The behaviour of a small number of young people in Croxton has caused considerable concern of late; villagers have been complaining to the Parish Council about a range of behaviours from littering to vandalism and intimidatory behaviour. The Croxton Kerrial Sports and Social Club has had particular problems in this respect. On 9th December, at the request of the Sports and Social Club, the Parish Council held a village meeting to address these problems. The meeting was well attended by people from across the village as well as the local police and youth workers. The meeting began with an account of the nature and scope of the problems reported in the village. This was followed by a very positive discussion with valuable contributions from the police and youth workers in particular. PC Longden described the ways in which his team have successfully tackled similar issues in other villages in the Vale of Belvoir and villagers were encouraged to report any experiences of anti-social behaviour to the police. The young people present at the meeting contributed their perceptions of the issue and the youth workers offered to visit Croxton to work with them. This suggestion was greeted with approval. There followed a discussion of the need for better facilities and more positive engagement with the children and young people of Croxton. It was agreed to hold a meeting in the New Year to address this subject. A full account of the meeting is available in the document below.

The state of the roads and pavements in Croxton is a major cause for concern at present. Leicestershire County Council’s current policy is to prioritise major routes and they will not grit more than one route through a village. They do however provide grit bins for a one-off payment by the Parish Council, which are thereafter maintained by the LCC. The responsibility for spreading the grit then lies with members of the public.
After the icy weather last March, several villagers asked the Parish Council to provide more grit bins in Croxton. Several also kindly volunteered to spread the grit. Unfortunately, the annual budget is set in December each year and so the money for the new bins is not available until April 2010. Instead the PC offered residents in the Highfield Crescent and Mill Lane areas of the village the option of buying new bins through donations. This was possible due to the number of houses clustered in a small area.
Residents of Highfield Crescent and The Nook have contributed sufficient funds to purchase a new grit bin, which was ordered from the LCC Highways Department in mid-December. We are waiting on delivery but unfortunately this is likely to be delayed by the current snowy spell as the LCC focuses on keeping the county’s major roads open. We would like to thank residents who have spread grit and ash in particularly dangerous areas for their contributions.
Unfortunately, there were insufficient positive replies from residents of Mill Lane and Shires Orchard to fund a grit bin this year. The Parish Council has therefore budgeted for a bin to be placed in this area in the financial year 2010/2011.
We are currently without grit on the north side of Croxton. The bin that was previously located on Middle Street was removed by the LCC at the request of a nearby resident. The Parish Council has been in communication with the Highways department since the early Autumn, to have the bin re-sited but has been hampered by the LCC policy of requiring nearby residents to give permission before placing a bin. Unfortunately, there is no alternative site near the Church that does not cause an obstruction or create an objection from other residents. We are currently waiting for the bin to be re-located to the junction of Church Lane, Top Road and Thorpes Lane and apologise to villagers for the difficulties that this will cause on Middle Street.
We hope that the bins will be in position within the next month and ask for your patience in the interim.

A new 20mph speed restriction has been imposed on the A607 through Croxton Kerrial. The new advisory speed limit is in place during 'school run' hours on term time mornings and afternoons.
Speeding has been a concern of the Parish Council's for many years and in 2008 the Croxton Kerrial Primary School joined the campaign for change. A group of volunteers sat in all weathers during the summer of 2008, conducting a survey of the traffic which can be viewed through the link below. This report demonstrated the scale of the danger posed to pedestrians, and children in particular, by the large volume of traffic passing through the village and the excessive speed of a significant number of vehicles. Narrow pavements and poor visibility due to bends in the road, combine with large numbers of HGVs compound the problem. The survey was followed by a public meeting to initiate a letter campaign by villagers.
The new speed limit covers most of the A607 within the village as well as a stretch of Middle Street, which is a major route for schoolchildren.
The campaigners had hoped for a pedestrian crossing to address the issue of traffic volume but this option was dismissed by the LCC Highways Department due to an insufficient number of people crossing the road at key times. The LCC report can also be viewed through the link below.

After a lengthy period without, Croxton playing field now has a set of swings again. The originals were removed during work to fell trees behind them. the new swings have been paid for with a grant from the Melton Borough Council, topped up by the Croxton and Branston Parish Council. The Belvoir Estate contributed the labour for erecting the swings and the materials for the concrete base. The new swings are an improvement on the original set, providing two toddler seats and two adult seats which can be used by the young at heart as well as by older children.

2010 marks the nine hundredth anniversary of the appointment of Croxton's first vicar. This historical event will be marked by a year of celebrations, Croxton 900.