The Calne and District SOS group (CDSOS) has been formed by local residents to campaign against and to monitor any future plans to exploit the surrounding areas between Calne and Compton Bassett.
The formation has been initially to protest against Planning Applications which have been filed by Hills Quarry Products Ltd. Ref. 16/05464 and 16/05708. These are to obtain the permission to extract sand and build an open conveyor across adjacent fields.
The deadline is August 12th 2016 to object to these particular applications so time is short and immediate action is vital. The applications are due to be heard in early September in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, when the future of this beautiful part of the countryside will be decided.
CDSOS wishes to save the area under threat which is adjacent to ancient woodland, Anglo Saxon archaeological remains, a water course, public footpath and a bridleway. All of these will be permanently affected by the proposed workings.
In the short to medium term the area will be blighted by noise and dust which may well create a health risk. In the longer term there will be a loss of grade 2 agricultural land, the local ecology will lose ancient hedgerows, ponds and have a potential negative impact on the adjacent Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Reserve. Those living in the area will suffer a reduction in their quality of life.
All this potential destruction is just to extract sand - when the Wiltshire and Swindon Minerals Extraction Plan 2006/2026 shows that Wiltshire does not require the sand yield from this sensitive site.
There are other fields that in turn maybe exploited leaving the present environment change forever.
Funds raised will be used to promote our cause through a website, leafleting, media information and public demonstration.
Hills Quarry Products Limited have submitted a planning application to extract around 300,000 tonnes of sand from the fields between Freeth Farm and Compton Bassett over the next 6 years, transporting the sand by conveyor to Calne Quarry. The application for extraction also referred to "deposit of waste" until 2042 and therefore was thought likely to have had significant implications for the Village. However the clause which referred to the waste was removed during the day preceding the meeting by Hills.
This picture of our own idyllic corner of Wiltshire will disappear if this planning consent is granted and will be replaced by a giant gravel extraction works
A full report will follow as soon as possible
There is a brief agenda on the agenda pages for the parish council
A murder is about to take place on Saturday 20 August in the Benson Village Hall, Compton Bassett.
The Village Hall Committee, together with CHADs are holding a Murder Mystery evening, including a three course meal, at 7:30 pm to help raise funds for the Benson Hall Roof Replacement. Come, dressed to attend a wedding (optional) and with your 'sleuth' head on.
Tickets are �10 per person and will be available from Fran Creasey at 34 Compton Bassett, Phone 01249 814539. Please book early to help with catering numbers.
This year our Queen will become the only British sovereign to celebrate her 90th birthday - ever.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, a brand new coin has been issued - The Queen Elizabeth II 90th Birthday Silver �5 Coin - and you can purchase one through the Parish Council for your collection.
The coin features a specially commissioned 90th birthday portrait on the head, designed by Luigi Badia. The reverse features an oak wreath and crown symbolising long life and the House of Windsor with EIIR at the centre.
Struck in sterling silver, your coin will arrive in a wooden presentation box with a numbered certificate of authenticity.
With a worldwide edition limit of just 2,500 the parish council has secured a limited number and you will need to act quickly to ensure you can get one of them.
Green Square have now submitted their application for planning consent to Wiltshire Council for approval.
The planning application is on the page we set aside for this Green Square saga together with two plans of the Briar Leaze area for you to peruse. One from the plans provided by Green Square and one extracted from the Land Registry. The plans, as submitted, do seem to be taking land that belongs to the village hall, a registered charity, in order to accommodate the planned development. Whilst the area disputed is relatively small, the courts are often beset with boundary disputes for far less. The village hall committee, I am led to believe, is of the view that Green Square are quite blatantly using land within their plans that belongs to the village hall without request, negotiation or recompense and will be defending their property. Please view the two sections of documents and form your own opinions. Click here.
Around 60 parishioners gathered at the Benson Hall to hear Chair of the Parish Council Pete Szczesiak outline the main issues that concern the village currently. First topic was the Neighbourhood Plan and Peter Alberry encouraged everyone to vote in the referendum that took place in late March.
Broadband, or the lack of it, was discussed at length. There are ongoing approaches to BT, four questions have been asked in the House of Lords, connection speeds recorded throughout the village that demonstrate the very poor service but all to no avail. Pressure will be maintained but another idea proposed that could be successful is to have a broadband service connected to the village hall, as a Community Access Point, which would then transmit a signal around the village.
John Reis gave a very interesting potted history of St Swithin's church, which dates to the late 11th century, although even earlier saxon walls were found recently. It is a wonderful little church and benefits from excellent acoustics, something which ought to be taken advantage of more in the future. Dwindling congregations mean that it will have to evolve to meet the needs of a 21st century community. Philip Bromiley has now been rector for 10 years and he made a plea to the audience that he did not want to be the last vicar. He stressed that the church was there for everyone and reminded us of some of the other work that carries on in the village, such as T4ALL and Little Fishes.
Next up was the thorny question of how traffic should be controlled through the village. Many incidents have been reported in recent months and there are now genuine concerns for people's safety, eroding verges and disintegrating pavements. New village signs are soon to be installed and a new 40 mph speed restriction from Goodenoughs corner will be considered, as will the creation of pinch points. Two possible locations were mentioned, in front of the village hall up to the junction of Briar Leaze to slow vehicles entering and exiting the village and the second is at a suitable point near White's House and Rosemary Cottage. Temporary cones may be utilised to test the effectiveness of such plans.
It was heartening to see such a good turn out and a very positive meeting was held.
The Lib Dem peer, Lord Nigel Jones of Cheltenham has tabled four questions now on our behalf in The House of Lords “To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will use Compton Bassett in Wiltshire as a pilot test case for installing superfast Broadband in rural areas due to its special and unusual challenges.”
He has agreed with our assertion that it is quite ridiculous that today, in 2015 many of the village homes cannot get broadband at all whilst those who are lucky enough to get any cover at all can typically achieve speeds of less than 2.0 Mbit/s.
His question was responded to by Lord Gardiner of Kimble in his role as spokeperson for 'Department for Culture Media and SportBroadband: Rural Areas' in the house of Lords. He said "The Government remains committed to taking superfast broadband coverage further than the 95% level to be achieved by current programmes, but there are no current plans to undertake a pilot exercise in Compton Bassett."
As long ago as 2007 over half the population across the country had already got broadband running at speeds in excess of 4.6 Mbit/s. The equipment to bring proper high speed broad band to the village terminates just over a mile from the southern reaches of the village and the ducting is believed to come right up to the village itself.
Under current rules, Wiltshire Council has already gained funding and upgraded the exchange at Quemerford from which half the village gets its service and so Compton Bassett is deemed to have been upgraded commercially, preventing further investment at this stage. The council is currently going through procurement for phase two funding to consider communities that have been upgraded commercially but who are not able to access a superfast service. Any result for this funding application will not be known until June of this year.
Lord Jones requested an answer to his question within two weeks, before parliament is broken up for the next elections. Full story Gazette and Herald
Thanks to all who kindly donated towards the oak post � the post and sign will be going in between the tree behind the memorial bench on the corner of Briar Leaze and the end of the hedge sometime in April, as soon as the post can be ordered.
A social evening was held on Friday 27th February for those interested to have a sneaky preview of the new village sign over a glass of wine. A small donation towards the cost of the wine and the 6 metre oak post support for the sign was asked for from thise who wanted to. Giving everyone the chance to “own” a bit of village history.
The sign was erected 29th April 2015 and is a fine spectacle as you approach the hall.
