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Parish Newsletter - January 2008
Towards One Council - Boundary Reviews
As part of theOne Council submission to the Department for Communities and Local Government, the county council undertook to ask the boundary committee to reviewthe current electoral arrangements in preparation for the new council.
Following on from that, the boundary review working party met for the first time on Thursday 13th December to discuss proposals. Terms of reference were drafted and Jane Scott was appointed as chair. It was agreed that further detailed work will take place with district councils and local members.It is our intention to keep parish and town councils informed at every stage of the process, but over and above that some detailed work will be undertaken with some town councils in relation to warding arrangements.The draft submission to the boundary committee will need to be agreed by full council around February/March 2008.Boundary reviews will be one of the subjects for discussion at the next round of parish meet and greet sessions planned for Spring 2008.
If you have any queries relating to the boundary reviews please contact John Quinton on 01225 713054 or email johnquinton@wiltshire.gov.uk
Recycle for Wiltshire
Did you know we all throw away around a third of our food in Wiltshire? So for every three bags of shopping, one ends up in your bin – wasting your money and creating greenhouse gases that affect our environment. Recycle for Wiltshire’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign aims to cut the amount of food that ends up in landfill by offering tips on smart shopping and storing, ideas for making food go further and suggestions on what to do with leftovers. You can find out more at www.recycleforwiltshire.com as well as www.lovefoodhatewaste.com. If you would like posters or other literature sent to you, please email wastemanagement@wiltshire.gov.uk
Waterside Development Takes Step Forward
The £90 million Waterside development in Trowbridge has taken a significant step forward. Wiltshire County Council, West Wiltshire District Council and developer Modus signed the development agreement on December 17th 2007 which brings the project closer to starting on site. For further information visit http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/getnewsitem.htm?id=2159
Visit to Downton Primary School
As part of engaging with the local community, the management team involved in the reconstruction of Downton Tannery Bridge paid a visit to Downton Primary School on 5th December. The children were given a multi-media presentation on the history of bridge building, which looked at London Bridge through the ages, and then learned about the reconstruction of their village bridge. However, the highlight of the visit was to have a close look at a JCB which the contractor had brought into the school playground. Tannery Bridge will be completed early in the new year. Further information on the scheme can be found at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/trnasport/bridge-strengthening/bridges-currently-under-construction.
Carbon Trust
In 2006, the county council developed a carbon management programme in association with the Carbon Trust to consider carbon dioxide emissions and advise on setting reduction targets. Pam Gough recently represented Wiltshire at an event in London to celebrate the council’s commitment to this programme through 2007 and certificates of achievement were awarded by Ian Wright MP, Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
For more information on environment and sustainable development, visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/environment-and-sustainable-development
Changes to Bus Services
January 2008 will see changes being made to some of Wiltshire’s longer bus routes as a result of the introduction of tighter European legislation. The changes will mean that extra equipment will be fitted on some buses and there will be more stringent control as to the hours the drivers can work and the length of the rest breaks they have to take. Unfortunately this will result in higher operating costs for the longer journeys and therefore bus operators across the country are taking the opportunity to examine the profitability of these services in more details and decide on the most cost effective way they can operate them in the future. Changes to bus services in Wiltshire as a result of the new regulations include:
- X3 (Salisbury-Bournemouth-Poole) will terminate at Bournemouth.
- X4 (Salisbury-Warminster-Westbury-Bath) will be replaced by new services 24 running Salisbury-Warminster and 264/265 running Warminster-Bath.
- 5 & 6 (Salisbury-Swindon) passengers from Salisbury will now have to change buses at Pewsey onto new services 95/96 to Swindon.
- X19 (Salisbury-Tidworth-Swindon) this has been withdrawn.
- 26 (Gillingham-Shaftesbury-Salisbury) no longer serves Gillingham.
If you need further information on any of these changes, please ring the county council’s Passenger Transport Unit on 01225 713454.
Melksham library re-opens
People in Melkshamare nowable to enjoy their revamped library after it reopened early in the New Year. The library, which is run by Wiltshire County Council, reopened on Friday, 4th January at 2pm.
The refurbishment is part of an on-going programme of library upgrades across the county. Among the improvements to the library are new displays and improved layout, and a café-style area to relax where you can enjoy a coffee or tea. Some £20,000 has been spent on new books.
The front of the library has also been opened up to create easier access with large central automatic doors providing improved access for wheelchairs and large buggies.
Consultation over new accommodation strategy
People in Wiltshire are being invited to give their views on how the accommodation and care needs of older people should be met over the next decade. Wiltshire County Council is working with district councils, health services and social landlords to drawup an accommodation strategy for older people for the next five to ten years. Two public meetings are being held as part of the consultation process.
They are being held on 8th January at:
- The Corn Exchange in Devizes between 10am and 12pm
- The Guildhall in Salisbury between 2pm and 4pm
The review is being undertaken to ensure the right accommodation and care services are available in the future and that services help maintain people’s independence through supporting them in their own homes and communities.
Next step for Melksham school
Plans for a new secondary school in Melksham have taken a big step forward. The county council has received planning consent for the building of the new school following confirmation from the Secretary of State that the application would not be called in. The new school, to replace the existing George Ward School, will be renamed Melksham Oak Community School and will be built on land at Woolmore Farm in east Melksham. The building will serve 1,150 pupils aged 11 to 16 and a sixth form for a further 200 students.
The county council has awarded the main contract for the construction of the school to Bristol based Cowlin Construction, with work planned to start on site at the beginning of February. Work will also start on the construction of off-site highways improvements at the same time, which will include the reduction of the speed limit to 30 mph outside the new school.
Charity of the Year
Staff at the county council recently voted between several choices to decide which would be their charity of the year for 2008. Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal received the most votes and will therefore be the designated charity throughout the year. Staff support the charity via the Pennies from Heaven scheme and fundraising events during the year.
This newsletter is produced by the corporate communications team at Wiltshire County Council. We welcome your comments - please email
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