Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

As this is the vanguard of the WC let's hope it doesn't crash ...
Web teams from around the county have been working hard on the unitary authority's new site which amalgamates all the information from the four district councils - North Wiltshire, Kennet, Salisbury and West Wiltshire - and the county council.

From 1 April, people will be able to access the services they need via a single website, whether they want to track a planning application, check the dates for their rubbish collection or pay their council tax.

Jane (I've got a quote for that) Scott, who is chairman of the Implementation Executive responsible for the transition to the new council, said: "Everyone will have 24 hour access to the new council through this site. It's very user friendly and easy to navigate. You can pay bills on-line, make enquiries and give us your feedback. It will make communication quicker and even simpler."

Users will be able to customise pages to display the information they want. By tapping in their postcode, they will be able to hone their search and see the information that is most relevant to their area. In a few clicks they will be able to check on anything they need to know - from school holidays to car parking charges, from library searches to local road repairs.

Anyone can see a preview of the new web site by clicking this link. It is still being developed and will become active when the new Wiltshire Council comes into being next week. From 1 April, the address will be www.wiltshire.gov.uk Until then, the existing county council and district websites remain the official source of information.

The new site will host links to the existing district web sites for archive purposes, so that old committee papers or financial information can still be accessed.