Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Your Independent councillor for Hilperton.

The Neighbourhood Plan continues to move forward and responses to the questionnaire have been collated.

Many thanks to everyone in the parish who responded. A ‘Housing Needs Survey’ will be conducted by Wiltshire Council in the autumn and, again, it will be important that residents respond to it.

The Community Governance Review was ‘debated’ by Wiltshire Council in early July. Despite the very good response from Hilperton residents on Paxcroft Mead (to remain in Hilperton) full council thought that it knew better and voted to move over two hundred houses into Trowbridge.

In what I consider to be a disgraceful display, the Lib Dems seemed to be voting to a whip with nearly all of them voting the same way on every issue – usually to the benefit of Trowbridge Town Council (TTC). (See my letter in The Wiltshire Times this week.) The nearest two Lib Dem councillors to Hilperton are Steve Oldrieve and Trevor Carbin. I am sure that they would be happy to explain their stance to you if you contact them at steve.oldrieve@wiltshire.gov.uk and/or trevor.carbin@wiltshire.gov.uk

The better news is that TTC did not get their wish to have the land to the west of the HRR transferred to them.  Surprisingly, the Chairman of the Hilperton Gap Action Group (Cllr. Steve Oldrieve) voted that the area should go to TTC.

The final ‘disputed’ area was along Wyke Road and the decision was made that the boundary between Hilperton PC and TTC should remain unchanged.