At the Planning Committee meeting of West Wilts District Council this evening the new Asda store was approved in principle. Unfortunately this does not mean that work can start on developing the new store as the plans must now be approved by the Secretary of State.

I am delighted that the store has been given the go-ahead by the council and look forward to seeing the benefits of this £25m development to the town. Planners will be meeting again on 19th February to clarify the conditions of the approval, and then the whole case will need to be passed to governement inspectors for final approval by the Secretary of State.

Melksham Councillor Jon Hubbard has condemned Officers on West Wiltshire District Council for recommending refusal of ASDAs application to build a new store and bring 300 desperately needed new jobs to Melksham.

The proposed development is to be discussed at the Planning Committee of WWDC on Thursday 8th January and officers have recommended refusal. Says Jon Hubbard, “Refusal of this proposed development is refusal of 300 jobs for the people of Melksham. It’s refusal of the economic benefits of a major construction project and refusal of an estimated £4.1 million extra trade for Melksham town centre.”

Cllr Jon Hubbard has written to every member of the planning committee at West Wilts urging them to support the development and refuting the grounds for refusal. Cllr Hubbard claims that rejection of this development would be another example of “protectionist planning by the Trowbridge based Tory run council”.

Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

It’s not usual for me to comment on national issues on this blog, that’s what our national site is for, but today I find myself unable to hold back.

Proposals from the Labour Government to start charging outragous interest rates to Britains poorest citizens leave me wondering what has happened to the Labour Party. More, now than ever, I struggle to find the difference between Labour and the Tories.

You can find more details on this story here and find out why my blood pressure is off the scale right now!

At last night’s Town Council meeting a motion was unexpectedly put forward proposing that an additional grant payment of £500 should be made to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

This brings the funding to the CAB for this year back to the level it was at two years ago. I’m delighted that the controlling group made this offer, as when this issue was previously discussed we were led to believe there was no room to manouver over the size of the grant. Good new for Melksham!

Unsurprisingly, CAB money advisors have seen a doubling of their work load from last year, and a dramatic increase in a cases of priority debt.  Local residents who have been just managing to make ends meet are now facing extraordinary pressures, as price rises in food, petrol and utilities are pushing many household budgets to the limit.  

As the CAB puts it, “Small problems can push people off the tight rope.”

The CAB is a lifeline for many, and works extremely hard to prevent homelessness.  It depends on significant funding from district councils, but also on an army of dedicated volunteers to run their day-to-day case work.

Jon Hubbard says,”Now more and more people are depending on the vital services that the CAB offers. What a shame that our Tory led Town Council voted to CUT financial support for this essential service rather than actually provide the kind of commitment that Melksham resident really need.

“If you are worried about managing your own financial situation, the CAB advises to get in touch as soon as possible.  The number to call for the West Wiltshire office, which includes Melksham, is 0844 499 4106.”

Did you know that you can register for a postal vote for any election?

You can register your postal vote by visiting http://tr.im/vzn. By having a postal vote you can vote whether you might be away on holiday or business on election day and of course you do not lose your vote should you be ill or have young children and your spouse is late back from work on the day.

Following the Bank Street closure, Melksham local traders are potentially facing disaster this Christmas.
Trade fell off dramatically during the recent road works and local shop-keepers are worried that people will be shopping elsewhere this year for Christmas.

Local Councillor Jon Hubbard has led the campaign to get the Town Council to support local traders by arranging a late-night shopping event on Thursday 27th November.

If successful the late-night opening could be repeated on Thursday evenings up until the holidays.

Cllr Jon Hubbard said, “We all take the local shops in Melksham for granted. We just assume that there will be local hairdressers, grocers, indeed shops of all shapes and sizes to meet our needs, yet these cannot exist without trade. If we don’t use these local shops we will lose them, and in the current economic climate it is unlikely they will be replaced by anything else.

“Please come out and support your local traders on the 27th. Melksham has many unique and special shops selling great gift ideas and everyday items. I was delighted that Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg recently visited our town to support my campaign to help save our varied retail trade in Melksham.”

Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg visited Melksham today to lend his support to Cllr Jon Hubbard’s campaign to help support local traders.

Nick, who was on a whistle-stop tour of the new Chippenham Constituency, took time out to visit Melksham and meet with some of the traders who have been dealt the double wammy of the Credit Crunch and the Conservative Councils decision to close Bank Street in the run up to Christmas.

Local Councillor Jon Hubbard has accused the Government of “Stealing Democracy” from local residents following confirmation that elections for the Town Council will be deferred until 2013.

In a Ministerial Statement on 28th October the Minister for  Local Government (John Healey) said “As a result, with the few exceptions provided for in those orders, future parish council elections in Cornwall, County Durham, Northumberland, Shropshire and Wiltshire will be held in 2013.”

The change is designed to bring the timing of Town and Parish elections inline with the new Unitary Authority that has been rushed through in Wiltshire. Traditionally Town and Parish elections were held on the same day as the District Council elections, but that cycle will cease with the scrapping of the  districts. Instead, councillors elected for four years will now serve six.

“Local people, who may be desperate for change, will have no opportunity to exercise their democratic rights” said Jon Hubbard. “We are now stuck with a Tory led council here in Melksham until 2013. Melksham needs a council that puts it’s residents first. Melksham deserves a council that invests in the town, that looks for inovative and exciting ways of bringing new business and trade to the town. Melksham needs a change. The unholy alliance of Wiltshire Tories and the Labour Government has refused Melksham residents the right to bring about that change for four more years.”

The Government has confirmed that the elections for the new Wiltshire Unitary Council will be held on Thursday 4th June 2009, more than two months after the current District and County Councils are dissolved.

Local residents are asking how it is that they will have no properly elected representatives for the period between the old councils being scrapped and the new authority comming into being.

Local Councillor Jon Hubbard has expressed concern that the new authority has been rushed in without proper planning and the people of Melksham and Wiltshire will suffer for it. “The Tories were desperate to force in this new authority as soon as possible and did not think to plan properly. We should have elected a new shadow authority to plan the transition, where elected members were representing their constituents, not have an unelected quango replace peoples democratic rights.”