Rutland County Council

History

First incarnation

Elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over administrative functions that had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. The first elections were held in January 1889 and Rutland County Council formally came into being on 1 April 1889.

On that day it held its first official meeting at Oakham Castle, the 12th century castle which served as the county's courthouse and had been the meeting place of the quarter sessions which preceded the county council. Charles Noel, 3rd Earl of Gainsborough, a Conservative peer, was appointed as the first chairman of the council.

From 1894 there was also a lower tier of local government in the county, comprising three rural districts: Ketton Rural District, Oakham Rural District and Uppingham Rural District. A fourth district was created in 1911 when the parish of Oakham was removed from the Oakham Rural District to become its own urban district.

Rutland District Council

The first incarnation of the county council was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. Rutland was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district and placed in Leicestershire. County-level functions therefore passed to Leicestershire County Council.

The Rutland District Council created in 1974 was a lower-tier district council. Although its territory was the same as the abolished county council's, in terms of functions it replaced the area's four district councils that were also abolished as part of the 1974 reforms.

Unitary authority

Local government was reformed again in Rutland in 1997, following the Local Government Commission for England, which had recommended in 1994 that Rutland (and Leicester) should become unitary authorities and leave the two-tier Leicestershire. The way the changes were implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Rutland covering the same area as the district, but with no separate county council. Instead, the existing district council that had been created in 1974 additionally took on the functions that legislation assigns to county councils.

In August 1996, ahead of the changes coming into effect, the district council resolved to style itself 'Rutland County Council' from 1 April 1997 when it assumed its additional powers. As a concession to the fact that it remains legally a district council, it was agreed that the full name would have to be 'Rutland County Council District Council', but on the understanding that the full name would "be used only very sparingly and when absolutely necessary."

At the 2021 census Rutland had a population of 41,000. This made it the third least populous local government district in England, with only the two sui generis authorities of the Isles of Scilly (2,100 people) and the City of London (8,600 people) serving fewer people. The next smallest unitary authority area after Rutland is Hartlepool with 92,300 people.

Governance

As a unitary authority, Rutland County Council performs both district-level and county-level functions. The council's responsibility for some county-level functions, including the fire and rescue service and the police, is exercised through joint boards with Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council. The whole county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2021. Following the 2023 election a minority administration of the Liberal Democrats and the single Green Party councillor formed to run the council, led by Liberal Democrat councillor Gale Waller.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:

Lower-tier district council

Unitary authority

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1995 have been as follows:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:

The Liberal Democrats and the Green councillor sit together as a group, which forms the council's administration. The next election is due in May 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019, the council has comprised 27 councillors representing 15 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council is based at Catmose House on Catmos Street in Oakham. It was built in the late 18th century as a large house. The building was bought in 1937 by the county council, which had previously met at Oakham Castle and had its offices scattered around various premises in the town. Catmose House subsequently served as the headquarters of Rutland District Council after 1974, continuing to be the council's headquarters after it became a unitary authority in 1997, with large extensions being built shortly afterwards.

As at April 2024, the council is considering whether to retain Catmose House as its headquarters or move to alternative premises.

Arms

Notes

References

References

1. (23 May 2025). "Annual Council meeting appoints councillors to key roles for the year ahead".
2. (8 June 2021). "Rutland County Council appoints Mark Andrews to role of chief executive officer permanently". Lincs Online.
3. {{cite legislation UK. (1888)
4. (5 April 1889). "The County Councils: Rutland". Stamford Mercury.
5. "Rutland Administrative County". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.
6. "Rutland: Diagram showing administrative boundaries, 1971". Ordnance Survey.
7. "Rutland's History Headlines". BBC.
8. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
9. LGCE ''Final Recommendations for the Future Local Government of Leicestershire.'' December 1994.
10. {{cite legislation UK. (1996)
11. (16 August 1996). "It's Rutland County Council, of course!". Rutland Times.
12. (9 May 2022). "Constitution". Rutland County Council.
13. "Population and household estimates, England and Wales: Census 2021".
14. "About us". Rutland County Council.
15. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey.
16. (23 May 2023). "Rutland County Council appoints new Lib Dem and Green leader Gale Waller". Lincs Online.
17. (2023-05-22). "Lib Dems dominate new Rutland Council Cabinet".
18. (2023-05-23). "Council leaders elected after election changes". BBC News.
19. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
20. (19 May 1995). "Two faces at the top for new-look council". Rutland Times.
21. (2 May 1997). "New chief". Rutland Times.
22. (28 May 1999). "Councillors appointed". Rutland Times.
23. (1 February 2016). "Tributes paid to 'outstanding public servant' Roger Begy". Rutland and Stamford Mercury.
24. "Council minutes, 22 February 2016".
25. (30 November 2018). "Tributes paid to Terry King who ably served Rutland for 18 years". Rutland and Stamford Mercury.
26. "Council minutes, 26 January 2017".
27. (8 January 2018). "Council leader Tony Mathias resigns". Rutland County Council.
28. "Council minutes, 5 February 2018".
29. (6 May 2022). "Rutland Conservative council leader leaves party". BBC News.
30. "Council minutes, 9 May 2022".
31. (9 May 2022). "New leader for council after former Conservative quits".
32. (24 May 2023). "New Rutland County Council leader says "balancing books" is top priority". Rayo.
33. "Council minutes, 22 May 2023".
34. (2023-05-22). "Lib Dems dominate new Rutland Council Cabinet".
35. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
36. "Rutland". Thorncliffe.
37. {{cite legislation UK. (2018)
38. {{NHLE
39. (1916). "Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire and Rutland".
40. "Contact us". Rutland County Council.
41. (16 April 2024). "Rutland County Council considers future of museum, offices, register office, Oakham Enterprise Park and The King Centre offices and plans to sell transport depot in Ashwell". Lincs Online.
42. "Rutland". Civic Heraldry of England.