THE Save Westbury Pool committee has arranged for a public meeting to take place on Monday 28th June.
The committee is proposing that a parish poll on the threatened facility should be called, and this parish meeting will give people a chance to vote on whether they support the proposed poll.
The Save Westbury Pool Committee want to request that Wiltshire Council hold a parish poll and referendum within the parishes of Westbury and Ethandune. The committee hope to call the poll “on the basis of retaining Westbury Swimming Pool for future generations, supported by and funded by Wiltshire Council where everybody matters.”
Mike Cuthbert-Murray from the Save Westbury Pool committee said, “This is something that would actually give power to the people. Wiltshire Council are going to have to listen to the outcome.”
The proposed request would also oppose the idea of putting the pool into the control of a community trust. Bob Lee, chair of the committee said, “The parish poll would hopefully add background pressure on Wiltshire Council to drop the idea of trust status for the pool and offer to fund the pool fully.”
Under the 1972 LG Act a small number of parishioners can request a parish poll, which the local authority has to run. People living within the boundaries of the town council are eligible to vote, providing they are on the electoral register, but there are no postal or proxy votes. The cost of the poll would have to be paid for by the town council.
Parish polls have recently been used elsewhere in the county. Warminster held a poll in April to ask residents if they agreed with the town council’s idea of moving to the Assembly Rooms. Bradford-on-Avon also held a poll to give residents the chance to say whether they supported a proposed new footbridge despite the cost.
The meeting on the 28th June will include an update from Bob Lee, chair of the Save Westbury Pool committee. It is also planned that there will be an explanation of community trust status.
• The meeting will take place at 7pm on Monday 28th June at the Laverton.
