Trevor Carbin Liberal Democrat

The supermarket has put in a 'prior approval' notice to Wiltshire Council for installation of solar panels on the roof of the County Way store. This type of application doesn't have to go through the full planning process as the assumption is it'll be permitted - the council just has to check it's within the legal requirements.

The application from the town council is for a new sports facility to include a fenced and floodlit 3G Artificial Grass Pitch and a pavilion, with new community coaching and education rooms and a training room/gym for use by football and rugby club users. A new access road and additional parking is also proposed.

The true scale of almost a decade of savage austerity cuts to local communities across Britain have been revealed in a study by UNISON, which shows the impact of huge reductions in council funding.

A series of freedom of information (FoI) requests across England, Scotland and Wales examined the changes in local services between 2010 and 2019 for several key council services, including youth centres, public toilets, libraries and subsidised bus routes.

That's about £40 - £50 for most properties. Councils are normally capped at 2%, but those with social care responsibilities - counties and unitaries - will be allowed an extra 2%.

The likely increase is revealed in a report for December's WC 'cabinet' meeting. (Agenda - see item 7)

Council tax is effectively set by central government these days, with very little scope for local authorities to do other than as specified by Westminster.

Wiltshire Police are urging people to be vigilant after a Wiltshire couple were defrauded by scammers posing as police officers.

The couple were contacted over the phone by a man who claimed to be a police officer investigating fraud.

He told them someone had attempted to use their bank card fraudulently and told them to dial 999 to speak to their local force.

But he kept the line open, meaning the victims were still speaking to the fraudsters.

The victims then followed the instructions of the criminals, still believing they were police officers, and withdrew a large amount of cash, which was collected by someone pretending to be a courier.

Det Con Emma Wood, from Swindon CID, said this case showed how convincing and persuasive these types of fraudsters can be.
She said: "The victims in this case genuinely believed they were speaking to police officers and that they needed to cooperate with their requests or they could lose more money to fraudsters or even be arrested for perverting the course of justice.

"This is why it is so important that we remind people of the simple steps they can take to avoid being scammed in this way.

"Please remember, a police officer would never ask you to withdraw money and give it to them.

"They would also be able to meet you face-to-face and show you ID, and would be happy for you to verify their credentials by calling 101.

"If you receive a suspicious phone call then please hang up the phone and report it. Don't feel worried about appearing rude, it is better to be safe than sorry."

She added: "We would also like to urge people to speak to their friends and family members about these types of cases, particularly those who are elderly or vulnerable - we want to protect as many people as possible."

The North has a Powerhouse, the Midlands has an Engine, and now our bit is to become a Gateway. The Western Gateway will stretch from Gloucestershire to The Gower and from Swansea to Salisbury, taking in Cardiff, Newport, Bristol and Bath.

Wiltshire Council Conservatives have agreed to shell out £20,000 to fund a commissariat to get the scheme going. The government is putting in £400,000. Much more money will be needed in future years, though WC will review the situation next year to see if the Gateway is worth bothering with.

Wiltshire Council is to sign up to a national database which allows checks to be made on applicants for taxi licenses. At the moment it's possible for someone who has had their license revoked or suspended in one part of the country to move to another local authority area and start again. By joining the register, which is held by the Local Government Association, checks can be made on applicants. Having a record of misdemeanor elsewhere wouldn't necessarily prevent someone from being given a license in Wiltshire, but it would weigh heavily against them.

In the election for Wiltshire Council Jo Trigg, Lib Dem, got 622 votes whilst the Tory got 455. This is a Lib Dem gain from Con so good news for Trowbridge and Wiltshire!

Wiltshire Council has been allocated £75 million from the Government's Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) to support the growth of Chippenham.

This will pay for a new road to the east and south of Chippenham, linking the A350 at the northern and southern ends of the town, as well as improvement works at J17 on the M4.

Wiltshire Council's Conservative administration has slapped charges back onto the park and ride service in Salisbury. This is because they think the support for the city following Novichok is no longer needed.

So it's back to the usual price of £3 return per person at the five park and ride sites - Beehive, Britford, London Road, Petersfinger and Wilton.