IN the wake of cuts made by Wiltshire Council and the failure to redevelop the library as a community hub, Mayor of Westbury, cllr Gordon King, has said that now is a good time for the town council to take control and ‘stand on its own two feet’.
Speaking at the annual Civic Reception last week, cllr King spoke about how the council are planning for the challenges that lie ahead, as they prepare for the devolution of services such as grass cutting and street cleaning. Whilst highlighting the financial challenges this brings, the Mayor welcomed the changes, describing it as an opportunity for the council to have more of a say on matters that directly affect Westbury.
The Mayor also took the opportunity to celebrate the successes of the past year and heaped praise on the volunteers and groups in the community who continually strive to help and support others.
“Forgive me for saying so but the purpose of this annual reception is not just for us to show off to you, but to say thank you to all those who work, volunteer, provide employment, give service, help others, build or cooperate to achieve objectives,” he said. “These are the people who make our community work, those who make Westbury what it is. Those who are our real heroes.
“For instance. In the last year the town council has given away 42 small grants to organisations and charities who provide care through play for the very young; sport, adventure and organised activities or older children, and similar life affirming development for the disabled whether through music, or riding specially trained horses. There are those who combine a hobby with knowledge and passion to transfer skills to others, whether that is music, arts & crafts, engineering or sports coaching. There are the sign-posters and advice-givers who volunteer their time to challenge inequality and fight poverty. Some are subtler preferring to “knit and natter” or build sheds, whilst secretly tackling loneliness, isolation and contributing to improvements in mental wellbeing, making a difference. Finally, lunch clubs for the elderly complete the list. So whether you are engaged in retail, provide employment, volunteer, engage in social action or simply encourage others to enjoy sport, or the arts, coach or teach, we say thank you. Westbury has many heroes.
“What of the Town Council. Well in the first instance we have said hello to a lot of new councillors who have settled in and contributing. This has enabled us to focus on bringing forward the change that we started in the last council, not just in what we are doing, but how we organise ourselves to achieve objectives.
Well-managed
We have been evaluated by two former chief executives of local authority who complimented the council. They said that we were well-managed, with a sound financial and governance core and acknowledge the council’s ambition to move forward for the benefit of its community. There findings show that the community is at the heart of everything that we do. However, they also recognised that despite a strong desire to demonstrate community leadership, we do not necessarily have the structure to bring all of the elements of our thoughts together and translate them into action. Feedback is always good.
In response, we held our first ever all council strategy day on 31st January and by spring-time, outcomes from that date will be brought together into a programme of finance and delivery over the next four years. This is the first time that we will have joined ideas and plans together with a medium-term financial plan. The implementation and publication of this integrated plan should allow people to see and understand what we are about as a council for the very first time and hold us to account if we fail to deliver. Scary stuff.
New demands
“The council has worked hard to prepare itself to receive from Wiltshire Council place-based assets and services which that council is no longer able to provide. Services such as grass cutting, waste bin emptying, litter-picking, planting, street cleaning amongst others. We have begun to investigate how we will pay for these things and how we might achieve economies of scale. Council Tax has risen in response. What is clear is that to do that we will need to think about how we organise ourselves. There will be new demands, especially on our staff in this changing world, but we will put them at the centre of all that we do, harnessing their talents and skills and provide training where necessary.
“These service devolutions will be a sizable portion of the business and financial plan I mentioned earlier. They will occupy a sizable portion of the budget. Nevertheless, speaking personally, I welcome them. For the first time, it will allow us to decide such fundamental matters that will affect the appearance and cleanliness of the town. For me, the very best decision is that decision that is taken as close as possible to its point of delivery. With decision making comes responsibility.
Our events this year have been their usual mix of the tried and tested and small innovations have been a success. The Christmas lights switch-on attracted a huge crowd and was exciting for families as always. As I have said, we are looking at everything we are doing, so events will not escape our gaze, especially as budgets get tighter. Everything must provide value for money.
“We have a highly successful and growing Arts Festival which provided 53 separate sessions of public performance over a two-week period, with at least 50% of these being delivered without charge. The council sponsors the Arts Festival and they are deserving of much praise and their committee deserves multiple thanks for a highly entertaining and diverse programme.
Powerless
“One regret over the last 12 months was that the town was powerless to stop a rush of unwanted and unplanned housing developments on the town’s fringes because Wiltshire Council lost control of its housing land supply, causing speculative developers to rush in and fill the void, putting untold pressure on local services.
This is one reason that we have finally began work on a neighbourhood plan, so that maybe if the same should happen again, we might be in a better place to defend ourselves.
We were also disappointed to discover that Wiltshire Council had spent too much money on delivering six campuses that they ran out of money to restore and redevelop our library in Westbury. In fact, I think it is fair to say that we have been disappointed with a lot that Wiltshire Council has or has not done for Westbury and that is another reason why we think it is a good reason to stand on our own two feet. And last, we are disappointed that our powers are not sufficient to provide a much-needed main post office for the town.
“So, there we are, there are inevitable disappointments, but we are in a good place. We have a strong team, a clear vision and an emerging plan to make it happen. We are truly committed to that task in front of us and we are confident about our future. Providing benefit for our community is central to all that we do.
“I stood in my first election in 1989 and became Mayor for the first time after 10 years, and again for the second 18 years after that, for the last time. In all those years only one word has provided me with continued motivation and drive and that word is Westbury.”
