Town council to take on some services from county

The town council will do grounds maintenance from next year rather than Wiltshire Council

A town council will be taking on more responsibility for local services such as litter collection, allotments and cemeteries.

The transfer of these from Wiltshire Council to Westbury Town Council, would give it an opportunity to focus on local priorities without input from the unitary authorities, it said.

The changeover will happen in January 2025 and included the handover of assets currently owned by Wiltshire Council.

It joined several other smaller councils in the county which have done the same thing, for example Chippenham, Trowbridge and Salisbury.

The town council says it is "delighted" to be able to run the services

The town council has said it was "delighted" that they had the "trust and confidence" of Wiltshire Council.

Cllr Michael Sutton, Chair of Service Devolution and Asset Transfer Working Group, Westbury Town Council, said: “This provides the town council with the scope to tailor services to meet the needs of our community.

"We are committed to maintaining high standards and we will strive to enhance the services wherever possible."

He explained that the services and assets - including a lot of grounds maintenance - has been budgeted for.

The leader of Wiltshire Council, Councillor Richard Clewer, said: “A priority in our Business Plan is to have vibrant communities and part of this is transferring assets to communities where appropriate, giving towns the chance to increase the quality of local services to meet the needs of communities.”