Is the City of Leicester a dump?

[Samilktray]

10 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Fan zone type things seem an absolutely dreadful way to watch football to me

Yeah generally speaking not something I'dd bother with but I've been struggling to find anywhere I fancy to watch the England games this year 

[Stuntman_Mike]

16 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

I've moved into a co working space in town. Been over a decade since I worked in town. 

 

What a pleasant suprise. I've been as guilty as anyone in assuming Leicester was lost. I've made an effort these last three weeks since working there to walk round town at lunch. It's very surprising. there's a low key continental cafe society vibe with the outdoor seating.

 

There's more white people than I thought.. I mean,. I assumed it was down to say 5%. It's probs more like 2O% (which lets face it, is still very odd for a supposedly British city) .....it just needs a few more middle.class white people to come back. The city isn't lost to India and Somalia. Yet. 

 

Pleasant surprises have been

 

*Volume of cool cafes - must be 20 really quite stylish places. With all the options, im.amazed anyone uses the hideous cafe Nero at Irish menswear

 

*The art workshops around phoenix,.old mercury offices and curve. 

 

*The apartment blocks near curve.

 

*The king Street cafe / co working area (forgot it's name)  and area bottom of new walk....the new walk little park sqaures

 

*Cathedral Square and the cobbled streets off shooting it

 

*Jubilee Square world cup screen and chairs 

*Silver arcade & St Martins

*Just out of city but the apartments behind the old great central 

 

And I mean this, although there are freaks about, I never, ever feel unsafe. Not once. 

 

 

 

 

Public.

 

There's one in Mountsorrel and Loughborough.

 

Completely agree on the never feeling unsafe in Leicester. It's strange because it does seem sketchy and worse on the face of it than other places I've been. Maybe because it's home.

[CosbehFox]

44 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Fan zone type things seem an absolutely dreadful way to watch football to me

Not my thing but they are for someone and increases footfall

 

[Paninistickers]

1 hour ago, CosbehFox said:

Not my thing but they are for someone and increases footfall

 

Fanzone doesn't quite fit the vibe. I always think of that nonsense at Wembley Box Park when I think of fanzone. 

 

This has a Glyndebourne feel, lol. As if you are watching the proms with a picnic. It's quite low key and rather pleasant. But, it's Leicester. An economically struggling city totally neglected by central government other than them shooing every immigrant on earth our way. You have to accept that there are some characters in the park. Not many. But some. 

[kenny]

2 hours ago, CosbehFox said:

Not my thing but they are for someone and increases footfall

 

It's very well done. It's more picnic in the park vibe that football though.

 

It totally shafts Wyggeston House though which is really successful in the summer. Not only have they taken the garden from them they have totally obscured the pub with hoardings.

 

It's weird that the council have chosen to screw one of the successful businesses rather than incorporating the into the park.

[Officer Doofy]

8 hours ago, CosbehFox said:

The City is always getting shit but this month alone 

 

6-7 June - Riverside Festival 

 

12-14 June - Abbey Park concerts

 

19-21 June - Victoria Balloon Festival 

 

They've made Jubliee Square FOC to watch footy from. 

The locals are the most miserable bunch of ****ers in the UK. 

[davieG]

BBC

 

Caitlin James

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Published

22 minutes ago

A multimillion-pound cash injection designed to make Leicester "cleaner, greener, and safer" has been unveiled.

The £11m package was announced by city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby who said a "favourable government spending review" had allowed the authority to fund a series of new environmental projects.

As part of the plan, £650,000 will fund 18 new street cleaners while £740,000 has been earmarked for four new street sweeping machines.

Speaking at a Leicester City Council meeting, Soulsby said tidying up the city centre was first on the agenda for the project.

The new project will also target graffiti and chewing gum as part of efforts to clean up Leicester's streets.

The project will set aside £140,000 for a second graffiti removal team, while residents wanting to remove graffiti themselves will be able to collect do-it-yourself packs from council libraries.

Bad parking crackdown

A further £300,000 will fund a programme of gully and gutter cleaning while £150,000 will be set aside for four additional community engagement officers whose role will include working with residents to prevent waste from being dumped illegally.

Beyond cleaning the city, the new £11m package includes £200,000 for a new four-person team dedicated to adding more greenery, a £100,000 boost for parks and £1m to accelerate the rollout of new multi-use game areas.

The council has earmarked a further £50,000 to clean algae-covered road signs, while £500,000 will fund officers to support residents dealing with parking schemes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Five additional parking enforcement officers will also be recruited, and the city's camera car used to catch dangerous and inconsiderate parking will be joined by a second vehicle.

Soulsby said he hoped council colleagues would "welcome" the investment but said the final decision still needed to go through the scrutiny process.

[Muzzy_no7]

2 hours ago, davieG said:

BBC

 

Caitlin James

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Published

22 minutes ago

A multimillion-pound cash injection designed to make Leicester "cleaner, greener, and safer" has been unveiled.

The £11m package was announced by city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby who said a "favourable government spending review" had allowed the authority to fund a series of new environmental projects.

As part of the plan, £650,000 will fund 18 new street cleaners while £740,000 has been earmarked for four new street sweeping machines.

Speaking at a Leicester City Council meeting, Soulsby said tidying up the city centre was first on the agenda for the project.

The new project will also target graffiti and chewing gum as part of efforts to clean up Leicester's streets.

The project will set aside £140,000 for a second graffiti removal team, while residents wanting to remove graffiti themselves will be able to collect do-it-yourself packs from council libraries.

Bad parking crackdown

A further £300,000 will fund a programme of gully and gutter cleaning while £150,000 will be set aside for four additional community engagement officers whose role will include working with residents to prevent waste from being dumped illegally.

Beyond cleaning the city, the new £11m package includes £200,000 for a new four-person team dedicated to adding more greenery, a £100,000 boost for parks and £1m to accelerate the rollout of new multi-use game areas.

The council has earmarked a further £50,000 to clean algae-covered road signs, while £500,000 will fund officers to support residents dealing with parking schemes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Five additional parking enforcement officers will also be recruited, and the city's camera car used to catch dangerous and inconsiderate parking will be joined by a second vehicle.

Soulsby said he hoped council colleagues would "welcome" the investment but said the final decision still needed to go through the scrutiny process.

Would’ve been better off spending that on more Beat Officers and PCSO’s

[Officer Doofy]

Might need to teach the filthy ****ers who live there to have some self respect rather than spending millions cleaning up after then. 

 

 

[Free Falling Foxes]

E bikes and scooters seized. 

Excellent.

[davieG]

56 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

E bikes and scooters seized. 

Excellent.

Why E-Bikes or am I misunderstanding what they are?

[kenny]

25 minutes ago, davieG said:

Why E-Bikes or am I misunderstanding what they are?

If they aren't pedal powered and speed restricted then they are an illegal motorbike being ridden by an uninsured, unlicensed rider on the pavement, often with little regard for public safety.

[davieG]

3 minutes ago, kenny said:

If they aren't pedal powered and speed restricted then they are an illegal motorbike being ridden by an uninsured, unlicensed rider on the pavement, often with little regard for public safety.

I just assumed E-bike were motor assisted pedal bikes didn't know there were powered only ones.

[kenny]

11 minutes ago, davieG said:

I just assumed E-bike were motor assisted pedal bikes didn't know there were powered only ones.

The ones you see in town aren't the type ridden by older chaps to get up hills more easily on a bike path.

 

They do 30mph by pressing a button.

[OntarioFox]

Hopefully Burnham becoming PM is the death knell of Leicester City Council as an independent authority. We had a chance to be part of a wider East Midlands region with a shared vision, but those in charge of the City Council pretty much unilaterally decided to go it alone without even asking the public.

Soulsby's ego is leaving Leicester behind while Derby seeks to benefit from a shared plan with Nottingham, not least an integrated transport network. They're already talking about extending the tram network to them. That's exactly the sort of politics Burnham promotes and did great work with in Manchester. I was in Wigan yesterday and the Bee Network buses were everywhere - they stretch across the whole northwest now and some even make it this side of the M6.

But I guess that silly little free bus that ribbits, redesigning the station entrance for the second time in a decade and a few cycle lanes that go absolutely nowhere constitutes a "transport Vision" to Sir Peter and Co.?

I have more about the glacial pace redevelopment happens at in Leicester and how it's so much faster here in Liverpool, but that's for another day. I've seen entire neighbourhoods go up in the 2 years I've been here and the massive waterfront development from town to Everton's new ground went from initial plans to shovels in the ground within months, meanwhile every time I visit home I'm greeted by the same empty building site where the market once stood, the same polished turds in and around Churchgate / Haymarket, and maybe a new café if I'm lucky.

Edited Wednesday at 14:54 by OntarioFox

[Paninistickers]

2 hours ago, OntarioFox said:

Hopefully Burnham becoming PM is the death knell of Leicester City Council as an independent authority. We had a chance to be part of a wider East Midlands region with a shared vision, but those in charge of the City Council pretty much unilaterally decided to go it alone without even asking the public.

Soulsby's ego is leaving Leicester behind while Derby seeks to benefit from a shared plan with Nottingham, not least an integrated transport network. They're already talking about extending the tram network to them. That's exactly the sort of politics Burnham promotes and did great work with in Manchester. I was in Wigan yesterday and the Bee Network buses were everywhere - they stretch across the whole northwest now and some even make it this side of the M6.

But I guess that silly little free bus that ribbits, redesigning the station entrance for the second time in a decade and a few cycle lanes that go absolutely nowhere constitutes a "transport Vision" to Sir Peter and Co.?

I have more about the glacial pace redevelopment happens at in Leicester and how it's so much faster here in Liverpool, but that's for another day. I've seen entire neighbourhoods go up in the 2 years I've been here and the massive waterfront development from town to Everton's new ground went from initial plans to shovels in the ground within months, meanwhile every time I visit home I'm greeted by the same empty building site where the market once stood, the same polished turds in and around Churchgate / Haymarket, and maybe a new café if I'm lucky.

Gotta disagree with that. Derby is rapidly developing itself into a suburb of Nottingham. The transport infrastructure will hasten that. I'd rather we went out own way. Additionally, the dynamic (lack of) in Leicester isn't the same as Nottingham and Derby. Their interests aren't the same as ours. As a city, we have more in common with Peterborough, Northampton, Cov and Milton Keynes. Slightly more southern than northern looking. And rather lacklustre. 

 

I must be one of the few that thinks Soulsby has improved the city in cumulative micro steps. The problem is bit Soulsby but the residents of Leicester. Both the originals, who have little civic pride and will spend day and night saying how awful it is and the gazillions of recent immigrants, who don't give a shit about the place. 

 

 

 

 

[kenny]

1 hour ago, Paninistickers said:

Gotta disagree with that. Derby is rapidly developing itself into a suburb of Nottingham. The transport infrastructure will hasten that. I'd rather we went out own way. Additionally, the dynamic (lack of) in Leicester isn't the same as Nottingham and Derby. Their interests aren't the same as ours. As a city, we have more in common with Peterborough, Northampton, Cov and Milton Keynes. Slightly more southern than northern looking. And rather lacklustre. 

 

I must be one of the few that thinks Soulsby has improved the city in cumulative micro steps. The problem is bit Soulsby but the residents of Leicester. Both the originals, who have little civic pride and will spend day and night saying how awful it is and the gazillions of recent immigrants, who don't give a shit about the place. 

 

 

 

 

Agree. If we joined EMAC there would be more funding for Nottingham and little would come out way. What we should be asking is why Leicester is one of the worst funded cities in the UK despite being a Labour heartland.

 

I suspect we are now a marginal city which should help us no end in the run up to the General Election.

[Wolfox]

Big Difference gone…. One venue that championed local music… 

 

we are a dessert for live music…. Just awful 

[westernpark]

3 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

Big Difference gone…. One venue that championed local music… 

 

we are a dessert for live music…. Just awful 

Indication of traditional arts doing badly in Leicester. I would be surprised if the comedy festival runs next year.

[Officer Doofy]

13 hours ago, westernpark said:

Indication of traditional arts doing badly in Leicester. I would be surprised if the comedy festival runs next year.

Feels like everything does badly in Leicester

[OntarioFox]

16 hours ago, kenny said:

Agree. If we joined EMAC there would be more funding for Nottingham and little would come out way. What we should be asking is why Leicester is one of the worst funded cities in the UK despite being a Labour heartland.

 

I suspect we are now a marginal city which should help us no end in the run up to the General Election.

But the reality is the local jobs market in Leicester is shite, it's not a case of raw funding but a lack of vision to attract businesses to the city that stretches back decades. It's largely historical due to the industries we had here, but there's very little in terms of aspirational careers to be had and what little there is is usually tucked away on industrial estates in the arse ends or out in the county rather than in the centre nowadays, usually because it was just cheaper to do it that way and the county as a whole is appallingly car-centric. Which makes the case for integration of services stronger, so you can either help urban populations and young people access them without needing a car, or encourage those companies to move to towns and the city with rates cuts and some sort of commercial vision.

 

I just don't ever see that happening for as long as the authority goes it alone. Our method for the past few decades seems to have been to rely on piecemeal regeneration (Jubilee Square, Cathedral, St Martins spring to mind) and then try to milk a couple of lucky breaks for every penny of tourism income we could get (Richard III and LCFC's prem win, basically) while hoping the external investment would just materialise by itself. I struggle to see any vision to make the jobs offering here aspirational in any way or attract employers here with an attractive pitch. The economic plan is entirely vibes-based and has been for as long as Soulsby has been around. Which is why some top-down pressure from a Burnham government might be a good thing - if nothing else the threat of losing our independence and being forced to join the combined authority might be the kick up the arse we need to stop treading water and be a bit more proactive as an authority.

 

If we did become a feeder city for Nottingham (and Derby for that matter - I'm sure there are lots of young people who would benefit from easier access to work at Rolls Royce or the incoming GBR) what would actually change besides improving social mobility for people here? We've been the sick man of the East Midlands for longer than most people realise.

 

Edited Thursday at 11:18 by OntarioFox

[kenny]

55 minutes ago, OntarioFox said:

But the reality is the local jobs market in Leicester is shite, it's not a case of raw funding but a lack of vision to attract businesses to the city that stretches back decades. It's largely historical due to the industries we had here, but there's very little in terms of aspirational careers to be had and what little there is is usually tucked away on industrial estates in the arse ends or out in the county rather than in the centre nowadays, usually because it was just cheaper to do it that way and the county as a whole is appallingly car-centric. Which makes the case for integration of services stronger, so you can either help urban populations and young people access them without needing a car, or encourage those companies to move to towns and the city with rates cuts and some sort of commercial vision.

 

I just don't ever see that happening for as long as the authority goes it alone. Our method for the past few decades seems to have been to rely on piecemeal regeneration (Jubilee Square, Cathedral, St Martins spring to mind) and then try to milk a couple of lucky breaks for every penny of tourism income we could get (Richard III and LCFC's prem win, basically) while hoping the external investment would just materialise by itself. I struggle to see any vision to make the jobs offering here aspirational in any way or attract employers here with an attractive pitch. The economic plan is entirely vibes-based and has been for as long as Soulsby has been around. Which is why some top-down pressure from a Burnham government might be a good thing - if nothing else the threat of losing our independence and being forced to join the combined authority might be the kick up the arse we need to stop treading water and be a bit more proactive as an authority.

 

If we did become a feeder city for Nottingham (and Derby for that matter - I'm sure there are lots of young people who would benefit from easier access to work at Rolls Royce or the incoming GBR) what would actually change besides improving social mobility for people here? We've been the sick man of the East Midlands for longer than most people realise.

 

What's even more impressive about the folk of Leicestershire is not realising how businesses are headquartered here. It's really impressive and I have listed some of them on here before.

 

Why would we want to be a feeder city to another city that is only slightly bigger and has higher levels of depravation than ours.

 

Our city centre is not adapting and needs new impetus from a new mayor. But Nottingham is full of problems we don't want and has less solutions than we do.

 

Semper eadam.

 

Another interesting stat is that Leics & Rutland has a higher GDP than Notts despite having a smaller population, our GDP per head is more than £2k higher.

 

Perhaps the notion of a East Midlands capital city has been focused on the wrong area?

Edited Thursday at 12:11 by kenny
Stat added for context.

[CornwallFox]

18 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

Gotta disagree with that. Derby is rapidly developing itself into a suburb of Nottingham. The transport infrastructure will hasten that. I'd rather we went out own way. Additionally, the dynamic (lack of) in Leicester isn't the same as Nottingham and Derby. Their interests aren't the same as ours. As a city, we have more in common with Peterborough, Northampton, Cov and Milton Keynes. Slightly more southern than northern looking. And rather lacklustre. 

 

I must be one of the few that thinks Soulsby has improved the city in cumulative micro steps. The problem is bit Soulsby but the residents of Leicester. Both the originals, who have little civic pride and will spend day and night saying how awful it is and the gazillions of recent immigrants, who don't give a shit about the place. 

 

 

 

 

Until not that long ago I still lived just outside Leicester in Birstall. I've thought for about 40 years that the city needs knocking down and rebuilding and over the last 10-15 years that's actually been happening. Jubilee Square, highcross, market place, cathedral quarter all huge improvements. No idea why everybody moans so much about Soulsby other than were a city of moaners. I also question how many of those that are unhappy actually live within the city limits.