BLOG: My Community Day in North West Leicestershire

Meeting with the CSP

Tuesday 4th March 2025

It was a wonderfully sunny day to start my Community Day in North West Leicestershire, although there was still a chill hanging in the air. Spring and the warmer weather will be upon us soon thankfully.

My first stop of the day was in Ellistown to meet with North West Leicestershire and County Councillor Cllr Keith Merrie and local resident Aimee Garner. Together we discussed the issues affecting the local area, with off-road bikes being raised as an issue in Ellistown. It was good to hear of the positive effect that CCTV is having in the local area, with Cllr Merrie reporting that anti-social behaviour is falling as a result of CCTV installation. In fact, over the last year crime is down across the whole of North West Leicestershire by 12.5%, which is testament to the hard work being done by Leicestershire Police.

I then travelled to Ashby de la Zouch where I met with Town Councillors Damilola Ojuri, Tom Stanley, Avril Wilson and Town Clerk Jack Fargher. The Councillors shared with me their concerns regarding e-scooters and e-bikes, especially near schools at drop off and pick up time. The Money Hill housing development and the impact that 1,000’s more people will have on community safety in the area was also raised. I will be speaking to the local NPA Commander regarding the area and plans for policing the area moving forward. It was also good to hear about the successful patrols of the Holywell area by Rangers being paid for by the Ashby Business Improvement District (BID).

Following my meeting in Ashby de la Zouch, I headed over to Appleby Magna to speak to residents. The general consensus was that it is a lovely place to live with low crime levels. What was interesting to hear from multiple people however was the presence of a group of young men who have been trying car doors and front doors since Christmas. Residents are understandably worried, and I will be writing to the local NPA Commander to make the local team aware of their concerns.

Measham was my next destination, where I met with Tom Rooney. Tom runs Measham Events voluntary group, who organise the village fete among other local events. Tom shared with me concerns from residents regarding suspicious vehicles that have been spotted in the area, driving slowly in residential areas. As ever, I shall pass these concerns to the local NPA Commander.

I then made a brief stop in Donisthorpe to speak to local residents. As a border village, understandably there were concerns about police response times in case of emergencies. There were also concerns regarding speeding vehicles, though mainly the feedback was very positive where residents are clearly very proud to live in such a lovely village.

My final meeting of the day was with the North West Leicestershire Community Safety Partnership (CSP) at Belvoir Shopping Centre to meet with partners and discuss the good partnership work taking place at the centre. The area has benefited from ASB Hotspot patrols by Leicestershire Police and CCTV provision increased from funding from my Office for the CSP for 12 weeks from October 2023 was so successful that North West Leicestershire District Council continued the funding until 31st March 2025.

Working alongside Knowledge is Power (KisP) and Security Rangers, the partnership have been successful in driving down anti-social behaviour. I am glad that my office were able to pay a small part in this and I will certainly be looking to meet with the team again to see their continued good work.

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