Warminster Town Councillors will face the public on Monday evening at the Annual Town Meeting. It will take place in the Civic Centre at 7pm. Electors of the Warminster wards are entitled to attend and ask questions of their elected representatives. Also at the meeting, grant recipients will inform the meeting of how they have spent the money awarded to them.

Warminster Town Council is to consider moving its bank account to Lloyds, the only remaining bank in the town. The authority currently banks with the HSBC but Warminster’s branch closed some years’ ago. At a meeting on Monday evening, councillors voted to retain its HSBC account for the time being but ordered a review of bank arrangements. Councillor Paul Macfarlane commented that he would like to see the town council support the one remaining bank on the High Street by moving accounts to Lloyds. A detailed report will now be produced for councillors to reach a long term decision.

Councillor Chris Robbins is set to be the new Mayor of Warminster. At a meeting of Warminster Town Council this evening, Councillor Bill Parks proposed Councillor Robbins. The council voted unanimously in favour.

Councillor Robbins said: “To have another go will be a great honour.”

The position of Deputy Mayor Elect has been given to Councillor Philip Keeble. Councillors voted in favour of Councillor Keeble six to five. The proposal for Councillor Paul Macdonald to become Deputy Mayor was defeated.

Current Deputy Mayor, Councillor Denis Brett announced that, due to his health, he would not accept a nomination for the position of Mayor.

Wiltshire Police officers are investigating an assault outside Morrisons supermarket. A man in his 30s sustained a head injury in the assault, which occurred outside the store at around midday on Sunday 23rd January. Anyone with information is asked to contact the force on 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Kerbside recycling collections in Wiltshire will resume from this coming Monday.

Hills Municipal Collections and GMB Union have confirmed they have reached an agreement, which means the waste collection strike has now concluded with immediate effect.

Wiltshire Council’s contractor Hills Municipal Collections has confirmed those workers that were on strike will return to work on Friday 18 March. The returning staff will now assist in the recovery of any general waste or garden waste that was not collected due to the service disruption caused by the strike.

Residents are being asked to put their blue lidded bins and black boxes out on their scheduled day from Monday 21 March. The local authority says that due to the recent disruption there may still be slight delays to the collection of recyclable materials due to higher volumes expected at the kerbside. If recycling containers aren’t emptied on the scheduled day, residents are urged to leave them out for collection soon after.

People will also be able to leave additional recycling that has mounted up during the disruption. A council spokesperson said this should be in non-black bags or containers such as plastic crates next to the recycling bins.

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Waste, said: 

“We are extremely pleased that this industrial action has now come to an end, and I’m sure residents across the county will echo that sentiment. Our focus now is to get all waste collection services back on track and I’m confident that will happen very quickly. However, there still may be some delays to collections, and any bin not emptied will be done so as soon as possible.“

Warminster Town Council says it has listened to residents after changing plans for the play park in The Beeches. At a meeting in January, the Park and Estates Committee voted to remove the fence around the park, which is in a poor condition. However, a consultation with residents in The Beeches indicated that the community was not in favour of removing fencing. Councillors were told that the area was blighted with heavy traffic at school times, leading to worries that cars would park on the grass area currently protected by the fence.

Councillor Paul Macdonald proposed that a hedge is planted to replace the fence, noting that this would also contribute to the town’s green agenda. Councillors voted in favour of his proposal.

The tennis courts in the Lake Pleasure Grounds are a step closer to refurbishment this week after a committee of Warminster Town Council voted to seek tenders for the work. The Parks and Estates Committee instructed council officers to liaise with the Lawn Tennis Association about securing funding. Work to the courts is planned after councillors noted that none has been completed for around a quarter of a century.

Once refurbished, it is envisaged that a hybrid system of an electronic booking method would work alongside a face-to-face access system at the Pavilion Cafe within the Lake Pleasure Grounds.

The Wessex MS Therapy Centre is searching for a new Chair of Trustees. The role will involving leading the charity that provides support to individuals within Warminster, nearby villages but also across the region.

Centre Manager Rosie Eliot told Warminster Community Radio that someone with management experience who has served on a Board of Trustees before should contact her at the centre to find out more about the position.

Warminster is getting ready for The Great British Spring Clean. The event is taking place on Saturday 26th March 2022.

Wiltshire Police are appealing to dog walkers to be aware of their responsibilities following an incident in the Bradley Road area. On 25th February, a dog and its owner were bitten by another dog that was out of control. Officers have now issued a reminder that dog walkers have a duty to keep their dogs under control whilst walking them. A spokesman for the force said: “Luckily there was no serious injury to either but the incident was a traumatic experience for both.”