The Senior Democratic & Scrutiny Services Officer invited nominations for the election of Chairman of the Wigston Parva Parish Meeting.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 17 June 2024 (enclosed).

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 June 2024 were approved subject to the following amendments:

1.    Correcting a typographical error from ‘Pilkinton’ to ‘Pilkington’.

2.    That ‘Aston Flamville’ be replaced with ‘Wigston Parva’ in item 1 of the minutes.

HNRFI

It was noted that a written refusal for HNRFI had been issued, the Chairman thanked Cllr. Ben Taylor, Cllr. Mike Shirley, Cllr. Maggie Wright and Alberto Costa (MP) for listening to local views from residents and lobbying to ensure that the application was refused.

Cllr. Ben Taylor added that the Council is working on the new Local Plan which will set out where growth needs to be accommodated following guidance issued from the Government.  The Local Plan is due to be published in November 2025. The Southern Slip on the M69 near Aston Flamville will also be included in the Local Plan for development.

Fly-tipping

The Chairman was pleased to report that there had been no recent incidents recently, and requested residents continue to be vigilant. It was noted that that the Council was efficient in collecting any waste once reported.

The Chairman spoke of car related vandalism, where vehicles were abandoned, and then had number plates switched. It was noted that several number plates had been located. It was noted that there had been no recent incidents. The Chairman requested that residents contact him if they see any abandoned vehicles so it could be reported to local beat police.

A5 Junction

Residents discussed several near-misses with vehicles who were not observing appropriate road health and safety.  Cllr. Mike Shirley responded that he had attended a virtual meeting with Highways and an officer responsible for the A5 group. The District Councillors added that they would continue to source funding bids to conduct a survey of the junction. If there were any concerns of overgrown vegetation, these should be reported to the Councillors to action.

Residents queried the number of fatalities on the junction and the Councillors responded that they would look into this further. Residents then discussed various solutions to make the junction safe, including amending the road surface, roundabouts, speed cameras.

Planning

The Chairman asked the District Councillors if they could suggest anything further to protect the hamlet from excessive development.

The District Councillors assured residents that they were actively involved in the drafting of the Local Plan and residents should continue to respond to planning application consultations as they are currently. The Council no longer has a 5 year housing land supply and this needed to be rectified as soon as possible. 

Residents discussed challenges raised by encroaching development, including accessing the village green and cottages, noise and disturbance.

Barking Dogs

It was reiterated that any disturbance ought to be brought to the attention of the Dog Warden.

District Councillors Update

Cllr. Mike Shirley provided residents with an update which included:

·         Cllr. Ben Taylor being elected as the Leader of Blaby District Council at its Annual Meeting on 20 May 2025.

·         Cllr. Cheryl Cashmore being appointed as the Deputy Leader, replacing Cllr Maggie Wright who had resigned from the Conservative Group and is now an Independent Member.

·         Cllr. Mike Shirley being appointed as the Planning and Strategic Growth Portfolio Holder.

·         Local Government Reorganisation – There are at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

None.

The date of the next meeting to be arranged in consultation with the Chairman for a date in May 2026.