Rutland County Council is having to close a number of buildings and services in response to new COVID-19 restrictions that will come into force from tomorrow (Thursday November 5).

The UK government announced plans for a second national lockdown across England on Saturday 31 October. The four-week lockdown is due to end on 2 December, during which time people must observe the following restrictions:

· People must stay at home except for education, work (if they cannot work from home), exercise, medical reasons, shopping for essentials, or to care for others

· All pubs and restaurants must close (takeaways and deliveries can continue)

· All non-essential shops must also close

· Households will not be allowed to mix with others indoors, or in private gardens

· You can meet one person from outside your household in an outside public space

· Support bubbles for people who live alone and households made up of single parents and children can continue

· Schools, colleges and universities will remain open

· Outdoor exercise and recreation will be allowed, but gyms will have to close

· People who are clinically vulnerable will be advised not to go to work if they are unable to work from home

Further guidance and a full list of national restrictions can be found online at: www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november.

In order to comply with this guidance, the following Rutland County Council buildings and services will close from tomorrow (Thursday November 5) until after the lockdown ends:

Active Rutland Hub

Brightways Community Support Service

Oakham Castle

Rutland County Museum

Library buildings in Oakham, Uppingham, Ketton and Ryhall will close. However, the Council will continue to provide a home delivery services for registered library users, as well as a wide range of online library services. Further details can be found online at: www.rutland.gov.uk/libraries.

Jules House and Visions Children's Centre in Oakham remain closed, while continuing to offer online support for service users. The Council's main office building and customer service desk also remain closed.

Parks and children's playground areas are permitted to remain open throughout the lockdown. All sports and leisure centres, including Catmose Sports Centre in Oakham, are required to close.

North Luffenham Household Waste and Recycling Centre will continue to operate six days a week (closing only on Mondays). Bulky waste collections will also continue, with bookings available five days a week. Cottesmore Household Waste and Recycling Centre remains closed until further notice.

Council leader Oliver Hemsley said: "We're sorry to be closing some of our buildings and services, once again. Sadly, this is unavoidable given the guidance and legislation that accompanies this second national lockdown.

"Many of our services, such as libraries and support for families with young children, will continue to offer things online. The staff who normally run these services are being redeployed in order to support our wider response to the second lockdown and we will look at how quickly we can reopen these services after restrictions are lifted."

For more information about Rutland County Council's response to COVID-19, including details of any changes to services and where to go for help or support, go to: www.rutland.gov.uk/coronavirus.