Wessex Water has been told to explain why money has not yet been spent to replace the water drainage system in Warminster. At last night’s Town Development meeting, town flood warden Len Turner said Wessex Water had previously given assurances that funds have been budgeted for an overhaul of the drainage underneath the town.

Councillor Andrew Davis proposed that a letter is written to the water company in a bid to press them into action.

At the same meeting, the town’s flood wardens were appointed for the year ahead. The wardens this year are John Ellis, Roi Head, Harriet James, Len Turner and Trevor Woodyatt.

Residents of Bread Street and Chapel Street attended the Town Development Committee meeting enmasse this evening to urge for action over Heavy Goods Vehicles using the streets.  Independent Councillor John Syme proposed that Wiltshire Council is pressed to fund signage that will warn HGV drivers to avoid the area.  The committee heard strong testimony from the local residents about the damage that has been done to their houses and vehicles.  The councillors spent some time debating a number of options before choosing to pass the matter to Wiltshire Council to take forward.

Baffled Residents

The operation of the council was brought into the spotlight as residents attempted to respond to councillors comments.  One resident wished to correct a member of the council who suggested fire appliances could not drive along the two roads but was prevented from speaking due to the council’s standing orders.  To mutters of “this is archaic” from the public gallery, Chairman Rob Fryer told the public that they had been given the opportunity to speak at the start of the meeting and were now unable to participate.

A town council committee was split on Monday evening over whether to install a hedge or a fence around the play park in The Beeches. Councillor Paul Macdonald proposed that the council should demonstrate its green credentials by planting a hedge, which was also the cheaper of the two options. Councillor Rob Fryer and Councillor Sue Fraser were concerned that the hedge might require more maintenance in the long run and that a fence would therefore have a smaller carbon footprint. Voting in favour of the motion were Councillors Paul Macdonald, Bill Parks and Stacie Allensby. Councillors Sue Fraser, Rob Fryer and Denis Brett voted against.

It meant a tied vote in the first meeting in the chair for Councillor Stacie Allensby. She used her casting vote to ensure the council seeks three quotes for the hedge planting, dismissing concerns raised by those voting against.

The BA12 Agenda can reveal the attendance data for each of Warminster’s thirteen town councillors in the last municipal year. With the new year starting tomorrow night with the Mayor Making ceremony, Councillor Sue Fraser and Andrew Davis have topped the 2021-2022 list with 100 per cent attendance at their meetings in the last twelve months. Cllr Fraser has attended each of her 34 scheduled meetings and Cllr Davis has been at all 19 of his. Meanwhile, Councillor Rob Fryer has the most absences from the council chamber. In the last council year he has attended just 11 of his 18 scheduled meetings, amounting to a 61.1% attendance rate. The full data of council attendance for 2021-2022 is as follows:

Sue Fraser – 34/34 (100%)

Andrew Davis – 19/19 (100.0%)

Philip Keeble – 27/29 (93.1%)

Stacie Allensby – 23/25 (92.0%)

Chris Robbins – 22/25 (88.0%)

Denis Brett – 21/24 (87.5%)

John Syme – 24/30 (80.0%)

Paul Macfarlane – 14/18 (77.7%)

Paul Macdonald – 22/29 (75.9%)

Stephen Jeffries – 22/30 (73.3%)

Bill Parks – 13/18 (72.2%)

Andrew Cooper – 12/18 (66.6%)

Rob Fryer – 11/18 (61.1%)

TOTAL – 264/317 (83.3%)

Warminster Town Council is asking for help from two Warminster headteachers to solve highways issues in the town. Councillor Sue Fraser and Councillor Paul Macdonald have been asked by the Town Development Committee to approach Minster School headteacher Lisa Tudor to discuss what action can be taken in regard to traffic, pollution and parking in Emwell Street. A resident has complained to the council about issues on the one-way street at the start and end of the school day.

Meanwhile, councillors have encouraged Highway Youth Football Club to discuss using Kingdown School’s car park for members of the club to park in during training and match sessions. This is in a bid to alleviate congestion and parking on the road outside the club’s home in Woodcock Road.

Conservative MPs and councillors in Wiltshire have been called in as reinforcements for Somerset ahead of local elections on Thursday. MPs Andrew Murrison, John Glen and Michelle Donelan joined forces with local councillors to knock on doors, trying to win votes. Somerset residents are voting this week for new unitary authority councillors as the county council and four district councils are merged. The battle for control of the council is expected to be close between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The Conservative Party currently has a majority on the county council and Sedgemoor District Council. However, the Lib Dems have control of Mendip, South Somerset and Somerset West and Taunton. Polls are open on Thursday from 7am until 10pm.

Warminster Town Council has moved to dispel rumours that the new splashpad will open this weekend. The council has blamed a supplier for the delay.

Town Clerk Tom Dommett said; “Much as we would have liked to open the splashpad at Spring in the Park, this will not be possible. As we said previously, we hoped to be open by early May. We have been let down by our electricity supplier and that has put our schedule back and we are now looking at June. I know people are very excited, and I urge them to be patient, it will be worth the wait.”

The council noted that there will be plenty of other attractions at Spring in the Park – including stalls, stilt walkers, a bubbleologist, Star Wars characters, dog show, food and drink, music and dancing displays and all the usual park facilities.

A man in his 60s has been pronounced dead at the scene of a two car collision on the A350 near Yarnbrook. Emergency services were called to the stretch of road between Westbury and Trowbridge at around 9.20pm yesterday evening. A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: “The collision involved a Range Rover and a Nissan X-Trail. Sadly, the driver of the Nissan, a man in his 60s, was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin has been informed and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time”.

Wiltshire Police says it is dealing with a serious road traffic collision on the A350 between Trowbridge and Westbury. Officers were called to the incident at Yarnbrook at around 9.20pm this evening. The road has been closed between the Yarnbrook Roundabout and the junction with Church Lane in Heywood and a police spokesperson says the force expects the road to remain closed for some time.

Warminster Town Council has confirmed that there will not be a single council-led event to mark HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The question of the town’s jubilee plans was discussed at the Annual Town Meeting this evening in the Civic Centre. Councillor Chris Robbins, chairing the meeting in the absence of both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, explained that the council had looked at a number of options for larger events but had decided not to pursue these. The Town Clerk, Tom Dommett, added that there would be a number of initiatives to give local residents the chance to recognise the Queen’s 70 years of service. These will include an exhibition in the Civic Centre, a tea party event and Jubilee competitions.