Leicestershire, Leicester City, and Rutland unite to make space for Nature

Leicestershire County Council has taken the helm as the Responsible Authority in the pursuit of a more harmonious and nature-friendly future. Appointed by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the council, in collaboration with the designated supporting authorities and organisations, is spearheading the development of a Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Leicestershire, Leicester City, and Rutland. 

The project is a giant stride towards a more integrated and landscape-scale approach to preserving and enhancing our natural world, including addressing climate change, flood mitigation, and improving air and water quality.

The draft LNRS is set to be made available for public consultation late Autumn 2024. It will reflect the diverse and thriving tapestry of life in our region, weaving together the unique essence of Leicestershire, Leicester City, and Rutland.

For more information on what a Local Nature Recovery Strategy is and what is taking place locally.

Funding secured to reach net zero targets 

Leicestershire CAN (Collaboration to Accelerate Net Zero) led by Leicestershire County Council has been awarded funding from Innovate UK to help Leicestershire reach net zero targets.

The funding will be used to explore how Leicestershire stakeholders can collaborate and accelerate climate action, develop a decarbonisation pathway plan for the whole county, identify the best ways for communities to get to net zero and launch a new online platform to share information and tools.

Swift Action for Swifts

A project to support swift populations throughout Leicestershire and help them to recover has been awarded a £77,000 grant from Natural England. 

Leicestershire County Council’s Swift Action for Swifts project has been chosen as one of 63 projects across England to receive a share of £14.5 million, aimed at helping 150 rare and threatened species on the road to recovery.

Swift numbers are in severe decline across the UK, down by 53% percent between 1995 and 2016, due to loss of breeding sites and the reduced numbers of flying insects caused by the use of pesticides and climate change. 

The Swift Action for Swifts project aims to reverse the decline in the numbers of the migratory birds by helping householders across the county to provide nesting sites, by the installation of specially built swift boxes and ‘callers’ to encourage the birds to locate the boxes and make their homes in them. 

If you wish to know more about how to get a box, please contact environmentteam@leics.gov.uk  

Invasive and Non-native Species initiative receives funding

Two projects dedicated to the protection of native plants and animals across the county have been successful in receiving a total of just under £30,000 from UK government via DEFRA’s Invasive Species Management Fund and Natural England's Seed corn funding, including cash match funding from Leicestershire County Council. 

The funding will be used by Leicestershire County Council, working on behalf of the Leicestershire & Rutland Invasive and Non-Native Species Initiative . To work with volunteers, parish councils, community groups and landowners from communities across the county to help with the control, recording and monitoring of invasive and non-native species . Invasive species are plants, animals and insects which have been introduced to Britain and which spread rapidly, taking over habitats and stopping native species from flourishing. 

Both projects will recruit and train volunteers from local communities to become the eyes and ears of the projects. They will be responsible for spotting and recording, collecting data and forming working groups to help to control and manage the issues and prevent further spread. As well as helping to educate their communities and the wider public on the problems posed by invasive species. 

If you would like further information on how you can volunteer and get more actively involved with either project, please email: EnvironmentTeam@leics.gov.uk

Home composting workshops

Master Composter Rod Weston will be running two free workshops at the Stokes Wood Allotments Compost Demonstration Site.

The workshop will help give newcomers to composting an introduction to the subject (or maybe a refresher for the more experienced) and a session on getting a compost bin or heap going again for the spring, once everything has started to warm up.  

Dates for the workshops are:  

Sunday 25 February – Introduction to composting: An introductory session for those starting to compost, thinking of buying a bin, who have encountered problems or just want a practical refresher. 

Sunday 31 March  - Waking the compost bin: Kick starting the bins and the composting process for the new season including the use of free natural activators. 

Both workshops will run 10.00 AM – 12.00 PM at Stokes Wood Allotment, Stokes Drive, Leicester LE3 9BR. Refreshments will be provided.

Give and Take toolkit 

A give and take event is an exchange event, which provides an opportunity to rehome items that you no longer require. This keeps them in use for longer and prevents them going to waste. Reusing items reduces the need for as many new items to be produced from scratch, thereby protecting our natural resources.

We’ve produced a Give and Take Toolkit to guide you through running your own Give and Take events. Getting rid of items you no longer want and knowing they’re going to be used by someone else can feel very rewarding and, of course, there’s nothing better than grabbing a bargain!

Solar Together scheme  

Solar Together is a group buying initiative whereby the Green Living Leicestershire group, which includes Leicestershire county, borough and district councils, have been working together to install solar panels across the county. 

Residents sign up for free on their council’s website and are entered into an auction. Solar PV suppliers compete by offering the lowest rate for solar panel installation. The more people who are registered, the lower the price can be. 

The Solar Together 2022 Scheme saw 460 total installations across the county. The price achieved for a typical 14-panel system was a substantial 27% discount on typical market costs and has contributed an additional 1.6MW of renewable energy in Leicestershire. Over the next 25 years, these new installations are estimated to deliver 7,385 tonnes of carbon reduction. 

Tilton on the Hill electric car club

Leicestershire’s first electric car club was recently launched in Tilton on the Hill. This scheme has been set up through a partnership between Harborough District Council and Green Fox Community Energy Co-operative to provide the rural village of Tilton on the Hill with a sustainable means of travel.  

Residents are now able to hire and charge two electric cars from the Village Hall car park for a small membership and hire fee. There is also a community led lift sharing scheme using the cars for people who are unable to drive. 

If you would like to find out how Tilton on the Hill’s electric car club works, or live within Tilton and Halstead Parish and want to see if you are eligible to use the electric car club, visit Green Fox Community Energy’s webpage.

Home Upgrade Grant

£6.8m grant funding to help households in the county to reduce their energy bills with energy efficiency measures 

The Home Upgrade Grant is administered by the county council's Warm Homes service together with YES Energy Solutions and E.ON Energy Solutions, can provide homeowners and private tenants (subject to landlord contribution) with fully funded energy efficiency measures improving the warmth and comfort of homes, whilst also reducing energy bills, carbon emissions and levels of fuel poverty across the county. 

The scheme supports households that do not have mains gas as a primary heating system such as those with electric, heating oil, LPG or solid fuel heating. Households that only use gas for cooking or secondary room heating can still apply. 

For more information on the grants, including the full eligibility criteria, eligible postcode areas or to apply, visit the County Council's Green Living Leicestershire Home Upgrade Grant webpage or call project delivery partner YES Energy Solutions on 0330 912 6199, who can support residents with their applications

Great British Insulation Scheme                         

The Great British Insulation Scheme is a new government offer to help people insulate their homes, make them more energy efficient and save money on their energy bills. 

Previously known as ECO+, the £1 billion scheme will help around 300,000 households across the country with the cost of installing new home insulation and will save consumers around £300 to £400 a year on their bills. 

The scheme will boost help for those on the lowest incomes, as well as extending support to a wider range of households living in the least energy-efficient homes in the country (those with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D or below) and in the lower Council Tax bands (A - D in England). 

The scheme works by obligating energy suppliers to help customers to reduce their heating bills, through the installation of energy efficiency measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation. The cost of this may be covered in full through the scheme, or you may be offered the insulation for a contribution, depending on the measure and any property issues.  

Warm Homes advice

For wider information about available grants and schemes supporting energy efficiency please visit our energy grants pages: Energy Efficiency Grants or speak to our Warm Home service 0116 305 2524. 

Waste site views wanted  

We want to hear your thoughts on proposals designed to reduce waste costs. 

Closing three recycling and household waste sites – Somerby, Shepshed and Market Harborough – is part of the plans which would save around £400K.

Changes to opening days at Bottesford and Melton Mowbray, and Christmas and summer opening times, are also being considered.

The consultation is set to close on Wednesday 24 January 2024.

A community fridge is a space that’s dedicated to redistributing surplus food and stopping it from going to waste.

Within Leicestershire, four Community Fridges are currently being managed by a team of Children and Family Wellbeing Service volunteers. These fridges are each based at County Council Children’s Centres / Family Hubs in Hinckley, Wigston Magna, Coalville and Loughborough. 

These Community Fridges are proud to work with some local partners who play a vital role in supporting this sharing of food: M&S, Co-op, Aldi, Lidl, Milner’s Bakery, Greggs, Asda, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Greets Fruit and Veg to name a few.  

Each provides surplus food close to its best before or use by date. Tinned and dried food donations are also accepted from members of the public. The fridges redistribute this food to anyone who can make use of it, for free.  

The first Leicestershire County Council -managed fridge opened in June 2021 and tonnes of food have been redistributed to date. The fridges are open to everyone and are totally free to access, just bring a carrier bag.

Government’s simpler approach to recycling from 2026

The Government have recently announced a new simpler approach to recycling that will be introduced across England to help make recycling easier for everyone.  

Under these new waste reforms, people across England will be able to recycle the same materials whether at home, at school or at work.  

From 31 March 2026 (with the exception of plastic films which will need to begin by 31 March 2027), all councils in England must collect the same recyclable waste streams for recycling or composting from households. 

The dry recyclable waste streams include:  

• paper and card  

• plastic (including bottles, pots, tubs and trays, tubes, food and drink cartons, plastic film and bags), 

• glass (including bottles and jars),  

• metal (including cans, aerosols, aluminium tubes, foil and food trays).

Local authorities must also arrange for the weekly collection of food waste and, where requested, collection of garden waste for which they may make a charge.   

The Government is also planning to introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers in 2025.  Steel and aluminium drink cans and PET bottles up to 3 litres in size will be included in the new scheme.  

It is hoped that these new arrangements will drive up recycling rates and contribute to the government’s ambition to reach net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 by diverting recyclable material away from landfill.