I MUCH appreciated the article in last week’s paper which I was rather amused to see awarded me ‘stalwart’ status in advance of my stepping down next month from Wiltshire Council. According to Google, ‘stalwart’ has positive associations and synonyms, which I am not sure I have fully earned.
All that said, I must seek to correct one of the apparent achievements attributed to me – that I have stopped a skatepark in the town. This is not correct. I have certainly spent five years opposing a skatepark in Monkton Park, because I feel deeply that that it was and is entirely the wrong location for it, in the middle of the tranquil park in a conservation area. This seems to have been borne out by the fact that the council’s planning application for the park location has been firmly opposed by the Environment Agency and on noise grounds. It has stalled and effectively been put on hold.
Five years ago I argued that there were much better locations available, and all this time I have genuinely believed that the town would have a skatepark by now if either of them – Stanley Park or the Bristol Road land beside the football club – had been chosen. But the Conservative and Lib Dem party politicians on Chippenham Area Board united to insist that it go in Monkton Park, come what may. Well, they were wrong, as five wasted years has proved.
They are the ones who have held up a skate park for the town, not me.
Now there is a new opportunity. The Borough Lands charity has big plans for the Westmead site, which it owns. These include a multi-sports and a skate park. This is a huge opportunity for the town, and for local youngsters.
Will those who pushed through the Monkton Park location be big enough to recognise that there are indeed better options, including Westmead, and work for a better solution? Sometimes changing your mind can have a positive benefit.
In the meantime, can I take this chance to say a big thank you to all those who have sent me such kind messages about my years as their councillor. Stalwart or otherwise, they are hugely appreciated.
CHRIS CASWILL
Independent Wiltshire councillor
Chippenham Monkton