Anonymity is granted only at the discretion of the editor, who also reserves the right to edit letters.

Why so much work to roads?

ON a recent bus trip to Devizes, no fewer than five separate ‘roadworks’ were encountered with temporary traffic lights, in Croft Road, Wroughton, Avebury, Bishops Cannings and Devizes. This on a journey of about 20 miles each way.

Just one person was in attendance at only one of these sites; the others no-one.

Surely there must be some sort of ruling about this? On a recent coach trip to France – again some roadworks – but literally gangs of workmen actually working!

Rodney J M Wirdnam, Whilestone Way, Swindon

Lights are to blame

I THOUGHT both the letters from Alan Scotford and Tony Felloner were excellent and both summed up the cavalier attitude of Wiltshire Council toward the people who finance their crazy schemes and machinations.

There was no reason to change the Hathaway Park/New Road Junction, the traffic flowed very well compared to the Bridge Centre lights but Wiltshire Council just had to meddle and change that which didn’t require change and now we have queues in all directions.

Mid morning and yes I know a folk festival was in progress, Park Lane and Marshfield Road were one continual traffic jam all the way back to the football ground.

This would never have happened before their meddling. Mr Scotford is correct in his assessment of the Bridge Centre lights, when they are not working the traffic is! No jams anywhere in sight! The cost of these new lights would make us all shudder if we knew how much had been spent.

Mr Felloner called it correctly in his prediction that Wiltshire Council would ignore all logic and Larkrise and St Nicholas special schools would be closed and the new school for these most vulnerable of children will now be sent to miles from home to Rowde.

No matter how many discussions and consultations their intention was to plough on and ignore all reason.

These are the sort of letters that should be appearing in this Wiltshire local paper not national political propaganda as frequently appears.

Local politics yes, in fact this council is completely out of touch with the electors in Wiltshire and seems to deliberately waste money on projects that are mainly vanity projects and aren’t held to account.

I guarantee that the next Wiltshire Council White Elephant project will be the multi-storey car park in Monkton Park Chippenham behind the Olympiad Leisure Centre, despite the residents of Monkton Park mostly objecting to this added burden into the biggest cul-de-sac in Great Britain which is mostly blocked off by traffic most of the day.

This proposed car park which will require visitors to be in A1 condition to travel down from Monkton Park on foot and then all the way back up with any shopping.

Sadly it’s not just Chippenham they seem intent on ruining, the same is going on in Melksham. I don’t believe political parties should be represented in Councils, just independents doing the best they can for people.

Stuart Eels, John Aubrey Close, Yatton Keynell, Chippenham

A waste of money

AT THE time of writing my letter concerning the new traffic lights at the top of Park Lane, Chippenham, which appeared in last week’s Gazette, the build up of traffic along the Marshfield Road/Park Lane area was horrendous.

I am now pleased to thankfully report that during the last week Wiltshire Council staff have re-phased the way the new lights were originally working and that vehicles are now flowing much easier and quicker, with fewer queues and a reduction in air pollution.

The flow of traffic is now very similar to that experienced before the commencement of this very expensive project.

It is therefore still questionable as to whether these new lights will bring any real benefit to motorists and local residents.

Many of the latter would have rather seen the money spent on these new lights used instead to re-surface a good number of our pavements that are in a very poor state of repair and dangerous and difficult to navigate, especially for those who are elderly or use wheel chairs and pushchairs.

Alan Scotford, Marshfield Road, Chippenham

It’s about inclusion

WILTSHIRE Council’s Cabinet decision to go ahead with the special needs Superschool at Rowde was deeply disappointing but no surprise. On the bright side, we gained a few minor concessions and there are other legal avenues that SEND Action Wiltshire are currently exploring. We will hold WC accountable every step of the way.

We have been asked why we are not happy to be getting a ‘shiny new school’ as if it’s a Christmas present we should be grateful for. Of course we welcome investment, it’s lack of investment in special needs over many years that has lead to this situation in the first place.

But if you’re blind, or in a wheelchair with severe CP and epilepsy or a combination of any of those things a shiny school doesn’t mean very much. What you need are happy parents and a welcoming acceptance from all around you.

Inclusion. Wiltshire Council don’t get it. They really don’t. Anyone who watched the Panorama documentary last week revealing the vicious abuse of young people with disabilities in a residential home cannot fail to have been horrified.

I’m not suggesting that anything like that will happen in this new institution but inclusion is as much a state of mind as anything else. If you develop a climate whereby young disabled children are trransported long distances to a poorly located school away from their brothers and sisters and peers you sow the seed in people’s minds that’s it’s OK to be treated differently.

If you create a situation whereby the only relationships outside of the family these children have will be paid for you develop imbalanced relationships and a ‘service provider’ mentality.

Kids need to be with other kids. It’s not rocket science. From their mainstream peers disabled kids learn social skills, behaviours and improved communication, and mainstream kids learn that just because you are in a wheelchair, or can’t speak, or move a bit strangely doesn’t mean you can’t be funny, interesting or be a good mate.

Inclusion isn’t wheelchair access or more hoists in swimming pools, it’s about having normal, everyday interactions with normal, everyday people. Everyday. Simple.

In fact, I have a great solution which will cost the council a fraction of their proposed spend. I know a building in Trowbridge, it’s centrally located, good access, reasonable parking, already with a cafe, learning resources area and civil spaces - all the things WC deem important in their new institution.

And it’s ever so shiny. Why not give our children County Hall? Wiltshire Council could move into the old town hall in the centre of town, currently the home of Town Hall Arts. They’ll feel right at home there, in a Victorian building reflecting their Victorian values.

Jane Scrivener, Parent of a Larkrise student

Voters locked out

TODAY May 23 I went to the Neeld to cast my vote for the EU election which I did want to I did vote as a protest.

As I approached the Neeld we usually go into the building via a side entrance which today was obstructed by locked gates with a polling station poster and beneath the poster was poster of green staggered arrows leading you into the high street with no other directions.

So I went into the town council offices and asked where do I go to cast my vote. They pointed to a corridor which links to the Neeld I had a confrontation with the people issuing voters forms, asked why the change of entrance. I was told it was because that the entrance was declared as a fire entrance only.

I complained about this among other matters. I maintain this was deliberate to stop people voting and should have had planning permission before these changes.

I am 72 and always since 1972 voted against belonging to the Common Market /EU.

Michael Best, Field View, Chippenham

LibDems celebrate

Across the country the greatest results for the Liberals since the days of Lloyd George. In the South West, Caroline Voaden and Martin Horwood elected as our MEPs, and Wiltshire with the fourth highest voter turnout at 44%. Together with the Greens and Change UK, our collective votes outnumbered the votes for the Brexit Parties, and there is hope we can form an Alliance for the future.

The Conservatives and Labour knocked into a cocked hat with neither of their official positions taken seriously by the public, and even Douglas Alexander the former Labour Cabinet Minister saying on the BBC R4 Today Programme that “Labour’s position of a ‘Jobs First Brexit’ is a bit like a buildings first earthquake”.

The current Reith lecturer, Supreme Court Judge Jonathan Sumption, this morning also commenting in his lecture that the decision by Tory Leader David Cameron to hold a referendum in the first place was deeply flawed.

Perhaps unfairly, Carole Cadwalladr the leader writer for the Observer tweeted of Farage “Here he is. Re-elected. Again. The idea that the Brexit Party is a ‘new’ party is a total fiction. It’s just the latest host body for Farage - the tapeworm of British politics.” The Brexit Party certainly got the largest number of votes for a single party, and congratulations to them for that achievement, but with no policies other than a no deal Brexit one has to wonder where they go next, especially given some of their MEP’s deeply unpleasant personal views.

The best quote of the week must however go to former President Barack Obama who when delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University New Jersey said of the current strain of anti-intellectualism: “Let me be clear as I can be: In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue. It’s not cool to not know what you’re talking about. That’s not keeping it real or telling it like it is. It’s not challenging political correctness… that’s just not knowing what you’re talking about.”

We need a return to well thought through, decent and fair policies from politicians and that is what we in the Lib Dems are working on.

Dr Brian Mathew, Liberal Democrat Wiltshire Councillor for Box & Colerne

Sick of Brexit fiasco

THERE must be plenty of people who are sick to the back teeth of the Brexit fiasco. Every politician and pundit seems to be stuck in their own arguments and too scared to change their mind or look at the bare facts. Here are a few that I have taken directly from Office of National Statistics so at least these should be accurate.

In the 2016 referendum 17.4 million people voted to leave the EU and 16.2 million people voted to remain. The voting population at that time was 56.1 million. Thus 31% voted to leave and 28.9 voted to remain. This means that the majority of 40.1% did not actually vote. This could be because they were uninterested, did not know what to vote for or were happy with the status quo.

There was a higher proportion of the elderly population that voted to leave and a higher proportion of the younger voters preferred remain. In 2016/17 there were 1.45 million persons between 16 and 17 years old. During 2016 /17 1.05 million persons died, predominantly elderly.

If we assume the majority (i.e. the non voters) now know what it is about (it’s been on the news every night !!!) then it is obvious to any thinking person that another referendum is the only fair way to solve the impasse. Whatever that result the Government will then have a mandate to get on with running our Country.

Rick Jotcham, Trowbridge

Help our children

ACROSS Wiltshire are amazing people who are helping to transform young lives by taking action with  The Children’s Society. This Volunteers Week (1-7 June) we would like to  thank each and every one of them.

Right now there are 2,754 children living in Wiltshire classed as children ‘in need’ and sadly this number continues to increase steadily.

We help thousands of children and young people in many different ways; including those affected by poverty, mental health issues and victims of criminal or sexual exploitation.

In the past year nearly 10,000 volunteers gave us their time, contributing an incredible 478,000 hours. There are a variety of ways to help, from supporting young people directly in our services, volunteering in our shops,  organising events, taking part in challenges, campaigning, donating, or increasing local awareness of our work.

If you are inspired to get involved, contact us on 0300 303 7000 or supportercare@childrenssocety.org.uk we’d love to talk to you.

The need is great and every hour volunteered, every campaign action taken, every donation made makes a real difference.

Nick Roseveare, CEO The Children’s Society, Edward Rudolf House, Margery Street, London WC1X 0JL

Promises, promises.....

A FEW years ago a Trowbridge Town Councillor wrote: ‘I have had a long talk with Lance Allan this morning about the Paxcroft skatepark and outside gym, and I have some very good news.

‘The Community Governance Review will make changes to the boundary between Trowbridge and Hilperton. Area 3C, South of Hilperton Drive, will bring 210 houses into Trowbridge. This will generate £25,000 per annum in council tax for Trowbridge Town Council.

‘The proposal is that the £25,000 should be spent on community projects and, subject to council approval, that the extra income could be put into the skatepark and gym. The arrangement will be over a period of at least four years giving PMRA £100,000 for the project.

‘Obviously, those people brought into Trowbridge will not be too happy about the huge increase in their council tax as they only pay £12 per year to Hilperton Parish Council, so we will have to “sell” the benefits that the changes will bring, and probably have to ask all Paxcroft residents how they would like the money spent.’

Here we are several years later, in the 2019-20 financial year, and I wonder just how much Trowbridge Town Council has actually spent on the area which transferred from Hilperton PC to Trowbridge TC? Of course, any figure should ignore the play areas which WC paid TTC to adopt. Or is it hoping that people will have forgotten what was said?

Until 2021 the area concerned will still be part of the Hilperton Division at Wiltshire Council, so an answer would be appreciated.

Ernie Clark, Wiltshire Councillor for Hilperton Division, Independent Group leader, Wiltshire Council, www.ernieclark.org.uk, Stonelea, Hilperton

Thank you shoppers

ON BEHALF of Christian Aid, I would like to thank all those people who contributed to the Trowbridge town centre collections on 14th and 17th May. £128.18 was donated which will go towards improving the care of pregnant women in Sierra Leone. This country is the world’s most dangerous place to become a mother. Every day 10 women will die giving birth because of the lack of medical facilities. Through your gifts and all the other money donated nationally during Christian Aid Week, lasting change can be delivered where it is most needed in the poorest parts of the world.

Alison Hicks, Christian Aid Week Organiser in the BA14 Area

We’re all to blame

WHEN are the climate change protestors going to wake up to the fact that they are now responsible for climate change, just do the maths you do not have to be en Einstein to work out that there are too many people on the planet, something the so-called experts fail to mention because of the climate situation.

Unfortunately it is no longer acceptable for people to have more than one child, the money saved on child benefit could be used to help combat climate change. If they insist on having more then they should have to pay a tax for every child over the one.

The protestors have not come up with the answer of how they intend to generate all the extra electricity so that they can use their electronic phones, tablets and everything else that requires electricity. Once they have generated the electricity and charged up all the batteries how do they propose to dispose of all the batteries once they are life expired, batteries with very toxic metallic elements in them. Also they all want to have hot water and showers produced from apparently toxic boilers.

We have to be grateful to the protestors though especially the teenagers because there will be less cars on the roads due to the fact that they will not be learning to drive, there will be less air traffic because they will not be flying off on holidays and no more going to McDonalds so good news for many cows.

If they really want to protest do it in China or India or America because they are by far the worst polluters of the planet, the amount we contribute to climate change would be like pouring a bucket of water into the sea.

Climate change is a concern for us all but please vent your anger where it matters most.

K A Wareham, Brookfield Rise, Whitley, Melksham

What a super show

LAST night my daughters and I went to see the TAOS musical theatre production of Oklahoma at the Arc theatre in Trowbridge.

This was the first time we had been to one of their shows and we were amazed by the energy and talent not to mention all the hard work that must have gone into producing such a fantastic performance. Thankyou all for a great evening, proving that you don’t need to go far to experience great theatre!We are looking forward to the next one,

C. Franz, Address supplied

Put pen to paper

WHY are so few letters being printed in the Gazette and Herald? There used to be a double page spread of letters which I enjoyed reading. But this week for example only six letters have been printed. What is the reason for this?

J Condon, Kennet Mews, Marlborough

We are always pleased to publish Letters to the Editor from readers: sadly in the week this correspondent refers to, very few were received: Editor