Campaigning in Melksham

450 Homes off Snowberry Lane Approved

Plans to build 450 homes off Snowberry Lane were approved by Wiltshire Council's Strategic Planning Committee on Wednesday.

The application was brought before the committee following the request of Melksham Councillor Jon Hubbard who claims that the developer has ignored concerns from local residents about the impact of the new houses, particularly the 3 storey appartment block being built behind Farmhouse Court.

Date set for final decision on 450 homes off Snowberry Lane

The final decision on the design for the 450 homes being built on land off Snowberry Lane is due to be made on Wednesday 5th December at a meeting of the Strategic Planning Authority at County Hall in Trowbridge.

The application has been called to committee by local councillor Jon Hubbard who has said how disappointed he is by the lack of engagement with local residents on the design of the proposed houses and the unacceptable proximity of the 3 storey flats to the listed wall and single-storey homes on Farmhouse Court.

It's time to get the Cemetery Extension sorted

Melksham councillor Jon Hubbard has submitted a question to the next meeting of the Wiltshire Council Cabinet to ask when the extension to Melksham Cemetery will finally be completed.

The issue was raised at November's Area Board meeting and Jon agreed to submit a question to find out what is happening.

Concerns Raised Over Proposed Closure of St Damien's Surgery

Cllr Jon Hubbard has written to NHS Wiltshire CCG expressing concern about the proposal to close St Damien's Surgery in Melksham.

Jon has said that if additional capacity is not provided in the town's other two surgeries then there will be a serious shortage of doctors and nurses to serve the town's rapidly expanding population.

Hallam to be invited to attend Public Meeting over Snowberry Lane development

At this evenings meeting of the Planning Committee the council agreed to invite representatives from Hallam Land Management, the developers planning to build 450 homes off Snowberry Lane, to attend a public meeting at the Town Hall to discuss their plans and how they will impact on local residents.

I continue to be very concerned that the proposed three storey apartment blocks will dominate the existing listed development at Farmhouse Court.

Time to reopen toilets in Melksham

The announcement in the Chancellor’s budget statement on Monday that councils will no longer have to pay business rates on public toilets means that Melksham should reconsider re-opening some of the closed facilities in the town according to local councillor Jon Hubbard.

When Wiltshire Council decided it could no longer fund the public toilets across the county, Melksham Town Council and Melksham Without Parish Council jointly funded keeping the toilets in the Market Place open, but all others were closed.

Coronation Road 20mph Limit One Step Closer

The campaign, spearheaded by Cllr Jon Hubbard, to see a 20mph limit on Coronation Road and the surrounding estate moved one step closer this week when the Commiunity Area Transport Group (CATG) received a report recommending implementation of the scheme.

The report showed that the estate met all of the requirements to have a 20mph limit introduced and can now be implemented if the necessary funding is allocated.

Statement regarding the Proposed 447 Homes off Snowberry Lane

When Halam and Bloor first submitted the planning application for the development off Snowberry Lane which would see yet another 447 homes being built in Melksham I was very concerned but tried to work with the developer to see how our community could benefit from this additional construction.

I spent considerable time meeting with the developer’s agent, attending the planning committee meetings as the outline planning application was considered and trying to ensure that the concerns of local residents were considered.

New paths for Brunswick Park

Residents from Hazelwood and the surrounding area are celebrating following winning a bid for £4,000 from the “Your Pint Can” community fund scheme run by Carling and Weatherspoons.

The fund will pay for the materials for the pathways on Brunswick Park, at the far end of Hazelwood Road, to be replaced.

Cycle Track behind Primrose Drive?

Wiltshire Council are running a “pre-consultation” exercise about converting the pathway running between Snowberry Lane and Primrose Drive to a Shared Use footpath for both pedestrians and cyclists.

Local councillor Jon Hubbard is asking residents what they think about the proposed scheme in order that he can put in a submission to the consultation representing their views.

Work set to commence on repairing Primrose Drive Play Area

The play area on Primrose Drive should be back open in the next few weeks following Wiltshire Council confirming that it is happy for Melksham Town Council to undertake the repairs needed to make the facility safe.

Since the Liberal Democrats took control of the Town Council they have been activelyt campaigning for the town to be given all of the play areas to maintain and improve and local councillor Jon Hubbard has commented that this decision is long overdue.

Update on Primrose Drive Play Area

At last night's first meeting of the new Melksham Town Council my colleagues and I started delivering on the pledges we made to local residents during the election.

A reorganisation of the committee structure will help us to deliver on our promises.

Road Closure for Coronation Road as resurfacing work is finally set to start

Wiltshire Council have announced plans to close Coronation Road for it's whole length between Spa Road and Pembroke Road to allow some much needed and overdue carriageway reconstruction work, resurfacing, road marking and adjustment of ironworks work to be undertaken.

The closure order will come into effect on 18th April and they expect the road to remain closed until 5th May.

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