Archive | Homepage - The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald

On this day: Chippenham News | Devizes News | Gazette General Sport | Malmesbury News | Marlborough News | Pewsey News | Calne News | Wiltshire News

Devizes News

• Former police chief's house goes on the market in Devizes

  The Devizes home of former Chief Constable and High Sheriff of Wiltshire, Dame Elizabeth Neville, has gone on the market.  read more

• Devizes charity in garden help call

  Green-fingered volunteers are needed to help maintain a garden for people with dementia in Devizes. read more

• Torch lights up appeal

  Almost £500 was raised for Devizes mayor Kelvin Nash’s appeal from donations made by people having their photograph taken with an Olympic torch he borrowed from a friend. Mr Nash was given the torch by his friend, who ran with it in Hertfordshire, to use to raise money for his appeal. He took it to a sports day on The Green and to Devizes Beer Festival at The Wharf earlier this month. The appeal is raising money for Kennet Gateway Club, Devizes Friday Craft Club for visually impaired people and Devizes Opportunity Centre. read more

• New lease of life for Devizes Hillworth Park

  Hillworth Park in Devizes will reopen on Saturday after a major transformation. Devizes Town Council, which owns the park, in Hillworth Road, received a £1.2 million Lottery grant towards the work. The park is often referred to as the town’s hidden gem and Mike Hasted, the town council’s park development officer, believes people will be impressed with it. He said: “It looks fantastic. It will be a great facility for Devizes. You can sit and enjoy a bit of tranquility, while there will be regular activities, including music. “We have a Facebook page. People have got in touch saying their father used to work at the park as a warden and others have said they used to play there as a kid.” The park has been closed for the past ten months for the work to take place. As part of the upgrade, it has been opened up with the removal of the central hedge. Wide gravelled paths, traditional benches and lamp posts give the park a neat and contemporary feel. A new park centre, which has a café, can be hired for meetings and courses. Nearby is the restored Queen Anne Pavilion, a Grade II* listed building, that had been boarded up for several years. It will be open for people to look round. In between the park centre and the pavilion is a new reflective pool, made out of polished black granite and where the water will be a couple of inches deep. There is play equipment for children, fitness equipment, a new tennis court and aviary, plus 14,000 plants. Mr Hasted said: “We did public consultation on what facilities the park should have and the aviary was almost top of the list of what people liked about it. A café was pretty much second.” The total cost of the project is £1.8 million, with other funding coming from the town council, waste management company Viridor and others. The Lottery award was given by the Heritage and Big Lottery Funds’ Parks for People programme. Funding also paid for full-time park warden Simon Lathbury for five years. The town council has worked closely with The Friends of Hillworth Park on the project for the past four years. The official opening will take place on Saturday at noon with events until 4pm including live music, a children’s entertainer, a cooking demonstration by Devizes chef Peter Vaughan and guided tours. For more information, visit www.hillworthpark.org.uk read more

• Young artists praised by Devizes MP

  Art students from secondary schools across the constituency entered Claire Perry’s competition to find artwork for her Westminster and Devizes offices. read more

• Music festival at Rowde cancelled

  THE wet weather has forced the cancellation of Rowdy Fest, due to take place this Saturday. read more

On this day: Chippenham News | Devizes News | Gazette General Sport | Malmesbury News | Marlborough News | Pewsey News | Calne News | Wiltshire News