An extraordinary meeting of the Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Area Board is taking place on Monday (19 September 2011) at the Memorial Hall, Wootton Bassett starting at 7pm. Refreshments will be available from 6.30 pm.
The area board will receive a report on proposals for a Wootton Bassett community campus. This follows completion of a second round of public consultations conducted by the Shadow Community Operations Board comprising representatives of the wider community appointed by the area board.
Residents and community groups were asked, in this latest round of consultations, to give their views about having a split site campus with library and other community services continuing to be provided in the town centre, with other leisure, swimming pool, sports halls, and community rooms provided on a separate campus site.
Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Area Board chairman, Peter Doyle, said: “At our special meeting we will be receiving proposals from the Shadow Community Operations Board for future campus provision in Wootton Bassett. The Area Board will be asked to consider approving the preparation of a detailed business case for the campus by council officers for implementation by Wiltshire Council cabinet”.
Wiltshire Council is looking to develop a number of community based campuses that could either be new buildings or greatly-improved and developed buildings based around existing facilities. Wootton Bassett is included in the initial tranche of campus facilities being considered by Wiltshire Council. In other cases consideration is being given to expanding community-run leisure facilities to accommodate additional services or facilities and separate proposals for Cricklade will subsequently be considered in this category.
“The aim in providing campus type facilities is to place customers and their needs at the heart of future plans, delivering locally, as many council provided services as possible from the minimum number of modern facilities with long term sustainability issues such as future maintenance and energy costs in mind. Where possible Wiltshire Council will also be working alongside other public sector partners to deliver services jointly from the same campus premises so that the council, its partners and most importantly, the local taxpayer, obtain maximum benefit and services, delivered locally, for the least cost, now and in the years ahead.”
“These are very important proposals, not only for existing residents of Wootton Bassett and the surrounding local community but also for the next generation of local residents across all age ranges and needs. I hope as many people as possible come along to our special meeting to hear about the campus proposals and what happens next.”
Proposals for the Cricklade campus will be presented to the area board on October 12.
