The Wiltshire Assembly

What is the Wiltshire Assembly?

The Assembly is a new body, which met for the first time in October 2008. It aims to be the main place where Wiltshire organisations come together to decide what needs to happen in order for Wiltshire to build a bright future for itself.

The Assembly will strive to be both a lively forum (meeting twice a year), and an energetic network, continuously working to bring about change which will keep Wiltshire in good shape. It will also keep up-to-date by regularly gathering news about issues, trends and opportunities in the county, and sharing this widely to help project planning and decision-making.

The next meeting is 30 October 2009.

What will the Assembly do?

To be effective the Assembly will need to:

  • Be linked closely into communities and organisations so that it stays in touch with what is going on across the County
  • Create a shared sense of purpose and ambition
  • Set out a 10-20 year vision describing the sort of place local people want Wiltshire to become
  • Put the detail of this vision in an easily understood Sustainable Community Strategy 159kb Sustainable Community Strategy, where all aspects of Wiltshire life are linked together
  • Challenge and encourage organisations and communities to take practical steps to make the strategy come alive
  • Hold a State Of Wiltshire debate each year to assess progress

What has happened so far?

October 2008 - First conference

The Assembly held its first conference at Center Parcs, Longleat. The day was chaired by John Wraw, the Archdeacon of Wilts who is the Chairman of the Wiltshire Assembly. Over 100 representatives heard the key note speaker, Matthew Taylor, the Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts, challenge Assembly members to work more closely together (Integrate), to pay more attention to the people’s lifestyles and motivations when thinking about how we might bring about change (Insight), and for us to continuously seek new approaches (Innovate). Listen to the full Matthew Taylor speech on 3rd October 2008.

March 2009 - Credit crisis

The Assembly agreed to focus its collective energy on finding ways to assisting Wiltshire to find ways to adjust to, and creatively respond to the economic downturn resulting from the current credit crisis.

The Wiltshire Assembly meeting on 26 March focused on the economic crisis, and included feedback on how this situation is affecting people and businesses in the county by George Bright, former principal of Wiltshire College and Chair of the West Wiltshire Economic Partnership. George has been commissioned by The Wiltshire Assembly to investigate and his report and other information are available below.

Annual Conference - 30 October 2009

The Wiltshire Assembly 2009 conference will focus on the sustainability of Wiltshire and how we can contribute to improving life in the county.

Related documents

Related information

If you want to contact the Assembly, or find out more about its work please see details below:

Contact Details

Email: communitystrategy@wiltshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 01225 718448
Postal Address:
Community Leadership and Governance Team
Wiltshire Council
County Hall
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 8JN


Last updated: 23 October 2009