Service Spotlights

We are producing a series of articles called Service Spotlights which aim to give people a better understanding of the services we provide as a council.

Please have a read of the articles below and we will continue to produce more.

If you have any feedback, please email communications@charnwood.gov.uk.

Democratic Services - governing the democratic process

The Council’s Democratic Service team looks after governance procedures and ensures the Council operates in line with its constitution and decision-making processes are compliant with the law. The team co-ordinates around 160 Council meetings and committees each year as well as provides advice and support to 52 borough councillors.

Democratic Services also includes the Mayoralty office which looks after civic engagements for the Mayor of Charnwood, the first citizen of the borough.

We had a chat with Democratic Services Manager, Karen Widdowson to find out more about the service.

Loughborough Town Hall - entertaining visitors for decades

The Town Hall in Loughborough is a focal point in the town, originally being built as a corn exchange in the 1850s. Since the 1970s it has been home of comedy and musical performances as a theatre venue in the town.

They welcome over 100,000 visitors each year and host the annual pantomime in Loughborough.

We spoke to Town Hall manager, Simon Gibson about how the Town Hall runs and what it is like to work in the iconic building.

Charnwood Lifeline can make a difference to you and your family

Charnwood Lifeline which supports independent living and provides peace of mind for residents throughout the borough.

The Lifeline team consists of one lifeline officer, eight controllers, one team administrator, two on-call wardens and one team leader.

We caught up with the service’s team leader Julie Moss, Lifeline officer Michelle Kirkhill and older peoples services team administrator, Michele Lee for a chat about the service and what it can do for people.

Electoral Services – Working hard to support democracy in Charnwood

The Council’s Electoral Services team organises and facilitates all elections in Charnwood. Whether that’s local elections for borough, parish and county, referendums as well as general elections.

The team also keep the borough’s electoral register up to date. There are currently around 131,000 people on the register.

We had a chat with Elections and Land Charges Manager, Katie Owens, to find out more about the service.

Eyes in the sky - how CCTV helps keep people safe

There are nearly 250 cameras which cover Charnwood and there’s a small band of dedicated operators who not only keep watch 24 hours a day but often turn super-sleuths to help police hunt down suspects.

The team are led by CCTV manager John and we also spoke to CCTV operator Mo.

Licensing - keeping people safe and supporting local businesses

The Council’s Licensing team currently have over 3,500 licences on record. That covers everything from taxis and scrap metal sites to premises selling alcohol and betting shops.

There are over 50 different types of licences handled by the team (there are more in other areas of the Council) and while the most common ones relate to taxis and pubs, there are more unusual ones.

We caught up with the Licensing team manager, Grace Dowson, to find out a bit more about the service.