A member of Wiltshire Council’s budget preparation team has said raising more funds and saving money are the only two options for the local authority. The council faces a budget gap of more than £27m. Councillor Pip Ridout told Warminster Community Radio that this would be addressed through reserve funds, the remaining parts of the Covid grant from central government and an increase in the council tax precept. Wiltshire Council announced this week that it was also considering raising additional funds through an increase in car parking charges and the cost of having a green bin emptied. Cllr Ridout stressed that when any budget faced a shortfall there are only two options, and these apply to local authorities too. She said that savings can be sought and more income raised. Wiltshire Council is set to debate both of these strategies at its budget meeting on Tuesday 15th February.

Councillor Pip Ridout has stressed her opposition to plans for new homes on land to the north of Grovelands Way. Speaking to Warminster Community Radio’s Community Chest programme, Councillor Ridout described the site as a swamp that forms part of the flood plain. Planning permission is already in place for part of the site to build a care home but local residents are angry at the new proposals for general housing.

Councillor Philip Keeble, who represents Warminster West on the Town Council, has urged local residents to raise their concerns with Wiltshire Council. Speaking to WCR’s Andrew Robinson, he said that the Wiltshire Council Planning Portal was the place to go to raise objections.

Wiltshire Police are appealing for information following a burglary on Monday at Longbridge Deverill Service Station. Officers believe a large quantity of cigarettes were stolen in the break in, which happened at around 12.30am. A spokesperson for the force said: “We are carrying out enquiries, including trying to establish if this is linked to other, similar, crimes in Wiltshire over recent months.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Wiltshire Police on 101. No arrests have yet been made.

The day Warminster residents have to put their bins out is likely to change from the end of February. Wiltshire Council has this morning announced efficiencies to its bin collection routes will mean most households in the county will get a new ‘bin day’.

The local authority says a letter will be sent to all households shortly with more details about the changes. It hopes that the changes will help reduce carbon emissions and give the public value for money.

Wiltshire Police are urgently seeking information regarding the whereabouts of a missing 47-year-old man. Patrick McCabe was last seen yesterday (26th January) at around 8pm in Market Lavington. He is 5ft 10in tall with a slim build, blue eyes and blond highlighted hair. He is believed to be on foot and officers say they are growing increasingly concerned for his welfare. Anyone who knows where Patrick might be is asked to contact Wiltshire Police by dialling 999.

South West Wiltshire’s MP has said there is no appetite from the British public to see UK troops in Ukraine. Dr Andrew Murrison expressed his concerns about the potential for British casualties should the UK get involved in addressing a potential Russian invasion.

Strong words from the West are being directed towards Vladimir Putin as his troops gather close to the Ukrainian border.

Dr Murrison said a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be “Afghan on steroids for Russia.” However he also noted that NATO is a defensive alliance of which Ukraine is not a member.

Warminster Town Council has strongly objected to a proposed development at Grovelands.

Cllr Phil Keeble, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Advisory Committee said: “In June 2018 Outline Planning Permission was granted by Wiltshire Council for a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). Although the site was outside of Warminster’s Settlement Boundary identified in the Neighbourhood Plan the development was considered to be an acceptable exception under Core Strategy Policy 46 “meeting the needs of Wiltshire’s vulnerable and older people”.

In a press release, the council went on to explain that only part of this proposal, a care home, will ever be built because Wiltshire Council now does not see a requirement for age restricted bungalows. The NHS will also not be funding a medical centre and pharmacy.

Councillor Keeble went on: “It is evident that the developer, Wainhomes, is only interested in open market housing. They should not be proceeding with the roads and other infrastructure designed for a quiet retirement community. This is obvious to the developer as the plans submitted anticipate the need for future revisions to accommodate their housing applications. If infrastructure works commence, future possibilities for the use of the site may be unduly compromised.”

Cllr Keeble also led the opposition to the planning application for a 62 bed care home on the same site. “Under the original proposals, the care home would have been located in the heart of a retirement community. Should the current Wainhomes proposals for 131 houses be permitted, the Care Home will be surrounded on all sides by a busy family housing estate.”

“A stand-alone Care Home on this site cannot be justified as an exception to normal planning guidance, as it can no longer form part of a comprehensive Continuing Care Retirement Community.”

“I have no confidence that the flood mitigation measures identified for this site are fit for purpose. They will inevitably increase the run-off of surface water both in terms of quantity and speed. The elevation of the land to raise it above the floodplain flies in the face of Environment Agency advice that this is a totally unacceptable practice that should not be permitted.”

“The Wiltshire Council Ecology report objects to this proposal stating further information is required as the submitted. The Ecological Impact Assessment and Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment submitted with the application are all dated April or May 2017 – with surveys undertaken 2012 to 2016 and as they are only valid for a maximum of 2 years need to be updated”.

“Wiltshire Council’s estimated there would be a need for 67 additional Extra Care units of accommodation in Warminster by 2026. This requirement has been more than adequately met by the opening of the Order of St. John, Ashwood Care Centre that provides 82 beds for specialist dementia care.”

Town Councillors voted to send objections to both planning applications to Wiltshire Council. who are the body that will either grant or refuse the planning applications.

A judge has issued a suspended sentence to a 36-year-old Warminster man who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers, theft and criminal damage. In June 2020, Damien John Chorley spat at police officers in Melksham whilst claiming to have Covid-19. He later caused damage to police vehicles. In August 2020 he assaulted another police officer in Basingstoke and in June 2021 he assaulted two men at a pub in Salisbury. Chorley, of Swaledale Road, also admitted to theft of a hat from The Original Factory Shop in Warminster. Magistrates at Salisbury Law Courts described his actions as “absolutely disgusting behaviour” and handed him an 18-week jail sentence that has been suspended for 18 months.

Warminster firefighters were called to a motorbike fire at 7.49 this morning. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the incident was its first of the morning across the two counties. The Warminster team extinguished the blaze using buckets of water.

Horsewatch volunteers are helping Wiltshire Police to fight crime while out and about riding in the BA12 postcode district. Sergeant Kevin Harmsworth of Wiltshire Police told a meeting of Warminster Town Council that the scheme now had eight volunteers. The initiative sees horse owners and riders looking out for potential heritage and wildlife crime in the rural areas around Warminster and the surrounding villages.