A Wiltshire Council officer has said Ash Dieback is “spreading more widely and more quickly than we first thought.” Speaking at this evening’s meeting of Warminster Area Board, the officer said the majority of ash trees in Wiltshire will be dead within a decade. The local authority has already removed 1,600 trees in the last twelve months and is focusing on those adjacent to public highways. The officer added that his small team would then move to looking at public open spaces and rights of way but warned surveying these areas is a huge task. Landowners are responsible for removing any diseased trees from their land and therefore Wiltshire Council takes responsibility for any on its properties. However it is those along the highway network that present the greatest challenge for the council, which is expected to give more money to dealing with the problem in the new budget.

Eight organisations have an anxious wait today to find out whether they have secured grant funding from Warminster Area Board. The board meets at 7pm this evening and will consider the following projects:

• Sutton Veny Church Community Spaces Facilities
• Longbridge Deverill Parish Speed Indicator Device
• Corsley Parish Speed Indicator Device
• Athenaeum Trust Ventilation
• Heytesbury and Sutton Veny All Weather Cricket Facilities
• Felling of Diseased Trees at Warminster Town Football Club
• Warminster Action Group
• Army Welfare Service Community Film Club

Warminster’s police sergeant has said his team is investigating a fire in which three supermarket trolleys were set alight. Officers were called to Warminster Skatepark on Monday after the incident which is believed to have taken place on Saturday evening. Sergeant Kevin Harmsworth said: “I have been liaising with Warminster Town Council about this matter and I know this is something which will cause great frustration to the local community, particularly because the skatepark has now had to be temporarily closed.”

Police officers are using CCTV images from Saturday evening in an attempt to identify suspects. Sergeant Harmsworth has urged anyone with information about the trolley fire and connected damage to a footpath to contact his team on 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Rate-paying businesses that have not yet received any rate relief during the Covid-19 pandemic may be able to claim a rate reduction this financial year, under a new Wiltshire Council scheme.

The COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund targets rate-paying businesses that have been adversely affected by the pandemic and have been unable to adapt to that impact. Wiltshire Council says it has been awarded £8.4 million to provide this additional support.

The Leader of Wiltshire Council, Richard Clewer, said: “We want to support in any way we can, and that’s why our officers are working hard to ensure this much-needed rate relief is delivered to the right local businesses. Any rate-paying business that has not yet received rate relief during the pandemic should check our website to see if they’re eligible, and if they are, they should complete an application form right away, so we can get this financial assistance to the Wiltshire businesses that need it.“

The local authority added that it had already paid more than £177 million in business grants during the pandemic. Any business wishing to apply can go to the Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund section of the Wiltshire Council website.

Councillor Andrew Davis presented upgraded radios to some of the Shop Watch members, Rachel from G & B Griffin Jewellers, Matt from Sports Direct and Taslima from Peacocks and Sue from S.L Corden & Sons.

Shop Watch is a group of local shops co-ordinated by Warminster Town Council CCTV who aim to prevent and tackle shoplifting within the town. Shop Watch has had many successes working closely with the police which has resulted in several arrests in the last month, with much preventative work stopping crimes taking place.

Jon Cap has been appointed Clerk to Heytesbury, Imber and Knook Parish Council. His appointment follows the announcement that Heather Parks has moved from Heytesbury to serve as Parish Clerk to Sutton Veny.

In addition to Mr Cap’s appointment, Karen Riggs has been elected a parish councillor in Heytesbury. In an election on 20th January, Karen secured 165 votes compared to 60 votes for Ann Perry. Meanwhile another vacancy has arisen following the resignation of former St George’s Primary School Headteacher Louise Croker. Should ten electors call an election, Wiltshire Council says it will take place no later than 1st April 2022.

Many Warminster residents are eagerly awaiting news of how the town will mark HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. With this coming Sunday marking 70 years to the day since Queen Elizabeth II’s reign began, eyes are turning to Warminster Town Council to find out if it is intending to co-ordinate an event over the extended Jubilee weekend at the start of June. An event in Sutton Veny has already been scheduled for Saturday 4th June and one for Heytesbury will take place on Sunday 5th June.

South West Wiltshire’s MP has remained silent today following the release of Sue Gray’s report into events at Downing Street during lockdowns. The so-called ‘Gray Report’ states that a number of events at 10 Downing Street “should not have been allowed to take place.” A number of the events happened while Dr Andrew Murrison was called-up as a naval reserve to serve the country in the vaccination drive.

Previous statements from the Member of Parliament suggested he was awaiting the report from Mrs Gray before wanting to comment further.

Warminster Carnival Committee has announced that the 2022 Carnival will take place on Saturday 29th October. Committee Chair Sandra Major published the date as part of the Wessex Grand Prix calendar. Traditionally, the town’s carnival has taken place on the last Saturday in October and marks the final event of the Wessex circuit. The full Wessex list is:

• 17th September – Mere
• 24th September – Frome
• 1st October – Shaftesbury
• 8th October – Gillingham
• 14th October – Wincanton
• 15th October – Castle Cary
• 21st October – Salisbury
• 22nd October – Trowbridge
• 29th October – Warminster

Warminster firefighters were called to a fire involving tissue at a location in Station Road. The crew was called at around 5.30pm this evening. On arrival, they discovered three separate seats of fire had been set. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said its crew believe the blaze was an incident of malicious ignition and had therefore handed the incident over to their colleagues at Wiltshire Police.