www.wiltshire.gov.uk
Parish Newsletter - November 2007
WELCOME to the November issue of the parish newsletter from Wiltshire County Council. It is a year since we launched the newsletter following a request from parish and town clerks to try to reduce the amount of paper information being sent to them. From a recent electronic survey sent to parish and town clerks, we were pleased to see that over 80% of replies felt this newsletter has improved the way you receive information from the county council and it keeps you informed about the work of the county council.
Towards One Council – Parish Meet and Greet Sessions
Around 300 people attended five parish and town council meet and greet sessions around the county to discuss the potential implications of the new unitary council. After a short presentation by the leader and chief executive of the county council, questions were invited from the floor. These ranged from what services will be offered for delegation, what involvement will parish and town councils have on area boards, to dates for the next parish and town council meet and greet sessions.
Parish and town councillors have also been asked to consider the following questions over the next few months:
- What services they would like to be better informed about?
- Which services they would like to have more influence over?
- Which services they could potentially see themselves delivering?
Full details of the questions and answers from the meetings will be posted on the website www.onecouncilforwiltshire.co.uk by 9th November.
Attached for your information are the notes which were handed out at those meetings for those who were unable to attend.
Sustrans Connect 2
Sustrans Connect2 is an exciting UK-wide project that aims to improve travel in 79 communities by creating new walking and cycling routes which in turn will benefit people’s health and the environment. In Salisbury, Connect2 is aiming to deliver a continuous, safe walking and cycling route along the A36, connecting Wilton in the west with Alderbury in the east via Salisbury city centre.
The Connect2 project already has the support of Wiltshire County Council, Salisbury District Council, Cycling Opportunities Group for Salisbury and Sustrans, but it also needs the support of local people because it is one of four projects competing for a single grant of 50 million pounds from the Lottery Fund. More details of how you can help and a flyer to download can be found on the county council website. http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/connect2-project
Community Emergency Volunteers Training
On Monday 8th October, 13 volunteers from the local communities attended training at County Hall in order to become community emergency volunteers (CEVs). The role of the CEV is to be an emergency planning link in the community and to help create and maintain an initial response plan for their area.
If your parish does not yet have a CEV and you, or someone you know, may be interested in becoming one, then please contact the emergency planning unit at emergencyplanning@wiltshire.gov.uk
Rest Centre Exercise First Contact
Exercise First Contact was held on Sunday 23rd September at Leighton Recreation Centre, Westbury. The exercise was designed to allow the county council’s staff the opportunity to run a rest centre and to deal with the administrative processes. They were supported by the British Red Cross who provided first aid, and the Salvation Army who kept everyone supplied with food and drink from their mobile canteen.
The exercise would not have been possible without the enthusiastic and very kind help of those people playing the roles of evacuees. The emergency planning unit would like to express gratitude to everyone who gave up their Sunday to make the exercise work.
Flooding Seminar
A seminar is being held for county and district councillors to look at aspects of flooding within Wiltshire. It will take place at 1400 hours on Tuesday, 11th December at County Hall, Trowbridge.
The provisional programme will include speakers on the following:
- Wiltshire Flood Defence Planning; District Council Response;
- Fire Brigade Rescue Capabilities; Wiltshire County Council Response
Some parishes or town councils may wish to send a representative to the seminar and if so, please contact the emergency planning unit on emergencyplanning@wiltshire.gov.uk or ring 01225 713159.
Parish Steward Scheme – update
The Parish Steward scheme has just celebrated its first birthday. The stewards, office manager and Graeme Hay would like to thank all of our parish contacts for helping us make this new scheme a success. The county council continues to receive visits from other counties wishing to understand more of this method of working. During the first year, we lost four of our stewards which resulted in gaps in the service but these vacancies have now been filled and we are back up to our full compliment of twenty stewards.
The autumn is well and truly upon us. The cutting of the grass verges is reaching its conclusion and our attentions will now switch to preparing for winter. Drainage is the name of the game from now until the end of February when the stewards will be working very hard to clear the drainage grips which let the water off of the rural roads. They are joined this year by four of the county’s UniMog machines. These machines can clear these grips at five or six times the rate of a steward and are the preferred method on fast roads where stewards may be at risk from thoughtless drivers. The winter programme which describes the dates of visits for the period January to March 2008 will be sent to parish contacts early in December.
News in Brief
Community Safety Partnerships – weeks of action
The Wiltshire Community Safety Partnerships are holding a “weeks of action” event to raise community awareness of what activities are in place to help tackle anti-social behaviour as well as targeting specific problems that have been identified through the People’s Voice survey. This particular “week of action” is being run from 22nd October to 9th November and there will be various events held around Wiltshire, sponsored by the Safer Wiltshire Partnerships to help reduce anti-social behaviour and increase reassurance. For further information on the event visit http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/wilts-street-scene-latest-news
No barriers day 3rd December
What is happening in your community on 3rd December to mark the International Day of Disabled People? Events all over Wiltshire are being coordinated and promoted by Wiltshire County Council. The website is being updated weekly – have a look. The link is www.wiltshire.gov.uk/no-barriers-2007
Wiltshire County Council Annual Report
This is now available to view on the county council website www.wiltshire.gov.uk/draft-annual-report-07.pdf (pdf 1134Kb) 
Foot & Mouth and Bluetongue Disease
Anyone who has any concerns following the latest outbreaks of bluetongue disease in East Anglia or foot and mouth in Surrey can find out more on the Defra website www.defra.gov.uk where there is information, data and regularly updated Q&A briefing available.
Wiltshire & Swindon Core Strategies for Minerals and Waste
These documents will now be submitted to Government in March 2008 rather than the original November timetable. Following submission, there will be a 6 week consultation period in which everyone is invited to make their representations known.
Recycling
From 1st November, the county's 10 household recycling centres (HRCs) will be changing over to winter opening hours. From 1st November until 31st March, they will be open Monday to Sunday 9.00am - 4.00pm except Warminster and Salisbury which open Monday to Sunday 9.00am - 6.00pm.
The HRCs are drive-in centres that are staffed seven days a week. Here you can recycle a wide range of different items from car batteries and cardboard to mobile phones and metals.
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Contact Details
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Communications Unit
County Hall
Bythsea Road
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 8JN
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