Wiltshire Community Areas
The allocation of parishes and electoral divisions to Community Areas concluded in 2009, following the Implementation Executive Meeting at Trowbridge on 16th March 2009.
Burbage & The Bedwyns, the electoral division to which the Parish of Grafton belongs, had reviewed its original allocation to the Marlborough Area as opposed to the Pewsey Area, with public meetings being held in most of the parishes to discuss this. Grafton Parish held its meeting on Tuesday 3rd February 2009 and voted to support the move to Pewsey Area, known as Option 4 within the Implementation Executive.
Grafton was represented at the Implementation Executive by Peter Lemon (Chairman) and Susie Brew and spoke in support of the move to Pewsey Area.
The proposal was put to the vote and Wiltshire Council voted unanimously in favour of Option 4, which means that Burbage & The Bedwyns now belong to the Pewsey Area.
Background to Community Areas
Community Areas define the area for which an Area Board and an Area Partnership serve. In summary, Area Partnerships manage the Local Area Plan, support local projects through funding requests to the Board and identify and escalate local issues. Area Boards are the local Executive for the new Wiltshire Council and are responsible for agreeing the funding of local projects and for agreeing the issues to escalate to County level. Community areas do not impact policing, health or education services.
What were the reasons for the move to Pewsey?
Our reasons for recommending a move to Pewsey are as follows:
Grafton Parish is a rural area. Unlike Marlborough town and its close surrounds, the parishes within the Pewsey Area are rural in nature and thus the objectives, priorities, aspirations and issues of the parishes in the Pewsey Area are better aligned to those of Grafton Parish. Indeed, there are also important geographic commonalities between the two areas, such as the railway and Kennet & Avon Canal which create opportunities for collective solutions.
By reallocating the division to Pewsey, both the population count and the number of Unitary Councillors on the Boards would be more equal in number and therefore parishes such as ours would be better heard and represented, a view that is borne out from our experienes in the Marlborough Area Board Pilot.
More Information
You can find more information on the Wiltshire Council website.
To have a look at the allocation of parishes and electoral divisions to the Community Areas, you can view a list of Community Areas or a map of Community Areas. A Partnership Agreement has been introduced to provide guidance and rules regarding the running of partnerships in all the areas.
Savernake Hospital
For up to date information on Savernake Hospital, please go to: www.friendsofsavernake.org
Grafton Parish Council is very concerned about the closure of the Minor Injuries Unit and Mental Health Unit at Savernake Hospital. One of our Councillors tried to attend two meetings about this in Marlborough. At the first on 5th May 2007 she, along with around 500 other local residents, was unable to get into the Town Hall, and this was repeated again when she attended the second meeting. There has been considerable public feeling in Marlborough and its surrounding district against these closures.
Today I have received a reply from the Prime Ministers Office at 10 Downing Street in which I was told “While we appreciate the concerns of local residents, it should be emphasised that local NHS organisations, in partnership with the local community and its Strategic Health Authority, are responsible for planning services locally, taking into account the needs of the local population.”
The e mail went on to explain the proceedures which would happen concluding that “Once the proposed plans are referred to the Secretary of State, these are then passed to an independent body - the national Independent Review Panel. The Panel will then examine and determine if the proposed changes are good for healthcare in an area.
However, we understand that in this case, the local Wiltshire OSC did not refer the proposals to the Secretary of State but took the view they were in the interests of the local community.
The e mail concluded “Decisions about healthcare services in a particular area ultimately need to be made locally. Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), with their perspective across hospital, community and primary care, are best placed to take such decisions. It is now for the local NHS to take forward its plans and to continue working towards building modern and efficient health services. Individuals who are concerned about these changes may wish to express their views to Jeff James, the Chief Executive of Wiltshire PCT,”
We would very much appreciate it if you could explain how the views of the local residents have been taken into account and what measures have been taken when you have been working with them “in local partnership”. The present feeling is one of not understanding why this decision has been taken and no one can understand how it will in any way benefit local residents in the Marlborough area.
It isn’t just local people who are dismayed. The local GP surgeries are equally dumfounded at the decision and anyone who understands finance and has seen the major capital improvements made at Savernake is equally mystified at the decision.
As well as questioning the decision, the local residents feel that their views and commitment to Savernake Hospital have been totally ingnored and no one has taken the trouble nor seen the need to explain why the units at Savernake Hospital have been closed.
I am sorry to have to ask you to do this but the Prime Minister has told me to write to you personally to seek clarification and understanding on these very serious matters.