The Village has recently acquired more land for use as allotments adjoining the playing field in Whaddon Lane. A small parcel of this land has been set aside to create a Village Orchard and two Parish Councillors: Wolsey Jameson and Pam Fisher along with resident expert Mark Newbery have been asked to get this project up and running.
We are actively seeking ideas and knowledge to help us make this a successful venture, so if anyone has experience of similar projects or knowledge of particular varieties of fruit trees that they can recommend please get in touch, we would love to hear your ideas.
The Parish Council have made its opinions known to Wiltshire Council on a number of aspects with regard to the new road and the apparent unwillingness of Wiltshire Council officers to adhere to conditions imposed on the developer years ago. In particular, proposed new speed limits, lack of zebra crossings and the unacceptable state of Trowbridge Road when mud is dragged out of the building site. The Relief Road will be an agenda item at every Parish Council meeting until it is completed, adopted by Wiltshire Council and in use.
The Parish Council has been given notice of a temporary closure of Church Street (from its junction with Hill Street to its junction with Trowbridge Road and Devizes Road) to enable works to be carried out to replace a gas main in the carriageway. The road closure will come into operation on the 19th January, 2015, and the closure is anticipated to be required until the 13th March, 2015. It was hoped that Wiltshire Council would wait until the opening of the Hilperton Relief Road, in order to avoid two months of possible traffic chaos, but they say that the work is essential and cannot wait until the adoption of the new road. The suggested alternative route is via the B3105 Trowbridge Road – A361 Hilperton Road – The Halve – Union Street – C372 Timbrell Street – B3106 Islington – B3106 The Down – B3106 Canal Road – Horse Road – B3105 Hill Street and vice versa; but no doubt drivers will be using Victoria Road as the quickest route!
Footpath HILP20 (the footpath which leads off Whaddon Lane in the vicinity of New Barn Farm) is in need of three or four new kissing gates. Back in 2010 a number of stiles in the village were replaced by kissing gates and many of these were sponsored by residents in the village.
We are again calling on individuals or groups of people to sponsor the gates, so if anyone is interested please contact the Parish Clerk, Marylyn Timms, on 01225 852518. The cost of each gate will be £100, or £120 if the Wiltshire Council footpath warden provides a plaque with the sponsor’s inscription.