This site is serving as a pilot for a more comprehensive web site to be launched later in the year.

To learn more about the town read the following description of Uppingham similar to that used to win an award for its local businesses in the 2008 Calor Gas National Village of the Year Competition.

After you have read about the town, find out what events are coming up in the area by clicking on the 'Events' tab above. Also read the 'Uppingham First' pages to learn more about the new Uppingham Community Partnership and its activities.

STOP PRESS            Uppingham First Wifi Project wins Association of Market Towns Award 

                                 See www.uppinghamfirst.co.uk and 'Uppingham' on Twitter

UPPINGHAM

The People

A study of local facilities and activities which people pursue in Uppingham is perhaps the first step to understanding why it is such a popular parish. Uppingham is fortunate in having three excellent local authority schools; Uppingham Community College caters for 11 to 16 year olds, and the Church of England and Leighfield Primary Schools for younger pupils. There is also the famous Uppingham School for 13 to 18 year olds. Nursery facilities are provided at a number of nurseries, namely  Stepping Stones, attached to the CE School, Upp-starts, attached to the Community College and Westways which operates independently.

Uppingham is rich in sporting and leisure provision for young and old. In addition to youth groups, Uppingham Community College offers a range of sporting and other activities: netball, football, badminton, kickboxing, tae kwon do, tennis, cricket, dance/ ballet, drama, music, model flying, fencing, judo and archery. Uppingham School offers facilities for aerobics, basketball, badminton, cricket nets and cricket courses, tennis and swimming (including lessons). Uppingham Cricket Club has purchased a new ground and supports five teams. It also uses both Uppingham School and the Community College indoor facilities and nets and has an excellent youth policy involving up to 150 young people aged 6 to 14 years. Uppingham Football Club plays on Tod’s Piece (public playing field) and fields two teams. It also has its clubhouse there. The nearby Scout Hut is used by scout and guide groups. Other facilities include a skateboard park with two separate ramp installations, play equipment for older children and an enclosed play area for toddlers. Rutland Hockey Club plays on the Astroturf pitch at the Community College and runs a programme for young players. The Town Hall provides facilities for aerobics, yoga, Weightwatchers, tae kwon do, quilting, bowls, patchwork, tai chi, line dancing and a folk club. Uppingham Bowls Club uses a three-quarter length indoor rink adjoining Tod’s Piece.

The parish has excellent housing provision and services for the elderly. In the social housing sector Rutland County Council provides 208 homes including bedsits, bungalows and larger properties, some of which are supported by wardens. Nottingham Community Housing Association has two-bedroomed flats at The Firs of which 14 are let and 5 are on shared ownership terms. The de Montfort Housing Society has 38 units all rented and allocated through its own and the council’s waiting list. The Minster General Housing Association has 6 one-bedroom flats all rented and subject to 100% nomination rights held by the County Council. In addition there are 42 properties owned by the Thorpe, Archdeacon Johnson and St John and St Anne charities and currently providing accommodation for mainly local persons of post retirement age. Age Concern Uppingham provides day centre facilities including lunch on two days each week at Samuel Court. A “Drop In” coffee morning is held each Friday in the Church Hall and there are two luncheon clubs. Coach outings are arranged throughout the year. Walks of 3-5 miles take place each month, followed by a pub lunch. There is a monthly tea dance and a monthly fish and chip social afternoon. All these activities are supported by help from volunteers.

An Indoor Bowls group meets weekly in the Town Hall and swimming is available for limited numbers.

Details of all these activities and services are available at the Age Concern shop in the High Street, as well as advice and information on a wide range of topics including welfare benefits, insurance services and assistance in completing forms.

Age Concern Leicestershire and Rutland provides home care services and security services including the fitting of locks and spy holes. It also runs an Odd Job scheme. Voluntary Action Rutland (VAR) offers a variety of services for the elderly, frail and disabled, including transport services enabling them to visit doctors, dentists, opticians, chiropodists, hospitals, lunch clubs etc. The service is mainly provided by volunteers using their own vehicles. A small charge is made but the service is free to those receiving certain benefits, for example Income Support.

Uppingham is blessed with award winning Health Care. There is a Surgery and Health Centre situated in the centre of the town with wheelchair access to the ground floor and a stair lift available for access to the first floor. There are six doctors in the practice and a nursing team qualified in general nursing procedures, health screening, blood pressure monitoring and immunisation. The practice offers regular clinics operated mainly by the nursing staff and provides advice and treatment for a wide range of medical and other conditions. There is also a number of attached staff, including health visitor, district nurses, midwife, MacMillan Nurse and other specialists.

Outside the National Health Service there is provision in the town for physiotherapy, reflexology, acupuncture, massage and Chinese medicines. There are defibrillators based at the Falcon Hotel and on the Beeches Estate available for community use and volunteers have been trained to use them in emergencies. There are four dental practices all also providing hygienist services. There is an optometrist providing a full eye-care service and a surgical chiropodist. Two pharmacies in the town provide prescription and over-the-counter services, and a dispensing facility at The Uppingham Surgery serves patients living more than a mile away.

In addition to the provision for human health care the Rutland Veterinary Practice in Ayston Road gives advice and treatment for animals.

The gardener is not forgotten in this wonderful community. Near to Tod’s Piece are some of Uppingham’s 75 allotments. There are other plots situated off Leicester Road and 6 private allotments off South View.

As well as mind and body, Uppingham seeks to care for the soul! Uppingham has three churches. The Grade II* Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul offers a full range of religious activities with services daily. Activities include an active Sunday School, a youth group and several adult study groups, bell ringers, senior and junior choirs and a Mothers' Union branch that meets monthly. Weekly musical concerts feature Uppingham School pupils and the church hosts other concerts on a regular basis. The Church Hall also provides facilities for the Uppingham Theatre Company, a play group, W.I. and a weekly Age Concern coffee morning. The church produces a monthly magazine, “Quartet”. The Methodist Church provides a full range of religious activities and has Sunday services and a Sunday School for under 11s. The church also hosts baptisms, funerals and weddings for the Congregational Church. Regular bookings include a mother and toddler group meeting on Tuesdays in term time, W.E.A., a political group, The Choral Society, a youth drama workshop, a writers' group, a coffee morning on Fridays, a lunch club and service, and an ecumenical men’s breakfast. The Congregational House Church is an independent church with services on an informal interactive basis twice a month. Charity coffee mornings are held bi-monthly.

Finally there is a small but well stocked library in Queen Street which the recent Parish Plan survey showed to be used by over half the respondents. As well as books to take away and for reference the library provides internet facilities and a photocopying service.

Public safety in the community undertaking all this activity is underpinned by the presence of a Fire Station on the main A6003 road crewed by volunteer retained fire-fighters (in many families there is a tradition of volunteering to support this service) and the presence of an excellent neighbourhood policing team working from a small police office in Leicester Road supported by two CCTV cameras and neighbourhood watch volunteers.

Community involvement is evident in all of the above activities. Consultations for the Parish Plan and more recently Uppingham 2025, have given residents the opportunity to express their views about Uppingham as it is now, and how they would wish it to be in the future. A new Town Partnership 'Uppingham First' and a voluntary sector 'Neighbourhood Forum' seek to gather and air the views of the community .

Local Business

Local business is an integral part of the community in Uppingham. An extraordinary combination of establishments sustains a range of products and level of services probably not to be found in any other village with a population of 4000 people.

The presence of a major public school with a superb theatre and concert facilities, a Harley-Davidson dealership, a world famous art gallery, an historic coaching inn, a weekly market, a regular farmers market and a wide range of art/antique galleries and bookshops all contribute to the sustainability of a very high quality of life.

The historic centre of Uppingham is home to more than 100 businesses offering a wide range of professional services including legal, accountancy, property, investment, travel, insurance, medical, vehicle maintenance, two banks and a post office. The education sector is the community’s most significant employer.

Unusually for its size, there is significant competition in the high street amongst the small retail businesses with two butchers, two ironmongers, two chemists, two newsagents, two tea rooms, two general store off-licenses, two jewellers, three restaurants, six hair and beauty establishments, six hotels/public houses and several food take away establishments. This competitive core of family businesses is complemented by a baker baking fresh bread every day, a family owned petrol station open from very early until late seven days a week, an award winning fish and chip shop and a small supermarket.

A developing café society with tables in the market square is supported by an evening economy organised around an alcohol free zone. The excellent neighbourhood policing team helps sustain a low crime, relatively safe, urban centre that has town facilities but very much the atmosphere and culture of a medium sized village.

An interesting element of the high street and market square is the number of business premises that have residential accommodation above them, thus ensuring a ‘living’ high street at all hours of the day and night.

Three industrial areas around the edge of the village widen the range of employment opportunity and local services.

To the South, an industrial estate hosts Arnold Wills and Co., a noteworthy company who employ mainly local people and who manufacture for Marks and Spencer among others. The estate has a number of other engineering and manufacturing companies, some with an international reputation.

To the north is an office development owned by the National Farmers Union housing not only its regional office, but its nationally accredited offshoot ‘Associa’, a company of more than 100 staff providing a range of professional advice services by telephone and internet to farmers and other business enterprises nationwide.

To the east is a small collection of traditional craft employers including a stonemason, a kitchen furniture manufacturer and a wholesale garden nursery.

The business picture of Uppingham is completed by the presence of approximately fifty small businesses working from home, some employing one or two additional staff. Crucially these home-based businesses draw upon, and contribute to, the services in the town, further enriching its potential.

It is this incredible range of central services that makes Uppingham such an enchanting place in which to live, work and play. This is particularly true not only for the elderly and the infirm who may not be able to, or wish to, drive to the shops, but also for the younger family grappling with the price of local housing and the limited job opportunities normally available in a rural economy. A bus service (free for the elderly) enabling travel to the nearest railway station and the city facilities of Leicester, Nottingham and Peterborough completes the attractive picture.

Local employers have long demonstrated a commitment to the local community through employment opportunities, support for Christmas shopping initiatives, event sponsorship and support for youth.

The Parish Plan, completed in late 2007, revealed that almost 40% of its respondents were employed in Uppingham, a surprisingly high statistic.

Arnold Wills and Co. provide their own mini bus transport service for employees and the company is well known for its employment opportunities for the disadvantaged and its sponsorship of local sport, theatre and concerts. Uppingham School supports the local community by opening up many of its facilities to local groups as well as promoting an extensive range of concerts and theatre performances. The NFU and Associa have sponsored a number of major events and provided additional car parking facilities when required. The Goldmark Gallery and the Hamblin Group, who own the Sycamore Harley-Davidson showroom and garage in town, have both made substantial contributions to the community’s cultural, sporting and economic development.

In 2003, following the near collapse of the local chamber of trade, a group of proactive businesses met with the Mayor to form a new Business Forum determined to contribute to the sustainability of the Uppingham community. It has had remarkable success. The Forum secured funding to appoint Uppingham’s first ever Town Manager, and created an executive board known as ‘Uppingham Business First’ to support the community through a wide variety of special initiatives and events.

In 2007 Uppingham Business First, local government and the voluntary sector formed a new strategic partnership entitled ‘Uppingham First’ setting itself the ambitious target of developing a forward vision for the Uppingham community to be embodied in a new business plan for the parish in 2009.This document has now been published under the title 'Uppingham 2025'.

This business commitment to the community was recognised at regional level by the East Midlands Development Agency, with a grant awarded to the partnership to research the smallest ever Business Improvement District (BID) in England and finance for a major new tourism initiative centred around a working print museum and craft workshop.

The Environment

Uppingham is surrounded by rolling countryside most of which is farmland with some woodland to the west. The historic centre is constructed mainly of local stone with many listed buildings. The High Street and Market Square form the centre of an attractive conservation area which has a number of alleyways leading through to car parks and open spaces.

Tods Piece is the principal central open space in community ownership and hosts child and youth play facilities together with a full size football pitch, a scout hut, an indoor bowls facility and a clubhouse for the football team. Towards the north are allotments bounded on their western edge by a secluded footpath providing an attractive walk to the Beeches and Firs estates.

The western and southern aspects of Uppingham are enriched by acres of extremely well maintained school sports pitches and pavilions. A brand new cemetery first greets travellers arriving from the west, a setting thought complementary to the rural aspect of the Leicester Road. The southern approach to the historic centre reveals superb views of the Community College, Uppingham School, and the Grade II Listed Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul with its churchyard and neighbouring community owned cemetery.

Each of the community’s principal living areas has its own protected green space ranging from a beautiful modern village green, with play area, amongst executive detached houses on the Beeches to protected community green space at the centre of the sheltered housing in Johnson Road. It is no surprise, therefore, that the residents of Uppingham are highly motivated to preserve and enhancing the environment, both at home and abroad.

In the 2007 East Midlands in Bloom competition the Uppingham in Bloom volunteers achieved outstanding success. They came first in their class and the community environment was judged to be the ‘cleanest’ in the East Midlands. The Beeches Residents’ Association and the Gerrard Court Residents’ Group both won ‘neighbourhood’ awards. This was an incredible achievement for the volunteers and community groups involved. Additional recognition for the hard work put into enhancing the local environment was the news that, in a new section of the same competition, two of the community’s best known hotels, the Garden Hotel and the Falcon Hotel, had won ‘silver gilt’ awards for their outstanding gardens. 

The autumn of 2007 brought a major step forward for Uppingham with a County Council decision to introduce full kerb side recycling waste collection based on a three wheelie bin system from April 2008. This was a major issue in the consultations on the Parish Plan and the lack of such a scheme was a significant barrier to reducing the community carbon footprint.

Significant environmental steps have also been taken by the parish council with regular litter picks on open spaces, children’s playgrounds inspected daily, two litter pickers employed and the Parish Plan making the case for more litter bins and dog bins. The council has also examined the issue of light pollution and best practice with regard to modernising street lighting. A number of new lighting standards are being piloted in partnership with Philips Lighting.

In recent years the small part of Uppingham which was subject to occasional flooding has been protected with additional earthworks. Substantial new drainage systems have also been installed around its perimeter in association with new housing development. Despite its very elderly historic centre drainage system, Uppingham is not now seen to be at risk from flooding or drainage problems.

Noise pollution is not perceived to be a significant issue within Uppingham except with regard to traffic noise on the London Road. Speed cushions and tables were recently altered by the County Council to address neighbourhood concerns about heavy lorries crashing over such speed control measures. Uppingham is regarded as quiet community with very few complaints to the local environmental health department concerning neighbourhood or business noise. This is no mean achievement given the presence of a Harley–Davidson dealership which attracts a significant number of motorcyclists in the summer!

The case for cycling and leaving the motor car at home is an emerging environmental issue in Rutland and an increasingly important topic for Uppingham. Rutland Water is now an internationally known tourist destination around which a 25 mile cycle route is a major attraction. Cycling is, therefore, big business in the county. Despite a high level of cycle ownership among the residents of Uppingham, little attention was paid, until recently, to the need for additional cycle paths and cycle storage in the shopping area. This issue has been identified as a development need through the Parish Plan and is addressed in Uppingham 2025.

Despite its modest population and size, Uppingham is relatively well served by public transport given that it has a rural bus interchange allowing integrated travel north south east and west. The principal development need here is for additional funding to enhance existing services by enabling later return bus times and Sunday services thereby reducing the need for late night and Sunday travel by car.

Uppingham has a strong track record of fundraising in aid of environmental and other worthy causes. The local church regularly has major campaigns in support of suh charities as Water Aid. The Rotary Club of Uppingham has helped construct a new well in Chad and more recently has provided an Autoclave for Ghana. Many voluntary groups and organisations have undertaken similar specific fund raising initiatives.

The rural nature of the community in and around Uppingham ensures that preservation of the rural and historic environment is high on the agenda. All planning applications receive special scrutiny, particularly those within the conservation area. The County Council employs a conservation specialist whose services are frequently called upon to evaluate work likely to change listed properties.

Energy conservation is a complex topic and now the subject of much debate. Even relatively new houses in the community are having their windows re-glazed, their loft insulation doubled and condensing boilers fitted, to achieve the latest environmental standards. As bathrooms are refitted the latest low water consumption toilets and showers are being installed, leading to a boom in trade for local suppliers and installers. Innovative groups such as the Beeches Residents’ Association are organising themselves to reduce their carbon footprint by offering DIY equipment on loan, sharing transport for school runs and, better still, organising supervised walk to school schemes aimed at primary school pupils.

Although on high ground, Uppingham still awaits the next generation of wind turbine before being able to benefit from this alternate source of electricity. Interested house holders and businesses have been advised to maximise their ‘off peak’ use of present energy sources whilst still exercising constraint of total consumption until the technology catches up with community needs.

Local Communications

Much work has been done in recent years to ensure that the citizens of Uppingham are welcomed to the community when they arrive, kept well informed on local matters, consulted when appropriate, supported when in difficulty and finally invited to contribute to the wide range of voluntary work which helps makes Rutland such a wonderful county in which to live.

A new residents’ welcome pack has been developed by one community group. This provides a variety of essential telephone numbers, lists local trades people, offers the opportunity to join the residents’ association and neighbourhood watch, locates the nearest heart resuscitation machine, offers access to the loan of a range of DIY equipment, lists the local voluntary organisation contacts and finally provides a number of good neighbour contacts who can assist in case of difficulty. At the time of writing it is proposed that a similar pack be organised by the Town Council for all new families arriving in Uppingham.

Following diagnostic discussions in 2003, and the production of the community’s first ever business plan detailing services the community could expect in return for its local precept, much work has gone on at local council level to improve the level of communication with its electorate.

For one of the highest parish precepts within Rutland (interestingly not the source of great controversy) Uppingham now has a Quality Parish Council, a quarterly community newsletter, a refurbished community hall, new play areas, a new cemetery and much improved facilities for the disabled. The local town council is learning that it must consult its community on a regular basis. The result of this change was the council’s full participation, along with a team of volunteers, in the production of an excellent parish plan. This sets new goals and targets for local community representatives. The progress of the Town Council and County Council in meeting these targets is being monitored.

Community groups in Uppingham are particularly active in promoting communication between residents. Age Concern, Voluntary Action Rutland, The Womens Institute, The Bowls Club, The Cricket Club, The Football Club and many others play their part. Local information plaques and notice boards are well utilised. A number of such organisations, including the churches, also circulate their own newsletters. A new Uppingham Neighbourhood Forum has been recognised at regional level as the voice of the third/voluntary sector in the town 

Business and commerce play their part in ensuring a well informed and consulted community.

The parish is served by two weekly newspapers and in part by a local edition of the Leicester Mercury. The county has its own FM radio station offering regular opportunities to discuss local issues.

The local town partnership has produced a range of literature about Uppingham and has mounted a series of high profile events intended to bring residents and business together, as well as attract more visitors. The Uppingham Fringe Festival is an excellent example of a community being brought together for fun, music, food and theatre. An annual classic car event clebrating all things classical is another. Such events underpin the citizens’ sense of well being and prosperity. 

Uppingham makes significant use of information technology.

At county level the parish is served by the award winning community web site Rutland on Line and its tourism pages on 'Discover Rutland'. The former provides a free facility for all community groups and the local council to detail their meetings and activities online. At local level, an RMJS Associates company 'Uppingham on Line' is developing a site to market the attributes of Uppingham on the web with the new community web site www.uppinghamonline.co.uk

For further information contact enquiries@uppinghamonline.co.uk

Many voluntary groups within the community also have their own web sites to promote their activities. A typical example is the local Rotary Club (the only new club to be created for men and women in the County for over 50 years) which not only maintains its own web site at www.uppinghamrotary.org but also has information items on Rutland on Line and on neighbouring community web sites.

Uppingham has the only neighbourhood watch e-mail alert system in the County. This is maintained by the Beeches Residents’ Association. This is now an integral part of the excellent neighbourhood policing infrastructure within Rutland. The system is significant because it is seen as an important support structure in times of difficulty. While good neighbours still meet and have regard for each other, it is a fact that in today’s busy world the opportunity to request a quick e-mail asking for help on an issue is a valuable support tool in sustaining community cohesion. As part of recent government neighbourhood governance initiatives, this group was recently given the honour of presenting its communication achievements to a Local Government Association ‘best practice’ regional seminar organised for all parishes in the East Midlands.

The most exciting recent news with regard to Uppingham and its efforts to sustain dialogue within its community is the recent announcement that a local business has invested in high speed broadband with a view to offering high speed  broadband to the entire community. Uppingham is therefore on schedule to be the first parish in England to have such a service through a local supplier.

Communication with the younger generation is a vital part of sustaining a vibrant community.

Outreach youth workers operate in Uppingham. Their important work in partnership with Uppingham Community College, youth organisations and sports clubs helps ensure youth issues are quickly addressed. The Uppingham Community Forum has had particular success in listening and responding to younger residents. A call for skateboard ramp provision on Tod’s Piece was quickly addressed. The Forum brings together relevant agencies to find solutions to expressed needs. It also raises its own funds.

Young people in Uppingham are also represented on a county wide youth council which is not only is able to discuss emerging issues but, currently, is able to offer financial grants for projects put forward by the young people themselves. A local youth band was recently the recipient of such a grant.

Uppingham’s High Street alcohol restrictions are the result of extensive consultation with local young people as well as youth organisations and youth representatives. Such is the excellent level of communication now between neighbourhood police officers, local councils, community groups and local schools, that any incident of anti-social behaviour is quickly analysed, the culprits identified and appropriate action taken. An outstanding example of the benefits of village life!

Summary

It is often said that Uppingham is the jewel at the heart of England’s smallest county. If this is the case, and the competition entry team fervently believe it is, then it is not just its wonderful range of facilities that makes it so special, but also the nature of the community which uses those facilities.

Visitors to Uppingham comment again and again that it is a wonderfully friendly place. Many families have lived here for generations, but newcomers and outsiders are made to feel welcome. People greet each other as they meet on the streets or in the shops, pause to hold conversations, and help to create a feeling that everyone knows everyone else. It has so much to offer in addition to the friendliness of its people that it is not surprising that so many people indicate they would like to live here, perhaps when they retire. It is an excellent indicator of a sound town and gown relationship that staff employed at Uppingham School frequently end their working life by choosing to retire and stay living within the parish or its surrounding villages. Many business men and women with their principal interest in the City, chose to live in Uppingham and commute to work by car and train. Folk who have lived in the villages for years frequently make a final move to Uppingham to become a part of its ever vibrant community. According to central government, Rutland is not really large enough to make economic sense as a local government unit. Yet time and time again Uppingham proves that government needs further education on the characteristics of a successful community. The increasing recognition for ‘neighbourhood’ governance and the third sector is welcomed. The majority of people in Uppingham are on first name terms with Laurie Appleton, their ‘bobby on the beat’. Young and old share in harmony the benefits of café society in the market square. The affluent and the not so affluent sustain a positive community relationship. Resident and visitor share high street facilities second to none. The literate revel in the bookshops, collectors scour for sought after antiques and diners debate the merits of traditional English over international choices of cuisine. All this against the backcloth of an unspoiled parish keen to sustain its place in modern society while still preserving its charm and traditions. The community spirit is legendary! The number of volunteers incredible! The talent of its youth extraordinary! The energy of its retired community breathtaking! Uppingham is a wonderful place to visit. Imagine what it feels like to live here! Why not visit us soon.

For further information about Uppingham e-mail: enquiries@uppinghamonline.co.uk

Principal Web Site: Uppingham on Line: www.uppinghamonline.co.uk