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!
All posts by Parish Clerk
Kissing Gates
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.
Parking Consultation Commences
Parking and Waiting Restrictions.
Full details of the proposals can be obtained from Wiltshire Council. The consultation period ends on 17th November 2014.
Comments on this proposal, quoting reference LJB/TRO/WWDC, may be made by: email to trafficorders@wiltshire.gov.uk or in writing to: TRO Team, Highways & Transport, Sustainable Transport Group, County Hall, Bythesea Road, TROWBRIDGE, Wiltshire BA14 8JN.
The details are as follows:-
1. To introduce No Waiting at any time on the following lengths of roads: Ashton Road – both sides – from its junction with Devizes Road for a distance of 12 metres. Devizes Road – both sides – from a point 12 metres west of its junction with Ashton Road to a point 12 metres east of that junction. Dymott Square – both sides – from its junction with Hill Street for a distance of 7 metres. Greenhill Gardens (south access) – both sides – from its junction with Hill Street for a distance of 23 metres. Hackett Place – both sides – various lengths to protect junctions. Hill Street – east side – from a point 12 metres north of its junction with Greenhill Gardens (south access) to a point 12 metres south of that junction.
2. To extend existing No Waiting at any time on the following length of road: Hill Street – both sides – from a point 16 metres south of its junction with Dymott Square to a point 10 metres north of that junction.
3. To introduce No Waiting Monday – Friday 8.30am to 9.30am and 2.30pm to 3.30pm on the following length of road: Hackett Place – east and south side – various lengths to protect driveways.
4. To remove Parking Monday – Saturday 8am to 6pm 1 hour No return within 1 hour and replace with Parking (unrestricted) on the following lengths of road: Church Street – east side – outside property nos.222 to 225 and 226 Church Street – north side – outside property Nos.96 to 99.
All documents can be viewed online HERE
hEdges
A new community art project for Hilperton and Paxcroft Mead
The fields of Hilperton and Paxcroft Mead have been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and were of enormous importance to the local population for local food producers. By the 18th century all of them had even been given individual names. Perhaps your house has been built in the old field of Ferris’ Leaze, or Great Upper Freeze or on Painter’s Mead?
hEdges is a public art project for Hilperton and Paxcroft Mead which has been developed by artist Alex Murdin of ruralrecreation for Hilperton Parish Council, Paxcroft Mead Residents Association, Wiltshire Council, Curo Housing with the involvement of lots of other people and groups from the area. Over the coming months Alex and community volunteers will be asking new and old residents to get creative in rediscovering the hedges and fields of the past and looking at ways of continuing to grow and nurture plants and wildlife in and around today’s new village and homes.
hEdges has the aim of supporting local biodiversity and making up for hedgerows which were lost – we’ll be hoping to plant some edible wild plants in public spaces with local volunteers. We’ll also be trying to discover what residents are now growing on the old fields, in their gardens or even inside their homes. All of this will feed into some new artwork for southern Hilperton and Paxcroft Mead’s public spaces.
So why not enter our Over the hEdge photo competition and win £100 to spend at Palmers Garden centre ?
Alternatively volunteer for some “guerrilla gardening” in the Autumn around southern Hilperton and Paxcroft with our hEdge Planters – get a new limited edition hEdgey Gnome.
Or perhaps you could just share some your old hEdgerow Recipes with the rest of the community, sloe gin, a wild Wiltshire Pudding or nettle beer ?
Bench replacement – Confirmed!
The old bench located in the Knap was recently removed as it had reached the end of its working life…
Your opinion was therefore requested to establish whether it should be replaced or even relocated to another location? (to be agreed)
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Community Speedwatch
Volunteers are being sought to re-start Hilperton Speedwatch.
Please contact the Parish Clerk or Chairman for further details
Next Meeting 18th February
The next parish council meeting is at 7.30pm on Tuesday the 18th March in the small meeting room, above the village hall in Whaddon Lane. All are welcome, but anyone choosing to speak must register with the clerk, and speak before the meeting formally opens.
Allotments Phase 2 & Community Orchard
At the full Parish Council meeting on 22nd January, the allotment sub committee presented a financial summary for the case to expand the current allotment site by a further acre, and to incorporate a community orchard. The latest budget precept agreed at the same meeting, now includes this expansion plan to meet the deadline for the option to purchase the land before Oct 2016.
Precept set for 2014-15
The 2014-15 precept was discussed at the January parish council meeting. Four options were considered; no increase, 1p a week increase, 3p a week increase, 5p a week increase. After a long discussion the 3p increase was agreed. A 
‘band D’ property will therefore pay 27p a week (£14 a year) which is one of the lowest in the area.
Funds will be assigned for various projects such as the purchase of allotment/community orchard land, traffic calming when the Hilperton Relief Road is open and long-term play equipment upgrading.
Communal Tree Planting
Hilperton Parish Council obtained a number of trees from the Woodland Trust for communal planting.
The planting took place on Saturday Nov 30th, in the top left hand corner of the playing field at the village hall. Young and old came along to assist with the planting of the trees, on a glorious sunny morning…
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