Uppingham Town Council criticised for dropping reindeer from late night shopping event this Christmas

Reindeer being dropped from a town’s Christmas do was among criticisms heaped on a skeleton council.

Seven members carried out a mass resignation from Uppingham Town Council in June, leaving just eight councillors in place.

Those remaining were accused by those quitting of lacking independence and being in cahoots with Uppingham First, an unelected body responsible for the town’s community hopper bus, a business group, and a webcam that beams live footage of Uppingham Market Place around the world.

About 30 members of the public attended the Uppingham Town Council’s meeting on July 16, where their concerns included the council’s need to reflect on why so many of its members resigned, how much the replacement of the town clerk has cost taxpayers, and why the council has a poor record of retaining someone in that position.

One of the first points looked ahead to Christmas, however, and asked why councillors David Ainslie and Liz Clarke had decided to cut the reindeers from this year’s Uppingham late night shopping event.

Accused of being a Scrooge, Coun Clarke said: “I’m not ‘bah humbug’, I’m aware of the law which says we're not allowed to use animals for entertainment even if they are the beloved reindeers.”

Asked to clarify if this was indeed the law, Coun Clarke said she meant it was the rules of Rutland County Council, which Uppingham Town Council needed to follow - although outside agencies did not.

The council then voted - with six votes and two abstentions - to award the organisers of Uppingham late night shopping a £1,500 grant.

A further £2,000 was given to Uppingham in Bloom, and Coun Ron Simpson was made the town council’s new liaison for the group.

Uppingham Town Council has 15 seats for elected members, who usually serve a four-year term. The most recent local elections were in May 2023 and since the resignations, the council has seven vacant seats.

The council is chaired by the current mayor, Coun Ainslie. The remaining members of the council are Liz Clarke, Trevor Colbourne, Lindsay Cooper, Christine Edwards, Barry Hobbs, Mark Shaw and Ron Simpson.

The next meeting of the council will be at Uppingham Town Hall at 7pm on Wednesday, September 4. The first 15 minutes is a public forum.

Uppingham Town Council’s website has a separate tab for the appointment of a new town clerk. The £41,000+ salary role had a closing date of June 10 for applications.

A locum town clerk is currently holding the fort.