2 weeks Ago
It’s hard to believe a fortnight has passed since I presented our community’s petition in Parliament to save Rutland’s ceremonial county status , writes Rutland and Stamford MP Alicia Kearns (Con). With more than 17% of Rutland’s population signing the petition, I hope we have made clear to Government that we are Rutlanders and intend to stay as such – I’m told by Parliament it’s one of the biggest wet-signature petitions presented in the 21st Century! My discussions with legal experts, ceremonial county experts and reading of the legislation have all confirmed that without a small law change, our ceremonial county status will not be protected under local council re-organisation. That is why before I presented our petition, I met with the Minister for Local Government Jim McMahon to set out the legal complexities and why his departmental officials need to recognise we are in a unique position compared to other counties.
I have written to the Minister to follow up on our discussions as he was not aware of the impact of the proposals on us, and it would need him as Minister to overrule the department’s position on no legislative action to protect ceremonial counties. I’m also due to speak to the Deputy Prime Minister on this as well. The Government’s proposals to scrap two-tier authorities and small unitary councils, replacing them with new larger unitary councils will fundamentally re-define the services we all receive.
I’ve provided a topline summary of the proposals put forward to Government (alongside the proposals themselves) by our local councils on my website, please do read them and share your views with me via the survey which is also live on my website. In other news locally, I’ve been continuing to work to ‘Stop the Stink’ in Corby Glen and put an end to the smells residents have had to put up with for far too long. I secured chemical dousing of all three housing development sites, specific sewer investigations and a new foul vent pipe on one site.
As a result of this work a specific site has been identified as the primary source from which smells continue to emanate. This cannot continue, so I have asked South Kesteven District Council to start enforcement action to force the developer to fix the sewage system. In good news for Stamford residents, Lincolnshire County Council has announced a £1 million investment across Lincolnshire to make footpaths safer , smoother and more durable for years to come.
Footpaths benefitting from the re-surfacing investment between April and October locally include Clare Close, North Street, East Street, The Paddock and Foundry Road. Stamford High Street is also in line for upgrades thanks to Councillor Kelham Cooke who has secured the installation of rising bollards. Many residents had emailed me about this, so it’s great news that bollards will be installed within the next couple of months, in addition to revising the old traffic regulation order which had to go through a consultation.
As I continue to work to deliver on my promises for Stamford and our South Kesteven villages, it was good to meet the leader and chief executive of South Kesteven District Council to discuss local government re-organisation proposals, the public meeting I held, stopping the stink in Corby Glen, Anglian Water’s pipeline programme, and securing compensation for communities affected by Mallard Pass Solar Plant. Finally, I last reported back about Rutland’s new on-demand bus service which is now up and running thanks to our £23.7 million Levelling Up Funding which I secured with the council.
Following the launch I have been meeting with Rutland County Council to discuss progress on other projects using the remainder of the funding, including a new medi-tech centre to boost Rutland’s economy and employment, in addition to revamping our tourism offer with the Rutland Museum makeover – there’s lots more exciting plans in the pipeline!.
