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The Melksham Community Area has a population of 24,000.

The Community Speaks its Mind on Wiltshire Council’s Development plans

The Melksham Community Area Partnership held a public consultation in Melksham Town Hall in January to gather the views on Wiltshire Council’s proposal for development in the Melksham area.

Jim Sherry, a spatial planning officer from Wiltshire Council, had encouraged the Partnership to be ‘as blue sky as you can’ in gathering views, and stressed the Council’s support and encouragement of honest opinions.

For the event the Assembly Room was arranged as a journey of displays, starting with the wider vision for Wiltshire as set out by Wiltshire Council, followed by the maps and plans for development in the area of Melksham, which led on to more specific questions on themes including community safety, transport, health and tourism. People were encouraged to draw and colour in their own ideas for development on maps of Melksham town and surrounding villages and to write as much as they liked about areas they felt passionate about.

A steady flow of people moved around the room, everyone taking the issues seriously and spending considerable time on their thoughtful responses. Those who had more to say went home to complete the survey on line. In total 157 people responded, with comments and opinions that went into a 90 page document that was submitted to Wiltshire Council.

Responses to Wiltshire Council’s plans for development were overwhelmingly opposed to building in the buffer zone between Bowerhill and Melksham, and many alternative options were suggested. Although 400 new houses were generally accepted as necessary the major concern was around the subsequent provision of health, education and transport systems for the new homes.

Some positive feedback from the survey included the fact that 84% said that the Melksham area is a safe pace to live either all or most of the time, and many respondents said that the friendliness and helpfulness of the people in the area is one of its best assets.

The full results will shortly be available and the partnership will be hosting further consultations on specific issues raised from the event. The partnership would like to express a heartfelt thank you to everyone who submitted their feedback and assure them that their views are being taken seriously. Thanks also go to the volunteers who helped set up and run the event, especially Alice Adcock, who spent hours typing up the information afterwards.

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