Trevor Carbin Liberal Democrat

Wiltshire Council thought there was going to be a shortage of pre-school places in Corsham, so on behalf of a provider they spent £46,000 to convert a room in Springfield Leisure Centre. But in fact there is plenty of capacity locally so it wasn't needed, and may have to be de-commissioned, which would cost a further £14,000.

Wiltshire Council will be working on the signals on the A365/B3109 Box Fiveways junction, from 13 June to 1 July.

The work will see the signals upgraded with the latest technology, which will allow for remote monitoring and adjustments to the signal timings to manage traffic flows. At the same time, the streetlights in the area will be upgraded to LEDs, the junction will be resurfaced, and new road markings and studs will be installed on the 5 roads that adjoin the junction.

The labour shortage is hitting WC leisure centres as people leave to work elsewhere. So the council is doing a recruitment campaign. If you relish the challenge of doing a demanding job for low wages then this could be for you. You'd even get discounts at the leisure centres!

Wiltshire Council is looking for people to work in leisure centres, including the new Melksham Community Campus.

The site in Salisbury will resume operation on Monday 23 May.

For the last two years the Beehive has played an important part in the Covid-19 response and has been used as a drive-through testing facility. It is one of five Park and Ride sites in Salisbury:

• Beehive A345 Castle Road (north)
• Britford A338 Downton Road (south)
• London Road A30 London Road (north east)
• Petersfinger A36 Southampton Road (south east)
• Wilton off A36 The Avenue (west)

Wiltshire Council is writing to all households eligible for the £150 Government energy rebate that don't pay their council tax by direct debit, explaining what they need to do to claim the one-off payment.

All households in England whose primary residence is in council tax bands A to D are entitled to the payment.

Statement from the GMB Union:

"GMB members at Wiltshire Council took strike action on 7th May, and a further strike is planned for 17th May.

The strike involves traffic wardens, who are opposing a 10% pay cut caused by the proposed removal of a contractual unsocial hours payment.

In all, 350 staff are affected by the proposed pay cut. Social workers would lose 20%, and other staff 10%.

The Liberal Democrats are proposing a rescue package for rural communities in the Queen's Speech that have been "forgotten about" by the Government.

The Liberal Democrats have demanded that the Queen's Speech address some of the glaring issues being faced by people living in the countryside, such as long ambulance waiting times and the pumping of raw sewage into rivers and waterways.

Planning applications in the River Test catchment in Wiltshire are required by law to be nitrogen neutral. Some planning applications have been held up for over 18 months because there was no viable way of achieving that.

Neutrality can be obtained by offsetting. Developers pay money to compensate for the pollution their buildings generate. The council takes the money and uses it to reduce nitrogen production elsewhere.

Or in legalese: "To remove from the Orders the exemption from charging for disabled badge holders, invalid carriages, vehicles in lieu of invalid carriages and drivers with a severe disability issued with a note from Wiltshire Council."

This is part of a series of measures to increase parking charges in the county, some of which require traffic orders. These are now out to consultation. Should you wish to comment then go to the WC website here.

The Liberal Democrats have criticised the Government for presiding over an ambulance waiting time crisis "spiralling out of control", as new figures show that people across the country are facing increasingly dangerous delays.

A Parliamentary Question tabled by the party's health spokesperson Daisy Cooper has revealed that people in need of emergency medical attention, are waiting almost twenty minutes longer on average than they would have two years ago.