ACCOUNTS 2009 - 2010
Members of the Council approved the 2009 - 2010 accounts on July 7th 2009. Please click on the link below to view them, Please also see the Notice of Elector's Rights below.
Accounts 2009 - 2010

RESIGNATION AND NOTICE OF VACANCY
Martin Brookes  resigned as a Town Councillor for Oakham North West Ward on the 8th July 2010.
The Notice of Vacancy has now been published and is available to view in the Town Council notice boards outside the Victoria Hall, outside the Library and on Gaol Street. If at least 10 electors from the Oakham North West Ward request an election before August 9th 2010 then an election will be held. This request must be made in writing to the Returning Officer at Rutland County Council before that date. If an election is not called then the Town Council will be given permission to co-opt a new Councillor.
Please click on the link below to view:
Letter to the Clerk to the Council and the Notice of Vacancy

NEW TOWN COUNCILLORS
At an extra meeting of the Council held on June 16th 2010 Mrs Lorna Grey of Glebe Way Oakham and Mr Tor Clark of Hambleton Close, Oakham were co-opted as members for Oakham South East Ward.

NOTICE OF ELECTOR'S RIGHTS
Electors have the right to inspect the accounts and make copies of invoices etc. that relate to the accounting statements. For the financial year 2009 - 2010 this right can be exercised from 12th July 2010.
Please click on the link below to see a copy of the statutory notice. This has also been placed in the Town Council notice boards outside the Victoria Hall, in Gaol Street and outside the Rutland County Library.
Notice of Elector's Rights

CLEANING OF CHURCH STREET TOILETS
Oakham Town Council is seeking tenders for the contract to clean the public toilets located in Church Street Car Park. The contract will be for three years and will start on October 1st 2010.
Interested parties are asked to contact the Clerk to the Council, Richard White, on 01572 723627 for a copy of the Tender Document or it can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.
The closing date for tenders for the Contract is July 30th 2010. The successful contractor will be informed by Friday September 10th 2010.

Church Street Toilets Tender Document

NEW MAYOR ELECTED
At its Annual meeting held on May 12th Cllr Mrs Sharon Spencer was elected as Chairman of the Town Council and Mayor of Oakham. Cllr Mark Woodcock was elected as Vice Chairman and Deputy Mayor.

NEW COUNCILLOR FOR OAKHAM NORTH EAST
Alan Walters of Queens Road, Oakham has been elected unopposed to the vacant seat in Oakham North East

NEW PLAY EQUIPMENT
£50000 worth of play equipment was officially opened by trans Indian Ocean rower Sarah Outen on Saturday 22nd May 2010 The equipment at Royces Playing Field was paid for by a Government Playbuilder Grant obtained by Rutland County Council. Designed specifically for young people from age 9 - 13 the area has already proved immensely popular.
The Council is also submitting an application to English Heritage to provide some additional equipment for a similar age group at Cutts Close.

WORK TO BANDSTAND
The major renovation of the Bandstand is now complete.
The £28000 project saw the roof completely stripped prior to being felted and battened and re-tiled with cedar shingle tiles. Soffits and fascias were also removed and replaced with cedar and new guttering installed. The existing ironwork was removed and cleaned off site and a new floor was laid. Finally the steps were completely replaced and the remaining stonework and render cleaned sympathetically and restored.
The works were completed on schedule by the Contractors and the Bandstand is now ready for a series of performances during the summer.
The Council would like to apologise to residents and visitors for the inconvenience that was caused whilst the work was completed and thanks them for their patience.
Please click on the link below for a list of events and band concerts.

Events in Cutts Close Summer 2010

GROUNDS MAINTENANCE
Additional grass cuts and litter picks will take place at the two main parks owned by the Town Council. Cutts Close and Royces Playing Field will see weekly grass cutting from April 1st to the end of September and daily litter picks throughout the year

COUNCIL SETS BUDGET FOR 2010 - 2011
At the meeting of the Town Council held on 13th January 2010, members ratified the Council's budget for the 2010 - 2011 financial year.
Residents of Oakham will pay £52.14 per Band D household as opposed to the £51.12 paid in both 2008 - 2009 and 2009 - 2010. This represents an increase of 2%
The Town Council's precept is set at £209274.

Oakham Town Council will be increasing its grass cutting and litter picking during 2010 with daily litter picks in both Royces Playing Field and Cutts Close. In addition weekly grass cuts will take place in both locations from April to the end of September. This will be at an additional cost of approximately £7000.

To help fund this the Town Council will not be offering discretionary grants in 2010 - 2011. It will, however, continue to financially support the Oakham Festival, the Oakham Carnival. the Rutland Citizen's Advice Bureau and Oakham in Bloom.

A copy of the approved budget for 2010 - 2011 can be viewed by clicking on the link below. Please note that this is in a .xls format (an Excel spreadsheet) and you will need to have the relevant software installed on your computer. Hard copies are available free of charge from the Town Council offices.
Approved Budget 2010 - 2011

LOO OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Town Council has entered the toilets located in the Church Street Car Park for the Unmanned Public Toilet Category in the Loo of the Year Award 2010.

GREEN FLAG STATUS FOR CUTTS CLOSE?
The Council is currently working on its submission in January 2011 for Green Flag Status for Cutts Close. The initiative is similar to the Blue Flag Scheme that operates for beaches in Britain. A comprehensive management plan has to be submitted as well as other information relating to the Park.

BUS SHELTERS
The refurbished bus shelter currently located outside the Oakham C of E Primary School could be moved further along Burley Road. Councillors agreed that the preferred location would be approximately 200m north of its current location. The preferred position is already a well used bus stop. Residents in the area will be consulted on the proposals which will see the existing bench moved slightly to allow for the siting of the shelter.

LIGHTING IN CUTTS CLOSE
Work to improve lighting in Cutts Close has now been completed. The £10000 scheme involved the installation of an additional four street lights  alongside the footpath running to the east of All Saints Churchyard.
The scheme was funded by Oakham Town Council with the help of a 50% grant from the Welland Challenge Fund. The grant was obtained after a great deal of work by the Oakham Town Partnership as part of an overall scheme to improve the Heritage Trail through Oakham.

HELP WANTED
Are you a member of a group that is based in Oakham? If you are then please contact the office and we will put your details on this website.

ACCOUNTS 2008 - 2009
Oakham Town Council has received an unqualified opinion on its accounts for 2008 - 2009. This means that the External Auditor found no causes for concern in the accounts for the period.  Hard copies will be supplied free of charge. Please contact the Office if you require a copy. You can also view the accounts by clicking on the link below:
Accounts 2008 - 2009

NEW TOILETS OPENED
The long awaited new Public Toilets in Oakham were officially opened on Monday 22nd June 2009 by Cllr Edward Baines, the Chairman of Rutland County Council and Cllr Mrs Jan Fillingham, the Chairman of Oakham Town Council.

The new £106,000 facility incorporates a number of energy saving features including a solar heated water supply, light tubes, lighting sensors and automatic hand wash stations.

Enhanced facilities for disabled users are also available and include a hoist, shower and changing bench in a large room accessible 24 hours a day with a RADAR key.

The toilets will be managed  by Oakham Town Council who have appointed a local cleaning company to maintain them. The toilets will be cleaned 5 times a day to ensure that an exceptionally high standard of cleanliness and hygiene can be enjoyed by all users of the facility.

The toilets are open from 8.00am to 6.00pm daily (although this may be subject to change)

The Town Council would welcome comments from members of the Public about the new toilets. Please contact the Council on 01572 723627 or e-mail by clicking on the link below:

Contact us
 

SOUTH STREET FOOTBRIDGE

Considerable concerns have been raised in the local press about the footbridge. The vast majority of people are advocating the removal of the bridge and the reinstatement of a level crossing. This issue was taken up by Rutland County Council in a letter to Network Rail. The response, however, categorically stated that this was against their own policies which were backed by Her Majesty's Rail Inspectorate and as such this would not be considered.

Alcohol Designation Order for Oakham
Having received the backing of both Oakham Town Council and Rutland County Council, an Alcohol Designation Order is now in force for the whole of Oakham. The Order gives the Police the discretionary power to remove alcohol from adults drinking in public places. The Town Council would like to point out that this is not an alcohol ban and is in place to prevent misuse of alcohol in the Town.

The Town Council has funded the necessary signage required to inform members of the public that a Designation Order is in force.

The same scheme in Uppingham has had an extremely positive effect and all involved anticipate that similar benefits will be seen in Oakham.

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