Town council considers which services to take over from Wiltshire Council

WESTBURY Town Council is continuing to investigate which services they should take over running from  Wiltshire Council. 

The town council stated, “Increased pressure on Wiltshire Council from their adult and social care services, combined with austerity measures from central government, has led to them having to make huge savings to their budget resulting in a reduction of the level of services to towns and parishes which include for example litter, green spaces, cemetery and allotments.”

As a result, town councillors have to decide whether to take responsibility for some or all of these assets and services. They have set up a new delegated services committee to carefully consider the implications, risks and budgets of those services. 

Once information on costs and responsibilities is received from Wiltshire Council, the town council will consult with the people of Westbury to gain their views on what could be a very important opportunity for the community. 

Should the council decide to deliver services, then discussions will commence with Wiltshire Council in April for possible transfer in January 2021. 

Chair of Westbury Town Council’s delegated services committee, Brenda Pyne said, “We have already committed considerable resources to improve our 10 play areas and public toilets for which we took over responsibility a couple of years ago.  We want to continue to improve our services in order to make Westbury an even better place to live but this will come with costs”.

The town council understands that there will be no funding from Wiltshire Council to accompany any transfer which has resulted in the committee recommending to town council that a sum is included in the 2020/21 budget to cover potential costs associated with the transfer and this has impacted on the precept (money that residents of Westbury pay to the town council to support services in the town).  

Mayor Cllr Mike Sutton, said, “The town council is working hard on behalf of the people of Westbury and we will continue to keep them informed on this important issue over the coming months”.