Residents’ ‘blood boiling’ over Wiltshire Council inaction

WESTBURY residents are infuriated by Wiltshire Council’s ‘inactivity’ on a range of major issues in the town. 

That’s the view of Mayor cllr Mike Sutton who says local people are angry over Wiltshire Council’s lack of action on issues including air quality; the number of houses being built with no supporting infrastructure; the high levels of traffic and lorries coming through the town and no real measures to deal with climate change.

In a letter to White Horse News, cllr Sutton listed some of the complaints from local people: 

• One of the 6th highest areas for poor air quality in Wiltshire – No action.

• Over development of the town with no infrastructure improvement – No action

• High level of traffic and heavy lorries – No action 

• The need for better access to the railway station – No action.

• Cycleways and Walkways                                                                     

 – No action.

• Increasing green space – No action

• Real measures to deal with climate change – No action.

“These are just a few and sometime in the summer we will learn of their efforts to respond to our concerns regarding the proposed incinerator and whether we add that to the above,” he said.

Cllr Sutton was responding to a White Horse News article which stated that Wiltshire Council leaders are “furious” about the impact of the Bath Clean Air Zone on local towns and villages, and that their blood is boiling with concern for residents.

“I can assure them that the people of Westbury also have ‘blood boiling’ but a lot of it is directed at the inactivity of Wiltshire and its leadership,” said cllr Sutton.

“The often-used resort of the incapable or unwilling is to blame someone else for failings and whilst I concede that the exclusion zone in Bath has produced problems for West Wiltshire in particular, it is hardly unexpected.

“Bath was identified a long time ago by the government as in need of action on air quality and as devotees of that government they could hardly have been unaware of what was going to happen and apart from making ritual protests, did nothing to look at what Wiltshire could do as a response.”