At the time of writing this article we are almost at the eve of an extraordinary meeting of Wiltshire Council with the sole business being the adoption of Wiltshire’s Core Strategy. No doubt many readers might be asking why this is so important. Essentially, this strategy becomes the bedrock of all of our planning policies relative to where new homes are built, dealing with employment centres in the county, enhancements of our transport routes and how each of the respective areas in Wiltshire will develop. The new strategy brings this right up to date and is designed to serve the county in 2026.

We also have the very important issue this month of formulating a budget for the next year. This has to be seen against the backdrop of increasing demand but with a shrinking grant from central government. As Councillors, we have to produce a balanced budget against what has been roughly a 10% cut, year on year in central government funding for some time now. I remain confident that we will ensure our roads get repaired, our libraries remain open, our leisure centres continue to run and most importantly our most vulnerable residents continue to receive the help that they need.

Locally in Edington the work by BT, in conjunction with Wiltshire Council, should bring super-fast broadband. In my home village of Keevil, we have recently seen the broadband speed increase ten fold!

As always, please do hesitate in getting in touch if you require any assistance – through email jerry.wickham@wiltshire.gov.uk, or mobile 07980 701617 or home 01380 870476.