A glorious afternoon upstairs at this most historic of Leicester pubs, our AGM business was concluded with a brilliant presentation by Colin Hyde about Leicestershire Ghost Signs.
Chair’s AGM Report – Leicester Civic Society, 2025
Welcome and Thanks
Good afternoon, everyone. A very warm welcome to this year’s Annual General Meeting, and thank you all for being here. Your continued support of Leicester Civic Society means the world to us – it’s what keeps this organisation alive, active, and effective.
A special thank you to Colin Hyde from the East Midlands Oral History Archive, who will be speaking at 2 pm about Leicester’s ghost signs – an area of our city’s visual history that’s both evocative and underappreciated.
It’s also fitting that we gather today at the historic Globe pub, one of Leicester’s oldest watering holes – possibly the oldest still standing on its original site and under its original name. The earliest deed the Pub History Project found dates back to 1718. The Globe was a key venue for hosiery trading throughout the 19th century, and where Thomas Corah did his first trading. Huge thanks to Layla, our landlady, who has made the Globe such a welcoming and vibrant place.
Celebrating a Successful Year
We’ve had another strong year at the Society, and that’s entirely down to the passion, energy, and dedication of our fantastic committee. Their skills and commitment are what drive us forward. A big thank you to every one of them for their support, humour, and camaraderie.
Sadly, we’re saying goodbye to Claire, who’s stepping back from committee responsibilities, though she will still be writing for The Citizen. Thank you, Claire, for everything you’ve done.
That does mean we have some space on the committee. If you love Leicester, have a bit of drive, and want to make a difference, we’d love to hear from you. I promise we’re a friendly bunch! Drop me a line at leicestercivicsociety@gmail.com if you’re interested.
We were delighted to welcome James Gunn to the team this year. James has taken on the role of events organiser with great enthusiasm and delivered a brilliant programme of guided walks, exploring many parts of Leicester. Highlights included a special series of trails led by Nils Feldmann from the Leicestershire and Rutland
Society of Architects to celebrate and revisit the 40 terracotta plaques they installed 40 years ago. Nearly every walk sold out – huge thanks to James and all our volunteer guides for the amazing work and dedication.
Rachael Bradley and Alex Lee-Bradley also joined the committee, and what an impact they’ve had. Alex’s immediate effect has been to reduce the average age of the committee by a significant margin, and we thank him for that. Joking aside, both Alex and Rachael have become vital members of the team examining planning applications and extending massively our social media presence and reach. So incredibly important nowadays.
We’re also very pleased to have Sally Hartshorne on board. With her wealth of experience in conservation and planning in both academia and local government, she’s already made a huge difference,providing exemplary research and is now getting to grips with the vast LCS archive.
Celebrating Good Design and Restoration
Last year’s Awards Dinner was held at the beautifully restored Winstanley House – formerly Braunstone Hall – where we honoured Naresh Parmar for his outstanding contributions to Leicester’s architectural revival. Projects like the City Rooms, The Gresham Aparthotel, and the soon-to-open former Open Air School are transforming our built environment, as well of course as Winstanley House hotel and restaurant.
This year we’ll host the Architectural Awards Dinner at the Knight and Garter. Details will follow in our e-newsletters and on our website. We will continue to present our two architectural awards every other year because in recent times we have seen fewer nominations, which we hope will change soon.
Communications and Publications
The Citizen magazine continues to set a very high standard, thanks to Richard Allsop’s expert editorship and contributions from across the committee and wider community. We’ve also improved our monthly e-newsletter, which is now a valuable membership benefit – alongside home delivery of the magazine, discounted walk tickets, and the satisfaction of knowing you’re supporting a group that’s campaigning for a better Leicester. Thank you for joining and hopefully renewing membership.
Engaging Young People
We’ve also launched something very close to my heart: our schools programme, The History of Where I Live. This project introduces schoolchildren to the history of their local area through guided walks. So far, we’ve worked with Inglehurst Junior School in Newfoundpool and St Joseph’s Academy in Netherhall. The hope is to build interest in local history that pupils might take home and share, while strengthening their sense of place and belonging. Immense thanks to Jim McCallum for leading this project with such dedication, especially when I had to step back from it. I truly believe this initiative will sow vital seeds for the future.
New Projects and Campaigns
We’ve got more ideas bubbling up – like the “Boxes Project,” where we hope to creatively improve the city by transforming tired telecoms boxes into mini landmarks, similar to those near the Richard III Centre.
We’ve also joined the new Heart of Leicester Board, which brings together key city centre stakeholders. We’ve offered to take responsibility for planting and maintaining some of the public planters – just one small but meaningful way to improve our shared spaces.
Campaigning and Conservation
Campaigning is at the core of what we do. The future of the Corah site remains unresolved, and we continue to be deeply concerned. We know conversations have been taking place between planners and the developers and that no significant changes are proposed, and as I said last year If approved, it will be an awful, wasted opportunity to create a wonderful heritage-led community close to the city centre.
The redevelopment of the Market and Market Place has also been a top priority. While we supported the bold plan to fully open up the space and relocate the outdoor market, compromises have since been made. We’re particularly worried about the design of the new stalls as well as being concerned that there isn’t a coherent overall plan for this project.
One of our biggest disappointments is the ongoing neglect of Top Hat Terrace, a beautiful building currently boarded up. Despite repeated complaints and pressure, the owner has ignored us. We are liaising regularly with LCC Conservation who share our concerts and are pushing where they can. Alas, it isn’t listed, which limits our powers.
On the subject of listing, we’re working to identify other unlisted heritage buildings so we can apply for protective status where possible. Last year, Steve Bowyer successfully got the Queens Road laundry building, designed Arthur Wakerley, locally listed – a major win. At the very least legally this means the current owner must not demolish the building, which was a possibility beforehand.
These applications are no easy task, but the potential to save good buildings is hugely important and we hope members will be able to contribute by taking on and building cases with guidance from LCS. Look out for more about this in months to come.
We’re also watching the museum sector with interest. While the reopening of the redesigned Jewry Wall Museum is exciting, we’re deeply concerned by the cuts to opening hours at the APS and Newarke Houses, and the closure of Belgrave Hall. We’re in talks with other heritage organisations and the council about ways we might help, including possibly co-managing Newarke Houses.
Looking Forward
Leicester’s HDT is up and running. It has been christened…
There are two LCS Committee members on the new Trust’s Board, a project officer post has been advertised, and the first buildings we hope to bring back to life are the pair of gatehouses belonging to Abbey Park on AP Road. Funding for these restoration projects will come from the Architectural Heritage Fund.
Looking ahead, we’ll continue to keep a close eye on planning and development, run engaging events, and extend our outreach. We’re also committed to becoming a more inclusive organisation – working harder to involve underrepresented communities and build a committee that reflects the diversity of Leicester. We know there’s more to do, and we’re ready to do it.
Thank you again for your support. Here’s to another year of celebrating, protecting, and improving Leicester. Cheers!
BM – 20 June 2025
