Christmas message from Melksham Without Parish Council Vice Chair Cllr David Pafford

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Time seems to pass with dizzying speed, and it will soon be 2026. 

We can’t tell what will happen in the future but this time of year gives us the opportunity to reflect on the recent past.

I would first like to thank the staff of Melksham Without Parish Council for their tireless work on behalf of our residents and in support of the councillors. Teresa Strange, Marianne Rossi and Fiona Dey form the administrative hub, while Terry Cole and David Cole are out “in the field” as parish caretaker and allotment warden respectively.

My thanks also to the councillors, all volunteers giving a lot of time and commitment to our community. Terry Chivers, Robert Shea- Simonds, Shona Holt and Nathan Keates stepped down from the council at the May elections, and we thank them for their service. In their place, we welcomed Tony Hemmings, Mark Blackham, Chris Griffiths and Martin Haffenden, and wish them well.

An impressive feature of life in our area is the number of voluntary bodies, charities and support groups that devote a lot of time to making life better for other members of our community. Both town and parish councils hold annual meetings to celebrate the achievements of groups and organisations, with the number of people involved deserving our gratitude.

Earlier this year, I attended the awards evening of Community First, the umbrella group for charities in Wiltshire and Swindon. For one of our local groups, Melksham Community Support, run by Age UK Wiltshire, to gain an award was outstanding and recognition of the contribution of their team, with Sarah Thomson as the field worker, to helping people to stay connected with their neighbours and wider community. Other areas of Wiltshire are now looking to replicate this excellent project.

Another example of a highly effective organisation is the Shaw and Whitley Community Emergency Group. They constantly monitor water levels, warning residents of approaching high water, and helping them when floods occur. The work they do helps prevent problems further downstream and we can all be grateful for their efforts. Again, their example is being used as a model for other communities in the UK and also abroad.

We should also recognise the important work of Community Action Whitley and Shaw (CAWS). We have all surely noticed the number of solar farms and battery storage sites filling many of our local fields. These are all being connected to the National Grid at the Melksham substation. Laying the required cables through our communities has been very disruptive and is likely to continue. CAWS has been very active in studying the proposals and identifying potential hazards. They have managed to establish that the cumulative effect of all these developments, as well as the potential for fires and pollution, are matters for increasing concern.

Something else to celebrate is that Wiltshire Council has at last completed the footpath from Eastern Way to the rear of Melksham Oak Community School. This has reduced the pedestrian traffic along Spa Road and made the walk to/from school easier and safer for many students.

After four years of hard work by both councils and the Steering Group, as well as the engagement and interest of the public, the Joint Melksham Neighbourhood Plan was formally adopted on 4th August.

The very next day we had to defend it at a meeting of Wiltshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee. We managed to persuade the councillors to refuse permission to build 300 houses on land south of Snarlton Farm because it had not been included in the Neighbourhood Plan or Wiltshire Council’s Local Plan. To nobody’s surprise, the developer has appealed and a hearing before a Planning Inspector will begin on 20th January.

To us, the issue is simple: the Melksham community, alongside Wiltshire Council, has decided where development should take place and where it should not. Any extra planning applications that have not been through the process of public consultation which led to the Neighbourhood Plan being supported in the public referendum should, therefore, be refused. We must now make that case again before an Inspector.

Representatives from the councils and Steering Group will be speaking in defence of the plan’s principles, and it would be very helpful if members of the public were prepared to speak or write in support of the plan or against the proposed development south of Snarlton Farm.

If you would be prepared to do so, please contact Teresa Strange at Melksham Without Parish Council, offices in the Campus, phone number 01225 705700.

Enjoy the Christmas and New Year festivities and let’s hope that 2026 brings us all success.

Cllr David Pafford