To celebrate HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Warminster Town Council is inviting residents to plant a tree as part of the Queen’s Canopy initiative. The scheme will give everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporations an opportunity to play their part in enhancing the environment. A community day of planting will take place tomorrow (Friday 14th January 2022). 350 trees will be planted, split between Ashley Coombe and the Lake Pleasure Grounds. Planting at Ashley Coombe will take place between 10:30am and 12:00pm with planting at the Lake Pleasure Ground taking place between 1:30pm and 3.00pm. The trees are all whips of about 40-50cm tall which are ideal for children to plant. Everyone attending is asked to take a spade!

Wiltshire’s Air Ambulance attended 39 emergencies in Warminster during 2021. In total, the helicopter operated on 653 missions last year. Critical care paramedics from its team attended a further 451 in their Rapid Response cars. As well as caring for patients across the county, the air ambulance supported colleagues across borders too. The helicopter was called to Bath, Berkshire, Bristol, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wales in addition to the 1,104 missions in Wiltshire.

Warminster Town Council could move the town a step closer to a CCTV system upgrade on Monday evening. Councillors are being asked to agree a preferred location for the CCTV control room and instruct consultants to draw up a tender document for the upgrade. The matter is item 14 on the council’s agenda for its first full meeting of this calendar year. A budget of £3,600 has been recommended to councillors for consulting on the tender process.

Warminster Town Council will vote on a recommendation next Monday to increase the town’s council tax precept for the next financial year. Should the recommended budget be approved, an average Band D household in the town will pay an additional 2.73%. This amounts to 11p per week. The total precept recommended is £1,319,292. The full documents for the meeting, which takes place at 7.00pm on Monday, are available on Warminster Town Council’s website.

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South West Wiltshire’s MP has said he is waiting to see the outcome of a report into parties at Downing Street before commenting further. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, apologised in parliament today for the way he handled an event in the Downing Street garden during a lockdown. Following the PM’s statement, Dr Andrew Murrison said he respects senior civil servant Sue Gray as someone with great integrity. Dr Murrison added: “I’m quite confident she will investigate the full facts and report, and until that time I am not going to comment further. But I do appreciate all the correspondence I have had on it.”

The Leader of Wiltshire Council has said he is pleased with the county’s financial settlement from central government. Richard Clewer said the settlement was better than he anticipated it would be but still not as much as he would like. In an online update following Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Councillor Clewer said: “It means that, as we look to the future, we’re on a relatively good footing coming into the next three years.”

Wiltshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner is proposing a 4.3% increase in the policing aspect of the council tax payment. It would mean that, next year, an average Band D property in the county would pay £10.00 extra over the year, equating to 83p extra each month. Now the PCC wants to hear residents’ views via an online survey on his website or by emailing PCC-Consultation@wiltshire.police.uk.

PCC Philip Wilkinson said: “This year has been another incredibly tough one with the economic impact from the pandemic still being felt across our communities and I am conscious that any increase will be felt keenly. The decision to ask for your support for a £10 per year increase has been a difficult one – and one that I would not make if there was an alternative.”

https://www.wiltshire-pcc.gov.uk/my-office/opcc-news/2022/january-2022/pcc-wants-your-views-on-plans-to-increase-policing–precept-by-10/

Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance has stepped down from her role ahead of the budget setting process. Pauline Church took the decision to step down due to business commitments. The Leader of the Council, Richard Clewer, will now take on the position on a temporary basis to steer the budget through the council chamber. Councillor Clewer thanked Councillor Church for her four years on the cabinet.

Ashley O’Neill has been given many of the other roles previously held by Pauline Church. He’ll take on Governance, IT, Broadband and Digital. Councillor O’Neill’s Public Health and Public Protection portfolio passes to Ian Blair-Pilling, who will combine the new responsibilities with his existing focus on leisure within the county. Councillor Nic Puntis, who was first elected in May last year, was been appointed Portfolio Holder for Flooding.

A yellow weather warning for fog came into force at 10pm this evening (Tuesday 11th January) and will remain in place until 12 noon tomorrow (Wednesday 12th January). The Met Office is warning that Wiltshire will be covered in dense fog patches likely to cause some travel disruption overnight and during the morning. Forecasters warn commuters to expect slower journey times and delays to bus and train services.

86 drivers were arrested as part of the Wiltshire Police’s annual winter drink and drug drive campaign. It ran throughout December and combined enforcement and education to raise awareness of the risks and consequences of drink and drug driving. In total 45 drivers were arrested on suspicion of drink driving and 31 drivers arrested on suspicion of drug driving offences. Four drivers were arrested for failing to provide a sample having been suspected of drink or drug driving, and six drivers were subject to drink and or drug drive procedures in hospital following collisions. Of those arrested 15 of these incidents took place on New Year’s Eve.
Wiltshire Police urged residents to continue reporting drink or drug driving. A force statement said: “Please give as much information as possible, including the driver’s details or description, their car registration and a time or day that they always do it. If you believe that a crime is being committed and somebody is already behind the wheel then please call 999.”