I started last week’s blog hoping for some spring like weather and sunshine and it was so good to see some at the start of this week. Unfortunately though it didn’t last, and can you believe cold wintry weather is forecast for next week!
This week Wiltshire has truly been in the news, with the announcement on Tuesday by the defence secretary Philip Hammond that an extra 4,000 military personnel will be based at garrisons on the Salisbury Plain by 2020. This will mean that Wiltshire will be the largest military base in Britain and that the MoD will be investing more than £850million into the county. It is the largest employer in Wiltshire and the knock-on effect on our economy and local communities will be huge. We’ll be working with the MoD and our partners to ensure the houses, infrastructure and services that will be needed are in place to support this growth and to make sure that the troops, their families and local civilians live together in balanced communities. I’m very proud that we’re a military county and I look forward to welcoming lots of new families to Wiltshire.
Also announced this week has been the move of the police enquiry desk from Wood Lane in Chippenham to our Monkton Park offices. From March 25, police enquiry desk staff will join their colleagues from the neighbourhood policing team and the response teams to work alongside our staff. This is another example of the achievements of the transformation programme and how it continues to deliver by sharing buildings so that we can save money and protect our frontline services. I’d like to thank the team involved in assisting with this move for all their hard work.
On Wednesday, I was delighted to be invited to speak at the launch of this year’s Salisbury International Arts Festival at Salisbury Arts Centre. I’m pleased that we can still help to fund this major arts festival as it attracts people from across Britain and it always has a diverse and exciting programme. The event underlines Salisbury as a major player on the world’s cultural stage and is another lever for attracting visitors to our county. This year the programme includes authors like former children’s laureate Michael Morpurgo to operatic performances. It takes place from 24 May to 8 June – take a look at the programme of events.
We were in the news again on Wednesday when the Prime Minister responded to local MP Claire Perry regarding Wiltshire’s approach to tackling domestic violence. http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/hansard/commons/todays-commons-debates/read/unknown/7/
He commended the police in Wiltshire and the council for the very good work we have done to bring all the agencies together to ensure that there is a joined-up approach to cracking this difficult problem. It was a huge accolade for partnership working and for the role our teams have had in combating this issue that is so often hidden from view.
Next week is an awards week!
Three separate ceremonies will be taking place. Firstly, there is the annual corporate staff awards ceremony on Tuesday evening, which I am really looking forward to as this event recognises the outstanding work being done by many of you and your teams across so many service areas; and, it will be the first time we have used the Atrium at County Hall to host such an event and I’m looking forward to seeing how this space can be fully utilised.
Secondly, on Wednesday afternoon the Health Improvement Partnership awards take place at the Civic Hall in Trowbridge and I have been invited to speak and present an award. I will be in the company of Debbie Flood, Olympic silver medallist and World Championship Gold medallist rower and the infamous Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards; who is probably now best known for his diving skills than slalom ski jumping. They will also be presenting awards to recognise the outstanding work that is being done to tackle health issues, to improve health inequalities and get us all healthy and active.
And, finally on Wednesday evening, the Local Government Chronicle awards take place in London. We have been shortlisted for four national awards in the categories for ‘innovation’, ‘business transformation’, ‘health and social care’ and ‘energy and efficiency’.
I’d like to say well done to all those who are shortlisted for all the awards next week and I look forward to updating you all next week. Recognising success and the unsung heroes who make Wiltshire such a great place is so important and something that is very close to my heart.
As ever, I welcome your comments on the content of my blog or any questions that you may have.
More next week,
Have a good weekend.
Jane
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