Trevor Carbin Liberal Democrat

An application to tack another 240 houses on a greenfield site on the edge of Melksham has been submitted to Wiltshire Council. The area is outside that prevously allocated for housing, but the council's inability to provide a five year land supply for housing effectively gives developers the right to build on such sites.

Wiltshire Council will be broadcasting online at 5pm on Tuesday 3 November, to provide the latest update on the disease in Wiltshire and to answer residents' questions.

WC Leader, Cllr Philip Whitehead will be joined by Chief Executive Terence Herbert, and Director of Public Health Kate Blackburn.

The broadcast will be an opportunity to hear about the latest number of cases in Wiltshire, and the arrangements to mitigate the spread of the virus. There will also be details on how schools, care homes and council services are responding to the situation and planning for the coming weeks.

Following pressure from the Lib Dems Wiltshire Council has agreed to fund food over the half term.

To help keep them honest and to make sure this applies to Christmas as well, please sign the petition

at: https://wiltshirelibdems.org.uk/en/petition/demand-wiltshire-council-provide-free-school-meals

.

This comes as the national government shows signs of weakening in the face of public pressure, with arguments by Conservative MPs against the feeding of children failing to convince.

Wiltshire Council's Springfield Community Campus is taking precautionary measures after two members of Leisure Services staff tested positive.

All preventative measures have been followed, and the campus has asked 13 members of staff identified as close contacts to self-isolate for 14 days.

The site remains open. From tomorrow, Monday 26 October, the gym and class programme will be run as normal. However, due to limited lifeguard availability, the pool will be closed temporarily.

The government is spending billions on creating a 'Major Road Network' (MRN) across England to complement the motorway and trunk road grid, and Wiltshire Council wants to be in on the road-building action.

Although perilously short of money, WC is spending £660,000 on a feasibility study. The government will pay the rest of the £2m cost.

Latest government measures and key messages

Hands, Face, Space

The 'Hands, Face, Space' campaign urges you to continue to wash your hands, cover your face and make space to control infection rates and avoid a second peak.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an easy virus to kill when it is on skin. It is essential that everyone washes their hands more often, using soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

Wiltshire Council has announced the final plans for its People Friendly Salisbury project, which will see pedestrians and cyclists given priority as several streets in the city centre will be opened.

The scheme will be fully monitored throughout its 18 months, with 47 sensors providing anonymous data on vehicle and pedestrian movements within the Low Traffic Zone (LTZ), on the A36 and at other key points in the city. The sensors are already in place to help establish some baseline levels of traffic flows and other movements, while the main scheme will begin to be installed on 20 October, and be operational from 21 October.

...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.