Issues and SWOT

strength

Learn from completed affordable homes

Rill Close has delivered rented and shared-ownership homes in Oakham.

Completed schemes can help identify what works for future local housing.

Evidence

strength

Make room for homes people can afford

Average private rent is £961 a month (August 2026) in Rutland council area. This is £498 lower than the England average for the same month. Homes rented privately ranged from 8.9% in Whissendine to 30.7% in Cottesmore — a gap of 21.8 percentage points.

Housing costs matter most alongside earnings and the number of affordable homes available. A local average cannot tell us whether a particular household can afford its home.

strength

Bring support closer to people in poor health

3.5% of people reported bad or very bad health in Rutland council area (21 March 2021). Across England, the figure was 5.2%. People reporting bad or very bad health ranged from 2% in Cottesmore to 4.9% in Greetham — a gap of 2.9 percentage points.

This is how residents described their health in the census. It can reveal differences between neighbourhoods, but does not diagnose illness or measure current waiting times. Age profiles differ between places, so these shares do not measure service quality.

strength

Connect local skills to local opportunities

37.9% of people aged 16 or over had a degree or equivalent (21 March 2021) in Rutland council area. Across England, the figure was 33.9%. People aged 16+ with no qualifications ranged from 9.2% in Barleythorpe to 19.7% in Oakham North West — a gap of 10.5 percentage points.

Qualifications show one part of the skills available locally. They do not show whether people have secure jobs or work that uses those skills.

weakness

Make shared services reachable from villages

The Local Link scheme pairs a new care base with investment in bookable buses.

A central facility needs reliable access for people across a rural county.

Evidence 1 · Evidence 2

opportunity

Make the museum’s next phase useful to residents

The planned museum combines heritage displays with education and community space.

Renewal should support regular local use as well as tourism.

Evidence

opportunity

Plan homes and care around an older population

25.3% of people in Rutland council area were aged 65 or over (21 March 2021). People aged 65 or over ranged from 15.3% in Cottesmore to 36.1% in Oakham South — a gap of 20.8 percentage points.

Age alone does not mean poor health or a need for care. Accessible homes, reliable transport and support close to home matter as people get older.

opportunity

Target safety work where problems repeat

Mapped police records are available for neighbourhoods in Rutland council area.

Published locations are approximate and some crimes are not mapped. Counts show recorded incidents, not the chance of an individual becoming a victim.

opportunity

Turn published plans into visible progress

4 named local projects or plans have official evidence in this collection.

A published plan makes responsibilities and intentions easier to inspect. It does not prove that funding is secured or that promised benefits have arrived.

opportunity

Target support where disadvantages overlap

Households facing two or more measured disadvantages ranged from 6.8% in Normanton to 17.1% in Oakham North West — a gap of 10.3 percentage points.

These households met at least two census conditions covering education, employment, health and housing. This is not an income or poverty measure.

threat

Test growth options against services and landscape

The new Local Plan is considering future growth under revised housing requirements.

Development choices need evidence about transport, services and local character.

Evidence