Uppingham Town Council

UPPINGHAM A NEXT GENERATION COMMUNITY

Pop. 4800 - 150 employers

The Story So Far 823Mbps – 904Mbps

February 24th 2015Cllr Ron Simpson

Town Characteristics• Heritage Town with conservation area, significant

private sector investment & low crime• Large public school (theatre and sports centre)• Living town centre with night time economy• Quality Parish with General Power of Competence • Manufacturing town with central green space • Visitor destination – Arts, Antiques, Books, School• Innovative – Digital Uppingham/elected forums • Neighbourhood Plan Front Runner• Heritage Trail and close to reservoir attractions• Two communities living in harmony

Community Partners • Uppingham Town Council • Local Businesses • Uppingham Business Forum • Uppingham First • Uppingham Neighbourhood Forum• Rutland County Council • A second partnership!

Community Development Threads• Investment - community, councils, business, partnership

• Advocacy - Putting Uppingham first

• Consultation - Elected Forums & Town Council

• Forward Planning - Parish & Neighbourhood Plans, 2025, TCP

• Community Engagement - quarterly meetings, newsletters, social media, virtual portals, audio engagement, Rutland Access Group

• Local Strategic Partnership – Rutland Together

• Innovation - Digital Uppingham – Virtual High Street, Uppingham App, Wifi, Fibre Network, Broadband Mast, Electric Cars, Webcam, Heritage Trail, Golden Ticket, Webcam Broadcasts

• Promotion - Competitions, Presentations, Media, Events, WITHS

• Engaging localism - UTC Strategy Group, Market Place, Parking SLA, Parking Subsidy, alternatives to precept, housing

Achievements To date• Up Beat High Street occupancy/unemployment/ No to Portas/women

• Significant Private Investment hotel/health centre/sports centre /galleries/shop refurbishment/free school/webcam/wifi/garden centre

• Significant Community Investment Cricket/ Crocus Display/Fairtrade/Forums/N Plan/Community transport/Volunteering

• Significant Public Investment Heritage Trail/public transport/sensory garden/town hall development/parking proposals

• Times List of Desirable Places to Visit• In top 1% of world for broadband speed• A Good Address for Web Trading• Newspaper column

• Regular approaches from Media & Gov.• Attracting significant grants• Public perception of Town Council

improved• Town Council maturing • Excellent community feedback on

achievements – a ‘good morning’ town

• Attracting significant retailer and investor interest

• Town has a sustainable future as an economic and social hub

Key Lessons• Not a quick process• Integrate business, community and council thinking

but be quality and business led• Have a vision for your community • Identify council, business & civil society champions• Use projects and competitions to promote locality • Engage media and social media• Collect comparative data and set targets• Be ambitious and develop an attractive virtual portal • Have a Neighbourhood/Town/Council Forward Plan• Network in the UK and Europe • Engage with local the LSP, LEP and NALC/BIS/DCLG

Uppingham in Rutland - 2014 AwardsWinner: East Midlands in Bloom Winner: Best hotel garden in the E MidlandsWinner: Uppingham Webcam - Best idea to promote local business

Winner: AMT East of England Awards - Uppingham Town Council Heritage Trail

www.uppinghamtowncouncil.co.uk www.uppinghamfirst.co.ukwww.uppinghamonline.co.uk