What green spaces do you value?

Wymeswold Meadows Nature Reserve by Kate Jewell

People in Leicestershire are being urged to have their say on the green spaces they value. The county council wants to hear from people about their favourite green spaces, whether they are parks and meadows or large green wedges between towns.
There are already a number of protected areas in Leicestershire, such as Bradgate Park, Conservation Areas and Green Wedges. The council are particularly interested in hearing about more local areas that are important to people in their community. It could be a small strip of waste land that local children play on, a roadside verge that provides particular wildlife habitat, a village green or public garden, or even large areas of green space between towns and villages.

You can make your views known either by attending your local community forum meeting before the end of March (there will be sessions on green spaces at each one), or by making your comments using the council's interactive, online map of the county.

For more information go to http://www.leics.gov.uk/greenspaces

Film and Green Day in Bottesford - March 2011

The community group Vale Villages in Transition have organised two events which will take place at Bottesford Village Hall in early March.

On the evening of Friday 4th March from 7.45pm, the group will show the film “The Power of Community”, which tells the inspiring story of how Cuba coped with increased fuel prices by switching to sustainable agriculture and urban food production.

On Saturday 12th March from 2pm to 6.30pm, the group are organising a Green Day, which will feature local food providers, energy saving advice, kids’ activities and much more.
For further information, visit http://www.valevillagesintransition.org.uk/FutureEvents.html, or contact the group on 07812 564 059.

Both events have been supported by Climate Friendly Communities grant funding from the Communities Cutting Carbon project (http://www.ruralcc.org.uk/climate-change). The funds were made available thanks to the support of each of the local authorities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

This news item is taken from http://www.ruralcc.org.uk/latestnews.html

BBC News - Leicestershire libraries will not close, says council

Good news for library users across the county! Click here for the story.....

Out and about: Vale of Belvoir

Belvoir Castle viewed from Woolsthorpe, by Brian Green

Now that spring is within sight, you might be planning to explore the area a bit. Here is the first article in our 'Out and About' series, which we hope you find interesting.

The wide, low lying area that straddles North East Leicestershire, South Nottinghamshire and West Lincolnshire is known as the Vale of Belvoir. It is predominantly rural grazing land, with some interesting features including a canal and a castle, making it an attractive part of the country to explore. Click here for the complete article.

Getting ready for the summer fests

It might seems ages until the summer festival season gets underway, but organisers are already hard at work planning their various events, to make them even better than the ones they held last year!

Here's a flavour of what's on offer in this area - more information in future issues of Village Connect and on this blog. 

Glastonbudget - Turnpost Farm, Wymeswold 27-29 May
Europe's biggest tribute and new acts festival.
http://www.glastonbudget.net/

Hosefest - 2 July
A big event in a small village in the Vale of Belvoir. Lasts all day starting with the Hose Village Fete and followed late afternoon and into the evening by the Hosenbury Music Festival. A great family day/evening out!
http://hosefest.org.uk/

Fristock, Frisby on the Wreake - 9 July
Held every summer at the village cricket ground. Bar, barbeque & free camping. Tickets sell like hot cakes for this popular event!
http://www.fhrcc.co.uk/fristock/main.htm

Then of course there's the Party in the Park which is part of the Stathern Festival, usually held during the second half of June (dates not yet confirmed). Check out the website for updated information:
http://www.stathernfestival.co.uk/


For information about festivals around the country, try
http://www.efestivals.co.uk/