Many people will be dismayed by the government's controversial plans to radically alter decades of planning practice, by seizing control of the planning system.
Councils will be forced to create an undemocratic system of 'zoning' often seen in the USA, and elsewhere, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).
WESTBURY has backed 'experience' in the Wiltshire Council elections, re-electing three of its four councillors.
Of the four Wiltshire Council seats in Westbury up for grabs, Liberal Democrats Carole King and Gordon King, both retained their seats, whilst the Conservative Party's Suzanne Wickham was also re-elected. New to the line-up is Independent, Matthew Dean, who won his seat in the Westbury West division with a convincing majority.
South West Wiltshire's spokesperson, Ellen Nicholson is advising people to be cautious and where possible continue with social distancing as the headlines talk about the Indian variant of COVID-19 which has been rising in the last few days in the UK.
"The easing of restrictions today is massively welcome but we do all need to be sensible, the Indian variant is more concentrated in the North at the moment, but we've all seen how quickly variants can move around the Country. Of concern is that variant has almost "doubled in the last week and is rising in all age groups.
Boris Johnson's plan set out in the Queen's Speech utterly fails to deliver an ambitious programme to respond to the real challenges people are facing after this terribly difficult year.
We must rebuild as a fairer, greener and more caring country in the aftermath of Covid.
So it is crushingly disappointing that the Government's plans will fail on every account - still failing small businesses and the self-employed, still not rising properly to the climate challenge and still ignoring millions of people caring for loved ones at home.
Their planning reforms will rip powers away from local people and communities in favour of wealthy property developers, threatening our environment and treasured green spaces.
Their cruel asylum plans will stop people fleeing violence and persecution, from seeking sanctuary in the UK.
And long delayed reforms to social care have been pushed back into the long grass once again, despite the pressures we have seen on care homes and carers this last year.
Boris Johnson has utterly failed to deliver an ambitious programme to respond to the real challenges people are facing after this terribly difficult year.
Hugging: People will have an individual choice on whether to socially distance from close friends and family from different households. This means loved ones will be allowed to hug for the first time in more than a year, the Government is urging people to remain "cautious" about the risks that come with close personal contact.
Education: All university students in England can return to campus next week for in-person teaching. Face coverings for pupils will no longer be recommended in classrooms or in communal areas in secondary schools and colleges.
Overseas holidays: The ban on overseas travel has been lifted, with trips to the "green list" countries outlined last week able to go ahead. These destinations are Portugal, Gibraltar, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland and the Faroe Islands - plus several small remote islands which are British territories.
In the middle of March the Government was besieged with criticism over its treatment of LGBT+ people. It got so bad that it lost three LGBT+ advisers. They cited the ignorance of ministers, and said that the government has createda "hostile environment" for LGBT+ people.
The government's failings are clear to see: from a failure to deliver GRA reform, failure to ban conversion therapy, and cutting funding to tackle anti-LGBT+ bullying in schools.
Tisbury residents have been invited to have their say on the plans to build 86 new homes and a care home in Tisbury.
Tisbury Community Homes has launched a public consultation on the outline proposals for the former Station Works site, situated to the south of Tisbury and accessed via Jobbers Lane. They state the Station Road development proposed would replace an "existing outdated employment site" and provide 86 new homes to meet the local need in the area as well as a 70-bed care home.
An illustration of the impact of proposed UK voter suppression measures is provided in yesterday's Guardian, where it is reported that local authorities could have to issue up to 3.5 million identity cards as part of plans for mandatory voter ID, prompting warnings over potential high costs and disruption for councils.
Here's a rundown of the key Bills being proposed by the Government in the Queen's Speech
Sovereign Borders Bill
The bill changes asylum rules, including making claims inadmissible if the person has arrived in the UK "illegally". The government has closed the UK's resettlement schemes, meaning there are no safe and legal routes into the UK. Asylum seekers are being forced to enter the country illegally, then being punished for it, this is inhumane and unacceptable. We should welcome refugees fleeing war and/or persecution with compassion, not treat them like criminals and understand they don't have time to check their plans with the Home Secretary.
We've had a huge set of elections in difficult circumstances. It was a massive combined effort of volunteers and staff, candidates and agents, helpers and donors, to get several hundred Liberal Democrats elected. Thank you to everyone who played their part in an impressive team effort.
