If you oppose factory farming (or just have concerns about it) because of the shockingly bad treatment  of animals that it often brings, there is a chance to express your concerns via a petition to Caroline Spelman. She is the government minister responsible for farming subsidies and standards.  The link can be found at :

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/804/504/354/

Wiltshire Council has finally reached an agreement with ING for the redevelopment of the Bath Road car park and Bridge Centre site. but there is still a long way to go. The car park and the Bridge Centre will remain open while ING prepare and submit a planning application. Chris Caswill is in touch with ING, asking for an early meeting between them and local residents.

Network Rail have withdrawn their planning application for extra car parking on the empty space on Cocklebury Road.There were shortcomings in the application, which will hopefully be addressed in a revised proposal.

A date for your diary – the Olympic torch will be carried through Chippenham on the morning of Wednesday 23 May.  More details when we have them.

The upcoming opportunities to talk to your Neighbourhood Police teams in and around the Monkton area are:

Wednesday 7 December, 7 – 730 pm, Car park, John Coles park

Sunday 11 December, 10- 1030 , Chippenham Library

Wednesday 14 December, 230 – 3, Monkton Park, golf course hut

Monday 19 December, 3 – 330, Emery Gate shopping centre

Wednesday 21 December, 7 – 730 pm, Market quarter area

The Boundary Commission has published plans to change the boundaries of the parliamentary constituencies.  It proposes to keep a Chippenham constituency, but with revised boundaries, taking in the area to the north but removing Melksham and Bradford to Trowbridge.  The details can be found on the Commission’s web site :

http://consultation.boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/

But now James Gray MP and others are pushing for Chippenham to be taken out of the constituency title, and for it to be relabelled ’North Wiltshire’.  Chris and other Lib Dem councillors are fighting this, and Chris has asked the leader of the Town Council to back the retention of Chippenham.  “Trowbridge, Devizes, Salisbury and Warminster are all due to be recognised in the new constituency titles – Chippenham should be given the same recognition,” says Chris. “James Gray is wrong about  this.  With over 40000 residents, Chippenham should remain on the electoral map.”

Up till December 5th, you can give your support to keeping Chippenham on the map via the Boundary  Commission web site.

Shops, cafes and restaurants will stay open in town till 9 pm on Thursday 15 December .  And the car parking is free!  There will be music in the streeet and a chance to enjoy promotional offers in several stores.

A three day hearing at Chippenham Magistrates Court has rejected the appeal by the Karma night club, and upheld the decision of the Council’s Licensing Committee to revoke the club’s licence.  The magistrates have awarded costs to the Council, which means the club now has also to meet the Council’s legal costs, as well as their own.  As both sides employed barristers, the costs will be significant. 

Chris gave evidence in support of the Council case on the first day of the hearing.  He represented the concerns of residents in St Mary’s Place and the businesses and residents on Station Hill.  He supported the graphic CCTV pictures shown by the police with an account of the regular night time nuisance and disorder in the area.

After the decision, Chris praised the contributions made by the Police and the Council.  “The Council showed a lot of guts in sticking to the case, even when it might have been lost and cost a lot of money.  And the Police were strong in their support of the revocation decision, and produced the records and CCTV evidence of the drunken disturbances which continued right up to the court case.  They both deserve credit – and our heartfelt thanks ”

Chris went on to say “I am genuinely sorry for the people in the club who will lose jobs as a result of this, but at the end of the day we will not accept alcohol-fuelled  trouble in the town centre week after week.  Residents deserve better. Local businesses deserve better.  People who want a pleasant evening out in the town deserve better.  This sends a message that together we will do what has to be done, even if takes time to achieve it.”

This web site will from now on carry a link to the web site of ’38 Degrees’, a campaigning organisation which connects directly to the big issues of the day, and is having an amazing impact on government.  You can take a look at the site at http://38degrees.org.uk/

The thousands of people who signed up to the 38 Degrees petition on the proposal to privatise our forests made a huge contribution to the government’s change of mind.  38 Degrees also played a big part in the ‘pause’ on the reckless NHS  proposals and is still campaigning for more improvements.  And now they are getting stuck in to the proposals to hand the countryside over to developers. 

Its worth a look – and then you can add your voice to any campaigns you want to support.  It is making a difference!

The Happy Days nursery on the Ivy lane School site has been given a grant of £2303 by the Chippenham Area Board.  This is to help the nursery improve their outside play area.  Chris spoke up for the proposal at the September 12 meeting – “this is a really good use of Area Board grant funds – it will not only make the area safer and more pleasant for the children at the nursery, it will also increase the amount of time when it can be used. Its good to see the work the teachers and governors are doing for the nursery, which is a vital facility for lots of local parents.”