Events taking place throughout Wiltshire to talk about Highways Matters

Following successful pilot events in Calne and Marlborough, Wiltshire Council's Area Boards will be talking with residents at a series of events throughout the county about 'Highways Matters'.

Highways Matters events will be attended by the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Cllr Caroline Thomas (with one or two exceptions where a Cabinet colleague will take her place); Wiltshire Council's Director for Highways and Transport, Samantha Howell; and a variety of other members of the Highway's team and other council staff.

Each event will feature a brief presentation on highways issues to provide some context on the work and strategic direction of the council in this important area, but the majority of the sessions will be dedicated to answering questions from people sent in by email in advance and/or in attendance.

During the previous events in Calne and Marlborough, a range of topics were covered including road safety, air quality, speeding and congestion.

Cllr Ashley O'Neill, Cabinet Member for Area Boards, said: Following a couple of interactive and successful events in Calne and Marlborough, we're holding these panel-style discussions via our eighteen Area Boards across the county to encourage residents to come and find out more information about highway and transport matters that are affecting them in their local areas.

They will be able to hear first-hand from officers and councillors about how our highway assets are managed and to gain an understanding of the way highway services are delivered, while also having an opportunity to ask questions.

I would encourage all residents and local organisations to engage with the local Area Board to help bring about positive change in their communities.

Cllr Caroline Thomas, Cabinet Member for Highways, said: People are rightly passionate about all things highways, so these events will provide a good opportunity to find out more about our work as a council in your local area and for us to answer any questions.

I'm planning to attend the majority of events and am looking forward to the chance to have some productive face to face conversations as well as the opportunity to talk in detail about a topic that affects all our daily lives. I am delighted we will also be joined by representatives of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to talk about the work we are doing in partnership to improve our road safety across our network. We look forward to seeing people there.

The majority of events throughout the county will take place in conjunction with the scheduled Area Board so regular agenda items such as the formal allocation of the grants and partner updates, will take place following the Highway Matters portion of the meeting. Where that is not possible, a separate Highways Matters event has been arranged.

Area Boards work to bring local decision-making into the heart of the community. There are 18 Area Boards across Wiltshire, with each one holding delegated powers and devolved budgets to facilitate community action at a local level. They work alongside other organisations on local priorities in the community to leverage their impact. These groups can include town and parish councils, voluntary and community groups, youth organisations, sports clubs and local charities.

Questions for the events can be sent to areaboards@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window). People should state the name of their local event the question relates to in the subject title of the email.