People are being invited to join together for an extraordinary 'pilgrimage' between two communities in honour of a Leicestershire saint.

On Wednesday 1 June 2022, a guide group will officially open the route and set off from the village of Wistow on a four-mile countryside walk to Wigston following the historical route of the martyred Prince Wistan. It follows the route dedicated to the saint and named after him.

The route is classed as 'easy to medium', so families looking for something to do outdoors, for free, can just turn up and do the walk at any time during the day. A map and way-finder posts will be along the route too. 
Inspired by the BBC2 television programme, 'Pilgrimage', where celebrities of differing faiths and beliefs embark on a journey of religious and spiritual awakening in recognition of the life and legacy of an ancient saint, this walk will be following in the footsteps of pilgrims and hearing the legend of the county's very own saint.

Harborough District Council and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council are teaming up with local churches to organise the event, at a time when making connections around meaning and value are more important than ever.

Get involved, and find out more, here.

We are very excited to be supporting a new walking festival, running until 29 May 2022, and 11 heritage trails, encouraging people to get out and about, and delve into local history at the same time.

Whether you're a seasoned hiker, power walker or prefer a gentle amble, there's something for everyone. 

The Harborough District Walking Festival, features seven guided walks, through beautiful countryside, over four days. Walks are just £7 each or, for anyone who wants to do them all, a festival discount pass is available. Children under 13 years old can take part for free.

Find out more at www.visitharborough.com/walks 

We are pleased to confirm that 20,539 eligible households across the district, who paid Council tax by direct debit, have now received their £150 energy rebate from the Council.

There will be instances where we have not been able to make a direct payment because, for example, the name on the direct debit does not match exactly with the liable person for Council Tax. If this is the case, you will be sent a unique bar-coded letter within the next three weeks with details of how to collect your payment from the Post Office. 

If you have not received your payment direct into your account by the first week in June, or you do not pay by direct debit, it is safe to assume that your payment will be made through the Post Office. 

For those households who need help with their energy bills but are not eligible for the main energy rebate payment, the details of the discretionary scheme will be published shortly. Please keep an eye on the energy rebate page on our website for further updates, which includes Frequently Asked Questions, rather than telephoning.

Advice and support for anyone struggling financially is available from Citizens Advice and Money Saving Expert.

An action plan was officially launched this week to promote safety in the community over the next year.

The multi-agency Harborough District Community Safety Partnership held an event at Harborough Innovation Centre on Wednesday to showcase its successes over the past year and what initiatives it will be focusing on over the coming 12 months. 

Although there has been an overall increase in crime during 2021/22 of 15.6 per cent, there had been a large decrease in the previous year due to Covid. However, anti-social behaviour has fallen in the last year by -26 per cent.

The newly-launched action plan will focus on domestic abuse, exploitation, racial hate crime, serious violent crime, anti-social behaviour, illegal drug use, violence linked to the night-time economy, road safety, rural crime, acquisitive crime (theft), cyber crime, and scams.

Successful initiatives over the past year include recruiting a  link worker to work with agencies to support victims of domestic abuse, also our school roadshows which involved talking to pupils about their concerns and promoting safer and more responsible behaviour.

A new Public Spaces Protection Order was put in place to prohibit the use of psychoactive substances in public places - such as nitrous oxide ('laughing gas') which is linked to littering with the associated silver canisters. We also held a successful rural crime event, and the Safer Streets initiative, in partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner, has seen security improvements to nearly 470 Lutterworth homes including 155 vehicle/bike security packs.

There has also been a number of campaigns on cyber crime, scams, 'lock it or lose it', anti-slavery and exploitation, and 'Ask For Angela' where people can seek help from bar staff if they need it.

Read more about the Community Safety Partnership.