Letter of Support to Cabinet

Yesterday we wrote to the new Leader of Rutland County Council wishing them well in their new roles, and our full support in areas we feel of greatest importance to Rutland residents. We are looking forward to working with the new alliance to deliver the best for the residents of Rutland.

Dear Lucy,

On behalf of T4R, we would like to wish the new Cabinet all success over the coming 10 months. There are many hurdles in front of you, but we trust that with this new alliance, you can make a real difference for Rutland’s residents.

We are sure you will be pleased to hear that the T4R Group will support all actions that the Cabinet take to address what we see as the main concerns of residents. The principal concern is obviously delivering the required cost savings, and we have every faith in and fully support the work Karen is undertaking, and look forward to being part of this process.

Next and maybe number one in the eyes of residents is planning. We all understand the position we are in, but ask that the new Cabinet should make a clear statement about the current position around uncontrolled development before the new Local Plan is put in place. We are pleased to hear that Cabinet will be considering an Interim Planning Statement although we are disappointed to learn that it has been put back to the June Cabinet meeting in the Forward Plan. In our opinion, the approval of this statement needs to be the next highest priority after the savings. What is clear, we need strong planning leadership to ensure we maintain what control we do have.

Our physical infrastructure, especially medical facilities are under the greatest strain, and we support any move to deliver that much needed Infrastructure as quickly as possible. Again a clear statement to the residents of Rutland would be welcomed by everyone.

Finally, when considering the findings of the recent Primary Care T&F group, we are keen to understand the progress of the Group’s recommendations following the adoption by the Rutland Health and Wellbeing Board.

With best wishes

Gordon Brown
June Fox
Paul Ainsley
Nick Begy

Launch of Vision and Objectives

Today, just 7 days since being created, Together4Rutland has launched its vision and key objectives which can be found at Vision and Objectives

The Vision will be to work with all the Councillors and Officers in the County Council to deliver quality, efficient services.

Our immediate and key objectives are

• • • Housing in the right place and the right size for young families
    • Medical Facilities to meet the needs of residents across the County
    • Seek the Council to deliver speed reduction measures in our towns and villages
    • Continue to push the central government for improved funding to help protect services and deliver the new services required by law.
    • Better engagement with you our residents.
    • To seek improvements to the appearance of Oakham High Street
    • Make sure we are prepared to support those most affected by the cost of living increases

We will continue to develop our ideas and if you want to hear more please sign up to our Facebook page at Together4Rutland

Together4Rutland – a new approach to working for Rutland residents

Launch of Together4Rutland

On 22nd April 2022, Cllrs Gordon Brown, June Fox and Nick Begy resigned from the Rutland County Council Conservative Group. They will continue as County Councillors and will form the new Together4Rutland  Group on Rutland County Council to focus on supporting the residents in their Wards and across Rutland.

In recent months, the three councillors have become increasingly concerned with the direction of travel of the Conservative group, and as backbenchers have felt marginalised, finding it harder to provide the support for the residents for whom they took up public service to help.

In addition, they cannot continue to support the national Conservative party on moral grounds, with Ministers and senior MPs having lost the respect of the public and failing to recognise the serious financial position of Rutland County Council caused by a lack of government funding compounded by additional burdens from new legislation.

The new Group feel that now is no time for party politics in local government in Rutland and wants the opportunity to openly question policy which impacts all residents and not just follow the Conservative party line. The three councillors look forward to working together with all members of the Council to avoid unnecessary political arguments and remembering why they hold these privileged positions. They are hoping that the other members of the County Council will agree with this position and look to join with the new Togther4Rutland  group to achieve the best outcomes for the whole of Rutland.

The new Group has also been joined by Cllr Paul Ainsley, who left the Conservative Group shortly after the HIF vote at the end of last year.