortcut of Guthlaxton Way between Welford Road and Newton Lane – farm vehicles are a usual culprit for this and its not always possible to see number plates on them. The Police will do enforcement with speed guns in areas where multiple or regular complaints are received – they have previously attended Launceston Road. The Police need to be aware of the issues, with reports being made, in order to take action. Residents note that the new estate in this area may be contributing to the changes to the flow and speed of traffic. The resident who raised Guthlaxton Way as a concern noted that they received a letter from the Council in response, which they do not believe they should have received, which highlighted the Council is “afraid to take action” due to the nature of the agricultural businesses. Cllr. Loydall noted the importance of residents making reports in order to gather the required evidence to take action. Cllr. Bentley asked if the letter referred to by the resident could be shared with him, and provided an overview of the Planning Conditions which restricts the use of some of the roads to certain types of traffic around the new build estates. The new road connecting through to Newton Lane is near completion which will move some traffic away from Guthlaxton Way.

Cllr. Martin raised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 110.

Local Government Reorganisation: Consultation from Central Government is out, and the Chair has encouraged residents to respond to the survey to have their say on the three proposed plans for the future of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. A response from the Government is expected in late Spring or early Summer. The consultation can be completed via https://consult.communities.gov.uk/local-government-reorganisation/leicestershire-and-leicester-and-rutland/

The Old Crown, Moat Street: No application has been submitted for a change of use of the building at present. Scaffolding is up at the building but it is unclear what works are underway. A resident queried what the Council would class as ‘inappropriate plans’ for the building. The Chair noted that anything that preserves the building, and does not cause a disturbance to neighbours with noise and vehicles may be deemed as acceptable. The ownership of the building is not a Planning consideration. Ongoing works cannot be inspected by the Council until a planning application is submitted. Once the building opens the Council can enforce any breach of existing planning conditions. The existing ‘plans’ for the building put forward by the current owners are publicly available, and have been passed to the Council. The building’s location in a Conservation Area will affect what can be done with the building. The Council’s Planning Officers and Enforcement Officers are aware of the Old Crown, and Cllr. Bentley will enquire with them regarding the current works. Residents noted there are new windows to the rear of the building that may breach conservation orders.

The Elms: Enforcement has been taken regarding the windows but no results to date. Residents raised concerns regarding parking at and around the Elms during events that they are hosting. There are no planning restrictions regarding this as events fall within the permitted use of the building. Parking is the responsibility of LCC.

Council Budgets: OWBC has proposed a 2.5% increase in Council Tax, which is less than the recommend 2.9%. There will be no increase in charges for car parks or garden waste. The meeting to confirm this is taking place tomorrow night. LFRS is increasing their total charge to £91, OWBC is £258, and Police £315. County Council precept increase will be 2.99% approved today. A resident noted that they are pleased that the garden waste charge is not increasing, and highlighted that the existing charge is higher than Blaby District’s charge of around £45. The charge for a second garden waste bin has increased however.

Homelessness: Around 100 people remain in bed and breakfast which is costing the Council approx. £1m annually. Most of these individuals are homeless through no fault of their own, with an increase in landlords evicting tenants before new legislation comes into force. Government Inspectors are interviewing the Council this coming Monday in respect of its response to homelessness.

Admiral Sportswear: The Council is doing a feature on Admiral Sportswear to celebrate their work in the World Cup. Neville Chadwick passed all of the photographs taken for this to the Getty Institute who charge £360  ...  view the full minutes text for item 111.

School Parking on Meadow Way: See Police update.

Area underneath Wigston Library: Appears to be being used by a number of rough sleepers. This has not been reported to the Council as far as the Chair is aware, and the last survey of rough sleepers did not find any in the Borough. Residents highlighted a number of sleeping bags at this location. M Smith will raise this with the Council’s Housing Team.

Admiral Sportswear Building: The third company to refurbish the building is currently continuing the work to turn it into flats. The previous two companies have gone bust.

Old Working Men’s Club, Long Street: The land is in poor condition and becoming an eye sore. No planning applications have been put forward for this area. South Leicestershire Islamic Society has registered the Old Crown as its charity address and has approached the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness for use of the land as a car park for the Old Crown.

Nail Bars and Turkish Barbers: Are there any restrictions on the number that can operate in the Borough. No, this is driven by market forces.

Spion Kop: The planning application put in for the parapet of the bridge was refused. Works still need to occur on the bridge but there is no current plans around this.

Grass Cutting: Some parcels of land are now privately owned and are not being appropriately managed. The Council can enforce on this is they are not maintained.

Viking Road / Aylestone Lane: There is significant flooding here which was reported to Cllr. McDonald at this meeting, as County Councillor, for LCC Highways to address. The junction of Oadby Road and Bull Head Street was also raised which M Smith will report to LCC Highways. Flooding along Bull Head Street occurs regularly due to a number of springs which empty into this location. Local knowledge around flooding is being overlooked when planning applications for new build houses are being submitted, with experts reporting flooding once in 100 years for some locations which are flooding regularly. The volume of traffic increasing in the Borough due to the number of new build properties was also raised by residents, where it was also noted there are longer term plans to build the new Eastern Distribution Road putting a new motorway junction close to the rear of Countesthorpe and Blaby. This has been ‘on the cards’ for over 60 years.

Light Pollution Issues: Are these handled by the Council as the lights from the tennis courts on Horsewell Lane are illuminating far more than their courts. Cllr. Bentley will look into this.

Bull Head Street Citybound: Proper resurfacing works are required now instead of patching works as the condition has further deteriorated following the cold and wet weather. The surface is now posing a hazard to pedestrians, particularly near to the Police Station and Morrisons.

Pedestrian Controlled Lights: The lights do not appear to be controlled by pedestrians, and appear to be operating on a time delay where  ...  view the full minutes text for item 112.

None raised.

Wednesday, 20 May 2026 (TBC) – Thythorn Hill Community Centre, 7pm

Wednesday, 20 May 2026 – Thythorn Hill Community Centre – 19:00

1.     M Smith to include a link to the Government’s Local Government Reorganisation consultation in the Minutes of this meeting.

2.     Cllr. Bentley to speak with the Council’s Planning Team regarding the works at the Old Crown.

3.     M Smith to alert the Council’s Housing Team to the potential of a homeless individual sleeping under Wigston Library.

4.     M Smith to report the road surface conditions, flooding locations and pedestrian controlled lights timing raised in this meeting to Cllr. McDonald at the County Council.

5.     Cllr. Bentley to look into the issue raised regarding light pollution from the floodlights at Wigston Tennis Club.