Over the summer I have seen a real buzz around our local villages despite the rubbish weather!
Easterton held a ceremony for the re-opening of their Village Hall and West Lavington welcomed some inspiring young walkers who passed through the village on their way from Truro to Glasgow raising awareness of Climate Change ahead of the COP26. After so many months of lockdown these two events alone felt quite surreal and incredibly positive!
The Churchill Arms has been busier than I have seen it in recent years thanks to the hard work of Kelly and Shaun, Alex and Becky have continued to ensure Turners Fire serves up mouth-watering food, The Royal Oak is making great use of its outdoor seating and the Green Dragon’s customers now share the bustling bar with a rather handsome horse! Having the kids on school holiday has meant we have been able to make the most of our local pubs and I wish them every success for the future!
It’s not only in the pubs and eateries I am seeing optimism and light at the end of the Covid tunnel. We now have a spruced-up car sales pitch in West Lavington on a site that has sat empty and scruffy for many years; I wish Lowes of Lavington all the best with their venture! There are many businesses operating in our villages and it is fantastic to see. I try my best to “shop local” and support local enterprises and I hope you do the same whenever you can. Supporting local businesses keeps them alive, which in turn breathes life into our communities and of course limits the impact of transportation on the environment.
In other news, Market Lavington hosted a consultation on a potential move of the Library from the Sea Scout Hall to the Old School down near the Community Hall car park. The open day was a chance for people to drop in and see what was being considered, to place their comments in the suggestions box and to learn more about volunteering. Having had a sneak-peek at the feedback from the day I was inspired to see several suggestions for an evolution of the library’s service to bring in toddler groups, rhyme-time and other activities not currently possible in the Sea Scout Hall. A huge thanks to Market Lavington Parish Council, in particular their clerk Carol Hackett, for accommodating the event and for their continuing hard work in managing the project with Wiltshire Council.
Finally, I would encourage you to get along to your local Parish Council meeting at least once when they next meet, you can find the details on their respective websites. It’s a great chance to hear more about what is happening in your village on all sorts of matters, from planning and development to road safety and community events. As a regular attendee myself I can offer reassurance… you don’t need to sit for the whole meeting if you don’t want to! Public participation is always at the start of the meeting and I know you would be very welcome, even for just half an hour!
You may contact me about this or any other matter by email to dominic.muns@wiltshire.gov.uk or by phone on 07585 394 178.
