Councillor celebrates 50 years of service to the town

MELKSHAM Without Parish councillor, Alan Baines, is celebrating 50 years of service as a councillor in Melksham.

Cllr Alan Baines joined Melksham Without Parish Council in mid-1973. He served as chairman of MWPC for five years from 1984 to 1989 and then again for three years, from 1992 to 1995. He was also a town councillor from 1991 to 1995, then took a four-year break from being a councillor, before joining the parish council again in 1999.

He said, “I haven’t done a continuous 50 years of service, but all together it’s been 50 years! In the 1970s when I started, the main issue we spoke about was the improvements being made to Semington Road through Berryfield. At that time, MWPC was also responsible for the street lighting and working with the electricity company to fix any problems and re-set the time switches. That’s now with Wiltshire Council.”

Reflecting on some achievements of MWPC over the last 50 years, cllr Baines said, “We were responsible for putting in some walkways where there wasn’t any. We did a lot of provision of pavements around Whitley. Pavements were installed around Sandridge School as a result of the parish council.

“Now, we are incredibly busy – more than ever – and now hold planning meetings every three weeks to discuss applications because there are so many. We want to work with developers to build houses in line with the Neighbourhood Plan.”

Looking back at the changes in Melksham over the last 50 years he said, “The town has changed so much. The population is growing. We now have supermarkets rather than individual shops; pubs have closed and been knocked down. There’s been changes to employment patterns and fewer people work at the Avon; we lost Spencer GEC. There are alternative employment opportunities at Bowerhill and the RAF station was a terrific boost. We also lost the saw mill where Sainsbury’s now is. The town has changed tremendously.”

Born and bred in Melksham, cllr Baines said, “What most people do not know is that the building in which Gompels pharmacy is in, is 200 years old, and has always been a pharmacy. My great-grandfather was a chemist and he owned the site at one point in time. I have lived in Melksham all my life, except for when I was a student in Leicester, studying for a HND in electronical engineering.”

Sharing his favourite thing about being a councillor, he said, “I became a councillor for the opportunity to contribute to my local area and influence how things develop. I would like to ask the community to remember that as councillors, we are all volunteers. We are all doing this in our spare time and we do not get paid. We are all doing it to serve, there’s no personal gain and often it’s a sacrifice.”

At the MWPC Annual Council meeting, held on Monday 22nd May, cllr Alan Baines was presented with the minutes from the first council meeting he chaired in 1973.

MWPC clerk Teresa Strange said, “Melksham Without Parish Council were delighted to mark the 50th anniversary of Cllr Alan Baines joining the council following the elections in May 1973. It’s a remarkable stint of volunteer service to the local community and follows in the footsteps of his father who was a Melksham Without Parish Councillor too.

“The parish has seen many changes over that time with four boundary reviews and the population now close to 8,000; in 1973 Blackmore Road and Savernake Avenue were still in the parish.  Although the A350 Bypass at Beanacre had just been implemented in the early 1970s, the Semington diversion stretch was opened some 30 years later; with a Beanacre bypass still an option now.  The Shaw Village Hall was built in 1976 to replace the temporary building, the Bowerhill Village Hall was built by the local community in 2005 to replace the temporary building provided by the parish council, and more recently the Berryfield Village Hall has just been built to replace their temporary building.  Bowerhill, Forest & Sandridge and Melksham Oak schools have also been built over the last 50 years with another one planned at the Pathfinder development.

“In 1973 the precept, the amount of money collected for the parish council via the council tax, was £700 and this year is £245,271.  The parish council is a much bigger entity now, and manages play areas, Bowerhill Sports Field, allotments and employs groundsmen, officers and a full-time clerk – a long way from just a part time clerk who worked from home when Alan started.

“Throughout all these changes in the parish, cllr Baines has kept a close eye on the details and strived to gain the best for the local community and we thank him for his service; long may it continue.”