WELCOME ... PLEASE SCROLL FOR LATEST NEWS
(and the solution to a Puzzle Picture!)

Bus Shelter Survey

During February, all households within a few minutes walk of the bus stop at the Hathern Road and Turvey Lane corner are being asked to complete a simple survey of how many times they use that particular bus stop to get on a bus. This is to assist with making the case for a bus shelter and thus help with getting a grant towards the cost.
Residents are asked to complete the form accurately so that the results don't conflict with official figures. At the end of February the forms should be returned in the way indicated on the forms.
Thank you all for taking part.

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View of the power station from Smithy Lane, Long Whatton

WELCOME to our PARISH COUNCIL

## The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on THURSDAY 4th MARCH at 7.30pm at Long Whaton Community Centre. Meanwhile there will be a meeting of the Planning Group on 18th February at 7.30pm at Diseworth Village Hall. Notices with full details will be available, here and on Notice Boards in the villages from about the Friday before.
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For our important, topical news please scroll down ..
For who we are and how to contact us ... please scroll down ..
For Councillor details ... please see Councillors ..
For Meetings ... see Meetings Calendar and for Agendas and Minutes ... see Minutes Archive
Older news and more substantial reports are in Parish Council News.
You can also see how you can keep more up to date using Village.Mail - see below
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Long Whatton & Diseworth Parish Council - DISEWORTH WARD
VACANCY FOR A COUNCILLOR

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to section 87(2) of the Local Government Act 1972, that Mr. S. Adcock, formerly a member of Long Whatton & Diseworth Parish Council, has ceased to be a member thereof and that a vacancy now exists in the office of Councillor for the said Parish Council.
If by 4th February 2010, a request for an election to fill the said vacancy has been made in writing to the Returning Officer at the North West Leicestershire District Council, Council Offices, Coalville, Leicestershire LE67 3FJ by TEN electors for the said Parish Ward, an election will be held to fill the said vacancy, otherwise the vacancy will be filled by co-option.

Signed D.E. MAAS Parish Clerk

PLEASE NOTE: In the event of a bye-election not being claimed the Parish Council intends to co-opt a new member at the meeting of the Council to be held on Thursday 4th March 2010 or at the earliest opportunity thereafter.
Anyone wishing to express an interest in becoming a Member of the Parish Council may do so to a Councillor or obtain further information from the Parish Clerk, 86 Forest Road, Markfield, Leicestershire LE67 9UN - Telephone 01530 242534 - to whom written expressions of interest may be submitted.
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A PUZZLE PICTURE
Last month we asked which Diseworth building do these chimneys belong to? That certainly was not difficult as The Plough at Diseworth surely must be a well known building.
We'll have to try to produce a more testing puzzle another time!
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GETTING IN TOUCH ...

The Council's contact details are:
Douglas Maas, Parish Clerk
Long Whatton & Diseworth Parish Council
86 Forest Road, Markfield, Leicestershire LE67 9UN
Telephone: O1530 242534
email: longwhatdisepc@hotmail.com
website: longwhattondiseworth.org.uk

To contact a Councillor see Councillors
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The Parish Council now offers everyone an opportunity to make effective use of all the relevant and useful and sometimes urgent information it receives, without incurring the cost or time which other publicity methods would involve. This supplements this website and the village magazines. Anyone interested can easily use the service. The following link gives full details.

WHAT BRINGS YOU TO VISIT US?
What would you like to know about the Parish Council?

What is the Parish Council for? What does it do? How do we get in touch? When is the next meeting? Who are our Parish Councillors? Where does the money come from? How do we find out how they've used it? How can local people get the Parish Council to do things? Use the links on the left or look around this page for useful headlines. For further information - see Contact Details, above.
This is the website of the Parish Council. For more information about the Villages themselves and local facilities, just click on the leicestershirevillages.com link on the right which will take you straight to both Villages' own useful websites.

AT THE FEBRUARY MEETING
OF THE PARISH COUNCIL

Passions were raised for more than an hour at February’s meeting of the Council in Diseworth Village Hall, as the Council and more than 30 local people raised numerous questions about the intended reduction of the Skylink bus service. The questions were directed at representatives of the airport, Colleen Hempson and Anna Thompson who had offered to attend this meeting. Consultations had been carried out last year (as reported here in November) and it was explained that the decision to re-route the service between 7pm and 7am via Kegworth instead of Long Whatton and Diseworth had been taken on commercial grounds as there were currently very few passengers carried between our villages and the airport. Given the budget available, the subsidy paid by the airport, only intended to support airport passengers and staff, could no longer be justified. The service would revert to what it was 4 years ago.
Local people disputed the figures given as many people rely on the early morning/evening service to go to work and there were no viable alternatives for some. The green credentials of the airport were questioned as the evening service via Kegworth would parallel the Indigo service, giving Kegworth a choice of two evening services. It was suggested that this should allow reconsideration of the proposals. It was reported that, at its meeting two days previously, Kegworth Parish Council were unaware of the proposals and had sympathised with the plight of Long Whatton and Diseworth. Colleen promised to consult with both the bus company and with Kegworth PC on these matters, but with that proviso, confirmed that the service changes would take place in April.
The Council is party to an agreement in which the developers of the small housing development off West End, Long Whatton were required to provide a small play area. We had been consulted about the design of the play equipment for which the Council would become responsible.
A County Council grant might be available towards the cost of a bus shelter at Hathern Road and Turvey Lane but there are a number of hoops to jump through. It is important that we provide evidence of usage and a survey form has been distributed to houses within a few minutes’ walk of the stop. Anyone with a survey form is asked to return it as soon as possible after the end of February please.
Following a request from a local resident during the recent freeze, the Council has investigated the arrangements for providing local roadside salt bins. Consideration is to be given to where these might be usefully sited, bearing in mind the cost of £110 each.
Following complaints, the Council has asked the District Council to bring to an end the long-standing eyesore of green shuttering at a building site Grimes Gate, within the Diseworth Conservation Area. We have been advised that the Planners will look into this to see what can be done. They have also offered to provide an overview of the arrangements for Conservation Areas to the Council. It has been suggested that this could usefully be done at the Annual Parish Meeting on 1st April. Hopefully more of this next time.

NB: The responses of the Council to consultations about planning issues can always be seen in the minutes, published about 6 days prior to the next meeting (at www.longwhattondiseworth.org.uk).

VILLAGES ON COURSE TO THE FUTURE
Diseworth and Long Whatton people's wishes for the future of their villages are set in their PARISH PLAN, launched in 2008 after a big two year effort. Many requirements identified are already under way. The full summary of the Plan is available: CLICK HERE ...

CHAIRMAN's ANNUAL REPORT for 2008/09 - see Parish Council News
2001 CENSUS INFORMATION - see Council Information
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