by Cllr Jon Fisher
At the last couple of Town Council meetings there has been a great debate - Are our Wiltshire councillors doing enough for the town? It's a good question. We have four Wiltshire councillors. Two Liberal Democrats and two Conservatives.
In my opinion, and I say this as a Labour Councillor - most of our Wiltshire Councillors work very hard. But do they work smart? And a bigger question, do they actually achieve anything for Calne?
A good example is that we hear how they sometimes abstain on critical planning votes at Wiltshire, or vote in ways which enable development to happen that the Town Council doesn't support. Too often it seems that our Wiltshire Councillors don't support what Calne residents want.
Across the country, towns big and small compete for money from the Government's Towns Fund. An awful process which pits town against town. But it's the system we currently have, so have our Wiltshire Councillors (or our conservative MP for that matter) done anything to get Calne on this list? The simple answer is no.
Imagine what we could do if our Wiltshire Councillors had more vision. In receipt of money from the Towns Fund, we could redevelop Phelps Parade and the central shopping area. We could as a community decide what a 21st Century shopping and leisure area should look like, and we could make it happen.
That's what I mean by working smart and by achieving for Calne. Having some guts and some vision. Not more of the same from our Lib Dem and Conservative Wiltshire Councillors - but standing up for real change.
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