Latest news with #RutlandCountyCouncil
BBC News
14-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Council confirms Ryhall library will remain open
A councillor has confirmed that a previously under-threat library in Ryhall is to remain open. Christine Wise told a Rutland County Council meeting that the authority would continue to run Ryhall Library in its current form after "careful consideration" of alternative options. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said the library in Coppice Road came under threat in January when the council stated on budget papers that closure may be an option. An action group was then set up which called on the council to take a vote on any decision to close the library. Wise said: "I can confirm that Rutland County Council will continue to operate Ryhall Library service in its current form from its existing premises."This follows careful consideration of a range of alternative options. "It has always been our intention to maintain library services in the east of the county. The question we've been wrestling is how best to do this." The Liberal Democrat councillor said Arts Council funding awarded for upgrade work was not enough to complete extensive repairs found to be necessary, and instead this money would be used to upgrade added: "Having weighed all the factors and with no alternative venues immediately available to support a move of the library service, we have concluded that a prolonged process to relocate the library service and then dispose of the building would not be in the interests of library users."However, Wise said if the building falls into serious disrepair, the council may need to look at is a process under way to register the building as a community asset, which means it would have extra protection.
BBC News
01-07-2025
- BBC News
Rutland on-demand bus service to roll-out to entire county
An on demand bus service is to be rolled out across Rutland following a Callconnect service launched for towns and villages in north-west Rutland and north-east Leicestershire on 31 County Council said the currently free scheme - which sees passengers able to book journeys on a phone app or by calling, with at least an hour's notice - had led to a 20% increase in public transport scheme will now be rolled out across all of Rutland in August, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service, alongside the introduction of a £1 charge for the service. In June the council said 1,500 passengers had used the service since leader Gale Waller told a scrutiny meeting on Thursday: "The joy of the demand response system is when it is rolled out in August every single villager in Rutland will have the opportunity to have a bus to go somewhere, whereas at the moment, in an awful lot of our villages, you cannot get a bus, as there isn't one." But the meeting was told there had been "teething issues" with the Ray Payne said some people had been booking a bus in advance and then deciding not to travel without cancelling - preventing other users from ordering added in one instance a villager had booked the whole bus for their community but been the sole person wanting to travel.
Telegraph
27-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The wealthy county with the highest council tax in Britain
Rutland is often described as the one of the healthiest, happiest and best places to live in Britain. But it comes at a high cost. 'We live in a very special place, and I suppose we have to pay for that,' says one stoic Rutland resident. Her council tax bills are among the highest in the country, and are due to increase further. Bills could rise by nearly £600 under Labour. It has left residents asking: 'Why are we being singled out?' Rutland County Council charges the highest tax in the country, with the average Band D household paying £2,671 a year. The national average is nearly £400 lower. Analysis by The Telegraph found that if Rutland continues to raise council tax by the maximum amount each year, households' average bills would increase by £576 by 2030 to £3,247. And this looks likely. Councils that have social care responsibilities, such as county and unitary authorities, can increase tax by a maximum of 4.99pc – and Chancellor Rachel Reeves's spending review gave them the green light to keep doing so. Nine in 10 town halls, including Rutland, opted to raise the tax in April. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that the UK should brace for council tax to rise at its fastest rate in 20 years. It means half of authorities will see increases of at least £500 by 2030. Oakham is filled with stone-coloured houses reminiscent of the Cotswolds, and is popular with tourists who arrive en masse on buses. The small county, with just 41,000 residents and its own flag and castle, also has one of the best-run councils in the country. Pride in the county runs deep, and residents are happy to call themselves 'Rutlanders'. But underneath, there is a growing resentment towards the exorbitant council tax bills. Patrick Brammer has lived in the county for 29 years with his wife Valerie, and doesn't see how the 'high tax can be justified'. The 68-year-old says: 'You get your bins collected, street lights, and that's about it. We get the same services as everyone else. It's not clear how the tax is spent.' 'I've got no problem with the council themselves,' he adds. 'I don't see why we're singled out particularly for such high council tax. Just over the border in Leicestershire, you'll probably pay a few hundred pounds less.' If you have a second home in the council, your tax bill will be much higher. Rutland County Council was one of the 204 authorities which introduced the second home premium in April. There are currently 223 second homes in the area, paying an average of £5,230. Tax rises 'driving away potential buyers' If tax rises continue at this rate, a Band H second home in the county will be paying £12,986 by 2030. Meanwhile, an average second home, a Band D property, could be left on the hook for £6,494. Henry Burgess, of James Sellicks estate agency in Oakham, says such high council tax will drive away potential buyers, which would be a 'crying shame'. He adds: 'If council tax does continue to rise, second home owners will decide they've got better things to spend their money on. It will remove any pull to get a second home in this area, which will have a knock-on effect on high streets. Instead, families could spend a little less on council tax and have a home on the coast. 'If it does keep increasing, even ordinary buyers, who are generally bound by schools or work, may opt to buy somewhere else.' Bobbi Cook, a 19-year-old single mother, has lived in Rutland her whole life. Pushing her pram with eight-month-old, Rowan, she points out how uneven the roads and pavements are. She is paying £111 a month to the council, which includes the 25pc single person allowance. But she doesn't think the council spends it well. 'As a single parent, it's a lot. If, after the bills go up, you could see the roads getting better and more police on the streets, then it would make sense because it would be going to something good,' she says. 'But at the minute, that's not what's happening. And once you have a baby, everything gets more expensive. All the bills are going up. But my wage hasn't.' Another Oakham resident, Moss, who declined to give his full name, is resigned to the imminent bill increases. 'I don't like it, but I don't have a choice,' he says. The 41-year-old says he is completely 'squeezed' by his bills, which leave him with next to no spending money each month. Last year, the Liberal Democrat-run council revealed it was in a £46.6m deficit. A spokesman said that Rutland 'gets a particularly raw deal when it comes to government funding'. It relies on council tax for 79pc of funding, compared with the national average of 56pc. He added: 'After making hundreds of thousands of pounds of savings in the last financial year, we were incredibly disappointed that we had to propose a further increase in council tax. 'This is not something that any councillor wants to do. It is because of the hand we're dealt, in terms of our national funding allocation.' 'Council tax has gone up a lot, and every year' This shortfall may be widened thanks to Labour's plans to restructure local government. The council fought, and won, for its independence as a unitary authority in 1997. But Angela Rayner's reorganisation plans mean that Rutland may be forced to merge with Leicestershire County Council. This proposal has not proved popular among residents, however, as Leicestershire's spending is set to outstrip income by more than £100m by 2027. Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP for Rutland and Stamford, has opposed reorganisation. She previously told The Telegraph there was a misconception that the county was full of 'wealthy retirees'. 'We've got one of the lowest social mobility scores in the country,' she said, adding that she does not believe merging will improve this. Diana and Chris Corp concede that Rutland is a fairly wealthy area – but council tax has gone up 'a lot, and every year'. Originally from Leicester, the former teachers have lived locally for the past 12 years, and now pay the council £310 a month. 'We don't have massive crime waves and schools closing down, however, it's not really obvious where the tax is spent,' says Diana, 76. 'There is no police presence where we live, and even though it's a small market town, there is an undercurrent of petty crime which gets neglected. 'We have to pay extra to get the garden waste taken away and that goes up every year. And the roads are appalling.' Other residents have a more generous outlook on their high bills. Terry Kilmartin, a 72-year-old local, says her council tax is 'too much', but that 'we're better off than other places'. Nitesh Bhundia, 44, owns a wine shop called L'Art de Vivre with his friend, Thomas Troisvallets. In an age where high streets across the country are struggling, the pair are confident in their business model, as there is the 'demand for high end shopping' in Oakham. Bhundia has lived in the town for six years with his wife and two daughters. 'I grew up in Leicester where there was a high crime rate and it was so unsafe. Here, the parks are well-kept and the bins aren't overspilling. We live in a bit of a bubble in Rutland,' he explains. 'There is no other place like this in England.'
BBC News
25-05-2025
- BBC News
Rutland county council chairman visits Rutland in Vermont
Most people would assume the tiny county of Rutland might not have too much in common with the part of New England which shares its name. But Andrew Brown, chairman of Rutland County Council, says there are a number of surprising similarities between the place he represents as a politician and Rutland in recently returned from a self-funded visit to the Rutland's US namesake where he met the local mayor, chief of police and took part in a Loyalty Day parade in the pouring rain. And he said he was given a truly warm welcome by his North American counterparts, who put in place a packed itinerary to allow him to see as much of the place as possible. He said: "It was amazing. They treated us very well. "They have Rutland County, Rutland Town and a Rutland City, where there are about 16,000 in the city and 61,000 in the county, so it's also quite sparsely populated. "And they have a railway that runs rights through the main city - a bit like Oakham."Brown added a visit to Rutland in Vermont was on his wish list since he was elected chairman of Rutland County Council. "Because I get elected yearly and am in my second term, I wanted to go in case I don't get another chance, so I sent an email, they got back to me and we had a few meetings online to arrange my visit," he said. 'Minibus with wings' Rutland in Vermont sits about 100 miles (160.9km) south of the border with Canada and is thought to have been named after John Manners, the third Duke of it is so remote that Brown, who was travelling with his wife and son, had to catch a connecting flight to get to their destination."We flew into Boston from the UK and had to get a connecting flight to Rutland, but it was on a really small aircraft with nine seats," Brown said. "It was like a minibus with wings!"And it turned out it was overweight with the number of people travelling on it, so my wife and son elected to get off and travel there by car."I was left on the plane on my own to make sure I got there on time - they had a full itinerary worked out for me in Rutland. "The noise of the plane was quite loud and so I couldn't talk to anyone and because we were flying through cloud, I couldn't see anything either - and then my wife and son arrived in Rutland only an hour later than I did." A proclamation was read out to herald Brown's arrival in Vermont and he also took part in the Loyalty Day parade, to honour all past and present service personnel and included representative of the police and firefighters as well as marching bands. "The police over there work really differently," Brown said. "There's the state police, the township police and the sheriff, I struggled a bit to work out who does what."He also had lunch with the police chief and addressed the board of aldermen at a meeting, where he handed over a Rutland was also interviewed for television and even performed his own stand-up routine at an evening of singing and entertainment to round off his visit. He said: "I thought the interview would only go out to a few people, but it went out on state TV and when I got back to the hotel, a bloke in the bar said to me 'aren't you that guy from Rutland in England who I saw on the TV?' "It was great fun and part of the reason for me wanting to go is that I wanted to meet and get to know real American people and I did that - and they were great, and really down to earth."Brown arranged his visit with Mike Doenges, Mayor of Rutland City in Vermont, who told the BBC he would like to visit Rutland in the UK himself some day. He added: "We were very excited to have Andrew and his family visit us here in Rutland Vermont!"When Andrew first contacted us, I was surprised and impressed that he wanted to take his personal vacation to the United States and come and visit us here in Rutland City."It was an absolute pleasure to share time showing Andrew and his family around our community and discussing the strong similarities and slight differences between our two 'Rutlands'."I look forward to making the visit to Rutland County UK myself someday in the future, to visit and see our namesake for myself."
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Concerns raised over 'lack of safety' at roadworks
Councillors in Rutland are launching an investigation after a contractor was spotted repairing potholes in rush hour with just a bucket and no safety measures. Mark Chatfield and Samantha Harvey said they saw the workman on the B640 Barleythorpe Road in Oakham and relayed details to Rutland County Council's scrutiny meeting on Thursday. Independent member Ms Harvey said the incident was so unusual she "thought she was dreaming", the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said. The council's principal highways engineer said it was not what was expected from contractor Thomas Bow, which has been approached for comment by the LDRS. 'So unprofessional' Describing the scene as shocking, Ms Harvey said she was returning from Leicester one morning when she was "horrified" to see no cones or other safety measures in place around the roadworks. She said she wanted reassurance it had been raised with the contractor "because having workmen in a major highway at rush hour with not even a cone and just a little bucket" was an issue. "[There was] just some chap on his knees in the middle of the road, on an open road, filling in a long stretch," she said. "I did actually think I was dreaming... I was flabbergasted." Mr Chatfield, who represents the Liberal Democrats on Rutland County Council, also saw the workman and said it "looked so unprofessional it was untrue". Andrew Tapp, the authority's principal highways engineer, Thomas Bow, taken over the had contract from Tarmac in May last year. "From a council perspective, that is not what we expect of our contractor," he said. "We have done our own internal investigation, we have made sure our process was okay and fine, therefore we have now left it with the contractor to do their formal investigation. "They are aware of our high-level concerns around that and they are taking it seriously." Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Related Internet Links
