Ask not what your community can do for you, but what you can do for your community…

MEMBERS of a local church congregation are urging people to be more involved in their community after they cleared an overgrown footpath they read about in the Melksham News.

St Andrew’s Church congregation decided to take action after reading about residents’ frustration at an overgrown footpath located nearby to the church that connects Montague Place to Church Lane. The footpath had become so overgrown that it was impassable and despite several calls from local resident Bryan Sanford to Wiltshire Council, it was not cleared.

One of those who helped clear the path, Christopher James Pickett, felt that action was necessary, saying the council is overstretched as it is and that they have other priorities. He said, “Having spent some 17 years working for a district council (in another county), at the sharp end, I am not in the least surprised that Mr Sanford and possibly other residents, think that Wiltshire Council have failed in their duties to maintain his local footpath.

“The footpath in question is approximately 100 yards long and granted, it was  difficult to get through due to brambles and fruit tree limbs from a neighbouring property, but would not have been on the high priority list of any council today.

“However, following a conversation on the Sunday morning, St Andrew’s Church congregation decided that maybe it was up to them to show some ‘community responsibility’ – which they did. Three people took less than an hour clearing the footpath.

“My question to Mr Sanford and others – who feel that the overstretched local authority can be everywhere at once is – are you prepared to do ‘your’ bit in keeping ‘your’ corner of Melksham habitable for others? If Wiltshire Council or the town council fails in doing what they have been ‘elected’ to do, I would be the first to lead the attack, but only if it is serious enough to warrant the fight.

“A strap line of Wiltshire Council is ‘Wiltshire – where People matter’ and I suppose that to a great extent they believe that they are doing their best for us all, but with less people and stringent financial cuts, I’m afraid some of these smaller jobs will have to be done by us if we want the areas where we live to be as we would like them to be!

“But have no fear, there are lots of ‘us’ about, just look at the recent activities of litter picking, river clearing etc. Melksham has a good number of people who care about where they live. So let us all  be more responsible and take on the ‘little jobs’ near to us and not expect ‘someone else’ to do it for us – after all, who are the real beneficiaries?”