Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Wiltshire Council news from Ernie Clark.

Your Independent councillor for Hilperton.

Further to my mention of the timetable for the Gap road last month, I had an exchange with a planning officer at a committee meeting recently.

My question: - Assuming that the 'backstop' date (i.e. 22nd August 2016) will be the completion date for the road, by which date will Wiltshire Council expect work to start? i.e. How long will the council give Persimmon to finish building the road and opening it to the public?

The answer:-They (Persimmon) have to have it completed by the backstop date. We will take a view next April (2014) when we receive the updated list of house completions and see how far off we are from the target number and then start prodding them as to when they intend to start.

I have been requested by a group of residents in the Greenhill Gardens area to have a pair of ‘elderly people crossing’ signs erected on Hill Street. The request is with WC and the signs will be in place as soon as possible. The same group also asked for two traffic counts to be carried out. I have sent their Chairman/Secretary a link to the WC web site so that she can ensure that exactly the right details are entered. I’m sure that the on-line request will be completed soon.

The village hall committee has funds available for improvements courtesy of the developers of the Blue Hills housing site off Devizes Road. Plans are in hand for over £20,000 worth of work to be started as soon as the required quotes/paperwork has been sent to WC. The ‘easy’ phase was getting Wi-Fi installed and that should have been done by the time you read this article.

So-called 'Pay Day' loans are normally used as a last resort by those desperate for cash. Their interest rates are sky-high and their terms for missing a payment punitative. If you know of anyone thinking of using one of these companies please ask them to consider trying one of the local credit unions instead.