Latest news with #Rutland
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Red Arrows flypast route today - when and where to spot them
The Red Arrows will fly over northern England today - thrilling spectators who are eagerly getting ready to have their eyes on the skies. The world famous Royal Air Force aerobatic team, based at RAF Waddington, near Lincoln, are taking part in Armed Forces Day today, Saturday June 28. It is among a host of iconic flypasts scheduled for today, with a whole programme ready to enthrall spectators at Scarborough Armed Forces today. Although the daring acrobatic aircrafts won't make it to the big event in Scarborough, they will perform at its fellow Armed Forces Day even in Cleethorpes. READ MORE: 77 workers lose jobs at Hudderfield family-run firm - full scathing statement from boss READ MORE: 'Don't get caught out' warning as Kirklees bin collection days changed for thousands At 12.30 they will perform a display at Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, for the town's popular Armed Forces Day. At 1pm they will perform a flypast at Kenwick Park, Louth, Lincolnshire. And at 3.42pm they Red Arrows will flypast Barrowden, Rutland. At 3.50pm, they will perform a display at the Shuttleworth Festival of Flight at Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. And at 4.25pm you can see them flypast Cranwell. At 6.38pm they will perform a flypast at Glinton. The Red Arrows have been performing since 1965. Get all the latest What's On news straight to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter here.
Telegraph
a day ago
- 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
4 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Northants ICB staff fear job losses amid NHS cost-cutting drive
Hundreds of NHS staff are facing uncertainty over their jobs after cuts to local health services begin to take Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), which oversees the running of health services in the county, was told in April it must cut its running costs by almost a third before the end of the year.A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the government was committed to "cutting back on unnecessary bureaucracy" and "reinvesting savings in frontline care".Northamptonshire ICB has declined to comment. According to a headcount taken in March 2025, there were just over 200 staff at the Northamptonshire ICB and around 330 in Leicestershire and Rutland ICB. A total of £16.7m in savings need to be made from the areas' combined £53m running response, Northamptonshire ICB and Leicestershire and Rutland ICB have proposed clustering together, to maintain services while reducing expenditure. However, despite the plan, hundreds of job losses are expected. Toby Sanders, chief executive of Northamptonshire ICB, said staff were "frankly terrified" about their financial futures. 'Causing chaos' Managers in Partnership (MiP), the NHS managers union, warned the cuts will damage local economies and hinder the ability to retain skilled chief executive Jon Restell said: "The government's massive gamble to cut half of the ICB workforce was taken without any plan or assessment of what new structures need to do. "Three months on from that decision there is still no sign of the Ten Year Health Plan and still no national mechanism to make staff redundant."The speed of the cuts, to be made by the end of the year, is causing chaos."According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, it was confirmed at a recent Integrated Care Partnership meeting that formal proposals to create a Leicester, Northamptonshire, Rutland ICB cluster were submitted to NHS England in May. If approved, it would not be a full merger, but would introduce shared management and functions. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Lady Violet Manners' high society wedding descends into party mode - as bride dons sequin dress and trainers to dance on tables after tying the knot to her 'Caledonian Cowboy'
One of high society's most popular weddings of 2025 descended into party mode with disco balls, dancing on tables and drinks aplenty this weekend - as Lady Violet Manners tied the knot to William James Lindesay-Bethune, also known as Viscount Garnock. Attendees at the nuptials, which took place at the stunning historic Belvoir Castle, documented how the festivities saw the bride sporting sequins among other revellers at the 15,000-acre ancestral property's 'basement'. The idyllic sunlight of the day ceremony turned into red strobe lighting as guests sipped on champagne and smoked cigarettes well into the night. Videos from well past midnight saw the bride and groom jumping up and down to adoring crowds while music played. Violet, 31, swapped out her traditional ensemble to a festive bridal minidress, fit with tassels and shiny silver beading. The heels came off - replaced by comfortable trainers - as her hair came down from its sophisticated updo. Her sisters - Eliza, 27, and Alice, 30 - both also swapped out their elegant, dusky pink day dresses for party-worthy form-fitting gown. Lady Violet, 31, said 'I do' with Viscount Garnock, 33, in a service that brings together two of Britain's most prominent aristocratic families together. The eldest daughter of The Duke and Duchess of Rutland, David Manners, the 11th Duke of Rutland, and Emma Manners, had announced her engagement to colourful Scottish aristocrat William last summer in a post that read 'I said "yes" to my Caledonian Cowboy'. William is the son and heir of the 16th Earl of Lindsay, and is based both in Scotland and Texas in the U.S. He is also co-founder of a low and no alcohol spirits brand. On Saturday, in bright sunshine, the couple were wed at St Mary The Virgin Church in Bottesford with the bride looking resplendent in a Phillipa Lepley couture gown. Lady Violet wore a family heirloom for her big day, donning the diamond Rutland tiara, which has been part of her lineage for more than 300 years, and hasn't been worn at a public occasion since the late 90s. The bride wore her brunette hair pinned back, with a flowing veil behind the tiara. The diadem has carnation and fuschias, with diamond leaves; the last member of the family to wear it was Lady Theresa Manners on her wedding day in 1997 to Dr John Chipman. Lady Violet's bridal gown had puffed sleeves, and a delicate sheer panel under her ruffled neckline which was embroidered with symbols including stars and love hearts. Later, she changed into a second ensemble comprising of a flowing ivory gown, teamed with a striking lace cape veil. In some snaps the bride could be seen wearing it atop her head, as a hood. The idyllic countryside background quickly turned to strobe lighting and disco balls as the party got underway Some scenes from the weekend, Violet was also pictured in a ruffled white frock with cowboy boots. Meanwhile, the groom was attired in a kilt made from the red and green Lindsay family tartan, which he wore with a traditional sporran and a pale grey suit with a green and blue patterned tie. He arrived at the church in true, characterful style, disembarking with family and friends from vintage red double decker Routemaster bus as he awaited his bride. Acknowledging the groom's Scottish heritage, a piper played the bride into the church. Lady Violet arrived in a closed carriage, meanwhile, with her bridesmaids riding alongside her. The bridesmaids' stylish sartorial choices tipped a hat to the bride's Christian name by wearing a pretty shade of violet. They wore their hair tied back and adorned with flowers that co-ordinated with their dresses. Amongst the bridesmaids were Lady Violet's sisters, Eliza and Alice alongside Lady Violet's close friend Devisha Kumari Singh. The happy couple, who announced their engagement last summer, wave at guests and well-wishers after being named man and wife Beautiful bride: Lady Violet looked resplendent in a Phillipa Lepley couture gown on her big day this weekend A summer wedding: The happy couple (and the guests!) were blessed with warm weather on the day, donning summer frocks and sandals The ceremony appeared to leave a smile on many of the guests' faces, with attendees smiling as a photographer took snaps Bring on the brights! Wedding guests wore an array of colourful shades to the summertime nuptials Flower girls and page boys, who were dressed in light green satin knickerbockers, made up the rest of the bridal party. The newlyweds were seen waving at guests and well-wishers as they made their way as man and wife from St Mary The Virgin Church back to Belvoir Castle. Their respective sets of parents, the Duke and Duchess of Rutland and the Earl and Countess of Lindsay, James and Diana Lindesay-Bethune, looked overjoyed as they waved them off. The two couples clearly have a solid friendship, with Diana Lindesay-Bethune, Countess of Lindsay and mother-of-the-groom, and father-of-the-bride David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland, striding in to the church ceremony together. Mother-of-the-bride Emma Manners, the Duchess of Rutland, 61, who is battling breast cancer after a shock diagnosis in the spring, looked elegant in a jacquard coat and dress in a shade of light pink, and a statement tilted hat. She enjoyed a warm hug with one of Lady Violet's flower girls as the wedding party emerged from the church. The cream of high society made up the guests at the stately home nuptials, with Lady Tatiana Mountbatten, Lady Sabrina Percy and Princess Alexandra's granddaughter Flora Vesterberg, all in attendance. The 11th Duke of Rutland's ancestors have resided for almost 1,000 years at Belvoir Castle so it was unlikely the couple would have deviated from the 360-room estate. The historic property was used as Windsor Castle in Netflix series The Crown.
BBC News
16-06-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Colony Reservoir dries up after warmest spring on record
A reservoir at the Charnwood Lodge nature reserve has dried up due to the "extremely dry" spring, a wildlife organisation has and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) said all the fish in the water have died at Colony Reservoir in UK recorded its warmest spring on record and its driest in more than 50 years, according to provisional figures from the Met added the reservoir was entirely fed by rainwater run-off from the surrounding hills, but the supply has run out due to the dry weather. A spokesperson said: "It's not a pretty sight up there at the minute. "Because of the remote location it's been impossible to fill up by any other means and it's also made any potential rescuing of the fish impossible, too."The spokesperson added the reservoir can dry up "from time to time" but added that it had not happened "for a number of years".
