CULTURAL SERVICES

1 October to 31 December 2020

Introduction

Welcome to the latest report highlighting the services provided by the Cultural Services team for the third quarter of 2020-21 covering 1 October to 31 December 2020.

Remembrance Sunday November 2020 Leisure Centre Leisure Activity Physical Development Sports Tourism andCentres Market Town

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Future editions will be distributed during:

 April 2021 Armed Forces Armed Forces &Young Children People CreativeArts Events and HealthWellbeing Page 1 Page  July 2021

      October 2021  January 2022

Armed Forces

During the Covid-19 pandemic we still felt it important to represent our Armed Forces and where possible, again following government guidelines at the time, we were able to support the Royal British Legion Branch with various flag raising ceremonies in Argents Mead for VE Day, Armed Forces Day, VJ Day and the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Also a closed service was held for 30 invited guests on Remembrance Sunday, led by Reverend Gary Weston from churches together in Argents Mead memorial grounds. As the public were unable to attend these events, they were instead filmed and then edited to be shown to residents on our social media channels so they could feel like they were there, albeit virtually!

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Children & Young People

Play - October half term Instead of our usual October half term stay and play session at the United Reformed Church, we gave out autumn-themed goodie bags which enabled the children to do activities at home. The goodie bags contained leaf magnets to decorate, autumn painting stamps, colouring sheets, pine cones to decorate, crafts ideas and other resources. 90 Goodie bags were given out to children who previously attended our play and stay sessions and any children passing the church whilst we were there.

We were also unable to do our Barwell lunch club at the Barwell Methodist church during October half term so we gave out 50 goodie bags and packed lunches as well. Any food that we had left over was donated to the local food bank.

Voice We started our Young People’s Voice Forum in June 2020 during lockdown. It is for young people aged 12-18 years who either live in or attend a school or college in and are passionate about local politics and making a difference to the community and world we live in.

We currently have around 20 young people involved in the group which takes place via zoom every three weeks. The aim of the group is to provide young people with a place to express their views and give them opportunities to make a difference to their community and the decisions being made.

Some topics the young people have discussed so far are: climate change, bullying, education, planning and green spaces, crime, the national lockdown, the environment and many more. These conversations have been supported by a wide range of speakers who had attended the meetings including several councillors, staff at Police, council officers and our local Police and Crime Commissioner. Our Children and Young People’s Champion, Councillor Robin Webber- Jones also attends every meeting.

If you know any young people that would be interested in this please contact: [email protected].

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Creative Arts

Shared Reading continues on Zoom

Leicestershire Shared Reading works in partnership with the County Council's library and volunteering services to support a thriving network of shared reading groups. ‘Make Friends, with a Book’ are led by volunteer Reader Leaders, usually meet weekly in libraries around the county and are open to anyone to drop in and sit for a while, listening to stories and poems being read aloud.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic the Hinckley group meets on Tuesdays at 10.30am until 12 noon on Zoom.

If you are interested in finding out about joining the group contact Lindsay on [email protected]

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Events

Events Team Unfortunately our team of events assistants haven’t had much of a chance this year to help with the usual events in Hinckley town centre, but they have been very adaptable and took on the role of high street helper to support Hinckley town centre during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Initially the high street helper role began at the start of June as shops began to re-open after the first national lockdown. They have assisted with signage, queuing areas, encouraging the public to remain socially distanced, handing out face masks to local businesses, cleaning car park machines and much more. The role has evolved as government guidelines continue to change and the high street adapts to the ‘new normal’.

High street helpers have been in place every day in Hinckley town centre since June and we are set to continue with their presence as we enter 2021. Some of the team have also gone on to become part of our Covid Action Team, where they have been out visiting villages and rural areas of the borough to observe and assess that communities, businesses and residents are remaining Covid compliant. The events assistants’ team has been a great support during this time and we look forward to working with them on events in 2021.

2020 Events Disappointingly we have been unable to host our usual programme of over of 25 events this year, however, when government restrictions did allow in the summer and with the support of our Events assistants we were able to deliver four Music in the Mead events in September as well as a Heritage open day event. Each event followed Covid-secure guidelines and strict social distancing rules to allow us to welcome residents back in to Argents Mead to experience some sense of normality again.

Music in the Mead The Music in the Mead events were very well received with comments on social media saying, ‘Excellent initiative by HBBC, my wife and I Page 5 Page thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the sunshine listening to Dean‘ and ‘was a great event a lot of people enjoying at a safe distance, felt almost normal for a moment‘.

Events

Over the four dates we welcomed the Impact Steel Band, a four-piece steel pan band who brought a taste of the Caribbean to the Mead; WMD who performed foot tapping sixties classics; The Sounds of Swing, vocalist Dean Thomas (pictured) performed a series of Rat Pack Classics and Out of Gas performed popular covers from the sixties to the present day. Christmas Lights switch-on Our biggest event of the year in Hinckley town centre that we all very much look forward to is the Christmas lights switch on in November. This event coincided with ’s second national lockdown and the decision was made that a virtual lights switch on event would be created as the safest alternative.

The switch on video was shown on our social media channels on the night of the 20th November and all comments from residents were lovely, everyone understood why at this time we couldn’t hold even a small in-person event. In the virtual Christmas lights switch on, Santa started the countdown off followed by our Mayor, Cllr Lynda Hodgkins and then a class bubble from St Mary‘s school. Once the lights were on and looking lovely Santa then delivered a special Christmas message to the children of Hinckley. Christmas Lights Car Trail In December we then entered in to tier 3 of very high restrictions where we were able to only host drive-in events. Again may of our regular festive events were cancelled but one was able to go ahead!

Our Christmas lights car trail is a chance for the elderly and disabled residents of Hinckley and its Boroughs to be driven down Castle Street to view our wonderful Christmas lights.

The car trail saw around 80 cars drive down a normally pedestrianised Castle Street between 6pm and 8pm. Each vehicle was greeted by Mayor Cllr Lynda Hodgkins and consort alongside and Mrs Claus. At the end of the trail members of the United Reformed Church who were in the same bubble played the parts of Mary and Joseph. In a normal year attendees would partake in an event at the United Reformed Church but sadly this could not take place. All attendees remained in their vehicles at all times along the event route and enjoyed the lights and a wave from Santa. Page 6 Page Feedback on social media has been great with one saying “Thank you HBBC. It was great to be able to show my 95 year old Grandma the lights” and another saying “My 81 year old mum loved it, her first time out of her house since August. Well done, I‘m sure it brought smile to a lot of faces”.

Events

As we start to come to the end of 2020, we are hopeful that in 2021 we will be able to deliver our full calendar of events for residents to enjoy together once again.

Please visit Hinckley and Bosworth Borough council‘s Facebook page or Youtube channel for a look at all of our non-public event and virtual event videos. Page 7 Page

Health and Wellbeing

Stoptober The Stoptober Campaign ran throughout October. The campaign encourages people to quit smoking for one month as evidence shows that if a smoker is able to quit for 28 days they are five times more likely to quit permanently. Taking steps to reduce or stop smoking offers many health benefits, including improving lung function over time and reduce risk of lung infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. People are up to four times more likely to quit successfully if they are supported with help and advice. Free local help is available through the Quit Ready service Tel: 0345 6466666 or text ‘Ready’ to 66777. World Mental Health Day World Mental Health Day this year was more important than ever to take the time to focus on mental health and wellbeing. We signposted the very helpful Mind calendar that has wonderful activities and ideas to make positive changes for mental wellbeing www.mind.org.uk/get- involved/world-mental-health-day-2020/ Alcohol reduction campaign During October HBBC social media featured messages around reducing alcohol consumption. During the challenges of 2020 there has been an increase in how often and how much people are drinking. The messages focused on the positives of reducing alcohol intake and having alcohol free days – benefits to mental wellbeing, financial savings, benefits to health and better sleep. Health Ambassador vlogs On 23 November we launched a series of vlogs presented by our Health Ambassador Paul Herbert (pictured). The vlogs explore the five ways to wellbeing providing fun, easy tips and advice for improving mental wellbeing. Paul discusses how the five ways helped him after he had three strokes, improving his mental health and wellbeing. The vlogs are available on the Hinckley and Bosworth Sports and Health Alliance Facebook page.

Wellbeing at Work COVID-19 has had an impact on the way a lot of people work. With the worry and uncertainty caused by coronavirus and the drastic changes to the way we work, it is now, more than ever, important for businesses to look after the wellbeing of their workforce.

The -Shire & Rutland Sport launched the new Wellbeing at Work Charter which is a local accreditation scheme to recognise the efforts of local workplaces in supporting employee health and wellbeing. Here at Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council we have signed up to the Wellbeing Pledge pledging to support the health and mental Page 8 Page wellbeing of all employees, sustaining our healthy working environment, enabling staff to make healthy informed choices and encouraging healthy behaviours.

Health and Wellbeing

There are two levels of accreditation, and workplaces of any size and type are encouraged to get involved. If your workplace is looking for a way to reassure its staff that their health and wellbeing is a priority, we encourage you to sign up to the Wellbeing at Work Pledge as a demonstration of your commitment to employee wellbeing.

Businesses who sign the Pledge will gain a free accreditation and access to our online resources. Find out more at www.lrsport.org/wellbeingatworkcharter

Befriending service During covid-19, HBBC has collaborated with Next Generation to provide a telephone befriending service and we have made in excess of 500 calls so far. The service has helped people who feel isolated, with staff and trained volunteers making regular telephone calls for a social chat and catch up, with the overall aim of helping to reduce feelings of loneliness. Social interactions are vital to health as feeling lonely can damage not only our mental wellbeing but also impact on our physical health.

In addition to the calls we have offered New Age Kurling sessions which enabled people to interact with others face to face in a fun, accessible activity with support from Dial a Ride helping to transport individuals to the different sessions.

If you would also like to help the service and would be interested in becoming a telephone befriender please either call 01455 632984 or email: [email protected] or complete the volunteer registration form online via the NG website at www.nextgenhinckley.org

If you feel that you or someone you know would benefit from the calls please contact our resident support scheme via the web at www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk/coronasupport or please call us on 01455 238141 and ask for the coronavirus resident support scheme. Our phone lines are open Monday to Thursday from 8:30am to 5pm and on Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

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Markfield Sports & Community Centre

Coronavirus Voluntary Good Neighbours Scheme Since the very beginning of the pandemic, Markfield Community and Sports Centre set up a voluntary Good Neighbours Scheme. Within days of the lockdown in March we had volunteers covering every street in Markfield and Fieldhead. We now have 80+ volunteers providing amazing help and support in our community. So, in the event of further restrictions or lock downs we are ready and prepared to continue with this vital community support.

One important element in getting through this terrible pandemic is keeping community spirit going. This where Adder came into play. If you walk around our lovely Community Park here in Markfield, you cannot fail to have noticed the Markfield Adder! The Markfield Adder began during lockdown and local residents of all ages have contributed to make the Community Snake. The snake “slithers” around the park’s pathway and is now over a thousand painted stones and rocks long! The adder has provided hours of fun to many people, not only creating each stone or rock, but also viewing and counting what other people have made.

The snake has become such an endearing part of the community that villagers wish it to become part of a permanent village commemoration of the pandemic. So, with the support of Markfield Parish Council and our volunteers we will be making this a reality. Bardon Quarry kindly donated a 6.2 ton granite rock that will form the centre piece of the commemoration and the Hinckley and Bosworth VCS has given us a grant from the Volunteers Fund to help with the cost of materials.

The commemoration will be sited amongst the memorial arc of trees dedicated to soldiers who lost their lives during both World Wars. All the rocks and stones will form a central feature with daffodils and roses planted around it. The feature will include a time capsule with items marking the pandemic such as face masks, gloves, sanitiser, photographs, documents and stories sealed inside. What will people think when the capsule is opened in 200 year’s time? Hopefully they will realise the strength of our community in Markfield and acknowledge the tremendous efforts and support of our volunteers in our community

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Markfield Sports & Community Centre

Markfield Community Walking Football Club This group set themselves up as a voluntary walking football club based at Markfield Community and Sports Centre in January 2019. They manage and organise games, players and equipment themselves.

The club is open to people of all ages, gender, abilities and is open to people not just from Markfield but also people in the surrounding villages and rural areas.

The Coronavirus pandemic lock down brought their sessions to an abrupt halt, however the group continued to keep in touch with each other and as soon as outdoor sport was allowed on 4th July they enthusiastically started back. The team have continued to play walking football on the centre’s outdoor multi sports pitch in all weathers throughout the pandemic. So popular has the group become that registered membership has risen to 21 members from an original core of only eight. They are now holding four session per week compared to the original one. Their ages range from 61 to 76 and they are such a friendly group.

On a more serious side, walking football is a good way to keep fit and healthy as it helps to improve physical and mental health, tackle loneliness and anxiety and it is something to look forward to each week especially through the pandemic. Three of their members have been selected to play for the Leicester City Walking Football team and the group are now planning to join a local walking football league. When restrictions allow, they are also planning social events for their members.

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Leisure Centre

Hinckley Leisure Centre

It continues to be a challenging year for Hinckley Leisure Centre. Quarter three is a traditionally quieter period for the Leisure sector, however a stark comparison of footfall for October alone brings to the forefront the impact of the pandemic. October 2019 71,327 vs October 2020 29,388.

The staff at Hinckley Leisure Centre continue to do a remarkable job in the implementation of Covid protocol standards. Customer confidence is growing and there are some fantastic stories showcasing the importance of being able to accessible fitness and wellbeing at the Leisure Centre, for not just physical health but mental health as well. Some fantastic stories of our customers are highlighted on Social Media.

Overall attendances in October topped 23,000 with an increase of just over 2,000 from September.

Unfortunately, as the month progressed it was becoming increasingly apparent that the UK was heading for further restrictions and Lockdown 2 was announced. This had a profound effect as activity levels were on the up and new sales had been strong.

Towards the end of the month, there was the phased re opening of the café. In November 2020 England moved into its second lockdown and all Leisure Facilities closed their doors again to the public at the close of business on 4th November for four weeks. Although impossible to provide any meaningful data for November there has been a steady increase in occupancy in the preceding months.

For the very few days trading in November, what did see was the continued occupancy statistics we have seen since re opening. Group exercise classes being are most popular or at least the highest occupancy, followed by swimming and then fitness.

What we do know now is that our occupancy at our ‘quieter’ times is in line with that before the pandemic and as such the crippling capacity restriction are what is in fact skewing the occupancy percentages. Our peak sessions are restricted to just 50 spaces within the gym where we were seeing upwards 90+ customers at these peak times.

Page 12 Page The Tier system for restrictions will see all Leisure facilities remain open moving forward no matter the Tier status. This represents a significant shift by the Government and one which is appreciated by the leisure sector and the community. For Hinckley Leisure Centre as a tier 3 sited facility, Group Exercise cannot run which is disappointing as this was a growth area and maintained 90% levels of occupancy when the centre reopened in August.

Leisure Centre

With the fantastic news of an approved vaccine there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel. Hinckley Leisure Centre and our partners Places Leisure are looking forward to playing a role in this throughout 2021.

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Physical Activity*

Residents receive Healthy At Home Activity Packs During the COVID-19 period, Leicestershire and Rutland Sport developed a range of Healthy At Home activity packs to support people in their homes to remain active, especially if they were shielding, in isolation or just unable to participate in any form of physical activity.

The Healthy At Home activity packs for older adults contained a range of information booklets on keeping active in the home and supporting strength and balance, some fun activity cards and a range of equipment to play the games.

The activity packs provided an opportunity for Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council’s Physical Activity Team to work in partnership with Leicestershire County Council’s Local Area Co-ordinators.

Sessions were held in Barwell and Newbold Verdon with five residents attending each session to try the packs out, providing residents the chance to meet and work together on the range of activities they received.

Weight Management Programme Three families have been referred to Hinckley & Bosworth to work alongside the Physical Activity Development Officer and the dieticians to guide them through an 8 week programme to attain their physical activity goals. Each family received physical activity challenge cards and activity packs to help them, providing advice on increasing their activity levels.

Working together and supporting each other During the easing of lockdown due to COVID 19 restrictions we were all encouraged to undertake more exercise. This provided us with an opportunity to engage with our residents, to encourage and motivate them to go outside into a safe environment, with a volunteer supporting them helping them to feel confident and secure.

We recruited a number of volunteer Active Friends, in collaboration with Next Generation. We have recruited 7 volunteers who have engaged with over 40 residents in the borough, who arrange to meet the resident every week to take them for shorts walks.

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* Many Sport & Physical Activity programmes are supported by our partners, including Leicestershire County Council public health, Leicester-Shire & Rutland Sport and West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group.

Physical Activity*

Family Time - My Way The new Active Together campaign from Leicestershire Rutland and Sport, is a physical activity movement designed to support the residents of Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland to become more active. The ambition is to help and inspire as many people as possible to find a way to get moving, in a way that suits them. If you’re interested in finding out more information then contact Helen at [email protected]

Sports Development

Successful submission to Sport England’s Tackling Inequalities Fund Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council have received a grant of £3,500 from Sport England from their Tackling Inequalities Fund, to develop and enhance their disability sports provision. The grant will be used to expand their current disability sports provision by running extra sessions and introducing new sports such as sailing and climbing.

Tourism

Bosworth 1485 Sculpture Trail update Lots of work continues to take place behind the scenes as the pandemic continues to delay progress on all sorts of projects.

Leicestershire Promotions as the lead on the project has received £500,000 from the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) towards delivery of six sculptures telling the story of the Battle of Bosworth Field, bringing it up to the present day.

A Project Manager, Gemma Tallis has been appointed to work on taking where the project is now to the ‘ribbon cutting’ stage. This will hopefully take place before the end of 2021 but bearing in mind we will be adhering to government guidelines whatever they may be. For more information about the whole project visit www.bosworth1485.com

This project is a sub group of the Hinckley and Bosworth Tourism Partnership which is a

Page 15 Page network for any tourism business in the borough. For more information and to join the Partnership please contact Lindsay on [email protected]

Town Centres and Market

The majority of town centre businesses have opened their doors again and are trading, with the exception of hospitality businesses who are unable to do so due to Tier 3 status.

The reopening of the town centre is supported by High Street Helpers working across all 7 days of the week to promote safety and provide reassurance to visitors to the town centre. Safe distance stencils have been refreshed throughout the town centre and are visible outside all shops to promote social distancing.

Businesses are also looking at ways to adapt in the current climate to allow for further outside space and several businesses have had canopies installed outside of their premises with more looking into this.

Maintenance Our in house repair team are completing some maintenance in the town centre including the replacement of several bench slats.

CCTV Additional investment has gone into CCTV in Hinckley Town Centre and we are awaiting installation of 5 new high definition cameras. These cameras will support safety across the town centre and their locations have been carefully considered to ensure that they give the most benefit.

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