the Westbury Area Board, in partnership with Public Protection from Wiltshire Council, hosted an Emergency Planning Workshop for the community on the evening of Thursday 12th November.
Westbury’s community engagement manager, Liam Cripps said, “Thank you to the 20 or so members of the Westbury area community who took the time to attend. Some fantastic points were raised, questions asked and a wealth of local knowledge was uncovered.
“Within Westbury we are very fortunate to have both Public Health England and Emergency Planning professionals living within our community.
“Discussion was led around such topics as flooding and heavy snow risks, health risks such as flu-pandemic, road closures and utility failure. We were also fortunate enough to have a representative from Wiltshire Police deliver some key messages to the room.
“A key theme to come out of the workshop was ensuring that we as a community take care of those who are most vulnerable in the event of an emergency situation. In order to make sure that this can happen communities were encouraged and given templates to complete a community emergency plan.
“As an area board in partnership with the Town, Parish councils and community groups creating both flood and snow plans with the support of the Wiltshire Council Public Protection team was agreed as a positive way forward following the workshop.
“By creating these plans and committing to having systems in place in the event of a serious situation a number of different support packages are available. These range from additional salt for icy conditions, to sand bags for flooding and support and guidance writing applications for community resilience funding provided by local utility companies.
“If you are interested in joining a working group to help write a community emergency plan or if you would simply like to have the slides from the evening workshop please email me at liam.cripps@wiltshire. gov.uk. One final point I would like to bring to your attention is that our local power distribution company Scottish and Southern Energy have an alert system managed by their priority services team.
“This system allows a relative, friend or carer register the details of the most vulnerable within a community to ensure that up to date messaging is communicated to those people in the event of a power outage or emergency situation on a more significant scale.
“This is a fantastic service and I would urge you all to consider the most vulnerable in your lives and in your communities and whether they would benefit from this service.”
More information can be found by visiting: www.ssepd.co.uk/PriorityServices
