Walcot & Park North July Update

Shrewsbury Road Playing Fields

Councillors have been informed that the agreement to lease part of the Shrewsbury Road playing fields to New College has now been completed.

New College intend to use the space to build an artificial football pitch. We do not as yet know when construction will commence.

Residents had expressed concerns over the loss of public space due to this work – a view supported by local councillors but rejected by the Council’s planning committee last year.

However, Councillors have worked with officers to secure a community use agreement which we hope will allow access to the new facilities to local groups and users
 
Water Supply for Burghley Close Allotments

Cllr Steve Allsop raised a question at July’s Full Council meeting about restrictions to the water supply to Burghley Close allotments. Council officers have been working with Thames Water to resolve the situation. In response to Steve’s follow-up question the Leader of the Council was unable to confirm a date for the necessary work to commence, but gave assurances this work was imminent.

Lawn Rough sleepers

People camping in the Lawns have now moved on easing concerns of many residents. Council officers have been working with the rough sleepers for many weeks to assess their needs and offer support. They had also been gathering evidence for possible court action to enforce removal after some reports of anti-social behaviour. The individuals recently moved on of their own volition. Thanks to residents who have taken the time to contact councillors and council staff about the issue

Council Anti-Racism motion

Swindon Borough Council unanimously passed a motion condemning racism and hate-crimes at its Full Council meeting this month.
Local Councillor Emma Bushell was one of many to speak in support of this motion.
Emma, Steve and Abdul would like to thank those residents who contacted us to express their concerns at the recent increase in the number of hate and racist attacks in the wake of the European Referendum and asking the council to support the anti-racism motion. We believe it is important to turn words condemning racism in action and would be interested to hear from any local residents with ideas for increasing understanding and cooperation between local communities.

Queens Drive Post Office Closure and Re-opening
 
The Queens Drive Post Office at 2 Queens Drive will be closed for refurbishment between Wed Aug 3rd and Thursday Aug 11th.
 
The refurbished Post Office will re-open on Friday Aug 12th at 1 pm.
The post office will have longer opening hours as follows:
Monday – Friday 08:00 – 13:00 & 14:00 – 17:30
Saturday 08:00- 13:00
 
To see the final plans for the refurbished post office go to: www.postofficeviews.co.uk and enter the branch code: 20754899

Scheduled Road Maintenance

The following roads in Walcot and Park North have been earmarked for road maintenance work in the Swindon Local Transport Plan that was signed off last month:

Footway Maintenance Schedule