Langton Homes have put in a planning application to reduce the buffer zone between the new housing development and Ranksborough from the agreed 20m to a reduced 10m. This is not acceptable to Langham Parish Council and you can see our response included in the minutes of The Parish Council meeting held on 27 June 2023 here.

Langham Village Street Market 2023

LANGHAM VILLAGE STREET MARKET will be bigger and better than ever. Come and have a fantastic day out on Bank Holiday Monday 28 August between 10.00am and 3.00pm with 100 stalls expected selling everything imaginable.

As well as the private market stalls there will be all the usual very popular Village Hall stalls: bric-a-brac; books; tombola and a raffle with fantastic prizes. Food and refreshments will be provided in the Village Hall all day and the Wheatsheaf public house including their Barbecue on Church Street. The Grand Raffle will have a huge number of prizes including cash and various vouchers for meals/services etc. Other attractions for everybody in the family to enjoy include two displays by Rutland Morris Men, a display of Classic Cars and children’s games in the Parish Church and Churchyard. The Village Hall website will be updated with other attractions and further details when confirmed.        

The entire length of Church Street between Melton Road and the Ashwell Road will be closed to traffic with Street Market stalls spaced along Church Street including most of the Village Hall ones and others in driveways further down Church Street towards the main car parking area on Ashwell Road. A one-way system will operate again to help stall-holders in setting up before the road closure. Parking, including for the disabled, will be signposted.

To ask for application forms for Street Market pitches email or via the website below or telephone 01572 771115. There are three price bands: £15 for Langham residents, £20 for registered charities and £27.50 for commercial traders and stalls must be booked and paid for in advance. The limited number of stall positions suitable for Gazebos are likely to book up very quickly.

All proceeds from Village Hall stalls and refreshments, tombola, raffle and Street Market pitch fees will be used for Village Hall refurbishments and maintenance to benefit the whole village (charity number 522341).

See website: www.langhamvillagehall.org where a gallery of photos from previous Street Markets can be seen.

RCC PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

DATE     20-Jun-23

Ref: RCC-086-2023

EARLY BIN COLLECTIONS DURING HOT WEATHER MONTHS

Due to the recent hot weather, Rutland County Council has agreed with Biffa that crews can collect bins in Rutland from 6.30am instead of 7am, starting Monday 26 June until Friday 1 September 2023.

Starting earlier reduces the amount of time that crews are working during the hottest part of the day. Crews can be affected by the heat and staff welfare is a priority.

Please can residents present their bins at their normal presentation point by 6.30am on their collection day during this period, to ensure that all bins are collected.

For more information about waste and recycling and your collection day please go to: www.rutland.gov.uk/bins-waste-recycling

ENDS

Langton Homes on Cold Overton Road.

Despite three county councillors of the RCC Planning Committee fighting for Langham, permission was GRANTED for 50 houses to be built beside the 18 houses that already have permission. As you know, with no Rutland Local Plan, we are exposed to Presumption in Favour of Development which means Rutland County Council has no legal argument to fight such an application.

We hoped that the Langham Neighbourhood Plan would be used to inform their ultimate decision but it was decided that, despite all Langham's efforts to get the LNP made quickly, it was not far enough along to carry any weight in law.

A condition of this permission was that there would be a 20m buffer zone between Ranksborough and the new development, and new homes closest to Ranksborough would be single storey. The development will share vehicular and pedestrian access with the 18-house development next door and will also provide a footpath from the vehicular entrance of the development to join with the existing footpath on the north side of Cold Overton Rd - necessitating the narrowing of the road  to single lane traffic across the bridge at the entrance to the two developments

Langton Homes has already agreed to establish a Zebra Crossing over the A606 near the Well St Junction to enable pedestrians exiting via The Range to cross the A606 safely. In light of this addition footfall, it would be sensible to insist that this crossing should be a Pelican Crossing (light controlled).

Our job now is to work with the developers to ensure the very best for Langham from these developments.

Bridleway through Ranksborough

There are plans by RCC to create a new bridleway linking the E153 (that joins Cold Overton Rd from the south) and the D85 (which crosses Ranksborough Hill). This plan requires the opening up of an ancient footpath which runs from the vehicular entrance to the two Langton Homes Developments on Cold Overton Rd., along the main road of The Park in Ranksborough, passes in front of Ranksborough Hall and then out at the entrance to Lonsborough Gardens into open countryside. There, a new path will be cut to join the D85 (the latter being a footpath at present and so needing to be upgraded to a bridlewway).

We, as a Parish Council representing the community of Langham, are in favour of circular bridleways - as stated in the 2017 Langham Neighbourhood Plan. However, we have objected strongly to this proposal because it is dangerous for horses (200m of the route is along Cold Overton Rd, and into the newly planned junction and road narrowing for Langton Homes), it invades the privacy and threatens the security of residents of The Park, it is a potential hazard to residents of Ranksbourough  where there are no pavements and horse manure will litter the main roads, and the new D85 seems to cut right through the planned Solar Farm (which received permission based on the D85 being re-routed). A final concern is that whilst, in law, an ancient footpath can be re-opened, even if not used for decades, there is no law that says this footpath can then be upgraded to a bridleway.

We have proposed an alternative to RCC where the E153 south of Cold Overton Road is diverted slightly to come out opposite the entrance to Ranksborough Farm, and then use the existing route running up the eastern edge of the proposed Solar Farm, that is used by horses already. This will also require RCC to discuss with Elgin (the developers of the Solar Farm) the precise route to Ranksborough Hill from there.