Uppingham Town Council has voted to take on a new member.

Joseph Hayden was accepted onto the council with a unanimous vote at the meeting on Wednesday (July 1), joining via a co-option.

Mr Hayden lives in Uppingham with his wife and four-year-old daughter, having moved to the town six years ago.

"I grew up in Lincolnshire and my family has a farming background, but I'm very familiar with Rutland. We used to visit regularly," Mr Hayden said.

"During lockdown, we were living in the south and decided we wanted to move back to the countryside. We moved to Uppingham and fell in love with it."

According to Mr Hayden, he has joined the council to support and protect the "special" and "unique" town.

"I genuinely value and appreciate what we have in this community. It's tight-knit, with traditional values. It's a really great place to live and bring up children."

He added: "If people do have the time to volunteer to support the town, I think it's a good to get involved in protecting it."

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Mr Hayden works for the Office of Environmental Protection, responsible for "holding the government to account with regards to environmental law", and would like to see care for the environment factored in to new housing developments.

"The planned developments present a good opportunity for Uppingham to grow, but we need to make sure the town can support it, while also supporting nature and the environment. I'll definitely be working closely with developers so that plans have the right balance – to keep Uppingham unique, special and a great place to live."