BLOG: My Community Day in Rutland

With Nigel Gate of Gates Garden Centre

Bacon – A Broken Bridge – Castle ASB – Garden Centre – Hurricane Spotting – Badger Baiting – Shop Burglary

Thursday 4 July proved to be an eventful day in Rutland

It was my community day, and I knew it would be a long one so I started at the Two Flags Café on the A47 just east of Morcott. The café’s Facebook page claims that they serve the “best bacon buttie for miles around”, so I tried one. They are right. I then had a chat with the manager. After a few words about diesel thefts, we discussed a recent court case where a driver had been convicted following a nasty crash just up the road.

Then it was on to Ridlington to meet with County Councillor Giles Clifton and two parish councillors. Their main concern was about the rural road that runs from Uppingham through Ayston, Ridlington and Brooke to Oakham. When the main road gets congested in the rush hour, commuters use this country lane as a rat run. And it is getting dangerous. Only a few weeks ago a head-on smash where the road narrows to cross a single track bridge ended up badly damaging the bridge and left one local resident with life-changing injuries.

“With all the house building at Oakham, it is only going to get worse,” Cllr Clifton told me. “We need better signage and better traffic calming.” I agree. Much of what is needed lies in the hands of the county council or central government. I promised to help as best I could.

I drove up the contested lane to reach Oakham for my next appointment, a patchwalk with Sergeant Palmer. We walked around the town centre, where Sgt Palmer explained about ASB issues – particularly in the Castle grounds – and what was being done about them.

My next stop was a welcome cup of tea with Nigel Gates of Gates Garden Centre. We talked about the measures that he and his staff were taking to cut shoplifting before moving on to discuss crime in rural areas – particularly business crime. Some businesses in villages feel particularly isolated and vulnerable.

Talking of villages, I moved on to Empingham for some free range time. Bearing in mind what Mr Gates had said to me I made a beeline for the two shops and the pub. The main concern seemed to be about forged banknotes that had been reported. None seen here yet, but one had been detected in Edith Weston.

I also knocked on a few house doors to see what residents thought of local policing. One gentleman raised the issue of badgers. He had seen an unusually high number of badgers dead on the roads in recent weeks. The fact that a mother and cubs had died together raised his suspicions. Was badger baiting taking place, he wanted to know. I promised to chase it up.

Just as I was walking back to my car, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine. Staring upwards I could at first see nothing amid the broken cloud. But then a familiar silhouette streaked into view. It was a Hurricane swooping, diving and turning. Maybe practising for a forthcoming event.

Finally it was back to Oakham to visit a shop that had recently been burgled. The owner was full of praise for the police constable who had been first on the scene – and for the detective who had handled the case. He had got some of his stock back and arrests had been made. Unfortunately he had suffered a lot of anxiety with insurance and suppliers as a result of some incorrect information given out by the police. That was all in the past, but the shopowner wanted to ensure a similar mistake did not happen to anybody else.

I promised to try to find out what had gone wrong, then stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine. I had learned a lot during my Community Day in Rutland and had several issues to chase up. Time to get busy.

Rupert Matthews
Police & Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland