‘No smoke without fire’ – campus concerns continue to grow in Melksham

DOUBTS about plans for Melksham Community Campus are growing around the town as fears about the impact of cutbacks at Wiltshire Council continue to grow.

The fears were heightened at Melksham Area Board chair’s briefing on Monday when councillors heard that plans for the already delayed campus could be changing due to budget constraints.

Councillor Terry Chivers, who sits on the area board as representative for Melksham Without South, told Melksham News, “We were told at the meeting that the campus projects for Melksham and Corsham are considerably over budget so will have to be scaled back.

“Apparently the doctors’ surgery in Melksham will now be half the intended size because the council haven’t got the money to complete it. The Market Place may also have to be redesigned.

“I want to know if the public will be consulted about these changes, and if new planning applications will have to be made. That could take another three to four months and could hold up the development considerably.

“There have been rumours about problems with the campus and we’re not getting any answers from Wiltshire Council; but there’s no smoke without fire.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said, “The funding allocated to provide Melksham Community Campus has not been reduced and it has to be built and delivered within its approved budget.

“A huge amount of work has gone into delivering the Woolmore Farm element of the project and the contract for this has been finalised and work will start on that site soon.

“As with all campus projects in development, we are continually assessing the individual requirements of each one ensuring they meet the needs of the local community and provide best value.

“As we have done throughout the project, we will continue to speak to local people and stakeholders and their input and feedback is vital.

“We are investing significantly into the Melksham Community Campus project and we look forward to delivering a state-of-the-art facility that we believe will benefit the entire local community.”

The ambitious plans for the 14.7 acre Melksham House site include a new leisure centre, a 25m swimming pool and learner pool, a 4-court sports hall, a 60-station fitness suite, squash courts, cafe, health care facilities and a new library and youth centre.

The plans were first announced in 2010, when the campus was expected to be operational by 2012.

But it took until the autumn of 2013 even for the plans to be unveiled to the public, with work expected to start in 2014. Proposals were also released for a renovated Market Place with improved pedestrian access.

Melksham Town FC and Melksham RFC were to be built a new ground in Bowerhill so their current ground at Melksham House could be demolished to make space for the campus.

Development on that was halted earlier this year when a protected species – the great crested newt – was  found living on the site of the new ground, Woolmore Farm.

The newts have to be moved from the area before construction work can begin – the sports clubs must now spend another year at their current ground.

But critics claimed the council knew about the newts months before and that they were used as an excuse to delay the project.

There have been no updates on the campus website for over a year, but despite the delays, Wiltshire Council insisted at a meeting in April that they are still committed to completing the project.

They said then that work was expected to begin next year and reach completion in late 2017 – five years later than first announced. Now people are starting to doubt even that date.

To find out more about the campus visit www.melkshamcampus-scob.org.uk or www.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityandliving/communitycampuses