Melksham’s Mayor bids seasonal greetings after fantastic year

I am delighted to wish you Season’s Greetings as we reflect on 2013 and look forward to 2014.

The last twelve months has proved that our community spirit is alive and well in Melksham!

Once again this year we are able to enjoy the most fantastic Christmas lights display. We in Melksham are extraordinarily proud of our Christmas lights, which are entirely due to the hard work and efforts of a magnificent group of volunteers. Their selfless work and commitment over many weeks and months means that residents and visitors alike can enjoy the colour and spectacle that sets us apart from other towns, and we are enormously grateful for their efforts.

We were blessed this year with fantastic weather for the Christmas Fayre and massive crowds turned out to marvel at the spectacular Christmas lights switch on. A big thank you to everyone involved in bringing this marvellous event to fruition for the community to enjoy.

Party in the Park, the Music Festival, Carnival, Comic-Con and the Food and Drink Festival were just some of the highlights of a wonderful summer of events that served to illustrate the wide variety of events that are staged in the town for the whole community to enjoy, and once again, we have dedicated groups of volunteers to thank for making these fantastic events happen.

It is good to see the number of events that are being staged across a wide demographic spectrum.

The Over 55s Seniors Forum continues to flourish and arranges regular film screenings and associated entertainment within the Assembly Hall; whilst Saturday morning films for children in the Assembly Hall have proved extremely popular. Moreover, Melksham’s first ever film festival, targeted at children and families, was staged in February and attracted over 400 people to the Assembly Hall over the course of the week.

It was good to see our young people being recognised and honoured recently at Melksham’s second Young People’s Awards evening, held on 27th November and organised by Extended Services with support from the Town Council. The evening proved once again that we have much to celebrate and applaud in our young people and was proof positive that Melksham will be in good hands with the next generation of our townsfolk.

Our floral displays once again provided a colourful, vibrant and pleasant backcloth for our town during the summer, enhancing our street scene and contributing to a pleasant shopping experience. For the first time this year we entered the South West in Bloom competition and our fantastic floral arrangements and displays were acknowledged with the wonderful achievement of a Silver Award.

In these challenging economic times it is good to see such a vibrant town centre and I would encourage everyone to support our local traders on a day-to-day basis in order that we can retain and enjoy the retail experience that they provide. With assistance from Wiltshire Council, a weekly market, held every Tuesday, has been established within the town. I do hope that the market will attract people to come into town on a regular basis; enjoy the unique shopping and social experience that the market provides; and take the opportunity to visit the wide variety of shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants that Melksham has to offer.

Our objective to bring an eclectic mix of high quality entertainment to the town for our community to enjoy continues to see the Assembly Hall being included as a venue on national tours. Josh Widdicombe, Andy Parsons and Derek Acorah are just some of the famous names that have visited Melksham this year, all playing to large audiences. Moreover, the hall’s cinema quality digital projector, fully retractable full size screen and state-of-the-art Dolby sound system has been seen to good effect with our regular film presentations and, in  addition, we have been able to enjoy the magnificent spectacle of ballet, opera, concerts and musicals from around the world, all shown here in Melksham on our big screen.

As we look ahead to 2014, there is much to anticipate. The centenary of the Great War will be commemorated with a variety of events, whilst a Town Criers’ competition will be held in May. The many and various events and activities staged by Melksham’s organisations and groups will provide a wealth of opportunities for us to enjoy throughout the year; whilst the inception of the community campus, incorporating new sports, recreational and leisure facilities gets even closer and provides an exciting and welcome proposition for the town and the Melksham community area generally.

So we have good reason to feel positive and optimistic about the future and our ambition to move Melksham forward. Melksham is a great place to live, work and visit and I would like to reiterate my thanks to everyone, and particularly our voluntary groups, for ensuring that we have the great good fortune to enjoy such a thriving and vibrant community spirit.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe, peaceful, prosperous and Happy New Year!

Cllr. Chris Petty, Melksham Town Mayor.