BLOG: My Community Day in Oadby and Wigston

Visiting the Gurdwara in Kenilworth Drive

Thursday 25th July

I set myself up for the Community Day in Oadby & Wigston with a great breakfast at the Chartwell Café in West Avenue.  It is worth persevering to find, being tucked down an industrial estate at No.130 -and there is a small sign to help you.

Then it was off to the Gurdwara in Kenilworth Drive to talk to the Board of Trustees. Our chat covered a lot of ground.  Some of this regarded crime issues in the immediate area of the Gurdwara, but we also discussed issues facing Sikhs living in Leicester.

I was grateful, and most interested to be given a copy of the “Sikh Manifesto” which the Sikh Network produced to be distributed to candidates in the recent General Election.  I’ll try to find the time to read it at the weekend and get back to the Gurdwara board. 

They also gave me a brochure about the Sikh Troops War Memorial.  On my last visit, some months ago, this project had not yet been completed.  It now stands proudly in Victoria Park, Leicester, and I was privileged to have attended the grand unveiling.  It was good to now have my own copy of the brochure.

I moved on to meet with Cllr Samia Haq, the Leader of the Oadby and Wigston Council at the Council offices in Brocks Hill.  We had a wide-ranging discussion covering many topics, such as:

• Recent burglaries in Oadby;

• Public appreciation of the meeting with senior police officers regarding issues in Oadby;

• The recent growth in shoplifting in the borough;

• Anti-social behaviour and alleged drug taking in some of the local parks;

• The excellent work being done by the local Community Safety Partnership [CSP].

As luck would have it, my next stop was at Blaby Road Park in Wigston.  This park had been the site of some anti-social behaviour (ASB) a few months ago.  Since then, my office, the CSP and the police have been co-operating to deter these problems.  So, I wanted to speak to people using the park to see if they thought the situation had improved.

The first person I spoke to said he had no idea that there had ever been any trouble, but then had moved to Wigston only a couple of weeks ago. “Lovely park, mind you,” he told me.

In all I spoke to nearly a dozen people.  All agreed that the park was a great place to visit, walk a dog, play with children or just sit about.  Two ladies with young children in the playground did recall the earlier trouble.  “That’s right,” one said while the other nodded, “There to be loads of litter, broken glass, shouting teenagers and those electric scooters. No trouble now though.”

Good news.

My next stop was at Wigston Police Station to drop in for a chat with the local beat officers.  A chat with the desk clerk revealed that it had been a busy day.  “Not much work for the officers,” he told me.  “Just people wanting advice about this and that.  But that’s what we’re here for.  It’s good to help people.”

Always keen to talk to the public, I slipped around the corner to Penzance Avenue to knock on doors before I had to leave for my final appointment of the day.  I knocked on a dozen doors, and found seven people in.  Everyone said that Wigston was a great place to live, that it was generally peaceful and law-abiding and that they appreciated seeing the police around.  Two residents had a complaint at a young man who drove his car very fast down the road – but otherwise not problems.

Next, I was into the City of Leicester for an evening engagement, so it was good bye to Oadby and Wigston for now.

Rupert Matthews
Police & Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland