KING RICHARD III VISITOR CENTRE BRIEFING

At Leicester's medieval Guildhall this afternoon (the hottest day of the year so far) for a briefing for "key individuals and organisations" regarding the latest developments on the King Richard III Visitor Centre and its relation to Leicester's bid to become UK City of Culture 2017.

City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby leads both parts of the meeting, with contributions from many of the attendees, representing interested parties from city and county.

City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby & Nisha Popat (Business Development Manager, Leicester City Council)

Early in the meeting we break into small groups for a quick bit of workshopping, in which we consider three questions:

• What are the opportunities for the city in general in relation to Richard III?
• What are the opportunities for your organisation in relation to Richard III?
• What opportunities could arise for your organisation from the Richard III Visitor Centre?

It's revealed for the first time today that the major themes around which the Richard II visitor experience will be structured are:

• Death
• Dynasty
• Discovery

Since final planning approval is still pending for the Visitor Centre and eveyone is avoiding the temptation to count their chickens before they've hatched, the presentation today is more concept than content. But even that offers an inspiring glimpse of the benefits to come.

There's an exhibition of artist's impressions of the Visitor Centre that we can peruse at our leisure before and after the formal presentations. A few of us sneak into the temporary Richard III exhibition in the Cathedral Visitor Centre attached to the Guildhall. This exhibition welcomed its 100,000th visitor this week.

I'm glad to see Smita Shah here. Smita represents the Jain Centre on Leicester Council of Faiths, Since the Jain Centre is just a stone's throw from the site of the Visitor Centre, she publicly acknowledges that they expect a positive impact on the number and range of visitors they'll expect to receive once the Visitor Centre opens. I hope that the example of the Jain Centre will help other faith communities and organisations in the city feel involved in what has already become a great boon to Leicester - one which can only increase in years to come.

CATHEDRAL REVAMP APPROVED

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Cathedral revamp approved

Plans to create a new public square outside Leicester Cathedral have been given the go-ahead.

The Cathedral Gardens project was approved by Leicester City Council's planning committee on Wednesday.

Church leaders said they were delighted to have gained permission for the £3 million scheme and hoped clearing the hurdle would make it easier to raise the cash they need to make it happen.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has pledged to finance half of the scheme if the Diocese of Leicester can raise the rest.

Project director the Rev Pete Hobson said: "It's an important hurdle to clear because we do need to raise a lot of money and, understandably, there can be a reluctance to offer support to a project that doesn't have planning permission.

"This is a significant scheme for the city and we have worked very hard on it.

"We know we are dealing with a sensitive part of the city's heritage and we want to get it right."

English Heritage had raised concerns about some elements of the scheme, such as the types of flagstones used and the removal of listed railings, but it withdrew objections after the diocese revised the project.

However, Leicester Civic Society chairman Stuart Bailey said he remained concerned about a section of grade II-listed wall which will be reduced in height from seven feet to 16 inches to open the historic Guildhall building up to the new square.

He said: "This has gone through as an alteration to a listed structure which is being reduced in height, but in my view it is simply the destruction of a bit of the city's historic fabric which, once gone, will be lost forever."

The cathedral believes the wall dates from 1888 but Mr Bailey said he thought it was much older, a remnant of the medieval city.

He said: "It's actually irrelevant how old it is. It's listed so it should not be destroyed.

Mr Hobson said there was a "genuine difference of view" on the historic value of the wall.

The scheme will see the overhaul of the cathedral forecourt off Peacock Lane, which was built in 1987, with new lawns and paths installed.

Mr Hobson said the cathedral was anticipating a surge in visitors should human remains discovered by archeologists in a nearby car park turn out to be those of Richard III. He said he expected most of the work on the gardens would be done in 2014.

Anyone wishing to donate to the project should call Mr Hobson on 0116 261 5200.

NETWORK FOR CHANGE AGM AT GUILDHALL

At Leicester's medieval Guildhall this evening, for the Annual General Meeting of Network for Change.

Network for Change is a local Voluntary Sector organisation providing Supported Housing, Community Outreach and Resource Centre activities designed to meet the needs of adults whose mental health problems have impacted significantly on their quality of life. Network’s values and working practices focus on the Recovery Model and person-centred approaches to enable wellbeing and potential.

I used to teach at Network for Change: basic literacy, communication skills, study skills and (most significantly for me) Creative Writing. I ran the Creative Writing group on Friday afternoons for five years. I loved that and was sorry that I had to give it up. I still try to give whatever support I can to Network for Change at every opportunity that might present itself.

The highlight of the evening is the presentation given by participants in the recent Plan W peer mentoring project. The "W" stands for Wellness.

There's a lovely-looking buffet, including some very nice homemade cakes; but after having fallen foul of some dodgy tidbits at a reception last week, I'm not feeling brave enough to indulge myself.

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/

A Taste of Persia

I pop into the Guildhall for a quick taste of Persia. This unique event has been kindly provided by Dr Ali Helkmi, Director of the Iranian Cultural Centre in London (in association with the Society for Intercultural Understanding in Leicester). Displays of traditional arts and crafts, including ceramics, gemstones, carpets, calligraphy and miniatures, plus music, photography, films, talks and events, provide a taste of this very rich culture, which combines the Ancient Persian and Islamic heritage with elements of the modern world.

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT GROUP CONSIDERS NHS GUIDELINES

This morning, there's a meeting of my Personnel Management Group scheduled at the Welcome Centre, 1100-1300. However, I'm under pressure to progress work on a set of guidelines from a booklet given me by Abida Hussein at Leicestershire NHS Partnership Trust, containing advice and guidance to be followed when patients of different background, religion or tradition present for the first time at hospital, in A&E or at their GP surgery. I ask for the scheduled meeting to be postponed but for the members attending to go over the text of the booklet, from the perspective of their own religions. That allows me to have the advantage of the Bahá'í , Christian, Hindu and Jewish points of view here this morning.


I have to leave promptly at 1300, to dash down ot the Guildhall to meet Asaf Hussain and visitors from the Iranian Cultural Centre in London, who are doing a recce there for the proposed festival of Iranian culture coming here in March. So I have to usher my colleagues out with little ceremony, so I can lock up. On the way out, we bump into one of the Barry Naylors, on his way into the SPCK book shop on the ground floor.

SING CHRISTMAS

BBC Radio Leicester broadcasts a programme of Carols and Christmas readings from the city's 14th century Guildhall this evening, featuring the Choir of St Thomas's, South Wigston. My ten-year old son Harry sings soprano with them. The Guildhall is relatively small and tickets were not to be had this evening, for love nor money. While I can't, in all honesty, say that I was able to pick out his voice, still I felt right proud, listening to him gping out live over the airwaves. In the picture above, Harry can be seen in red, far right onstage (honest - it's amazing how few clues you need to recognise your own child!)