The last meeting of Belvoir Community Forum was held at Belvoir High school in Bottesford.

Some 34 people attended the meeting and discussed progress on the projects that had arisen through the Forum's participatory budget process. A recommendation was accepted by the Forum to fund the following projects:

Long Clawson Youth Project (to rebuild a skatepark)£8,000
Scouting in the Vale (to set up a new scout group in the Vale of Belvoir) £1,000
Vale of Belvoir Transport Project (to train some volunteer mini-bus drivers) £3,000
Community Access to Defibrillators (to place life-saving equipment in the Vale of Belvoir) £8,000

The necessary arrangements to make the money available for the projects will now commence.

To view all papers from this meeting please click on the link above.

An Extraordinary meeting of the Belvoir Community Forum took place at Harby Village Hall.
Following on from this meeting there is now a chance for ALL residents in the Vale of Belvoir to inform service providers about problems you are having with Broadband, internet access etc. Further details follow at the end of this article.

At the Belvoir Community Forum meeting, the single item of discussion was the provision and quality of Broadband in the area and the whole meeting was devoted to this issue because, at previous meetings of the Forum, the problem had not been resolved. This time representatives of both BT and Openreach attended.

David Mell, of Stathern, was one of the 37 residents at the meeting. "We wanted to get across the reality of the performance of the Internet. In this day and age it isn't acceptable." Mr Mell feels that the lower speed and level of access to broadband in the Vale is disadvantaging individuals and small businesses and he hopes the meeting will lead to something being done about the problem.

Richard Downing, Community Engagement Manager from Leicestershire County Council, thought people made good points and their message got through to BT. Central Government stated recently that by 2012 everyone in the UK should have internet access with a minimum speed of at least two 2Mbps. In the Vale it is our understanding that people get nothing like this speed regularly, and that where service is provided it is intermittent and variable.

The issue is now in the hands of BT and Openreach but the Forum provided a major opportunity for people to air and seek resolution to an issue of great importance to them.

There already exists a Rural Development Programme for England, 2007-13 (RDPE). This is jointly funded by the European Union and Central Government. The Regional Implementation Plan (RIP) sets out the principles, priorities and delivery arrangements for the delivery of this Programme in the East Midlands. The first RIP was published in 2008 following a period of stakeholder consultation. There is now a refresh of the RIP being conducted in order to take account of various policy developments, and this will include measures to support rural broadband.

Through “Digital Britain” the Government has made a Universal Service Commitment to ensure that all households have access to broadband of at least 2Mbps by 2012.

To coincide with publication of this the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) published “Mind the Gap: Digital England – a rural perspective”.

http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/files/CRC104%20Digital%20Inclusion%20Report1.pdf.

This identified that the lack of access to digital technology, inadequate broadband and mobile telephone coverage combined with lack of engagement with digital technology all contribute to a complex set of issues for rural communities and lead to disadvantages. Broadband provision is a particular concern of businesses and communities within rural Leicestershire. There are a number of points which can be identified in respect of rural Leicestershire.

• Lack of high-speed broadband coverage stifles business innovation, social opportunities and innovative and integrated service delivery

• Broadband has been identified anecdotally as a concern through Community Forums including the Belvoir Forum in Melton

• Within “Mind the Gap” the CRC has published national maps showing areas which have broadband connectivity below 2Mbps and no alternative service to BT. Within Leicestershire areas include the Vale of Belvoir, as well as south of Melton Mowbray, Osgathorpe/Whitwick, Desford/Market Bosworth, and north west of Market Harborough. There is a need, however, for more accurate mapping.

As a part of this process, it would be helpful for people living in the Vale and other affected areas to provide comments about the problems they experience so that these can be fed into our consultation response.

The deadline for responses is 9th December 2009.

For more information, or to provide comments for the consultation, please email Richard Downing

richard.downing@leics.gov.uk