It almost seems unbelievable that in my last blog I was recognising the progress in Salisbury’s recovery and the impending visit of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to mark their support for the city.
Salisbury four months on from the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal was getting back to normal and footfall was starting to improve.
So the shock of the tragic death of Dawn Sturgess has reverberated throughout the city and now in Amesbury, and our thoughts and sincere condolences are with her family and friends.
Her partner Charlie Rowley remains in Salisbury hospital in a critical condition. Our thoughts are also with him, his family and friends during what is clearly a difficult time for them all.
Having a death occur in our local community; particularly in such extraordinary circumstances will have a huge impact on those who live and work there and our role is to do everything possible to support our partners whilst they carry out their investigation into this dreadful crime.
The incident is being investigated as a murder and is being led by the UK’s Counter Terrorism Policing Network supported by Wiltshire Police.
We are a vital link to the local communities and I will make sure that we continue to keep people informed and updated of the latest information. Last night a community meeting was held in Amesbury and more than 250 people attended to hear updates from a panel of local and national agency representatives. They were able to ask their questions and receive answers from those directly involved and leading this investigation. I gave my assurance that further community meetings will be arranged in both Amesbury and Salisbury to keep these communities up to date.
This is a fast-moving and changing situation, the like of which we have never experienced in Wiltshire before, and we understand that people are concerned; particularly those in Salisbury and Amesbury.
We will provide support to those directly affected and to those who are most vulnerable in our communities. Reassurance and calm needs to continue and the resilience of our local communities is being tested now – more than ever before.
The current advice from Public Health England is that “if you haven’t dropped it - don’t pick it up” - the wider risk to public health remains low and health advice can be accessed on a helpline set up to offer reassurance and advice on 0800 092 0410.
It is vital that we continue to assist local businesses to assess their needs and provide support where it is needed throughout this extremely difficult period. On Monday I announced that in Amesbury we have lifted the parking charges on our Central and Church Street car parks to reflect the situation in Salisbury and do what’s right for these communities.
We will continue to work with Amesbury and Salisbury to support them during this testing time. Since the first incident occurred in March Salisbury has shown just how resilient and determined it is in the face of an unprecedented challenge and I am sure that this will continue and that Amesbury will be just as stoic.
We will do all we can to help both these communities get back to normal and move forward.
Jane
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