CHISELDON PARISH COUNCIL REPORT
Points of interest from September 2024
The Old Chapel, Butts Road, Chiseldon SN4 0NW
Facebook page – Chiseldon Parish Council Notices
email: clerk@chiseldon-pc.gov.uk; telephone: 01793 740744
Co-option of 2 new Councillors.
We are very pleased to announce that Matthew Hinton and Anthony Howlett joined us on Mon 9th September after being co-opted at our Full Council meeting.
They both bring a variety of skills and experience to the council and we welcome them both on onboard.
We will be looking at what committees they can join over the next couple of weeks.
Co-option. We now need 2 Cllrs to bring us to a full complement of Cllrs.
Please contact the Clerk for more details or come along to one of our meetings to see what being a Cllr involves.
UPDATE – Public consultation for 42 proposed homes by Hannick Homes on a site on Hodson Road.
Update – at the 9th September Full Council meeting there was a discussion about the planning application submitted by Hannick Homes – S/OUT/24/0982.
The council did not vote at this meeting, and held a longer than usual public recess to allow views from the public, and allowed a representative from Hannick Homes and Parish Cllrs and Ward Cllrs to speak.
The minutes of the meeting will be published shortly on our website. The Planning meeting on Thurs 26th September is when the council will vote on their response to send to SBC. The location of the meeting is to be confirmed. Please see our website for details. Please remember that the Parish Council are a consultee only on planning applications. Interested parties should send their responses direct to SBC via email or the online portal.
At the 12th August Full Council meeting the council voted by majority to support in principle the information supplied so far by Hannick Homes as part of their public consultation. The Parish Council were allowed to submit their comments late due to our inquorate meetings. This is not a planning application, only the councils response to the public consultation. The council would strongly urge Swindon Borough Council to require a roundabout (as opposed to a mini roundabout) at the entrance to the site, to ensure safety for those entering and exiting the site, and traffic along Hodson Road, should future planning permission be granted.
When a planning application is received the Parish Council will discuss and vote at one of their meetings. All our meetings are published on our Facebook page and website plus a paper copy on the Spar noticeboard.
You can read the full minutes of the meeting on our website www.chiseldon-pc.gov.uk
After the flyer was delivered to all properties in the parish by Hannick Homes, the Parish Council were going to discuss the proposed at the 8th July Full Council meeting.
As the meeting was inquorate, this will be moved to the 25th July planning meeting. 7.30pm at the Old Chapel on Butts Road. The public are welcome to attend.
Road closures in August/September
There may be a road closure on New Road from the Esso Station to Baldwin Close for patching and resurfacing. We are waiting for the exact dates from Swindon Borough Council. Signage will be put up and relevant households informed when SBC know more.
Allotment fencing – scheduled to be completed in September
The Parish council approved work to add new fencing to the west side of the allotments adjacent to the field. The work will start shortly. A gate will also be investigated for the pedestrian opening near the road.
Placement of Speed Indicator Device on New Road.
Approval was given from SBC to place a SID on 2 locations on New Road. The SID has been ordered and the contractor engaged to install the 2 ground sockets so the device can be moved between the 2 locations.
Current Projects in progress/under investigation/for consideration. There are no updates from the last edition.
UPDATE – We understand that SBC Highways have a new officer in position but we have not yet been able to meet with them. We continue to ask our Ward Cllrs to push for updates.
Road re-surfacing at New Road – A holistic whole village approach will be considered by SBC Highways – more to follow. The road has recently had some tests carried out on it. Still waiting for confirmation of further action by SBC. Scheduled by SBC for school summer holiday – no exact date known. Complete at roundabout section. Awaiting further information on other sections. The water leak near the roundabout has finally been rectified by Thames Water. No further update and our contact at SBC has now left.
Removal of Build Out on New Road – This item is part of the considerations above. No further update and our contact at SBC has now left.
We continue to ask our Ward Cllrs for updates on these road issues.
Alterations to New Road/A346 junction. Parish Cllrs and Ward Cllrs met with SBC Highways in November where it was confirmed that the junction is being discussed with National Highways who have responsibility for the A346. We hope to hear that safety improvements will be confirmed. We will ask for an update at the End of January after the expected meeting between SBC and National Highways. No further update as our contact at SBC has now left.
Layby creation – Windmill Piece and Draycot Foliat. Update
Update – The council approved the full road safety audit for Draycot Foliat at the 12th August council meeting. This includes a proposal to change the speed limit to 30mph in that area, have a physical traffic calming measure and to allow us to make the improvements we wanted to make for the parking area. We await the results.
SBC have provided us with updated designs for Draycot Foliat and will assist us with getting new quotes. Now that SBC are happy with the designs, we can hopefully move forward with securing a contractor and booking a date for the work. Windmill Piece updates will follow.
We have followed up with Swindon Borough Council to see if the results of the 2 checks mean we can move to the next stage of the process. They will be getting back to us with the next steps as soon as they can.
Ground radar checks have been carried out at Windmill Piece for underground utilities. Once SBC have reviewed the results we can move to the next stage of the plan. Likewise we are expecting updated specifications for Draycot Foliat after the traffic survey was concluded.
Benches. The sites have been marked and the benches are hoped to be installed shortly (May be installed by the Bell publication date)
SBC Highways department have approved our application. The benches have been delivered and will be installed shortly.
One person made a complaint on the siting of a bench to SBC. In the meantime we have had the support of the SBC Open Spaces Team and are awaiting approval from the Highways team.
The EGPA committee meeting on the 17th June meeting are hoping to be able to identify the precise location for the 2 benches. If local residents would like to comment on any specifics for the sites in order to pin-point the exact locations then please email the Clerk. The committee at this time will not be looking at other locations.
20mph zones and dropped kerbs/safer crossing. The proposal is with SBC.
Our January 2024 planning committee approved the finalising of our paper to SBC to request 20mph zones throughout the parish on a 3 year scheme. Around 70% of questionnaire respondents were in favour of methods to slow traffic within the parish. We will publish the results of the questionnaire on our website. We will finish the paper and submit it to SBC shortly, via our Ward Cllrs.
Update – The final paper has been added to our website and also the community Facebook page for anyone who wishes to read it. It was also submitted to our Ward Cllrs.
Update – we are asking our Ward Cllrs Elliott and Hopkins to chase Swindon Borough Council for meeting date where updates to this project can be discussed.
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Alternatively email the Parish Clerk who can set up your submission for you.
Speed Watch Volunteers – a message from the team.
Vacancies for Chiseldon
We are looking for Volunteers aged over 17 to join the team to help deal with the local issues of speeding. Currently we are a small team, looking to run 2 hourly sessions a week, mostly in Chiseldon, but would like to cover Badbury, Hodson, and Draycot as well.
Community Speed Watch is a community operated initiative designed to allow volunteers to officially monitor and report to the Police details of speeding vehicles in areas of concerns to the community. Community Speed Watch is not enforcement.
Whilst all of the road safety partners are working together to achieve casualty reduction targets and reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads, we cannot expect police officers to carry out enforcement checks in every community on a regular basis. This is where Community Speed Watch can help by working with the partnership.
Our aim is not to catch as many speeding drivers as possible, but to raise awareness that excessive speeds are socially unacceptable. We aim to reduce speed in areas of concern and address issues from communities by raising awareness.
If you are interested or would like more information, please contact the Chiseldon Parish Clerk (Clair Wilkinson) who will pass your details to the local coordinator.
More information can be via the Wiltshire Police website www.wiltshire.police.uk and searching for “Community Speed Watch”.
Memory Café next date
The popular memory café is next running Friday 4th October 2024 10.30am at the Church Hall off Butts Road. The café was created for anyone who wants some company and a chat over a cup of tea or coffee. Also for carers who look after anyone with Dementia or Alzheimer’s to come along with their loved ones. There is singing and dancing, all very informal and fun. There is no charge to attend.
Recreation Hall, Recreation field and Chapel hire:
The Rec hall off Norris Close, the Rec field in the same location and the Parish Council Chapel offices are all available for hire for events, meetings or parties.
Please contact the Clerk on the details above who can advise of charges, availability and what space would suit your needs.
The council also has 2 marques that can be hired for £100 per 24 hr period per marque. Contact the Clerk for more details.
Defibrillators – a reminder
A reminder that the Parish has 5 defibrillators – one outside Cameo Hairdressers on High Street, on, , one outside the Calley Arms pub in Hodson e outside the Pavilion on the Recreation Field, one outside the Calley Memorial Hall on Draycott Road and one in the BT Box in Badbury. All units are accessed by calling 999 to gain the code for the box. You cannot use these defibrillators on someone who doesn’t need it as the machine will not work. It also provides audible instructions on how to use them.
There is also a defibrillator on the outside wall of the school in Ogbourne St George.
NEW FUND OPEN 1st APRIL 2024. – Parish Council Grants and Donations fund & Calley Memorial Hall fund.
The Parish Council have an annual fund that we can donate to worthy causes within the Parish. If you are a group, charity or society that believe you could benefit from this fund then please contact the Parish Clerk for further details.
The trustees of the Calley Memorial Hall fund are also able to approve grants and donations to worthy causes within the Parish. (This doesn’t have to be connected to users of the Memorial Hall). Please contact the Parish Clerk in the first instance who can provide you with an application form.
(It should be noted that this fund is not connected to the Parish Council)
Next Parish council meeting
The next Full Council meeting of the Parish Council will be Monday 14th October 2024. This will start at 7.30pm at the Rec Hall off Norris Close. There is a public recess at the start of proceedings, after which residents can choose to leave the session. Meeting locations may change so please verify the location before making a journey. Our committee meetings will now meet in the Chapel Office on Butts Road.
Ward Cllrs surgeries.
Your Chiseldon and Lawn Ward Cllrs will be holding a monthly surgery on the first Saturday of the month at the Old Chapel office on Butts Road 11.30 to 12.30.
The next sessions are Sat 5th October and 2nd November. Please pop along and have a chat with them.