Dear Town and Parish Councils

Apologises for the slight delay in issuing this months Newsletter.

Parish Stewards
The Parish Stewards Engagement Evening Meetings with town and parish councils have
been completed. As requested at the evening meeting a simple guide to the scheme:
The scheme starts in October
The Top 5 Priority Sheet (attached) should be completed by September 2016.
The Top 5 Priorities should be for work on Wiltshire Council highway and with
enough detail so the Parish Steward understands the work requirements.
The nominated Parish/ Town Council highway representative should be emailed to
denise.grech@wiltshire.gov.uk by September for us to update our records.
The details of your Parish Steward will be emailed to you in September.
The Parish Steward will be delighted to meet the parish/ town representative when
onsite after that time.
The schemes success will be judged on the usage by town or parish councils with
identifying their priorities.
The councils Website (see below link) contains the returned Priority Sheets with any
updates.
The council is currently considering if and how it can advise parish and town councils
of any discretionary work requests it receives from residents, so this could be passed
on for your consideration for Parish Steward work allocation. We will update you on
any progress in the next Newsletter.
The slides and information from the meetings are attached.
How to report an issue:
Immediate Safety: (Missing manhole cover, fallen tree, road safety or house flooding etc.):
Phone 0300 456 0105
Statutory Matter (Pot hole/ litter/ blocked gulley etc.):

On line www.wiltshire.gov.uk/mywilts where you will be able to leave your email

address and receive updates.
Use the MyWiltshire app on a smart phone, again you will receive updates.

If no electronic access by telephone on 0300 456 0105

Discretionary Matter (anything not above):

Report the matter to the Parish/ Town Highway Representative.

Parish/ Town Highway Representative notes if they consider it a Top 5 Priority on
Priority Sheet, alternatively it may be an issue for the Community Area Board
Transport Group (CATG) etc.
Priority Sheet to be sent to denise.grech@wiltshire.gov.uk or matter raised with the
CATG etc.

Priority Sheet work will be scheduled from October

Bath Road Car Park, Chippenham
Work will soon begin on the demolition of the overhead canopy, public conveniences and the
adjoining wall in Bath Road car park.

Clearly this will impact on the availability of parking spaces during this time. Therefore we
will be permitting season ticket holders to use Emery Gate Car Park during the works to limit
the inconvenience caused to our customers.
The work will take approximately 4 weeks to complete, as yet we do not have start date for
the works but will update you as soon as we have a firm date.
Local Highways Restructure
Area Managers will be writing to you in August to confirm their appointment.
Engineers will be writing to you in August or September to confirm their appointment.
Play Areas
Council has allocated funding for facility improvements where town and parish councils are
prepared to take on Wiltshire Council Play Areas.
If interest please contact adrian.hampton@wiltshire.gov.uk.
Community Toilet Scheme
18,000 has been identified for one off improvements to encourage businesses, community
groups, towns and parish councils to allow the public to use their toilets.
To apply for funding contact your local Community Engagement Manager.
Highway Rural Verge Cutting
The once a year cut of highway rural verges will be completed by the middle of July.
Only safety cuts then will be completed.
If there is a safety verge the council needs to be made aware of, please use the MyWiltshire
System (phone, Web or App).
Urban Grass Cutting
The council cuts the grass in appropriate areas to ensure the pavements and roads remain
safe for our residents to use.
We share responsibility for grass cutting with other organisations such as town and parish
councils and the Highways Agency. We are not responsible for maintaining grass that is on
privately owned land or land owned by housing associations.
Our grass cutting programme allows for 9 cuts over the year. Amenity grass will be cut on a
monthly basis from May to November.
This includes cemetery grass.
The cuttings are not collected as they quickly rot down and slow the rate of new growth. But
our contractor will endeavour to leave nearby hard surface clear of grass cuttings. All areas
are also litter picked prior to cutting.
How you can help:
Asking residents to avoid parking on grass verges.
Asking residents not to put items on areas we cut.
Advising residents that amenity grass cutting is undertaken monthly.
Considering areas that may be better maintained by the local council (asset transfer or
service delegation),
Cones For Events
Town, parish and event organisers need to provide no waiting or parking cones if they hold
events.
Local Highways or Parking Services do not provide these.
Our contractors The Landscape Group or Ringway will be pleased to supply prices.
Gully Emptying
Gullies that are causing immediate house or road safety issues will be addressed by the
council within a matter of hours, if phoned in as a safety report.
Gullies that are blocked and could cause house or road safety will be prioritised if reported
on the MyWiltshire System.
All other blocked gullies will be left to the scheduled emptying service.
Link to the Cllr Mr Whiteheads previous Newsletters.

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/council/howthecouncilworks/plansstrategiespolicies/transportpoliciesa
ndstrategies/highwaysnewsletters.htm