During Oakham Town Councils Financial year it has spent a quarter of it income setting up a private
Fitness Centre in Oakham.
The council lets the centre and will not see a return on the tax payers money throughout
the entire period of the lease.
This is an unacceptable state of affairs.
Why should the local tax payer support this one family,
A little research has found Mrs Spurdle the fitness centre director and company secretary is the PA to Ed Burrows of Barnsdale Lodge Hotel So I am sure she is not on a low wage.
What interests me about this connection is Ed Burrows is Chair of the Discover Rutland Tourism Committee, Ed Burrows is also connected to many other Rutland committees. Many of those committees are connected to Oakham Town Councillors and its Mayor Alf Dewis.
Mrs Spurdle is often photographed alongside Ed Burrows as you would expect a PA to be.
I am not saying Mr Burrows has done anything wrong.
What I am saying is most Oakham Town Councillors would know Mrs Spurdle through their work as
Councillors on various committees and not one declared an interest.
If this is not corruption then it must be criminal.
Now it is clear to me why Oakham Town Council have let the property below market value and spent
a quarter of its annual income assisting this couple set up. The couple being Mr & Mrs Spurdle.
I spoke to the Deputy Mayor Adam Lowe and asked if anyone declared an interest in the exempt part of the meetings when this matter was considered, he said no. He went on to say one Cllr did say they knew Mrs Spurdle and she works at Barnsdale Lodge.
During the conversation Cllr Lowe also repeated his surprise at the level of money spent on what was an old toilet. He also said more has been spent on the building than if it had been rebuilt and he should know with
his experience in the building trade.
Once again I am annoyed with the Clerk because of his lack of honesty, he told me this was a ordinary
couple from Normanton.
Last year I wrote my MP Alan Ducan to ask him who I should contact so this large expenditure can be investigated. So far he has ignored my request.
