Residents have just a few more days to give their initial views on the Warminster Neighbourhood Plan Review. The document under review is used to ensure new development follow local priorities as well as the national Government and Wiltshire Council rules and guidance.

The Town Council says it wants to hear from as many people as possible about their priorities for Warminster by completing a short survey.

A spokesperson for the council said: “If you live or work in Warminster the updated Neighbourhood Plan will have a big influence on your quality of life. Make sure your voice is heard.”

The initial survey ends on Monday 14th March with further engagement expected in the coming months.

An industrial dispute has led Wiltshire Council to temporarily suspend recycling collection for two weeks. The local authority says the move will enable it to prioritise household residual waste collections. Hills Municipal Collections, who operate waste services on behalf of the council, are in dispute with GMB union members over pay.

As a result of this action, Wiltshire Council and Hills have decided to suspend emptying recycling bins across the county for two weeks, with the service expected to resume again week beginning 21 March. When recycling collections do resume, the waste teams will accept additional recycling materials that have been stockpiled during this time. This means people will be able to leave out additional materials in separate bags or suitable containers by their bins if they can’t fit it in their containers.

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Waste, said: “Despite the industrial action, we still have managed to complete many waste rounds across the county, and we thank people for their patience as we look to catch-up on those missed residual household waste collections as quickly as possible, and these have to be the priority.

“Due to the position of the pickets at Churchfields, it meant that frustratingly no vehicles were able to get through at that depot on Monday, which resulted in police being called to the site. This has had a knock-on effect on our collection services. Similar difficulties with vehicles being blocked from leaving were experienced at the Riverway depot early on Tuesday morning.

“We always expected that collections during this period were going to be fluid and we apologise for the inconvenience this is causing, but we’re doing everything we can to minimise the disruption during this complex and unprecedented time.

“One of our contingency plans, which we hoped we wouldn’t need to implement, was to temporarily suspend recycling services. This means we can prioritise general waste collections, and people should leave their general waste bin out at 7am on their usual collection day, and it will be emptied – though it may be a day or so late.

“We know it’s not ideal but we ask that people keep their kerbside recycling back and take their black boxes and blue lidded bins in until their scheduled collection day after 21 March, or please take the materials to your nearest household recycling centre, as they are operating as normal.

“This dispute is between Hills and the GMB Union, and we hope it is resolved as quickly as possible, so residents can continue to benefit from the range of collections we provide.”

This change does not affect general household waste or garden waste collections. Residents are still being asked to put out their household waste and garden waste bins on their scheduled collection day by 7am, and if they’re not collected, to leave them out and where possible they will be collected the next day.

Warminster and District Foodbank has a secure premises for the next twelve months. Town councillors on the Finance and Audit Committee voted unanimously to renew its arrangement with the Foodbank, which occupies the Council’s Dewey House in North Row. Rent for the year will continue at £600.00.

Councillor Andrew Cooper raised his concerns that the Foodbank was paying rent to the Council when its volunteers worked to support the most vulnerable within the community. Committee Chairman, Councillor Denis Brett, agreed that his comments would be noted. Town Clerk Tom Dommett explained to councillors that the proposed rent was significantly lower than the commercial rate and that the council had a duty to get best value for the public’s money. Councillor Chris Robbins, who proposed continuing the rent at £600.00 a month, asked councillors to remember that Warminster Town Council is not a charity.

All councillors voted in favour of a £600.00 a month rent, including Councillor Cooper once his remarks had been recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

Figures released by Wiltshire Council show 95% of parents have been offered a place at their first preference school for their child, an increase of nearly three per cent on 2021. The local authority has been able to offer 95.36% of parents their first preference – and 98.6% of parents a place at one of their three preferred schools.

There were 5253 applications received for this September – 208 more than 2021. This is due to the number of children transferring to secondary school in September 2022 being slightly higher than in 2021. Most people applied online, with 99% or 5195 submitted digitally, and just 58 paper applications.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “Choosing the right secondary school for your child is such an important step and I’m pleased that once again Wiltshire families will have good news about their preferred schools. These healthy figures are possible due to the careful planning and strategic thought that our officers invest to ensure there are sufficient places for this September but also for the years ahead.”

South West Wiltshire’s MP has been visiting Morocco in his role as the Government’s Trade Envoy for the north African nation. Dr Andrew Murrison met the country’s Minister for Industry and Trade, Mr Mezzour and with Mr Jazouli, who is Minister for Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies. Talks were held between the representatives on ways to enhance bilateral trade cooperation. A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Rabat welcomed Dr Murrison visit and described the meetings as “energising.”

Warminster Town Council is set to continue leasing Dewey House to the town’s Foodbank for a further year. Councillors will meet to approve the recommendation next Monday. The future of the community facility within the building is unlikely to be confirmed beyond twelve months due to uncertainty over the CCTV control room which shares Dewey House. The council is aiming to move the CCTV operation out of the older council offices and into The Hub in the Central Car Park. This move would raise the prospect of Warminster Town Council selling Dewey House, a likely cause of reluctance to enter a long lease with the Foodbank. If approved, rent for the Foodbank will be maintained at £600 for the next year.

Warminster Town Council and Wiltshire Council have been asked to consider changing the traffic light crossing in the centre of the Market Place to a zebra crossing. A resident wants the change believing it will ease congestion in East Street. Traffic can often be observed backing-up along East Street, sometimes as far as the western end of Boreham Road. The crossing half way along Market Place was installed as part of a town centre traffic upgrade in the 2000s.

Business owners in Warminster are seeking support from councillors to ensure their lorries can access the Old Silk Works Business Site. The owners want double yellow lines to be reinstated around Beech Avenue and Alcock Crest to enable access for larger vehicles and emergency services. In an application to Warminster Town Council and Wiltshire Council, business owners have demanded that the following concerns are addressed:

• Parked vehicles preventing access to the site;
• Reports of emergency vehicles unable to get through;
• No clear line of site;
• Pedestrians having to step into the road;
• Safe access required to the Alzheimer’s Support Centre nearby.

A concerned resident wants double yellow lines to be painted either side of Norridge View so that drivers have an improved line of vision. Warminster Town Council has said it is aware of worries about parking on Grovelands Way around the Norridge View junction. The Town Development Committee says that words of advice have been given to some drivers by police officers while on patrols but issues persist. The matter will come before the council at its meeting on Monday evening.

Wiltshire Council’s library service is celebrating its volunteers It was during the financial crisis ten years ago that the local authority sought volunteers to help keep the county’s libraries open. Now the council is recognising their contribution giving time and energy to support their local libraries, and delivering books to those who aren’t able to visit themselves.

Since September 2011, Wiltshire’s Community Library Volunteers have operated all the opening hours in nine of the council’s smallest libraries and supported staff by providing extra volunteer sessions at six slightly larger libraries, ensuring these services remain available for local people to use and enjoy. Over the 10 years, the library volunteers have collectively given 163,679 hours of their time.

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Cabinet Member for Libraries, said: “As a library volunteer myself, I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to support my community and see first-hand the huge value and joy that libraries can bring to all ages. If you have a bit of spare time I would definitely recommend looking in to becoming a volunteer – our libraries are particularly looking for volunteers at Box, Downton, Lyneham, Ludgershall, Mere, Purton and Wilton so please do get in touch if you’re interested in the role.”