The Westbury Area Board met to discuss a number of issues including area board priorities, funding, and highway improvements. The meeting included updates from partners such as Wiltshire Police, town and parish councils, and the BSW Together (Integrated Care Board). Councillors were also scheduled to review and determine area board priorities for the coming year.

Area Board Funding

The Westbury Area Board was scheduled to consider funding applications for community projects. The remaining budgets were:

• Community Area Grant: £15,984
• Older & Vulnerable: £4,550
• Young People: £4,877

Three specific grant applications were listed for consideration:

• Crosspoint Westbury - requested £1,670 from the Older and Vulnerable Adults Funding to support their counselling service aimed at improving mental health and resilience for older people. Crosspoint provides a subsidised counselling service for young people and adults who do not meet the criteria for statutory mental health services.
• Dilton Memorial Hall - requested £500 from the Older and Vulnerable Adults Funding for a Christmas lunch for vulnerable and older residents of Dilton Marsh. The lunch would be organised and serviced by volunteers, with a qualified chef preparing the meal at the hall.
• 4Youth South West - requested £4,000 from the Young People Grants budget for detached youth work in Westbury. 4Youth South West planned to resume their detached youth work in Westbury, building on previous delivery of this service.

Local Highways and Footpath Improvement Group (LHFIG)

The Westbury Area Board was scheduled to note the minutes and consider any recommendations arising from the last LHFIG meeting held on 24 July 2025, as set out in the Westbury LHFIG Minutes July 2025.

Several new issues and requests were scheduled for discussion, including:

• Westbury, The Tynings (18-24-34): Road access problems due to inconsiderate parking, with service and emergency vehicles having difficulty accessing the lower end of the road. A request was made for double yellow lines.
• Westbury Leigh Community Hall (18-24-35): Users of the hall are experiencing difficulty when exiting the car park due to parked cars blocking visibility. Repainting of existing double yellow lines was requested, with a possible extension to improve visibility.
• Westbury, Jubilee Close (18-24-22): Cars parked across the access to a ramp prevent entry/egress for residents on electric scooters. A request was made for white lines, double yellow lines, or anything to prevent cars from blocking the slope.
• Westbury, Sarum Gardens (18-24-23 / 18-24-33): Persistent parking by non-residents directly on the junction exiting Sarum Gardens is causing access/egress issues onto Frogmore Road. A request was made for double-yellow lines to depict non-parking areas.
• Newtown (18-24-24): A footpath is needed from the Equestrian Centre to meet the existing pavement further down Newtown.
• Edington, B3098/Monastery Road junction (18-24-26): The Parish Council is installing a permissive path which exits near the Monastery Road/B3098 junction onto the pavement and were seeking advice.
• Edington, Monastery Road/Lower Road (18-24-27): Paving slabs installed when the junction was reconfigured have become slippery when damp, causing people to slip and fall.
• Edington, B3098/Lower Road/Tinhead Road (18-24-28): SID data has shown previous traffic calming measures have not reduced speeding.
• Edington Village SIDs (18-24-29): The Parish Council's aspiration is to have more SIDs and so would like a site meeting to work out suitable sites.
• Edington, Crossroads Farm junction (18-24-30): There have been accidents at this junction, and so the priorities of the junction need to be reviewed.
• Bratton, Court Lane (18-24-31): The volume and weight of HGV traffic is causing structural damage to a retaining wall. A CCTV survey was proposed.
• Westbury, Springfield Road (18-24-32): Request for a H-bar marking (access protection) in relation to a planning application.

The Area Board was also scheduled to receive updates on other priority schemes, including:

• Dilton Marsh High Street (18-24-06): Traffic congestion outside Fairfield College.
• Frogmore Road (18-19-8, 18-20-26): The Westbury Town Council confirmed they now wish to proceed with a bid in the next round.
• Bratton, Court Lane junction (18-24-13 / 18-24-21): The Bratton Parish Council is concerned about the dangers for residents from homes to the West of Court Lane.
• Dilton Marsh High Street/Clay Close junction (18-24-19): The Parish Council is concerned at the narrowing of the footway from the High St junction with Clay Close leading down past underneath the railway bridge.
• West End, Westbury (18-23-22): Concerns relating to the current condition and width of the footway on south side of West End from Fountain Court to Station Road roundabout.
• A350/Frogmore Road, Westbury (18-23-1): Parking is generally an issue in Fore Street.

Area Board Priorities

The Area Board was scheduled to determine its priorities and lead councillors for the year. The Priorities Action Plan Westbury outlined the proposed local action plan, with a focus on cost-of-living support, the local youth offer, older and vulnerable adults, and the local environment.

Proposed actions included:

• Re-launching digital literacy sessions for older and vulnerable adults.
• Supporting efforts to help communities move from crisis to resilience in terms of food and energy poverty.
• Re-launching a street-based youth work programme.
• Re-launching the Local Youth Network.
• Working with partners to identify ways to harness benefits of local assets such as the White Horse.
• Creating opportunities for local people to present ideas for future community development.
• Running an awareness campaign for local organisations to help them understand dyslexia.
• Engaging with local sports clubs to identify barriers to expand participation.
• Working with Wiltshire Council services to identify opportunities for possible employment, voluntary work, work experience or training for people with complex or special needs.
• Supporting the Future Energy Landscapes programme.

Elections Update

The Area Board was scheduled to receive an Elections Update from the Elections Team, including information on postal vote renewals and the annual canvass of electors.

Anyone who applied for a postal vote before 31 January 2024 would need to renew their postal vote before 31 January 2026, or it would be cancelled. Every year the Elections Teams writes to all properties in Wiltshire to check if the data held on the electoral register for that property is correct.

Highways Defect Dashboard

The Area Board was scheduled to receive the February 2025 Defect and Potholes Dashboard, which provided a breakdown of defects by response time and defect type, as well as a comparison of pothole reports received against repairs made.

Completed Surfacing Schemes

The Area Board was scheduled to receive information on Completed Surfacing Schemes April to Dec 2024.

Age UK Wiltshire

The Area Board was scheduled to receive an Age UK - Newsletter update. Age UK Wiltshire provides services such as wellbeing checks with meals, charity shops with information points, fitness and friendship clubs, and information and advice.

Community First

The Area Board was scheduled to receive a Community First update - September 2025. Community First delivers programmes and services for people and communities in Wiltshire and Swindon.

Wiltshire Police

The Area Board was scheduled to receive a Wiltshire Police - Update from Inspector Lou Oakley, covering Warminster, Westbury, Mere and Tisbury. The update included information on neighbourhood policing pillars, NPT priorities, and community engagements.

The NPT priorities were retail crime, youth ASB and crime, and rural crime.

The Area Board was also scheduled to receive a Wiltshire Police - Road Safety Update, including information on the #FATAL5 education campaign, traffic surveys, and the Community Speed Enforcement Officers (CSEO).

The Area Board was also scheduled to receive a Wiltshire Police - Violence Against Women and Girls quarterly report.

BSW Together Integrated Care Board

The Area Board was scheduled to receive a BSW Together Integrated Care Board - Update. The update included information on the future of integrated care boards in England, the appointment of a chair for the new integrated care board cluster, and the departure of the ICB's Chief Executive Officer.

There was also scheduled to be an update on the new Trowbridge Integrated Care Centre, and a call for pregnant women and young children to get vaccinated against flu.

Wiltshire Carers Champions

The Area Board was scheduled to receive information about the reinvigoration of the Wiltshire Carers Champions initiative. The initiative aims to strengthen support for unpaid carers through improved visibility, engagement, and collaboration.

Wiltshire Citizens Advice and Wiltshire Money

The Area Board was scheduled to receive an update from Wiltshire Citizens Advice and Wiltshire Money, the lead body for financial inclusion activity within Wiltshire. Wiltshire Money provides a network and strategic framework for organisations to coordinate, collaborate, and share knowledge.

Wiltshire Community Foundation

The Area Board was scheduled to receive a presentation from the Wiltshire Community Foundation.