WESTBURY Town Council are considering a range of street scene improvements in a bid to better the town. The improvements could include jet washing bus shelters and the refurbishment of street signs and litter bins.
At the annual meeting of the town council this month, Westbury and Wiltshire councillor, Matt Dean, said that there is a “small balance of money” available from the Westbury Area Board of Wiltshire Council to enable a range of street scene improvements.
Cllr Dean said, “At the last meeting of the Wiltshire Council Area Board, which is the body that has discretionary funding for this area, there was a small balance of money that was left, which can be spent on any legitimate purposes in the town and I was very keen to not see this money go back into the balances of Wiltshire Council, but that it was indeed spent in the community.
“One of the things that I campaigned on when standing for election, and it is actually one of the things that I get approached about the most from residents, is how they feel the town needs a lift. I know there’s a lot of work already started by this council with the Neighbourhood Plan and the Vision for Westbury document, and I know that this council is doing work on an ad hoc basis to try and tidy up the town, but this is additional money from the Area Board that has been agreed, subject to this council providing an element of match funding.”
Cllr Dean also said that the kind of things that money could be spent on include jet washing and replacing the glass at bus shelters, the painting of signage and lamp columns, as well as the replacement and refurbishment of street name plates. It was also suggested that the walk from the train station to the high street be a target area to give a better impression of the town to its visitors.
Cllr Dean added, “I’m a great believer that if you take the time and effort to make an area look nice, people will tend to look after it and develop a sense of community.”
Cllr Gordon King who is also a Wiltshire Councillor added, “The Westbury Area Board is a community area board so it is right that we use the money for a community focus. I would also like to see the bollards repainted in the High Street and Market Place, potentially in the town colours, which I think would work well to freshen up the image of the town. There are plenty of street signs in the town that are beyond repair.”
The town council agreed to match the funding from the Westbury Area Board (as per their request), bringing the total for street scene improvements to £10,000. The town council has also tasked the town improvement group of the council to consider areas to be improved in the town.
Cllr Mike Sutton added, “We have to set a time limit on these improvements as there is nothing worse than promising residents that we will spruce up the town only for 12 months down the line, not so much as a paint brush has come out.”
