South West Wiltshire Liberal Democrats

Visit a farm for free!

... at its meeting on Tuesday May 22nd. A grand total of 15,823 people had signed the petition which said:

'On 29th March 2018, Wiltshire Council announced its decision to close Wiltshire's only two council run outdoor education centres at Braeside and Oxenwood. Both centres have provided invaluable experiences for thousands of children over many years and closing them is very shortsighted. Trips to centres like this give children from all backgrounds a taste of the countryside that they would not otherwise get. It nurtures a love of nature and creates lifelong memories and friendships. It provides a welcome break from classroom education and gives children practical skills to use in everyday life. In a world increasingly dominated by technology, centres such as this create future ambassadors of conservation and wildlife preservation and closure of these two invaluable centres must be stopped. There is a solution. The centres don't need to be Council run, but Wiltshire Council needs to hand over responsibility to interested parties e.g.via a free or low cost community asset transfer. The perception now is that Wiltshire Council doesn't want to do this. We need this to change. Help us us keep the pressure on. 15,000 people can't be wrong.'

Wiltshire Council isn't very good at fixing potholes, so councillors Brian Mathew and Steve Oldrieve are making a modest suggestion to improve matters. This motion went to the council meeting on May 22nd::

Notice of Motion No. 7 - The Use of Plastic Waste in Road Repairs, Re-Surfacing and Construction

Plans for radical changes to the waste and recycling collections have been shelved by WC. (See previous article).

The good news though is that we'll be able to recycle a wider range of plastics.

From 30 July residents will still use their black box for glass, paper, cans and textiles, but the blue lidded bin will take plastic pots, tubs and trays and drink and food cartons as well as plastic bottles and cardboard.

Wiltshire Council's Conservative administration wants to increase the number of houses they've allocated for the Trowbridge side of Elizabeth Way from 205 to 355. They say it's to make more efficient use of the land. The proposal will be agreed by the WC 'cabinet' on Tuesday May 15th.

The proposal is part of the Housing Site Allocations Development Plan Document.

Wiltshire Council Conservatives have announced that free waste collections from village halls, social clubs etc will cease this summer.

As of July 29th the halls and clubs will have to pay commercial rates for waste disposal.

The change is part of the council's plan to become more commercial and less service-minded in the way it operates. Of 106 venues affected six are used mainly for public meetings so will be charged for collection only. The remainder produce waste for which a charge for collection and disposal will be made.

The Public Sector Executive reports that Wiltshire Council's Conservative administration has been found to be at fault in the way it tried to make cuts to people's care packages.

An investigation by the ombudsman found the council was using illegal methodology, and wasn't even bothering to follow its own procedures in this and, presumably, other cases.

About 350 families have failed to get their first preference school place in Wiltshire, with over sixty not getting any of their three preferences

However this means that 98.8% of children have been offered one of their three preferences for this September with 93.4% being offered their first preferred school.

Clean-up work is beginning in Salisbury after the recent nerve agent attack, to bring the potentially contaminated sites back into safe use.

This follows the continuing handover of sites from the police investigation to recovery operations, including The Maltings, the cemetery, Zizzi and the Ashley Wood compound. In total nine sites, three of which are in the city centre, have been identified as requiring some level of specialist cleaning.

You need to renew your garden waste collection subscription by 15 June if you want to continue receiving the service.

Existing customers receive a reference number by email or post. They can use this number to renew their subscription online or by phone.

Residents can sign up any time during the year, but those already receiving the service should make sure they renew by 15 June to avoid any interruption.