Society

APM with big ambitions!

Thank you to the residents from all across the Parish who took the time to attend the Annual Parish Meeting on May 15th. It was really wonderful to be able to meet and chat with you all. Thank you to the River Bourne Community Farm for hosting us in the run up to their biggest event of the year!

Published: 19 May 2023

Our grateful thanks to Josh Rogers, Community Empowerment Officer from Wiltshire Wildlife Trust for stepping in last minute, to talk about the Castle Hill Country Park. It’s clear from the brief discussions held at the meeting that there is a tension between being a dog friendly country park and protecting the nesting Skylarks during the breeding season but as Josh pointed out, it is not a nature reserve and there are going to be areas where a balance needs to be found between people and wildlife.

The Milford Area Preservation Group (MAPG) put up a super display of all the work they do to keep Milford well preserved https://www.milfordpreservationgroup.com Wild about Laverstock https://www.wildaboutlaverstock.com also had a vibrant display, which fit well with the Wiltshire Wildlife and The Land Trusts information boards https://thelandtrust.org.uk/space/castle-hill-country-park/

Minutes of the last meeting in 2022 were approved, and residents heard from Nick Baker, Chair of Laverstock & Ford Parish Council about the six bold ambitions being drafted in the Parish Council’s Strategic Plan (draft plan below) and he also included an operational report about the work with play parks, bins, and measures to reduce speeding and litter.

It was a lovely opportunity for residents to meet the Parish Council Staff team in person, Trudi Deane (Parish Clerk), Joe Elder (Operations Officer), Juliet Brain (Comms and Community Engagement) and Andrew Prince (Responsible Financial Officer) plus eleven of the thirteen parish councillors actively working to improve the Parish and resolve issues. (We still need more!). Also, another big thank you to Charlotte Mortimer-Talman (Ford resident) for being a brilliant tea and cake monitor, she has helped at at various events in the past year and we are grateful for her time

Residents were able to talk informally with members of the Parish Environmental Action Group (PEAG) and a member of the Footpath Warden group (nicked-named Footpath Champions), Ben Parker from the River Bourne Community Farm, and representatives of other local groups such as ‘Save Old Sarum Airfield’. Our other special guests were Philip Wilkinson, the Wiltshire Police & Crime Commissioner, who was joined by the new Chief Constable for Wiltshire Police, Catherine Roper and Jenny Moss, one of our local PCSO’s.

The meeting ended at 7.45pm and many residents stayed on to hear Philip Wilkinson and Catherine Roper address the start of the Annual Parish Meeting which followed on from the APM.

It is clear that Wiltshire Police are determined to raise their game, develop better ways for the public to communicate with them and are taking local concerns regarding anti-social behaviour and crime very seriously.