Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

WC is is 'wind-down' mode for the election.
The first was to the Hills Waste site at Compton Bassett. It was amazing to witness the scale of the landfill site and to learn that the methane gas given off is used to produce enough electricity to power a town the size of Calne. Equally amazing was the mountains of paper, cardboard, plastic etc. that was being processed ready for recycling. If you have ever wondered whether our efforts to recycle newspapers, bottles, tins etc. is actually worth it, I can assure you that it is.

Equally breath-taking (but not literally) was walking along the huge mounds of garden waste as they age and decompose. The 'fresh' green waste was easily recognisable for what it was. Incredibly, similar material, but a month or so older, was really fine-quality compost ready to go back onto your garden and veg patch.

My second visit was to spend a Friday night - Saturday morning shift with Trowbridge Police. By chance, the Chief Constable of Wiltshire was sampling life on the front-line and I managed to have a chat with him about speeding and the Community Speedwatch scheme. The good news is that it would seem that Hilperton is eligible so long as we can find sufficient volunteers to be trained in the correct use of the equipment. If I am re-elected to Wiltshire Council, this is certainly something that I will be driving (please excuse the pun) forward for Hilperton.

Seeing what our police have to put up with filled me with admiration, whilst seeing an armed response unit arrive at one incident (complete with holstered pistols strapped to their legs) was a real eye opener to the dangers that our police face in keeping us safe. My night finished (safely inside a police car) watching the police break-up yet another fight outside a Trowbridge pub. I can’t help but wonder exactly what the government thinks it has achieved in allowing pubs to open 24 hours a day. The fights are still there, but a few hours later!

Promoted by Ernie Clark of 3 Stonelea, Hilperton, BA14 7QQ.