A council should cover road closure fees for community groups so long as certain conditions are met, a finance committee has said.

Uppingham Town Council has historically requested community groups make a contribution to the £1,000 annual fee charged by Rutland County Council to close roads for events, but the committee voted unanimously on Wednesday (June 24) to cease this custom and instead absorb the costs if the events are non-profit.

These would include the Christmas Late Night Shopping event and the Stilton Cheese Classic Car Run, although commercial ventures would still be required to make a contribution to the fee under the new policy.

Rutland County Council charges a single fee for all road closures in the town per year, in line with an agreement between the authorities. This is on the condition that all scheduled closures are submitted in a single list by March at the latest.

Any road closures requested after the submission of the list will incur an individual fee of £1,000.

The policy will be recommended to the Uppingham Town Council at the next meeting on July 1 for formal approval.