News and consultations

Current news

For applications to place a structure/equipment within the highway, please see: Information and guidance and Apply for a structure licence.

Summer Bus Fare Offers

LCC and local bus operators are offering the following travel promotions which will run throughout August 2026 and will comprise:

• Summer Bus Fare Offer – this is a national offer in England from the Government to provide free bus travel for children aged between 5 and 15 years old

• Travel for £1 adult single fare on the LCC supported service network which provides connections in and between the major county towns and with Leicester
• 50% discount on the FoxConnect demand responsive service which operates in 11 zones across the county covering over 200 settlements, destinations and interchange points 

Environment Action Volunteer (EAV) Scheme

Leicestershire County Council is seeking support from parish and town councils to promote our Environmental Action Volunteer (EAV) Scheme and encourage more residents to get involved.

Our team of 55 Environmental Action Volunteers already plays an important role in helping to deliver the Council’s environmental priorities, but we are looking to recruit more volunteers from communities across the county.

Environment Action Volunteers help to:

• Reduce waste, increase recycling, and promote home composting.
• Protect nature and enhance biodiversity.
• Encourage sustainable travel choices, including walking, wheeling, cycling, and public transport.

Volunteers can support a range of activities, including:

• Running information stalls at local events.
• Delivering talks, workshops, and presentations.
• Creating content for newsletter and social media.
• Supporting environmental campaigns.
• Assisting parish councils with biodiversity projects and invasive species management.
• Supporting the delivery of e-bike training courses.

No previous experience is required, as full training and ongoing support are provided.

The next volunteer training session will take place on Saturday 26 September 2026 9am-4pm at County Hall, Glenfield. Applications close on 16 September 2026.

Sustainable Communities Toolkit

The Parish Toolkit has now been amended and relaunched.

The team are also running some webinars in September to provide an overview of the toolkit and include some guest speakers (TBC).

The webinar dates are:

• Thursday 17 September 1-2pm
• Monday 21 September 6-7pm

Sign up to a webinar session

Disposal Guidance for Sandbags and FloodSax

Sandbags and FloodSax are only accepted at Mountsorrel and Kibworth Recycling and Household Waste Sites (RHWS).  They will not be accepted at any other waste sites. 

Residents should speak to a member of site staff before disposing of these items.

• Sandbags – empty the sand into the inert waste bins and place the empty sacks into the residual waste bins  
• FloodSax must be placed directly into the residual waste bins at Mountsorrel or Kibworth RHWS
  • Do not place any used FloodSax in household black (residual) bins at home
  • Do not place FloodSax down any drain

RHWS Charges

Sandbags and FloodSax are classed as construction and demolition waste, not household waste.

They are accepted free of charge within the DIY waste allowance (up to 2 items per week). Any items above this allowance are charged at £3 per bag. This charge does not cover the full cost of disposal, particularly for FloodSax.

Is your community ‘risk ready’? Sign up now!

Communities across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) are being offered free, expert support to become ‘risk ready’, as part of a new programme to help them tackle threats like flooding, power outages and disease outbreaks. 

The ‘Risk Ready Communities’ programme has been launched by the Local Resilience Forum (LRF), in partnership with charity Groundwork Five Counties and Communities Prepared (a Groundwork South programme).

Communities can access targeted support to identify and prepare for key risks, helping to reduce the impact of emergencies and speed up recovery. The programme is open to all residents, community groups, local councils and faith groups across LLR. 

Interested groups will get access to free webinars, workshops and in-person events to help them strengthen their community resilience. 

Kristy Ball, Chair of the LRF’s People and Communities Group, said: “Key risks like flooding and power cuts can strike anywhere at any time. The Risk Ready Communities programme offers tailored support to help communities mitigate the impact of emergencies, respond more effectively and recover faster. 

“It’s important that everyone in the community is aware of the actions they can take in an emergency, and that we all look out for each other to make sure our communities are truly ‘risk ready’.”

An introductory webinar will take place on both Thursday 16 April, 11am-12pm and Tuesday 21 April, 6.30-7.30pm (same session, different times). 

To find out more about the programme or to sign up, visit the website: www.llrresilienceforum.org.uk/risk-ready-communities

Keeping dogs under control in the countryside

Many public footpaths and rights of way pass through working farmland where livestock, horses and wildlife are present. When enjoying the countryside, dog owners must follow the Countryside Code.

Please remember:
•    Keep dogs under effective control and in sight at all times
•    Use a short lead around livestock, horses, and wildlife
•    Never allow dogs to chase animals, even in play
•    Follow local signs – some areas require dogs to be on leads
•    Bag and bin dog poo, or take it home

During lambing season, sheep and lambs are especially vulnerable. Even calm dogs can cause serious harm through stress or chasing. Please keep dogs on a short lead and stay strictly on public paths at this time.

Dogs worrying livestock can cause injury, death, and significant distress to farmers. In serious cases, farmers may be legally permitted to take action to protect their animals.  

By following the Countryside Code, we can all help keep people, animals, and dogs safe while enjoying our local countryside.

Find out more: www.countryside-code.org.uk

Composting workshops

Find out about future composting workshops. These workshops are free and open to any Leicestershire resident who is keen to start composting at home or wanting to further their knowledge. Please share this information with colleagues, friends and family who are Leicestershire residents. 

Battery recycling campaign

We need your help to reduce the risk of serious fires by encouraging battery recycling. Where possible, please raise awareness of the following key messages:

• Always recycle batteries and electrical items separately from other types of waste.
• Batteries and unwanted electrical items should not go into kerbside recycling collections, unless there is a dedicated separate kerbside collection service for these items – please check with your local district council.
• Find suitable recycling points near you.
• Recycle your batteries and electrical items at Recycling and Household Waste Sites across Leicestershire.

More and more everyday items such as children’s toys, wireless headphones, mobile phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes and disposable vapes contain non-removable batteries. These batteries can become crushed or damaged in bin lorries or at waste sites if they are not recycled appropriately and can lead to fires which are hazardous, environmentally harmful and which cause costly damage and disruption to waste systems and infrastructure.

When crushed or damaged, lithium-ion batteries can be especially dangerous to the public, waste operators and firefighters as they cause fires that are very challenging to tackle. They can lead to explosions and chemical exposure. Once ablaze these batteries can keep reigniting; prolonging incidents with smoke and fumes affecting the air quality of neighbouring areas and communities, sometime for long periods of time.

As the rise of portable battery-powered devices leads to more lithium-ion batteries ending up in the bin, the number of fires caused by batteries in waste has increased accordingly:

• There were 700 fires caused by batteries in the UK waste system in 2022, and 1,200 in 2023 an increase of 71%.
• 1.6 billion batteries were thrown away in the UK over the last year; over 3,000 a minute, including over 1.1 billion electrical items containing hidden lithium-ion batteries.
• The National Fire Chiefs Council says that “Fires involving lithium-ion batteries are a disaster waiting to happen”.

Research by Material Focus (an environmental campaign group) revealed that last year, UK residents binned at least 24 batteries per year on average, including 15 electrical items containing batteries and nine loose batteries per year. This included 260 million disposable vapes.

Nearly half of the UK adults involved in this research did not know or had not heard that electrical items containing chargeable built-in batteries can catch fire if crushed or damaged, or that these batteries / electrical items therefore need to be disposed of or recycled separately to other types of waste.

Find out more information about never binning batteries and how to recycle batteries from Less Waste.

If you have any queries, please contact wasteprevention@leics.gov.uk