51Âþ»­

Prettifying the city with more flowers, extra cycle lanes and a recipe book showing you how to cook cheap and healthy eats are just some of the ideas students and residents are calling for as 51Âþ»­ (51Âþ»­) steps up its mission to come up with 100 Ideas to Change Leicester.

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Students spent a morning this week at 51Âþ»­ speaking to their peers and asking them what improvements they would like to see in their city.

The politics students and other representatives from the Faculty of Business and Law are also speaking to residents, businesses and shoppers.

The ideas will be collated into policies and presented to councillors at Leicester City Council in March providing the students behind the project with a brilliant experience of how politics and government works.

The Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and Deputy Mayor of Leicester Rory Palmer have already pledged support for the project and are keen to see the students’ proposals. The students are planning to meet with city representatives on 28 January to deliver a progress report and to get expert advice from the people who run operations from Leicester Town Hall.

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The students are dividing their proposals into categories – Environment, Leisure and Entertainment, Youth, Crime and Safety, Transport and Health.

Eleanor Mackillop, who lectures in Politics and Local Government at 51Âþ»­, was with the students this week. She said: “I think this project is important as it demonstrates students and young people care about politics and want to make a difference.

“It is a good demonstration of the way 51Âþ»­ can improve policy ideas alongside the community and the politicians.

“The fact that we have so many overseas students and a diverse community here at 51Âþ»­ allows us to bring a different perspective on how people see the city and gives them a chance to have a voice and be listened to.”

Shamimaa Ali, a fourth year accounting and finance student, said: “I think it is good that students have different ideas of what to do in Leicester based on their experiences from elsewhere in the country. For example, in London nobody rides their bike on the pavements but in Leicester it just seems like the norm.”

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Alieu Ceesay, a fourth year International Relations student, added: “It is important to get a wide range of opinions on how we can change the city for the better and it will give councillors an idea of how they can tailor-make their policies for the people.

“It is also giving a voice to students and the community and an opportunity to raise concerns. It is so important that something like this is happening and, at the end of the day, it will encourage people to engage with politics and get rid of any signs of apathy. We should never leave decisions that affect the city entirely in the hands of politicians.”

The next event will be a meeting between students and Town Hall representatives on 28 January. The students will also be asking for people’s opinions at the city centre clock tower.

Last year politics students led a university-wide campaign to produce 100 Ideas to Change Britian. Students travelled to the Houses of Parliament to present their ideas to politicians representing the main parties. All the politicians pledged to study the ideas and see if any could be adopted.