Melksham Without Parish Council 2013 review

2013 was, once again, a very busy year for the Melksham Without parish.

Richard Wood, Chair, Melksham Without Parish Council reported on the events of the year. He said, “The year began with the decision to keep the precept at its 2012 level. This was a difficult decision as it entailed some economies, but it was felt to be the correct decision in difficult economic times.

“2013 was the first full year of our ownership of Bowerhill sports field. We have had a very good usage rate from the beginning, with both youth and senior football taking place on our pitches, and from early in the year the first games for the newly formed Melksham disabled team, under the leadership of Mike Rogers. We took over the maintenance of the field from Wiltshire Council contractors in June and have been fine-tuning the maintenance specification to get the best value for money and the best result for our users.

“The sports field will undergo a major change in 2014 as a result of the planning permission being granted to Herman Miller for their new warehouse and factory. The consequence of this is not only a state of the art facility clearly visible from the A350, but the completion of the access road to Bowerhill onto this busy road. One effect of this will be the demolition of the old pavilion and the construction of a brand new up-to-date one. Much research and planning on the part of our Sports Field Working Party have gone into this building, work on which should be complete by the end of next year.

“May brought the council elections, and the council said goodbye to councillors Don Millard, Paul Clark, Elizabeth Bean and Maurice Hubert. Mike Mills, who had been the council’s chairman since 2001 decided to step down from the chairmanship while continuing on the council. Richard Wood became chairman with John Glover as vice chairman.

“Mike had given tremendous service to the council as chairman and his detailed knowledge of the parish, especially Bowerhill, has always been invaluable. He continues to be an active member of the Bowerhill Action group.

“We welcomed back to the council Terry Chivers, and he was joined by newcomers Adam Nardell, Trudy Fennell and Paul Carter. There are exciting plans afoot for a MUGA (multi-use games area) at Hornchurch Road Play Area. The location has been agreed after consultation with residents, and there has been a very good response from specialist companies to our request for tenders. A decision will be taken shortly, and the MUGA should be up and running in the New Year. The majority of the funding required comes from the small development of affordable houses in Hornchurch Road.

“The parish council has been able to make some improvements to the footway in Middle Lane Whitley. Work should be completed in the New Year.

“Work also continues on updating our emergency plan. This endeavour was given added impetus by the recent severe flooding in Shaw and Whitley. It was very encouraging to see the formation of the flood group in the area which has done sterling work already.

“Melksham Without Parish Council are joining with Melksham Town council to produce a Neighbourhood Plan for the whole of the Melksham area. Neighbourhood Plans enable local councils to influence future growth in their area, including issues such as housing and industrial development, transport provision, and environmental and recreational concerns. With the news that the number of houses required to be built by 2026 will now significantly exceed the former proposal in Wiltshire Council’s Core strategy document the creation of a neighbourhood plan becomes even more important.

“One aspect of development which must be included in the plan is that of the Melksham link bringing the Wilts and Berks canal from Semington to Melksham. The large majority of this route is through the parish and we look forward to completion of the planning process in 2014. The past few years have been very encouraging for Melksham as a whole. The new Melksham Oak school is working very well and producing excellent exam results. Work on the new campus, with its new pool, sports centre and library, will begin next year, as will the development of the replacement school for Forest and Sandridge. There will even be two new pubs in the parish, one in Hampton Meadows and the other in the east Melksham development. With these reasons to be cheerful, I wish you all a happy Christmas and a prosperous New year on behalf of the council.”