Broadband for Market Bosworth and the villages which surround it has been historically slow when compared to larger towns and city broadband speeds due to the distance to the Exchange from rural villages and the Exchange itself not being a priority for BT to upgrade with technology due to it serving a reletively small amount of people.

In December 2011 however, BT rolled out its 21CN (21st Century Network) WBC (Wholesale Broadband Connect) service to Market Bosworth.

Will This Make My Broadband Faster?

In theory, it could do. The upgrade does provide more opportunities for faster broadband and also from other companies.

Before the upgrade, BT could only offer us their ‘IP Stream’ service, promising speeds of ‘up to 8mbps’. Any other companies offering broadband had to do so over this service, making them unable to offer competitive (cheaper) alternatives as-seen in larger towns and cities.

BT’s WBC upgrade offers an increase of to ‘up to 24mbps‘ in broadband speed (although this would decrease drastically over any distance from the exchange to your home).

Who Will Supply My Broadband?

By upgrading the exchange itself (the building in Market Bosworth where all of our phone lines plug into), BT can now allow third-party broadband providers to ‘have presence’ in the Exchange and install their own equipment, thus allowing them to offer more competitive broadband options to customers.

At the time of publishing, only TalkTalk has presence in Market Bosworth, meaning that the only option other than BT is TalkTalk. Hopefully we will soon see other providers such as Sky and O2 enter the market in the area, so cheaper and faster broadband alternatives are available.

Is This BT Infinity?

No. BT Infinity is BTs retail name for its new fibre-optic based broadband network. This network offers ‘Fibre To The Cabinet’ or ‘FTTC’ which involves the installation of a large dark-green cabinet at the end of your street, and broadband speeds of around 40mbps, which is achieved by swapping out the old copper-wire cables from the Exchange to your street with fibre-optic cables.

BTs WBC upgrade still uses existing copper wire to connect your home to the telephone exchange.

There are currently no plans for BT to offer BT Infinity (FTTC) to residents served by the Market Bosworth Telephone Exchange, let alone FTTH (fibre to the home) which will offer speeds of over 100mbps should it ever arrive.

Will This Affect My Broadband?

No – the upgrade is already complete and would have taken approximately 30 minutes to complete. We’ll have to wait and see to find out who will come to Market Bosworth to offer us cheaper broadband.

As for BT Infinity, it took BT 4 years to install WBC, so don’t get your hopes up just yet.

Christmas Tree Collection

Garden waste bins (brown bins) will not be collected over Christmas and New Year. Real Christmas Trees can be left out with the brown bin on the first collection of 2012 (January 19th) to be disposed of. Trees must be in less than 1m lengths and be left either in the brown bin or alongside it.

Recycling Guide

Collection Times

All collections begin at 7:00am.

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

The installation of Post Office services at the Co-Op will be assessed once in place with a view to continuing the service only if the demand for it proves to exist. This means that the village Post Office service will be on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis.

Full details of services to be available from the Co-Op (including bank deposits / withdrawals and specialist services previously offered by the Post Office are yet to be confirmed.

The closure is due to bridge repair works which are taking place beside the junction between the A447 and Goatham Lane, which leads into Osbaston Village. The work involves exposing the existing brick arch and installing a concrete saddle.

Whilst the road is closed, main road traffic is being diverted at the ‘Bull in the Oak’ junction near Market Bosworth towards Newbold Verdon, then around Barlestone village through Newbold Heath.

Such diversions have seen up to half-mile traffic jams leading from the Newbold Road junction due to the increase in traffic in the area at busy periods, as cars travelling to Leicester have to give way to diverted traffic heading towards Hinckley.

Barlestone Post Office is to ‘Temporarily’ close on September 24th 2011 after the retirement of Sub-Post Mistress Heather Ball. The village post office will close indefinitely until a suitable replacement location for the post office is found, according to Post Office Ltd.

Loss of Local Services

After Sept 24th, villagers will have to use the nearby Post Office in Newbold Verdon as there will be no other Post Office facilities in the village. Villagers will also be left without the ability to make free cash withdrawals without leaving the village.

Residents of Barlestone may find it difficult to make the journey over to Newbold due to recent cutbacks on the local Arrive Bus Service, reporting by Barlestone net earlier this year.

Will The Post Office Be Replaced?

Post Office Ltd say they will be looking for a replacement for the Post Office in the village, but with only two village shops remaining (the village Co-Operative and Barton Road Stores) options are limited. In a time when the Royal Mail is saving costs wherever it can, will they see this as an opportunity to close the village Post Office permanently?

Good Luck Heather!

Heather is retiring from the Post Office after many years working in the village Post Office, which is also her home. Heather was voted Barlestone Citizen of the Year in 2009, and switched on the village Christmas Lights in 2010. We wish her a very happy retirement and say thank you for the many years of service you have provided to the village.

You can comment on this story by using the Comments feature below.

Metal theives break into BT manholes and cut the telephone cable at two points along the road, then attempt to rip it out of the ground by tying it to a vehicle in order to cash in on soarng scrap metal values which have seen copper fetch as much as £6,000 a tonn.

Local residents and businesses such as the village Co-op were left without telephone and Internet services whilst BT OpenReach were left to repair the damaged lines. Service was restored to the village on Sunday morning.

Dangerous

As well as local businesses being unable to process credit card transactions, Barlestone Surgery was also left without telephone lines while the cable was being replaced. Furthermore, villagers were left without telephone lines of their own,  meaning many would have been unable to call the emergency services should they have needed.

How This Can Be Prevented

The theft of scrap metal is at record levels due to spiralling metal prices for scap lead and copper. With BT’s telephone network in the rural area still being made of copper wire, this is a tempting target for opportunistic thieves who can remove large quantities of it and scrap it in for cash. However, such practises could be reduced with a few simple measures:

1) Upgrade the BT phone network to Fibre Optic. Fibre Optic cables are made of glass, and don’t have any scrap value to theives. BT are upgrading their network (to their 21st Century Network) however as yet there is no forecast date for Barlestone or surrounded villages served by Market Bosworth Telephone Exchange.

2) Enforce Waste Carriers Licences. Waste management laws dictate that any vehicle carrying waste must be able to document where the waste came from, and that they are licenced to carry it. If the police enforce waste management laws, theives would have a harder time carrying the stolen metal and disposing of it.

3) Eliminate the means to scrap stolen metal. Enforcing the law at scrap metal dealers not to accept telephone cable, manhole covers or any other suspect material would help deter the theives from stealing it in the first place. If scrap revenue was paid into bank accounts and not in cash, this would also deter many theives from using this as a means to make money illegally.

Information Needed

The theft of the telephone cabling outside of Barlestone was covered by the Leicester Mercury, who like us are appealing for anyone who knows anything about the thefts to claim £1,000 in reward money and to telephone 0800 555 111.

That is as if we all didn’t know anyway.

The parade will gather in Church Road from 1pm on the Saturday, leaving to walk through the village and towards Barlestone Primary School at 1.20pm. The parade will then end at the Primary School at 2.00pm at which point the summer fete will commence!

The theme for this years parade will be ‘Goodies and Baddies’! You can help promote this event by ‘Liking’ this page, which will help advertise this even on Facebook.

About The Street Parade

Our walkers will mainly be children from Barlestone Primary School plus various other village groups, however anyone can take part either as a group or individuals, plus the organising committee would welcome any stewards and collectors (as a collection team will be following the street parade to raise money for local community groups).

The ‘theme’ of ‘Goodies and Baddies’ is not mandatory, but if you are taking part then this is your chance to become the hero of villain of your dreams!

BOCA Fundraising

BOCA aims to provide a vehicle to enhance the social, cultural and educational needs of Barlestone and Osbaston and also raises funds for the benefit of our local community.

In the last three years BOCA has contributed funds to St Giles Youth Football Club, First Steps playgroup, Just4Kids and each of the villages ‘uniformed’ groups (Brownies, Cubs etc) as well as the community First Responders as their chosen beneficiaries.

The street collection will be used to boost the funds available for our 2011/12 good causes.

Further Information

For further information please contact Cathy Mullins on 01455 292 957 or 07917 022 114.

Present

Mr. D. Crane, Mr. D. Burchell, Mr. L. Moore, Mr. M. Brotherhood, Mr. D. Reid, Mrs. C. Rahaman, Mr. P. Enston, C.Cllr Ivan Ould,  B.Cllr Bill Crooks.

Apologies

Mr. E. Hartshorn, PC Hannigan.

C.Cllr Ould spoke about the possible closure of pharmacies in the area and was able to report that following discussions with Mr. Tredennick and others it had been taken up and Barlestone was now classed as Rural and not Urban. The consultation period is not yet finished but the recommendation was as Rural.

Also discussed was the ownership of land on new developments and it was understood that it was up to the developer to contact the County Council to discuss adoption of a road.

£300,000 has been given by the Government to Leicester C.C. to repair potholes throughout the county.

Other items of interest included a consultation with regard to the change of hours for libraries, museums and the records office.

Discussing planning guidance on green spaces for affordable homes, D.Burchell felt that under the new government the Parish Councils should be able to influence planning applications.

A report from PC Hannigan was read to the members.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The minutes of the meeting held on the 8th March 2011 having been circulated were confirmed by M.Brotherhood, seconded by L.Moore as a true record.

Matters Arising / Clerks Update
Prestons requested to cut back trees in Meadow Road that were overhanging the path.

Confirmation that the Borough will use the pavilion as the polling station on the 5th May.  Invoice will be sent.

Contact with Borough re the Cemetery – see below.

Work with Bank/Charity Commission re: the Custodian Trustees.

Allotment rents collected and almost all allotments taken.

Correspondence

AON - Insurance Renewal

H&BBC - Standards Board Minutes

LCC - Community Forum agenda request

Mrs. Colton - Request to sell back grave space

Footpath Assn - Programme

Bowls Club - Re Electricity & Request for donation

Dan Ogden -Hard Surface Play Area Lighting repairs

B.Cllr Crooks  - Street lighting at Gregory Close – see AOB

H&BBC - Confirmation that the Good Friday Site is being monitored regularly.

Fields in Trust - Scheme to name areas for Queen Elizabeth II

Cllr E. Hartshorn  - Re document for Barlestone Community Development Trust

H&BBC - Statement as to persons nominated for the Parish Council

H&BBC – Planning Variation of condition to include 3 additional Velux Roof windows

Planning Applications

Ref.11/00227/CONDIT – Variation of condition to include 3 additional Velux Roof windows

There was no objection to this application.

Cemetery

Mrs. Colton wishes to sell back to the Parish Council 3 grave spaces as she and her daughters no longer live in the area.  It was proposed D.Reid, seconded L.Moore and all in agreement that this should be allowed.  The Clerk to find out how much was paid initially and a sum for administration would be deducted.  Once the Deeds have been received then a cheque will be written for the appropriate amount.

Electricity

The Clerk reported the electricity bill for the Playing field had been received and the total was £986.29.  This will be looked into by the members and checks made to find out if any savings can be made.

Quotations

Hard Surface Play Area Lighting repairs – the members are to request a quotation for all the work to the lighting and CCTV equipment.

Quotation received re the replacing of the guttering around the pavilion.  It was explained that a further two quotations would be required and the Clerk will deal with this.

Quotation for Renewal of Insurance of Aon.  There had been requests from other companies to quote for the insurance but the members felt that as the exercise had been done last year and the current company was still the cheapest that it was not a necessity this time

D.Burchell took the current schedule to go through it.

Request for Grant

The Bowls Club had requested a grant towards further work to the Clubhouse.

P.Enston declared an interest and took no part in the discussions.

Proposed D.Birchell, seconded L.Moore that £300 was made as a grant – M.Brotherhood abstained due to living in close proximity.

Employment Changes

An email had been received asking if a particular company could take over the paying of salaries to the staff of the Parish Council in return for a fixed fee due to the fact that all Parish Clerks and Officers would have to be paid under the PAYE system in the future.

The Clerk pointed out that this was the first she or the Finance Officer had heard about the changes.  More enquiries are to be made and a letter sent to the Tax Office expressing disappointment that no notification had been received.

Reports

Playing Field

D.Burchell reported that he and M.Brotherhood had met with the football team managers to discuss next season, and things were moving ahead.

Checks are to be made re goal post covers as the original ones had possibly been broken.

It was agreed to order the Basket Ball nets to enable them to be in use for the summer.

E.Hartshorn’s report to the Parish Council re BOCA and Charitable Status

E.Hartshorn circulated a report to the members of the Parish Council with regard to the above.  D.Burchell proposed that the report to the Parish Council be adopted, this was seconded by P.Enston and agreed by all members.

Cathie Mullins of BOCA will be notified

BOCA

L.Moore attended the meeting and reported on the Royal Wedding event at St.Giles Football Club.  He reported that charges would be made for some of the activities and as previously agreed the Parish Council will be contributing to the cost of the fireworks up to £500.

Village Pump

B.Cllr Crooks had spoken to the new organisers who said they would be delivering a copy to every house in the village as well as having the web site.

Allotments – Rent collection

This had gone ahead and almost all the plots were now taken.

Traveller’s Site Report

D.Crane reported that the meeting at the Borough had been well attended but there were worries of further sites springing up over the Bank Holiday weekends.

E.Hartshorn sent a report to the members and D.Crane went through the report and asked everyone to be aware of any suspicious movements around villages.

It was noted that the Borough confirmed that the Good Friday site was being monitored on a regular basis.

Any Other Business

The Clerk reported she had asked Prestons to check out the problem with the lighting and vegetation down Gregory Close and it would seem that the light is obscured by the foliage.

It would appear the foliage belongs to the farm – did anyone know who owned the farm?

ROSPA has been contacted to check the play equipment at the football club and as agreed previously the invoice will be paid by the Parish Council.

Revd. John Downs is to become Associate Vicar for the St.Giles Ministry in the village. He will be licensed on the 3rd of May at St. Giles by the Archdeacon of Loughborough.

It was noted that the speed limit had dropped to 50 mph on the A447.

Nailstone had been given a presentation on the mobile speed signs.

M.Brotherhood reported that Mrs.Jordan was well on the way with the enquiries re speedwatch.

It was noted that a tree down Brookside needed attention – Prestons will be contacted

The Roundhouse was looking unkempt and Cllr Crooks will have a word with the cleansing department at the Borough.
D.Burchell said thought should be given to having a Christmas Tree down by the Barlestone as well as the Round House at Christmas – this will be discussed later.There being no other business the meeting closed at 10.15 pm.

The scam works by tricking householders into thinking that the collection service is from their local Air Ambulance, but in actual fact is from a private company who are looking to collect free items of clothing for their own commercial gain, by using the Air Ambulance Name.

Upon closer inspection is is clear that the ‘Air Ambulance Service’ is not quite as it seems.

• No Registered Charity Number is given (this is because the fliers come from a commercial company).
• No official Air Ambulance logos
• No official Air Ambulance website address (the website address given does not work)

At the bottom of the flyer is a small disclaimer written in tiny text, which reads:

“Air Ambulance Service’ are (sp) a free membership organisation open to all UK residents. We are working towards providing assistance to cover or reduce the cost of ground and air ambulance medical transportation for patients caught in difficult medical circumstances (having an unfortunate accident or illness in another city or country). We are a free information provider and referral service. All ground and medical transports are chartered, co-ordinated and carried out by a network of licenced operators so as to ensure the compassionate care, sdafety and comfort of the patients”.

However it then goes on to say:

“The photo’s air ambulance (sp) vehicles are for display purposes only and may not be used as part of the services. Air Ambulance Service is not associated with any local helicopter emergency services. Air Ambulance Service is a free membership organisation, open to all UK residents. Terms and Conditions apply”.

Official Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance

This scam is in no way affilliated with Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance, who provide their own legitimate collection service on a regular basis to the village. An example of which is shown below. 

Support of the DLRAA can only be encouraged, however villagers should always check the validity of anything which is delivered door-to-door, and be sceptical of anything whcih does not seem legitimate.

Anyone suspecting the legitimacy of a charity collection service should check with the charity in question of it’s validity before sending any items or donations.

Join friends, family and fellow villagers for a night of fun, games, entertainment and celebrations as we see Will and Kate tie the knot.

Doors open at 5pm, entry is free, and it’s a National day off work, so come along and take part in what will be a great night!

Entertainment on offer includes:

• Football Competition (starting at 5.00pm)
• Bouncy Castle
• BJ The Clown (early evening)
• Bingo
• BBQ
• Tombola / Raffle
• Face Painting
• Various Stalls
• Disco (from 10.00pm onwards)

Please note there is limited parking so please leave your car at home.

Organised by Barlestone Parish Council, the Barlestone and Osbaston Community Association (BOCA), St Giles Football Club, and other village groups.