Church helping bring in visitors

There's a nice article in the Leicester Mercury today about St Martin's House - which recently opened for business - and its contribution to the creation of a new "Heritage Quarter" for Leicester. This is an attractive part of the city centre, built up around the old Grammar School which has since relocated to Great Glen. It's a part of town that is largely unknown and underused. I know it pretty well because I lived in the West End of Leicester for four years and used to walk through this area into the city centre.

The pictutre above is a computer generated image, produced to raise interest in St Martin's House while it was still in development. I couldn't find a good "real" image of the building online that I could post here. This is an accurate rendering of how it looks now though.

I'm sure that this new development will be good for this area. But I have one question: what happened to the possessive apostrophe in "St Martin's"? It's in this article from the Mercury alright, but it's nowhere to be seen on the new building!

Church helping bring in visitors

In the latest in his series on Leicester's regeneration, Ian Griffin looks at work to create a Heritage Quarter

One of the most historic parts of Leicester is undergoing a renaissance.

St Martin's House, in Peacock Lane, opened this year after the £7 million renovation of the former grammar school site.

The office and conference complex has helped attract hundreds more visitors to the area – including the 14th century Guildhall and 11th century cathedral – which has been dubbed "the heritage quarter".

Now, the site's owner, the Anglican Diocese of Leicester, is looking to spend an additional £2 million revamping the ground near to the building.

But, like other developers in the city, it is being forced to find alternative ways of raising the cash after Government spending cuts.

Half of the funding for the second phase of the project was due to have come from East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA). However, this was lost following the announcement that EMDA was to close.

Rev Pete Hobson, director of St Martin's House, said: "We see it as a flagship project which can kick-start regeneration of the heritage quarter.

"This is a project costing some £7 million, which has come from benefactors, not the public sector.

"In terms of regeneration, it's a good story, but it's early days."

About £3 million of the funding for St Martin's came from millionaire businessmen David Wilson and David Samworth, with the rest coming from the diocese and fund-raising schemes.

Office rent and conference rooms and grand hall bookings mean St Martin's House will generate income for the diocese within two years.

In the second phase of the development project, the diocese is also planning to make the school playground and cathedral precincts into Cathedral Square.

Mr Hobson said he was looking at ways of raising cash, including approaching other potential benefactors.

Businesses said the new venue was a valuable addition to the area.

Celine Issitt, corporate account manager at Hotel Maiyango, in nearby St Nicholas Place, which runs corporate and wedding events at St Martin's House, said couples could get married at the historic Guildhall, before moving on to the former school for the reception.

"I think the regeneration of St Martin's House has contributed hugely to putting the stamp of 'heritage quarter' on this part of the city," she said.

"Obviously, the Guildhall and the cathedral have always been here.

"However, the attraction of St Martin's House has really brought an increased footfall to the area.

"It's a beautiful backdrop. People come in and see the grand hall at St Martin's and their jaw drops."

Stuart Bailey, chairman of Leicester Civic Society, said: "There's a tremendous amount of historic buildings in that area.

"Anything that attracts people into it is only going to be good. It will boost the economy of the area. This, in turn, will help further development."

Read this article on the Leicester Mercury website, along with reader comments:
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Church-helping-bring-visitors/article-3348822-detail/article.html

Find out more about St Martin's House and Cathedral Square:
http://cathedralsquare.dioceseofleicester.com/

WHAT DO LEICESTER'S MUSLIM WOMEN THINK OF THE FACE VEIL, OR NIQAB?

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

What do Leicester's Muslim women think of the face veil, or niqab?

Black for Monday. Black for Tuesday. Black for Wednesday. And so it goes on. A clothes rail filled with almost identical, same colour, shapeless, top-to-toe outfits, writes Adam Wakelin.

You might not think it would take Noorjahan Khonat long to pluck one from a hanger, but it nearly always does.

The daily whims and tiny agonies of what to wear don't stop at the wardrobe door of a devout Muslim.

Noorjahan has her favourites, the ones that make her feel good.

Only someone who didn't understand would think they all looked the same. That's part of the problem.

It can still give her a jolt, just how much fury those baggy black clothes and head scarves can provoke.

"I've had boys come up to me in town and try to tear them off," she says "They call me ninja and laugh, like it's funny.

"I try to talk to the younger ones, but some of the bigger boys can make you really frightened."

Noorjahan wears a face veil, a niqab.

For some, that makes the 42-year-old from Highfields the ultimate faceless victim.

Not just to those boys, but to the French government and a growing clamour of critics over here who would like to follow France's lead by banning the burka and the niqab from public places.

It is a curious coalition; an unlikely alliance of well-meaning liberals and none-too-clever closet racists.

As of last week, in the words of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, the veil was "not welcome" in a country which values sexual equality.

If he gets his way, niqab and burka wearers will be refused access to things such as schools, hospitals and buses.

The liberal justification for this is that the veil is more than just an item of clothing.

It is a symbol of male repression; a backward garment that has no place in modern society, something from the dark ages that reduces women to the status of a formless, faceless non-person.

That might be true for some, but not of Noorjahan, she insists.

She says she wears the veil because she wants to wear the veil, not because someone has forced her to. Funny, thoughtful, and tirelessly talkative, she doesn't give the impression of a downtrodden little woman.

"I wear it because it gives me independence," says Noorjahan.

"No-one can judge me on my looks or my figure.

"I feel more free. I don't get stared at with dirty eyes. If people like me, they like me for who I am inside, as a person. That, to me, is liberating.

"And besides, I like the colour black!" she giggles. "So that's a bonus.

"Sometimes people make fun of you or pull at your clothes. That doesn't make you feel good, but I try to make them understand."

Noorjahan adopted the veil after she got married and had started having children. It has been 18 years now.

Her husband didn't force her into it, she says. It was her decision, something she feels has brought her closer to God.

"It's hard to explain in English", says Noorjahan, fumbling for the right words, "but it makes me feel like a better person. I don't swear or give bad advice or think bad thoughts. It's like sitting on a prince's throne. You have to behave properly.

"Nothing feels more comfortable than wearing my clothes and my veil.

"If I don't wear the veil, I feel naked. It doesn't feel good at all. I feel frightened. I don't feel as though God is protecting me."

It is a strange thing for something so apparently anti-fashion, but the anonymous black silhouette of the burka and niqab has become a status symbol.

A sports star pulls on a pair of expensively-endorsed Nikes, a Tory politician dons an electric blue suit, and the Muslim woman who has to be seen as holier than thou draws a veil over her face.

So says Parvin Ali, a Muslim chaplain, member of the Prime Minister's National Muslim Women's Advisory Group, and board member for business support and enterprise for the East Midlands Development Agency.

The veil has become dangerous and divisive, believes Parvin.

"People see those who wear the niqab as the ultimate practitioners of their faith," she says.

"Creeping elitism is coming in. There is a differentiation. People who don't wear the veil are seen as not such good Muslims, or as strong in their faith. It is almost like there is a hierarchy, and that is very damaging."

Parvin, who lives in Leicester, does not wear a veil or a head scarf. She prays five times a day and she faithfully follows the scriptures of the Qur'an.

Nowhere in that holy book, stresses Parvin, does it state that Muslim women must cover their heads. Many of the most eminent Islamic scholars now decry the veil, she claims.

Preserving one's "modesty", something that is mentioned, should be left up to the individual, based on their personal convictions and faith.

"The veil should be a matter of personal choice," she says. "I have concerns that it's not, particularly in Leicester. Young people are being pushed down a certain road without being given the full information. They feel compelled to wear it by their family, sections of their community or their mosque.

"A lot of women feel isolated, not just from non-Muslim communities but Muslims as well. It is polarising communities."

The rise and rise of the veil is making Leicester more like Dewsbury and Blackburn, she argues, northern towns which have fractured along religious and racial lines.

"I had someone ring me up from Birmingham," says Parvin. "She told me her husband wanted her to move to Leicester because more people were wearing the niqab here.

"What an awful reason to move to Leicester," she sighs. "I said, 'Please don't move to Leicester wearing the niqab. We've got quite enough already'!"

Parvin is not in favour of the state trying to ban burkas or niqabs, but she does believe there is a time and a place for them – doctors, nurses, teachers and others in the public sector should not be allowed to do their jobs behind a veil.

"Nurses should not be allowed to wear a veil," she says. "It is wrong to bend over to that extent to accommodate a minority of individuals.

"A lot of patients don't feel that comfortable interacting with people they can't see.

"If people feel that strongly about wearing a veil they should be in another profession, or do it in a private capacity.

"People may have lots of piercings. That's fine on a personal level. You don't condemn them, but there's a host of reasons why they shouldn't be allowed in a hospital. That's the way I feel about the niqab."

£12M PLANS FOR LEICESTER CATHEDRAL SQUARE ARE UNVEILED

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

£12m plans for Leicester Cathedral Square are unveiled

A £12m project to transform the area around Leicester Cathedral will help the city's economic regeneration, according to the Bishop of Leicester.

The Rt Rev Tim Stevens spoke as plans for the development, which include a public square big enough to hold concerts for a crowd of 1,500 outside St Martins, went on show to the public.

However, city councillors have cast doubt on whether the authority will be able to find the money necessary to complete the work.

The masterplan includes proposals to remove gravestones – which would be recorded and replaced with an alternative memorial – and the refurbishment of the former Leicester Grammar School buildings, which were bought by the diocese in March 2008.

Bishop Tim said: "The new Cathedral Square will make a significant contribution to the life of the city and county.

"A cathedral is traditionally what gives a place its status as a city.

"A high-quality setting for its cathedral would help put Leicester on the map and the gathering space we are creating will also contribute significantly to the city's continued economic regeneration."

A planning application has been submitted to Leicester City Council.

Project director Pete Hobson said he was hopeful a decision would be reached by the middle of February.

The plans will also need the approval of the Cathedrals' Fabric Commission for England.

The commission met last week and is understood to be in support of the plan, though it has not announced a final decision.

The development would remodel the area outside the cathedral, facing Peacock Lane.

The present fountain near St Martins East would be removed and a series of water jets installed close to the old Grammar School site.

At the heart of the design is a public square which planners hoped would be used for outdoor concerts, markets or church services.

Mr Hobson said: "There are a range of possible events and we are speaking with officers at the city council to see what would be fitting.

"We envisage things such as classical or jazz music or festival events, possibly a specialist market, open air church services and public gatherings."

The bulk of the £12m needed for the overall project would be found by the Diocese of Leicester.

Money for development of the square – is expected to cost about £1.6m – is being sought from East Midlands Development Agency and the city council.

Council cabinet member for regeneration Patrick Kitterick said he was in favour of the plans, but no money was presently available.He said: "It is an interesting plan to create high-quality public space.

"We are in ongoing discussions [over funding] but we have not identified sources of money for it at the moment."

A display of the plans is on show at the cathedral.