Current Issues

Parish Briefing

The link below will take you to the latest Parish Briefing from Rutland County Council. This is also posted on the notice board.

Local Health Services

YOUR LOCAL HEALTH SERVICES

Leicestershire County and Rutland Primary Care Trust was set up on 1 October 2006 when the four former PCTs (Charnwood and North Leicestershire, Hinckley and Bosworth, Melton, Rutland and Harborough and South Leicestershire) were merged.

Serving a population of 660,000, the PCT’s role is to ensure that high quality, effective and appropriate health services are available for the people of Leicestershire County and Rutland. The PCT also works with partner agencies to improve the health of local people.

The PCT is currently carrying out a review of community health services to ensure that
• Patients get the most appropriate treatment, safely, in the most cost-effective way, at home or as close to home as possible
• Community health services in Leicestershire County and Rutland are easy to access, are offered to everyone on an equitable basis and are fit for the next 15 to 20 years
• We provide value for money

We regularly publish bulletins to keep the public informed of progress on this review.

If you would like to find out more about the work of the Primary Care Trust:
• Visit our website www.lcrpct.nhs.uk
• Contact Qasim Chowdary, Engagement and Involvement Officer, on 0116 295 7626 or email qasim.chowdary@lcrpct.nhs.uk
• Members of the public are welcome to come along to our Trust Board meetings which are held regularly. Details can be found on the Trust Board section of our website or by contacting Michele Morton, Trust Board Secretary on 0116 295 7518 or email michele.morton@lcrpct.nhs.uk

Road safety improvements for the B1081 through Great Casterton

The scheme which will be commenced in late October/early November will be as follows:

1. Entering the village from the A1 there will be a chicane just short of West View, a second one by the Rectory and the Limes (to allow the widening of the footpath to 2 metres), a third one in front of the Crown pub (again to allow the widening of the footpath).

2. Entering the village from south (Stamford) direction there will be a chicane between the cemetery footpath and the 30 mph sign.

3. The footpath through the village on the Crown Pub side of the road will be designated a 2 metre wide cycle/foot path from the BP garage where there will be a pelican crossing from the Rutland Heights Estate. The two chicanes in the middle of the village will allow this path to be widened to 2 metres at the narrowest points.

4. Turning the corner at the village crossroads and going towards the Community College there will be a zebra crossing to allow cyclists/school children to cross the road and join the footpath/cycle track to the school.

5. The Old Great North Road will be planed off and resurfaced within the existing 30 mph limits. Cats eyes and centre lines will not be replaced to decrease perception of width.

Fly Tipping

Fly tipping is both anti social and a blot on our beautiful countryside.

The attached pictures show two incidences of fly tipping close to the village centre.
Rutland County Council provides facilities to get rid of your large size rubbish. Please use them Details can be seen at:

School Traffic - latest

See Parish News section for report of discussions at annual parish meeting

School Traffic

The Chairman of the Parish Council attended a meeting at Great Casterton Business and Enterprise College (CBEC) on 5th March to discuss safer routes to school for students, parents and local residents. This continues to be an area of great concern to the Parish Council and it is one on which we have had continuing correspondence with the Leicestershire Police.
The meeting was also attended the principal of CBEC and a number of governors; the head teacher of the Federated Primary School, the chair of Governors; parents, interested residents; Rutland County Councillor Chris Parsons (Ryhall and Casterton Wards); and Malcolm Ainley, head of highways at Rutland County Council.
This meeting was the first part of a two part consultation under phase 2 of the Local Traffic Plan for which Rutland now had funding. It appeared that the Government was keen to provide additional funding for measures that would reduce the use of cars as transport to school and encourage the use of bicycles or walking to school. Mr Ainley told the meeting that that up to £400,000 might be available for these measures which also included resurfacing the B1081 through the village.
In discussion of these proposals the residents of the village expressed concern over the school “rush hour” when they were blocked into their properties by the volume of traffic on the roads, inconsiderate parking all along Ryhall Road and the B1081. They were also mindful of the dangers to children trying to travel on and cross busy roads on foot and on bicycles.
Whilst the narrow and inadequate pavements were also a problem, the single biggest factor detracting from the safety to children was the enormous increase in the number and speed of heavy goods vehicles using the village roads as a route from the A1 to and from the A6121 via Sidney Farm Lane and Ryhall Road. The noise generated by HGVs crossing the humps was making residents lives a misery as it continued all through the night.
There are a number of measures that could be taken by Rutland County Council to alleviate this and they included a traffic chicane, Toucan crossings, speed tables and cushions, traffic humps (the most effective for speed reduction), traffic lights, or even a mini roundabout.
Mr Ainley explained that he would like to have agreement on the work to be done in the village agreed at a second meeting to be held in May (after the local elections). He hoped the improvements could be completed during the school summer holidays.
Councillor Parsons asked Mr Ainley to complete a traffic survey on the Ryhall Road to provide some data. This was agreed, as was a survey of traffic flow on the B1081.
The Parish Council strongly supports the residents’ concerns over noise and increased HGV traffic in the village. It also supports parents’ anxiety over the safety of their children going to and from school.

Youth in Rutland

Traffic through the village

1. Since 1925 the Parish Council has been very concerned about the speed of traffic through the village. This is particularly relevant today since there is a dangerous cross roads in the middle of the village and at the same time we are home to two schools, many of whose students either walk or cycle home. We have drawn this matter to attention of the Police Area Commander and we await his response. In the meantime there are now three Vehicle actived signs in operation at either end of the Old Great North Road (Main Street) and just short of the Community College on the Ryhall Road.

2. We have also applied for a Transcalm road hump to be situated within the village. This type of hump is normally flat on the road unless a vehicle goes over it at more than 35 mph when it inflates. We await funding for this.

Policing in the Village

The Parish Council is also concerned about the level of policing. At present we share our policeman (PC Rigby) and one Community Support Officer (PCSO Zarins) with 15 other villages which makes their task very difficult.

At present we are just not getting the coverage we require and there are three particular areas highlighted here. The first is the presence of two schools in the village which itself is unusual for a community of this size. They total some 900 pupils, many of who arrive and depart on foot and by bicycle, all along the busy B1081 which is increasingly being used by large trucks taking a short cut through Stamford. We are mindful of the safety of these children on the narrow pavements through the village as well as those in the road on their bicycles. The reassuring presence of a policeman can do wonders here.

The second area is the incidents of poaching and the theft of farm diesel oil. They are on the increase again.

Thirdly we are increasingly worried that a number of incidents concerning farms, petty crime and anti social behaviour are just not being reported.

The Parish Council in this village feels that just one policeman and one community support officer shared amongst 15 other villages is insufficient, particularly with the presence of the two schools. It is therefore actively lobbying the Police over these matters.