Trevor Carbin Liberal Democrat

...actually applies to homes of any colour. Homeowners and landlords can now get funding to pay for energy saving measures and businesses are being encouraged to register their services.

The scheme means homeowners can obtain up to two-thirds of the cost of energy saving measures - up to £5000. Lower-income households could be entitled to claim as much as £10,000 to cover the cost.

Wiltshire Council has received £47,000 from the government to help rough sleepers.

It's part of £91.5m allocated to 274 local authorities to help support vulnerable people housed during the pandemic.

The funding will be spent on a range of measures that will provide support and accommodation, and ultimately reduce rough sleeping in the county.

The Conservative Government published a White Paper, 'Planning for the Future' on 6 August, which set out proposals on reforms to the planning process.

The proposals will reduce or remove the right of residents to object to applications near them, grant automatic rights for developers to build on land identified as 'for growth', and remove section 106 payments for infrastructure, with financial contributions going to the government instead.

From today, (Monday 14 September), small and medium sized businesses can apply for grants of between £1,000 and £3,000 to help them recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The grant can be used to pay for:

• specialist professional advice such as human resources, accountants, legal, financial, IT and digital etc
• purchase of minor equipment to adapt or adopt new technology so they can continue to deliver their business activity or diversify

WC is installing cycle lanes on Salisbury's Exeter Street and Brown Street later this month, to link Harnham and Salisbury District Hospital to the city centre and give cyclists easy access to the city.

The scheme will see one southbound lane on Brown Street turned into a cycleway and the removal of on-street parking on Exeter Street.

Wiltshire residents can apply for primary and secondary school places for September 2021 entry, for children starting school for the first time or for children who are moving from a primary to secondary or from an infant to junior school.

Applications can be submitted at www.wiltshire.gov.uk until the deadline dates of 31 October 2020 for secondary schools and 15 January 2021 for primary schools and infant to junior transfer.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the annual increase in rail fares next January to be cancelled, a move which would save commuters in Wiltshire between £33 and £165 next year, according to the party's analysis.

The proposed 1.6% rise in fares is based on the rise in the Retail Price Index for the 12 months to July 2020.

Wiltshire Council and Bradford on Avon Town Council have agreed to make changes to the town's social distancing scheme.

The traffic lights on the Town Bridge, which were implemented to allow people to social distance while walking across the bridge, will be removed to allow drivers to travel across the bridge in both directions. Pedestrians can follow the directional signage to cross the Town Bridge safely, or use the McKeever Bridge.

WC statement below. My italics, which explain the headline.

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Wiltshire Council's latest financial report shows that the forecast overspend now sits at around £5.9m - down considerably from previous estimates.

This is a significant improvement on the forecasts previously reported. At the council's Cabinet meeting in May an overspend range of between £18m to £51m was estimated, this was consolidated to £50m in June and then reduced to £36m in the first overall budget monitor reported to Cabinet in July.

Wiltshire Council will tomorrow (Tuesday) launch its new website.

All information from the old website has been moved across to a new platform with improved security, accessibility and reliability making it easier for our residents to find the information they need. Whilst the site will look different, the content remains the same.