People who know me and/or read this blog will know I care about where I live and represent, so when I got a call on Tuesday Morning ,from the fab press team at the City Council, to say that Radio Leicester had a show on that had gone from a piece about a business closing due to retirement to open season on Narborough Road, I was quite concerned.
I agreed to go on the drive-time show to talk about some of the comments and said I'd listen back on the iplayer first. I really wish I hadn't! I only got an hour in before I was so foot stompingly angry that I had to stop listening.
Tony Wadsworth said on his show he was "ashamed" of this area and that it was "a disgrace" and his show gave airtime to some awful racism and scaremongering phone calls. They also talked about a dirty, dangerous, unfriendly place with nothing other than cars and take-aways.
Now I'm not blind, I know my area isn't perfect (very few are) but when people who clearly don't live in the area start making awful unsubstantiated statements it feels a bit like someone having a go at a friend or family member. I'm not the only one to feel like this, someone rang in during the show (a Katherine from Sykefield Avenue) to point out how wrong people and some of the misconceptions were and I'm confident that if more people in my ward heard it they'd feel the same way.
My take on the area around Narborough Road - An exciting, vibrant, friendly and diverse area, shops selling everything you could need; clothes, books, music, stationary, white goods, jewellery, beds, bathrooms, hardware, carpets, food - well the food deserves a sentence of it's own! We have food from all over the world, spices, breads, fruits, vegetables, pastries, cakes, meats, cheeses - it's incredible. We have bars, restaurants and take-aways catering for everything from the traditional pub (the Black Horse), intimate charm (Yesim Patisserie), open terraces (the fab new Natterjacks) , gourmet cooking (Entropy) to relaxed breakfasts (Jones') and so many opportunities to sample fantastic South Asian cooking I can't name them all (Mithas and Saardar's are good starting points though).
We also have a friendly and interested local Police beat team, a cleaning crew that cover the ward 7 days a week, a City Warden working with residents and businesses to make the area better, amazing outward looking engaged faith organisations and most crucially some of the friendliest and most welcoming people you could hope to meet.
I really appreciated Martin Ballard giving me the opportunity to set the record straight on some of the comments made and I (with Andy, the Police and many other people locally) will keep working to make the area even better. If you live locally come along to the next Ward Meeting (Tuedsay 21st at the East West Community Centre) and put forward your ideas about how we can do this..
I may be over-protective about Westcotes but it doens't mean I'm wrong. For anyone who isn't convinced come and see for yourself, don't just drive through on the way somewhere, stop, take a walk about, talk to people, enjoy the unbeatable range of Independent shops and taste the fabulous food.
