From the Files

CALNE: Calne Town Council's shopping development scheme and its attendant squalor is regarded by Calne and District Chamber of Commerce as a classic example of the result of the worst form of bureaucratic intervention in and interference with the normal commercial development of the town. This is revealed in a statement issued on Monday by the president of Calne and District Chamber of Commerce, Mr Tom Jeary. The statement follows an earlier one in which the Chamber of Commerce expressed criticism of the long delay in getting the scheme under way and also of the proposed layout of the shopping centre. Mr Jeary photographed empty shops, houses and offices which have been vacated and will be demolished to make way for the new shops. He put the pictures in the window of his chemist shop in Calne saying that Calne Town Council is entirely responsible for the condition of the buildings photographed and that the council turned down private schemes which, at no cost to the ratepayers, would have brought the town more than 20 shops on the site of the King's Arms Inn in High Street and in the Mill Street-Church Street area. Mr Jeary said: "We regard the whole scheme and its attendant squalor as a classic example of the results of the worst form of bureaucratic intervention in and interference with the normal commercial development of the town."

August 17, 1990

WARMINSTER: Warminster Civic Trust has recently taken part in one of the biggest ever audits of the UK environment, which has been co-organised with Mortgage Express. Trust Chairman Chris March said: "We were asked to give our views on a variety of issues ranging from planning and architecture to traffic and transport. We saw this as a chance to air some of Warminster's problems at a national level and we didn't pull any punches with what we had to say. Hopefully, our particular grass roots opinions, with others gathered by the audit, will help to shape future policies nationally which in turn will be realised on a local basis." On a cautionary note Mr Marsh said: "Within the terms of its constitution the Trust is committed to promote high standards of planning and architecture but within the current planning regulations, this ideal is practically impossible. The result is shoddy, characterless, out of keeping estates going up on every available piece of grassland. Developers are already poised, just waiting to build along the recently opened bypass.

MELKSHAM: Plans for a £1 million primary school at Bowerhill, Melksham, have been approved by Wiltshire planners. By 1992 Bowerhill is expected to have a thousand homes and children are already overloading Melksham schools. The school will have eight classrooms, play area and car park with access off Halifax Road.

August 12, 2005

TROWBRIDGE: The King of Morocco looks set to foot the £1.2 million bill for a Muslim-run community centre in Trowbridge. The county town is home to the largest Moroccan community outside of London and plans for the centre have been in the pipeline for four years. Funding has proved a sticking point but now negotiations are under way with Moroccan King, Mohammed VI, to provide the money needed to get the project off the ground. John Irving from the Wiltshire Racial Equality Council said: "The Moroccan community has been here for 30 years and this is a way to give something back to the town and it is a wonderful thing for inter-faith relations." The Moroccan Community Association proposes to build the centre on land at the end of Innox Road but people living nearby are determined to fight plans. The centre would be open to those of all faiths but, in line with Muslim beliefs, would bar alcohol, along with drugs and smoking, and local people have said this is discriminatory against those of other faiths. Town Councillor, Tom James, said: "The condition about no drugs, alcohol or smoking is something we have in some of our halls so there is no reason not to support the Moroccan centre." A planning application will be submitted after capital funding has been secured.