Conservative councillors threw out fully-costed (and signed off by officers as ‘sound’) LibDem amendments to the budget on Tuesday.

In a series of recorded votes, demanded by LibDem councillors, Tories voted against the following:

• FREE 1st hour parking in Wiltshire council car parks
• FREE swimming for u16’s and over 60’s
• Re-open our Leisure Centre’s on Public Holidays

Recorded votes are Minuted, so Residents can see who voted for what and which way, so there’s no ‘cop out’ for councillors.  The Minutes to this meeting will appear here when they are published.

The Wiltshire administration has re-introduced free swimming in school holiday’s, albeit not on any Bank Holiday’s, as Leisure Centre’s will remain closed.  Something i find hard to understand, particularly over Easter.

As the Cabinet member responsible for Leisure on the old Salisbury District Council, i introduced FREE swimming for our youngsters in 2007. The Conservative’s halted this last year.

The Lib Dem group will be putting amendments to the Conservative budget at the council meeting on the 28th.

The full Agenda can be seen here

The motions will include:

1st hour Free parking in council car parks.

Free swimming for under 16’s and over 65’s.

Re-open our Leisure Centre’s on Bank Holiday’s.

The Liberal Democrat amendments can be seen here and are fully costed by Wiltshire council officers as ‘sound’ Their report can be read here

These have been fully costed and ‘approved’ .by council officers as sound.

If you support this, then please let us know! We can then tell the ruling Tory group at the meeting.

Please click here to sign the petition.

Wiltshire council has finally scrapped the infamous Brunel Link. Their policy to build the Brunel Link & Harnham relief road has finally been ditched, some 10 years after promising to build it.

The link, if it was built, would have brought scores and scores of heavy goods lorries, small trucks and hundreds of cars, through Harnham on a daily basis.

The policy to drop the Brunel Link, was adopted at yesterday’s Wiltshire council meeting. The meeting discussed the Wiltshire Core Strategy.

Details can be seen here on page 347. Please be patient, it takes a few moments to load.

The full Agenda can be read here

The services Committee supported the recommendation to support Salisbury Museum to buy the Scout Car, with grant funding of £5,000.

The car, one of only two surviving, was built in Salisbury in 1912 and will cost the Museum £40,000 to purchase.

The Committee was subject of much discussion from councillors, but recommended to grant the funding, subject to the council’s Policy & Resources Committee confirming the recommendation at its next meeting.

Further details to follow!

Salisbury Museum is asking the City Council to support it in its purchase of one of only two surviving Scout cars. These were made in Salisbury! The car in question is exactly 100 years old, being built in 1912.

For the Museum details, click
For the City Council Agenda, click here

The Services Cttee of the City Council meets, publicly, on Monday 6th February, 6.30pm in the Guildhall. Do come along!

Did you know that you can buy at a substantially reduced price, Miscrosoft Office and Windows products if you have school children?

For example, Office suite (complete) 2010 can be bought for only £37.89! Get it while you can. The offer ends in March.

For details, click here

The state of our roads are getting worse. I have tried numerous times to get Norfolk Road & Essex Square resurfaced, but the usual reply is? Yes, no money.

These roads are a disgrace. Look at the numerous pot-holes by the One-Stop Shop.

The campaign continues. You can help too – please call and report pot holes, free of charge, on 0800 23 23 23.

A meeting of the full Wiltshire Council on February 7th, in Trowbridge, is set to adopt the South Wiltshire Core Strategy. The Core Strategy caused outrage in its early stages, as there was a propsal to build hundreds of new houses on the Netherhampton Rd, near to Flowerland. This would have caused more mayhem on Harnham’s roads.

The vast majority of the objectors were against this development taking place. Thankfully, the council listened!

For details of the meeting on 7th February, click here.

The City Council has endorsed a 5.9% council tax increase for 2012/13. The rise will see a Band D property rise from £85 this year to £90 next year. The majority of the increase will pay for the Jubilee celebrations in Salisbury on June 4th. This is of course a one-off event.

Wiltshire Council have stated that there will be no rise this year in their share of the tax. Their meeting will be held on 28th February.