Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Your Independent councillor for Hilperton.

Wiltshire Council news.

Individual Electoral Registration (IER) started in England on the 10th June. The move to IER means that everyone will now register to vote individually and have their identity checked before they are added to the register. Most people will move across to the new register without having to do anything due to data matching. At the same time as IER starts, online registration will also be introduced.

The sorry saga of grass cutting in west Wiltshire is being looked at by a ‘scrutiny task group’ at Wiltshire Council. I hope that a positive solution can be found rather than simply condemning the present ‘service’ which we all know is totally useless.

Over the next twelve months, Hilperton is scheduled for two major sets of road work. The first is for 100 metres of the A361 Hilperton Road/Hilperton Drive - resurfacing and skid resistance improvement. The second is the B3105 from the Lion & Fiddle to the junction with Horse Road - resurfacing and footways.

Wiltshire residents aged between 40 and 74 will be invited to make an appointment for a free NHS Health Check from their GP practice. The checks, paid for by Wiltshire Council, will assess a person’s risk of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease and dementia over the next 10 years, by looking at age, sex, family history, height, weight, cholesterol and blood pressure. Invites will go out every five years, on their 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70 or 74 birthday. Following the NHS Health Check people are taken through the results and told what they mean. If required, they are given advice and support on how to lower their risk and maintain a healthy lifestyle. These could include stopping smoking, losing weight, increasing exercise, or prescribed medication. The checks also play an important part in detecting undiagnosed disease earlier.