Cllr Brian Dalton

A Bench & Plaque in memory of Susan Elizabeth Gilbret Harris, aged 20, who drowned at the Old Mill in March 1966, will be unveiled by her Friends, and some members of her family, on:

Thursday 10th April

opposite the hatches, past the Old Mill Restaurant at

10.30am

Susan swam into the turbulent and deep waters and tried to rescue a Boy who had fallen in.  She tragically lost her life doing so.

If you knew Susan, were at Sarum St Michael College, or are interested, then please turn up.

The Old Mill Restaurant have very kindly offered to supply Tea & Coffee after the unveiling.

Hurrah!  The county council have at last advertised a closing order for the Town Path in today’s Journal, 28th February.

The order specifies that the Town Path will close between 25th & 28th March and then again 31st March to 4th April.

This will enable a speedy resurfacing of the path and is welcome that they have at last set a date to do the works.

The new lighting, i am advised, will be installed week commencing 17th March.

Works will be complete by 4th April.

At long last, developers are to move in and start building the long awaited new Highbury Primary School, in Highbury Avenue.

This is the final piece of jigsaw in the three-tier saga and long overdue!  Pupils and Teachers have been blighted by the site of a boarded-up former Fisherton Manor School for the past couple of years.  This was recently demolished.

The county council have also secured some funding towards a double mobile classroom for the Busy Bee’s Nursery.  This will be sited near to the new school, with access from Wilton Road.  More details will follow.

The first ’sod’ was cut out in an official ceremony on Friday 28th March at 10.30am.

Parliament has yesterday (26th February), given the go-ahead for a new Wiltshire Unitary Council.  The new Wiltshire Council will take over all council services of the county & district councils from April 2009. 

Elections to the new authority will take place on 7th May 2009.

The Boundary Commision are now in the process of drawing up 98 new divisions to the new Wiltshire authority.  There is likely to be 8 unitary councillors for the City of Salisbury, compared to the current 5 county councillors & 20 district councillors.

These details will be updated.  For further information, please click:  http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/boundary-review-guidance-2008.pdf

Like many, I have been tracing my family roots back.  Through the Ancestry website, I have traced my Mothers side back to the 1841 Census, where they lived at that time in Barnard St, in Town.  They lived in many streets, including Gigant St, Milford Hill, Milford St, Culver St & Spring Court in St Edmund.  John Burton, my Great Great Great Uncle, was born in Salisbury in 1816.  This is as far as I have gone to date, but I intend to go further.  The family, including my Parents,  lived around the St Martin area for decades & decades and many still do!

I have been trying to trace my Granddad’s WWI service details along with his Brother, who, with thousands of others, was tragically killed.  Unfortunately, some 70% of all the WWI records were destroyed in WWII, by an incendiary bomb in 1940.  Their details, if anyone can add to this are:

32815  Pte Albert BURTON  3rd Reserve Cavalry Regt.  Was gassed in the war and survived.  Died in 1963.

267162  Pte William James BURTON  Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry.  Died on 9th September 1917, at the 3rd Battle of Ypres, aged 28.  He lived at 63 Rampart Rd, with his Wife Eliza Caroline Burton.

If you know anyone that was at the Sarum St Michael College when Susan was there, please get in touch.

Thanks to recent press coverage in the Avon Advertiser and then the Journal, a Cousin and some Friends have contacted me and wish to come to the Bench unveiling too.

The new Bench will be unveiled by Susan’s Family & Friends, when the Town Path works are complete.

Wiltshire County Council has set its Budget, an increase of 4.8%.  For the Agenda, click:  http://194.72.162.210/documents/dscgi/ds.py/Get/File-18568/Agenda.doc

Salisbury District Council has also set, what will be its last Budget, before the new Wiltshire Council take over next year.  For details of the Budget, click  http://documents.salisbury.gov.uk/council/committees/Full-Council/2008-02-18/R06b-2008-02-18.pdf

The Harnham flood defence scheme has been approved at the recent meeting of the Planning & Regulatory Committee.  The plans have been amended and will be slightly smaller than the previous approved plans.

For details, please click on:  http://documents.salisbury.gov.uk/council/committees/Planning-and-Regulatory-Panel/2008-02-12/R07-2008-02-12.pdf

The planning inspector recently upheld the appeal to develop the former Booker site in Lower St for housing.

Hopefully, developers will soon move in and tidy up what is now becoming an eyesore, especially to the residents that live nearby.

We have been trying to get CCTV installed along here, as we have some developer contributions for Town Path.  Unfortunately, the costs are far more than the monies we have.  For the full report, please click on this link cctv-town-path.pdf