Uppingham goes global

National Association of Local Councils (NALC) will launch on Wednesday 26 November, an initiative that will enable the whole world to view what is happening in the historic market town of Uppingham.

The Uppingham webcam, will the show the town unique Fatstock show. The Uppingham Webcam initiative was voted the ‘best idea to promote the local high street’ at a national ‘Towns Alive’ fund raising event in 2012. The webcam is being officially launched (with sound) during the Fatstock Show where livestock is judged and auctioned in the town’s market place, unique in the UK. Although to be supported by occasional commentary in English, the broadcast will feature short resumes of the scene in several world languages between 10am and 11am.

The official launch of the webcam is to be undertaken by leaders of NALC, (Cllr Ken Browse, chairman; and Jonathan Owen, chief executive of NALC) following a day of visits and briefings looking at the achievements of the Uppingham Community. Uppingham Town Council has been named 'Council of the Week' by NALC. The town’s democratically elected Business and Neighbourhood Forums are regularly praised for their collaborative work.

The objective of the transmission is to bring Uppingham to the attention of as many parts of the globe as possible. On future occasions, some broadcasts will feature a ‘Speakers Corner’ at which local businesses will be able to demonstrate their wares to potential customers around the world. Links at the bottom of the webcam screen connect to such attractions as the Uppingham Heritage Trail and, in 2015, a virtual high street map which will indicate which Uppingham businesses facilitate shopping online.

Cllr Ken Browse, chairman; and Jonathan Owen, chief executive of NALC, said: “It was a great priviledge and honour to launch this unique development in Uppingham. We are very pleased that the local town council, neighbourhood and business forums are working so closely together to improve the lives of the local community and people. We believe that this initiative and others being undertaken in the town will help establish it further as one of the best market towns in 21st century Britain.