News

Please see notice below:

Residents can view Agendas and Supporting Documents for the meetings to be found here.

Due to the delivery of our town’s Christmas trees, 3-way traffic lights will be in situ on Royal Wootton Bassett High Street and Station Road on Sunday 19th November 2023 from 7.30am to 11.00 am.

We apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please see notice below:-

Residents can view Agendas and Supporting Documents for the meetings to be found here.

In October 2023, all the wooden flooring was re varnished in the main hall and bar lounge, also new energy saving ceiling lights in the upper room and bar lounge have been installed which has greatly improve the look of all three rooms.

We hope you will agree it has given the hall a much-needed face lift, see photos of before and after.

Councillors are proud to be the Trustees of Wootton Bassett Memorial Hall and we continue to look forward to supporting local groups, clubs and sharing special occasions with the local community.

For prices and booking for the various rooms and facilities in the hall, please visit our newly improved pages on this website.

Before                                                After

Chair of Planning Committee, Councillor Steve Walls explains in the above video the Public Consultation that Wiltshire Council are hosting from Wednesday 27th September 2023 for 8 weeks, in respect of 1340 homes to be built and 6 hectares of employment land to be allocated in and around Royal Wootton Bassett, as part of their Local Plan to 2038.

Please see below posters for links to consultation portal, plus dates of live webinar presentation and drop-in sessions to find out more about the Draft Plan and on how to respond to this consultation. You will also find a printed copy of our posters in the October edition of the RWB & Lyneham Advertiser that will be popping through residents doors in the coming weeks.

Residents have raised concerns at recent notice placed around the footpaths at Thunderbrook Estate. It was recently discussed at the Planning Meeting on Wednesday 13th September 2023 where the Chair, Councillor Steve Walls and Councillor Carole Tan had contacted Wiltshire Council for clarification. The following information has been provided by Wiltshire Council:-

Deposit of Map and Statement under Sections 31(6) Highways Act 1980 and 15A(1) Commons Act 2006

Form CA16 – Thunder Brook Area, Royal Wootton Bassett

In respect of the notice of the above-mentioned deposit of Map and Statement under Sections 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980 and 15A(1) of the Commons Act 2006 – Form CA16, Thunder Brook area, Royal Wootton Bassett. The deposit referred to in the notice can be viewed in full on the Wiltshire Council website, using the following link:

https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/RightsOfWay/Deposit/Index/WBAS2023016

Just to confirm that these applications are dealt with by the Rights of Way Team at Wiltshire Council, so please feel free to refer any requests for additional information to us. The notice posted on site is to inform the public that the landowner has submitted a deposit under Section 15A(1) of the Commons Act 2006. The same deposit is also submitted under Section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980, but this is not referred to in the notice as this part is not required to be advertised.

The Section 15A(1) part brings to an end the period of time for which local inhabitants could claim that the land has been used for lawful sports and pastimes, in order to prevent registration of the land as a town or village green.

The Section 31(6) part means that the landowner has identified the recorded public rights of way (footpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic recorded on the Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way) which exist over their land. The land is shown on the plan deposited and any recorded public rights of way are also shown on this plan. The application states that they do not intend to create any new recorded public rights of way.  If there are unrecorded paths over the land used regularly by the public, the notice does not mean these will be closed, though the landowner may choose to do so if they wish. If there are unrecorded paths that have been used without permission and without challenge from the landowner, an application can be made to add these to the Definitive Map by way of deemed dedication. If a member of the public wished to make such an application they would have to demonstrate that the path/s were used by the public for a period of 20 years or more, prior to the date the Section 31(6) application was submitted. There are other means by which the public may apply to create rights of way, for example by historical evidence, that are unaffected by such an application

Residents are encouraged to submit their thoughts to Janice Green, Senior Definitive Map Officer at Wiltshire Council (details below).
Direct phone no is: 01225 713345
Email: janice.green@wiltshire.gov.uk
Address: Janice Green, Senior Definitive Map Officer,
Rights of Way and Countryside,
Wiltshire Council, Country Hall,
Trowbridge, BA14 8JN

This Autumn Wiltshire Local draft plan is going to public consultation, known as Regulation 19, starting from Wednesday 27th September to Wednesday 22nd November 2023.

The draft plan sets out to 2038, proposals for 1,340 homes over 4 sites and 6 hectares of employment land, along with associated infrastructure in and around Royal Wootton Bassett.

It is important that residents of Royal Wootton Bassett have their say and register their views. To this end, Wiltshire Council have arranged public sessions in towns around the county. The one for Royal Wootton Bassett will be held on Wednesday 11th October 2023 from 3 pm to 7pm at Wootton Bassett Library. Anyone interested can drop in at any time during this period and meet Wiltshire Council officers to find our more, ask questions and be informed on how to respond to this consultation.

For those unable to make the drop-in session, a live webinar will be held on Tuesday 10th October 2023 from 6.30pm to 8pm on Microsoft Teams. It will feature a presentation, followed by the opportunity to ask questions. Registration is required to join, via the Live webinar registration form. Details found on Wiltshire Council website www.wiltshire.gov.uk  including the Plan documents.

The Town Council has commissioned a planning consultant to review the draft plan and they will present their findings at a Planning Committee meeting on Thursday 21st September 2023 in the Sixth Form Lecture Theatre, Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, Lime Kiln starting at 7pm. All welcome.

Please see notice below:-

Residents can view the Agenda and Appendices for the meeting on the Council Meetings calendar found on the home page.

Please see notice below:-

Residents can view the Agendas and Supporting Documents for the meetings on the Council Meetings calendar found on the home page.

On Monday 21st August 2023 at 11am a memorial service was held to unveil the headstone for Private Walter Harris, who died on 13th November 1920, aged 22. Private Walter Thomas Ewart Harris served in the Wiltshire Regiment during the First World War and died in the Ministry of Pensions Hospital, Bath as a result of gunshot wounds to the head received during the war and he is commemorated on a screen wall in a military cemetery in Brookwood.

Private Harris was interred in Pink 147a (consecrated ground), a public grave in Downs View Cemetery, on 17th November 1920 and is recorded in the parish records that he was a labourer. He is buried with his grandfather, Jacob Matthews, but the grave was, however, unmarked. This is no longer the case as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) have now installed a headstone on his grave so that he is rightfully and properly remembered.

Reverend Katey Minshall conducted the memorial service, joined by members of the Royal Wootton Bassett Branch of Royal British Legion, the Mayor, Town Crier, Sheridan Parsons (who wrote about Private Harris in her book – Wootton Bassett One Hundred Years Ago), family members of Private Harris, a representative from the CWGC, along with the Town Clerk, Councillors,  Town Council Cemetery team and residents. Wreaths and flowers were laid and a one minute silence was held with Matthew Walton, Wootton Bassett Brass Band playing the Reveille.

Here some photos below taken at the service: –