The Wiltshire Council Cabinet met on 8 July 2025, and approved a new bat mitigation strategy for Trowbridge and Westbury, and discussed the outline of the new council plan. They also discussed the disposal of council assets and a new traffic signal maintenance contract.

Trowbridge and Westbury Bat Mitigation Strategy

The cabinet approved the proposed Trowbridge and Westbury Bat Mitigation Strategy (TWBMS) to support the draft Local Plan, ensuring appropriate mitigation for planned development and preventing adverse effects on the Bath and Bradford-on-Avon Bats Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The council also agreed that the revised strategic approach applies to all qualifying development seeking outline, full, reserved matters and discharge of condition approval, with some exceptions, and that developer contributions via planning obligations will be sought from developers wishing to use the council-led mitigation scheme.

Councillor Adrian Foster, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Development Management and Housing, said that the strategy covers impacts to sensitive bat habitats and recreational pressures on the woodlands, generated primarily by new residential developments.

Celia Beckett, chair of Hilperton Area Action Group, raised concerns about the lack of detail regarding the Hilperton local plan area, the absence of a definition of low density in the strategy, and the need for better communication with the local community. She also stressed that getting the maps right is really important.

Cllr Foster said he appreciated her contribution and would refer back to the planning department to get direct answers on the specific details she mentioned.

Nick Murry, Director of Planning, added that the inspector will consider the representations made as part of the local plan examination and that the examination may result in changes to policy or allocations.

Councillor Phil Chamberlain, Vice Chair of the Environment Select Committee, said that the committee queried why the change to the strategy was necessary, what the existing policy did, and why that needed to change.

Councillor Paul Sample JP, Cabinet Member for Environment, Climate and Waste, spoke in support of the strategy and emphasised the need for enforcement. He also drew attention to the legal protections that bats enjoy in the UK¹.

Councillor Richard Clewer, Conservative Group Leader, welcomed the strategy but expressed concern that government policy is leaning away from protection of species and far more towards the rapidity of building.

Cllr Foster responded that the council must mitigate government policy as much as possible, and that education is very important.

Council Plan 2025-2035

The cabinet agreed the outline council plan for 2025-2035, and agreed to seek feedback from a broad range of stakeholders and residents. They also agreed to review incorporated feedback and service planning detail at its meeting on 7 October in preparation for a final version to be considered at Full Council on 21 October 2025.

Councillor Ian Thorn, Leader of the Council, said that the document sets out the council's values and priorities, taken from the manifesto, and that the detail program, policies, and key performance indicators will follow later in the year.

Cllr Graham Wright, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, said that he was delighted to see that all councillors would be involved in the plan.

Cllr Clewer said that he was expecting to see the latest performance data and was concerned that the council was looking at changing performance data.

Cllr Sample said that the plan was the result of four years of hard campaigning and an election, and that the people of Wiltshire had decided who was going to run the council.

Councillor Gavin Grant, Cabinet Member for Finance, said that the devil would be in the detail and that it was right and proper that the plan should be the subject of rigorous scrutiny.

Councillor Jon Hubbard, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Education, and Skills, said that he viewed the plan as building on the previous business plan and celebrated the fact that the administration are saying to all 98 members of the council how do you want to influence this.

Disposal Update

The cabinet noted the progress for capital receipts in the current year and approved the sale of the freehold interest of four assets, if deemed in the best overall interest of the council. They also authorised the Director of Assets to dispose of the freehold interest in the assets, or in their absence the Corporate Director of Resources.

Helen Belcher OBE, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Regeneration and Assets, introduced the report, explaining that the team have asked her to point out that most of the capital receipts come in in quarter three and quarter four, so we're still very, very early on in the year.

Cllr Grant drew attention to paragraph 28, which acknowledges the role that the financial planning task group played in looking at the whole process.

Cllr Clewer said that he found the first and fourth of these the sort of normal disposal effect, but that he wanted to touch on the two HRA disposals. He said that his view on HRA disposals whenever officers asked him was no full stop, and particularly no to rural sites.

James Barrah, Director of Assets, said that the properties in question are exceptional and that this won't be a large feature of our activities in terms of numbers.

Councillor Gordon King, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, asked what type of rents will be on offering those new properties. Mr Barrah responded that the properties that we're disposing will be disposed of on the open market, so they're very likely to go into private ownership.

Award of the new term Traffic Signal Maintenance Contract

The cabinet noted the Part I report and that further discussion and decision would be taken under Part II of the agenda with the press and public excluded.

Councillor Martin Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways, Streetscene and Flooding, introduced the report, explaining that the new contract will ensure continuity of service and allow the council to deliver its statutory duties as highway authority.