Oakham Town Council has called an extraordinary council meeting, following a temporary closure of the council and postponement of meetings last week.

On 3 June, Oakham Town Council issued a statement saying that the council's offices would be closed and meetings postponed until further notice.

According to the statement, this is a 'temporary measure' due to 'the current absence of all council staff, including the Proper Officer and the Responsible Financial Officer.'

The absence of staff means the council is unable to operate legally and therefore, during the closure, the council will not be able to respond to administrative requests, local issues or public services.

However, on 9 June, the council announced they will be holding an extraordinary meeting on Monday 15 June at 6pm.

On the agenda for the meeting, a deputy chairman for 2026-7 will be formally elected and then there will be opportunities for members of the public to ask questions.

This will be followed by the motion to appoint the locum clerk Samantha Haywood as the Council's Proper Officer and Responsible Financial Officer temporarily. If this is approved, Haywood would be granted all the statutory powers and duties of this role, effective immediately.

The next motion is to employ an Acting Deputy Clerk for 25 hours per week on a temporary 6-month contract.

advertisement

Finally the meeting will hear an update from the council's staffing committee chairman about the ongoing staffing issues.

The latter half of this meeting is not open to the public or the press.