Letters To The Editor

Redressing the balance over Bratton Road complaints

Dear Editor

In response to those who have written in and are obviously, not residents of Bratton Road, I feel I must redress the balance.

‘To those who sit on the bus or behind the wheel of a vehicle in Bratton Road that bemoan the fact they have to wait 40 seconds to give way to oncoming traffic, or who are aghast at the idea of a 20mph speed limit on a road that passes through a built-up residential area where some sections of the pavement are less than 2 foot wide – I ask you to spare a thought for the people who live here, constantly dealing with speeding vehicles that pose a daily threat of injury for those simply walking along the pavement.

Yes, the new give-way system needs a little more thought, but clearing the road of parked cars thus allowing vehicles to increase their speed further is a serious accident waiting to happen. Wiltshire Council needs to make it 20mph and put in some proper traffic calming solutions.    

Michael Heath

Bratton Road, Westbury

How much longer do we need to put with this smell?

Dear Editor

Why after so many years are we still subject to the horrendous smells coming from the waste facility?

We report it daily to the Environment Agency and yet, nothing is done.

They are in violation of their operating terms and conditions and yet they still carry on. How much longer do we need to put up with this smell? What else can we do?

E Corner, Westbury

Council’s failure will affect thousands of people

Dear Editor

The location of the proposed incinerator in Westbury will create a health risk due to its close proximity to the population and adjacent high ground.

However, when Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee granted planning permission, they did not consider the health implications of the twenty-one hazardous substances, because the planning rules did not require them to do so. In many cases, the incinerator location is remote, unlike Westbury.

On one occasion on 18th July 2018, the committee did consider health and rejected planning permission due to a risk to public health, but Wiltshire Council overruled this, blocking the democratic process.

In my recent correspondence with Wiltshire Council, they acknowledged that the decision to grant planning permission did not contain all of the data and this planning loophole needs to be addressed.

However, they have decided to take no action, stating the inspector’s decision is final. However, the inspector’s decision was to rule on an appeal by Northacre Renewable Energy to grant planning permission on what is an unsafe, invalid planning decision by Wiltshire Council.

This has resulted in a failure to correct a known problem that will affect thousands.

David Davis, Westbury.

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