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From Ernie Clark.
Hi everyone,
Firstly, a couple of parish council items.
The first is that the PC has a vacancy it wishes to fill. It does not take a huge time commitment, and the PC normally meets once a month on the third Tuesday evening at the village hall. ‘Arrival’ time is 19.30 and it is usually all done and dusted by 21.00 or 21.30 if it is a ‘long’ meeting. More details can be obtained from the clerk at clerk@hilperton-pc.gov.uk
The second is to say that the allotment waiting list has been reduced to almost zero. If you fancy an allotment, please contact cllrr.house@hilperton-pc.gov.uk who can give you more details, cost, etc. First come, first served; but preference is given to those resident in the parish.
At a recent meeting with a few Wiltshire Council planning officers, they advised that WC had received an application from ‘a developer’ (I hadn’t better mention which one) for a ‘scoping exercise’. For information, a scoping application is a formal request to a Local Planning Authority asking what environmental issues must be assessed as part of an environmental impact assessment. In short, a scoping application is a procedural step that defines the environmental battlefield before the real planning fight begins.
So, it would seem that a development of, I would presume, 1,300 (?) houses plus a school, local centre etc. is on the drawing boards of ********* who would therefore love to forge ahead with their self-serving application before Wiltshire Council can format its new Local Plan to ensure that any major development is part of a ‘master plan’, rather than an haphazard plethora of individual applications.
Still, I’m sure that the developer(s) and landowner(s) will say that they only want the best for Hilperton – or is their tune now ‘the best for Trowbridge’? I get confused as they seem to vary their ‘reasons’ from year to year. There are many that would probably have a more appropriate phrase for their wording…..
The annual meetings of both Wiltshire, and the parish, councils take place next month. As Wiltshire Council is so finely balanced, from a political point of view, I expect that a secret ballot will be called to find out who the chairman/lady chairman will be for the next twelve months.
Before they take place, there will, of course, be the local elections – but not in Wiltshire! Your current councillors were only elected last year and so should stay ‘in post’ until 2029!! It will be interesting to see what happens, and how the new councillors will fare.
Ernie.