Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Wiltshire Council news from Ernie Clark.

Your Independent councillor for Hilperton.

First and foremost, congratulations to the residents of Hilperton for winning the Best Kept Large Wiltshire Village award from the CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England).

Hilperton has won the west Wiltshire round several times now but has never managed better than second place, until now, in the county round. It really is a tribute to those that take a pride in where they live and keep it looking tidy. The judges commented on the lack of litter and the tidy gardens; something that can only be achieved by a sense of pride in looking after where we live.

A rather unattractive ‘plaque’ will be erected adjacent to the car park at the village hall. Please do pop along to have a look at it. You can’t miss it as it sits on top of a six foot pole. The good news is that it will only be on display for eleven months before the 2013 winners have to come and collect it!!

The official consultation period on the Trowbridge Campus has now closed but late comments will be accepted until the 18th October.

The 18th is also the date for a special Trowbridge Area Board event at the Civic Centre, Trowbridge. It will be aimed at the ‘senior citizens’ of the Trowbridge Area and will be held during the day (10.00am to midday).

Trowbridge library has reopened and is bigger than the combined areas of the two libraries it replaces, with more stock and longer opening hours. More than 40,000 books are available from 8:30am to at least 5:30pm every weekday. The state-of-the-art library has free WiFi, as well as public computers. The children's area features a book train and a hideaway seat and an improved teen area. There is window seating for those who wish to browse the newspapers, a large local studies space as well as an express zone for people in a hurry. The library is based in the County Hall offices on Bythesea Road and 42 parking spaces at the front of County Hall are allocated for visitor parking including library customers.

If you use West Ashton Road, don’t forget that it will be closed to through traffic from the 1st October for (probably) four weeks.