Plans to transform the lives of what the government calls "troubled families" have been announced. £450 million has been made available in a new drive to turn around the lives of 120,000 of some of the country's most disfunctional families by the end of this Parliament.
These families cost the tax payer an estimated £9 billion per year, equivalent to £75,000 per family. This is spent on protecting the children and responding to the crime and anti-social behaviour they perpetrate. Children from troubled families are 36 times more likely to be excluded from school and six times more likely to have been in care or to have contact with the police.
Two large leisure schemes in Trowbridge are going through the planning process at the moment. Despite what the developers may say its extremely unlikely they'll both go ahead. But which one would the people of the town and surrounding area prefer?
Prorsus' concept for the Bowyer's site is for an 8-screen Cineworld cinema, a Morrison's foodstore with a petrol filling station, six 'family restaurants', a pub, coffee shops and over 500 parking spaces. There would be a riverside walk and a 'civic square'. They say the project is fully funded and could be built out by Christmas 2013 if the planning process doesn't cause hold-ups.
Wiltshire Conservatives' decision to sell off cheaply one of the county's finest assets has been condemned by a wide selection of people, many of whom submitted their comments to the cabinet meeting on Tuesday (Jan 17th).
The Bradley Road offices in Trowbridge and the Kennet DC buildings at Browfort in Devizes are also to be sold. "Stripping the old District Council assets was always going to be part of the move to one council and is not unreasonable in the circumstances," said Cllr Trevor Carbin. "However selling Urchfont was not envisaged as part of that process and shows how desperate the Conservative administration has now become to grab any cash they can. This is not a good time to sell as property prices are low and the government's Localism Act promises new powers for councils to run facilities such as Urchfont on a more commercial basis. Instead of selling it for peanuts to friendly developers the Conservatives should be building on Urchfont's capacity and reputation to make it an even better asset to Wiltshire than it is already."
Highways supremo and road safety campaigner Dick Tonge is proposing measures to increase road safety on the A350 north of Chippenham. This follows a number of fatalities caused by people turning through the gaps in the central reservation. The proposals, which now go out for consultation, are:
(i) That the closure of the Pretty Chimneys crossovers be progressed.
North Wiltshire MP James Gray has confirmed his support for a group of organisations objecting to Wiltshire Council's plan for development in the county. in a message to the group, he says:
"I too have very real concerns about the Core Strategy, which seems to be based on the presumption that economic growth, new business parks and housing, are of necessity a 'good thing.' I have never been convinced of that wisdom, coming as I do from a long-held conviction that there must be 'limits to growth.' There is always a delicate balance between development (some of which is of course always necessary), and preserving the environment - local and Global - within which we wish to live. I will be studying the Core Strategy with care to decide whether or not it falls on the right side of that line, but have grave suspicions that - for example with regard to Chippenham and also Malmesbury - it may not.
These homes will be built in Trowbridge, Warminster, Westbury, Melksham and Hilperton, with the first properties ready to move into during the summer. Plans to build a further 100 homes will also progress following the backing.
The housing PFI allows local authorities to work with private sector partners to build, improve and manage housing. It is administered in England by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), which has been working with the council in support of its bid. This scheme is one of 13 that the Government signalled continued support for, subject to a value for money review, in November 2011.
Steve Roche, managing director, Westbury Partnerships Wessex, said: "This joint venture will deliver more homes into the communities where they are most needed. The contract is an excellent example of cooperative working between the public and private sector and we look forward to welcoming the first new residents in the summer."
HCA head of area Peter Jones added: "This is good news for people in Wiltshire who are looking to access high quality, affordable homes. Partners have worked hard to get this initiative into place and people will now begin to see the benefits of the investment when homes start to be delivered. I am really pleased that progress will be made on this project."
John Thomson, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for housing, said: "I am really pleased the government has approved our business case to ensure these 350 much-needed affordable homes can be built, despite the difficult financial times. It is especially important during the economic downturn that we are able to provide enough good quality accommodation for Wiltshire's residents, and also bring much-needed jobs and commercial activities to the area."
Wiltshire Council is proposing to spend £2,730,000 on installing biomass boilers in 32 schools in the county. It's estimated that over a twenty year period the new boilers would pay for themselves and return a £3m profit as schools would pay the council for the heat generated.
The government has created a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to encourage development of a wood-chip industry in the UK. As with feed-in tarriffs the grants available are generous for those who are quick enough to get in early, but are likely to be less so in future, so the boilers would need to be operational by November this year.
The Highways Agency has announced that proposals to bring in variable speed limits and other measures on the M5 and M4 around the Almondsbury Interchange will go ahead. Work begins today and should be completed in 2014.
The £88million scheme will introduce variable mandatory speed limits and hard shoulder running on the M4 between Junctions 19 (Bristol) and 20 (Almondsbury) and the M5 between Junctions 15 (Almondsbury) and 17 (Cribbs Causeway).
