Graham Ellis - my blog
Neighbourhood Plan - toward referendum on 1st May
Melksham's Joint Neighbourhood Plan II. Huge amount of work - just gone in for inspection by a central official to make sure it's good, valid and can be legally enforced. Big "thank you" to both MWPC and MTC councillors and officers through the process and their sign off and approvals at each stage. Thanks extended to the professional team of experts who have been a pleasure to work with. See https://www.melkshamneighbourhoodplan.org for the plan.Over December and January, comments were invited by Wiltshire Council and around two dozen were received to be submitted alongside the plan to the inspector, and the joint neighbourhood plan steering group was invited, if they wish, to comment on the inputs received. This is not an opportunity to change the draft plan - that is now fixed (and approved by MTC and MWPC) and the only changes possible will be those requested / suggested by the inspector. It is just an opportunity to add context - and also an opportunity for both qualifying bodies to confirm their commitment to the process and its benefits, even if frustrated by the time it has taken and cost.
Having a neighbourhood plan in place gives us the ability to help steer the location, type and build quality and metrics of future development. It lets us designate extra protection onto green spaces in the area and features of local historic value (in addition to listed buildings). It lets us define structure and goals for environmental, transport and other infrastructure, and it allows a significant extra amount of "CIL" - Community Infrastructure Levy - to come to local councils for local enhancements rather than to the Unitary and wider ranging authority.
This evening (3rd February 2025), the Town Council ratified the letter of comment to be sent to the inspector. A unanimous vote, and we look forward to the inspection, comments and minor changes that result, and (it's anticipated) a public vote on the plan on the same day as the local elections - set for 1st May.
Next service at your bus stop
Select your bus stop on the pull down menu ... see the map for the codes
Real Time Information is available for all scheduled bus stops and services (and there are 158 stops) in Melksham - and indeed across Wiltshire - on your mobile phone. Wiltshire Council are in the process of putting up new departure timetables at many of the stops that have not had them in the past, and they include a QR code to take your smart phone to information for that stop. And here (above) is a direct route to each stop - you don't even have to go to the stop to see it!
You can search for / find any bus stop in the country at http://nextbuses.mobi/WebView/BusStopSearch/Index
My work WILL continue after 30th April when I cease to be a Town Councillor - indeed my transport activities may be enhanced because of the extra time I will have available and the removal of the limitations put on me as a councillor.
Technical note: The map above uses Open Street Map data which is freely available from https://www.openstreetmap.org/ onto which I have plotted bus stop locations from the freely available NaPTAN database from https://naptan.api.dft.gov.uk/swagger/index.html. Current buses are at present links from "Nextbuses" - http://nextbuses.mobi - giving you the same links that Wiltshire Council are giving you on the QR codes on each bus stop and is based on https://www.bus-data.dft.gov.uk.
Smallprint: - I cannot vouch for the quality of the vast amount of data provided, nor for the consequnces of any errors in it - you should use it with caution. And I can't promise it will continue to be available - I'm very much in the hands of the data providers. That said, it's usually fairly accurate and I'm not expecting any changes to base data soon. One caution - when a bus service is withdrawn and leaves a stop unserved, the stop tend to remain in the database for an extended period showing no departures.
Published Sunday, 2nd February 2025
Melksham Town Council - from Letter to the editor
"Melksham town Council is a disgrace to public administration" says the headlineDear Editor,
Paul Carter's in MIN 876 (letters) calls on all present councillors responsible for what he describes as a staffing "fiasco" to stand down and not seek re-election on 1st May.
Three Town Councillors elected four years ago had extensive staffing experience - running staffed businesses here in Melksham for some considerable period. All three of us know that issues arise from time to time. My own business moved to Melksham in 1999 and ran for 20 years until we retired. We too had our "negative situations" - three I could describe over that time, all of which were quickly settled with no case to answer. Staff stayed with us for many years - a decade and more, and that's unusual in the hospitality business.
I really thought when elected that I could help, but it became obvious within weeks that certain staff were to go, and that the all powerful and secretive staffing committee was to comprise only a star chamber of party / grouping members elected for the whole 4 years. None of your three experience councillors were called upon until the very end of grievances to help sort out appeals. I sat on far too many of those for my liking. They were far too late in the day to do anything useful, and far too toothless to be able to suggest late solutions. They did not avoid the things going "courtwards", which would have been good for the sake of all concerned except the legal eagles.
Paul, my term as a councillor finishes in April and I shall be glad to leave. However, I do not feel responsible for the current situation. Just this morning, I have been informed - with an apology for it being retrospective - of a need to authorise another staffing change. That's even worse than the 5 minutes we were given to consider a similar situation in June 2021, which was supported by all councillors present except myself and Councillor Lewis.
It is not all bad news. A number of excellent staff have been recruited, and have been learning their way into their new roles. Only one full time staff member from pre-2021 elections remains and most people are much more recent. Sadly we lost another wave in the process.
Expensive changes happening in the current financial year to 31st March should leave us with a team that is crisp, reasonably fresh, and employed within the budget set last month. I had my doubts, but wasn't aware of upcoming changes. There are some good people on staff now - I really hope they are reasonably tasked with a sensible workload, and motivated and supported by their team leads.
Paul Carter suggests that it is time for many to stand down; he is correct, but that is not for all. There are a couple of councillors who joined in May 2021 for the first time, or since, who are good, have learned in and are becoming effective, and I hope they will be re-elected.
In terms of "who else on the next council?" - I have difficulty in identifying candidates. Who has Melksham Town as their agenda priority? Who is robust enough to stand up to the probably bullying that will go on again? Who has the time to give as unpaid volunteers physically present in the Town Hall at most meetings? Who will listen?
There is nothing secret in what I write, and the thoughts are not secret. However, I do not intend to send it to the MIN for publication. It'll be up to the new team from May to take things forward and far be it for me to tell them how to do so having chosen not to stand again.
I do look forward to be able to use my time far, far more effectively on various of the transport and associated environmental and planning issues which effect Melksham, our county and our region. Some of the issues there are just as complex and hard as on the Town Council, but that feels very much more to be a team of friends working to achieve an enjoyable, efficient and sustainable present and future.
We have a wonderful public, love of the town, community volunteers in the Melksham area – I love being a part of it. Thank you for being here. We have a bright opportunity and – who knows – we may find a charismatic leader to take us forward be that at the head of the elected or employed team.
Graham
Published Saturday, 1st February 2025
Big data - people in Melksham's history
Two hundred years ago, Melksham was the largest town for many miles ... it's grown since, but nothing like as much as other towns around - and there'e perhaps 25,000 residents now in Greater Melksham - the urban area area that includes Melksham Town and much of the neighbouring parish of Melksham Without. But that number is dwarfed by the number of people who have lived here over the years - generation after generation - and Lisa has recorded more than 50,000 into a historic database, with records of births, marriage and deaths, and christenings, addresses, news snippets too as available. It's a labour of love - for the town - and there is a continued data updating, and addition.Much of the data is available - with sufficient research - through sources such as Ancestry, War Records, British Newspapers and at research archives such as Chippenham and Kew, but Lisa is bringing it all together into a single set of related databases and starting to make it available online on "The Well House Collection" - https://www.twhc.org.uk/. Presentation, searching and navigation of the data is challenging; the first tranche was uploaded last month and made the local newspaper last week, and there will be a monthly update too. Last month, individuals could be found by name ... this month, the parents, children and siblings of each individual are displayed with their record so you can navigate through your ancestors (or someone else's ancestors). The example at the top of this article is for Edmund Ellis who lived from 1822 to 1903, was one of 8 children, married twice and fathered 11 children - sadly many of them died very young, though William survived until the Second World War.
You can see Edmund's record (Lisa will have more - perhaps a picture and/or a story from the paper) which should be online in a future release at https://www.twhc.org.uk/person.html?pid=731416 . You can start a search for your own relatives via https://www.twhc.org.uk/person.html . Whilst Lisa looks to make the data as accurate and complete as practical, much of the information is not verified or even verifiable. Recorder's writing is hard to make out, and at times notes are transposed wrongly as written into registers. People change their names and give false ages, and get left off or double registered on the census. Please email Lisa with any corrections or additions - lisa @ sn12.net
Published Friday, 31st January 2025
18 years - the Coffee Shop flourishes
18 years ago today, I registered the domain Firstgreatwestern . info with a forum which we called "The Coffee Shop" opening there a few days later. It is provided for customers of train services in a wedge from London to the South West and South Wales, including the Thames Valley and Wessex, down to the Solent and up to the Malvern Hills. Little did I imagine that the Coffee Shop would still be open and indeed coming of age in 2025.There is - still - a need for the public transport passenger voice to be heard. Systems are complex - sometimes to excess - and there remains a need to support and inform the current passenger. And to promote and help campaign for and develop services fit and best for the future. And to encourage new people to make use of buses, trains and other public transport whether they're travelling for business, personal business or leisure purposes.
There is still a need - and that's illustrated by our very survival at the Coffee Shop funded purely by the volunteer enthusiasm of our team. "On this day" looks back at previous years. An illustration from this morning mentions the 18 years of the Coffee Shop and also comes up with Ruth Kelly, Singapore Airlines and More Train Less Strain. None is current any longer in the context of the story from the past, but yet the Coffee Shop is.
There is a personal need too; in many ways, the Coffee Shop is my life - a club of friends and a pleasure to "work" here with so many others. A big "Thank you" is due to the whole team and indeed to the wider membership, right through to the occasional or one-off reader who finds us through a search engine to answer a specific query. Analytics tell me that we have 200 different visitors and day ... 2800 active users in the last month of whom 2400 were in the UK. Our own stats show that we're headed for around 1000 new posts this month.
Have we achieved anything? Yes. I will answer that as to what we have achieved locally and for me personally as a "micro" example of the macro.
When the Coffee Shop first opened, we had 2 trains each way per day at the local station here in Melksham - described as "[too/two] early and [two/too] late" to be of much use. 5 passengers arriving a 5 leaving each day and the question asked "is this really appropriate and useful?". We now have 9 trains each way per day, with around 100 passenger arrivals and 100 departures.
There is still a need - these remain awfully low figures for the only station in a town the size of Melksham - now around 25,000 in the conjoined urban area, and with a further 10,000 anticipated by 2040. Not only more people, but more use of public transport per person. I would hope to see at least 500 arrivals and 500 departures by the end of the next decade.
Now - to be clear - it is NOT just the Coffee Shop that has achieved this and has these ambitions, but it has helped advocate, help and promote the development. It partners. I remember being ridiculed by the Secretary of State for Transport in the early days - "we can't run a train service just for Mr Ellis" - it was supposed to be a put-down but really it wasn't - I was asking for a service for my town and not for myself, which would have been, indeed, ridiculous.
On Tuesday, the 18th anniversary of my first post. And I will take a personal journey to the far end of the territory we cover - Penzance - and back. And I will bask in the satisfaction of a trip that would have been impossible 18 years ago - or even in this form 2 years ago.
I'll leave Melksham on the 06:32 train which is a descendant of one of the ones we had when we started, but it's been moved 4 minutes EARLIER - a campaign request and result as it now offers and onward connection at Trowbridge for Bath and Bristol commuters, allowing them to arrive there 30 minutes earlier. And at the end of a long day, I'll connect back via Chippenham into the 22:45 train from Chippenham which was added to the timetable after further nagging to give us the "all day, every day" service that a town the size of Melksham within an area of significant towns and cities - Wessex - requires.
These past four years, I have added the role of Town Councillor to my portfolio. It has been an interesting experience, but one I have failed to enjoy as perhaps I should, and one in which I have failed to achieve what I might have wished. Perhaps my dreams of what I could do were unrealistic, and the time is not without achievement. The residents and the public are lovely - contrary to advice from another councillor who suggested I be very careful in engaging once elected. The very enthusiasm to promote projects and selves within - any - parish council (which we are) leads to feelings of deceit, obstruction and bullying. Without a time-stable and respected lead with a shared vision, and a continuing team, perhaps that is bound to be. Split loyalties to parish and unitary councils, and split to the political party and to the town have hindered too. Let me describe the four years as a developing experience, but I will be very glad to be able to get many, many, many hours back onto public transport stuff. That's partly the Coffee Shop but only partly.
We are at a time of great change - which gives us great risk and great opportunity. And I am very excited for the future. That's for Melksham, for the whole of Wiltshire, Wessex and wider.
Perhaps not something to hide on the end of this 18 years post, but I have a vision of arriving into Melksham on the hourly train - perhaps coming in from Swindon or Salisbury, and greeting our team at the hub as I connect into the bus that meets every train to take me to the Market Place and home, chatting with other passengers on the bus headed for the homes to the east of the town, the sports ground, or the Bowerhill business and residential areas.
And that's a microcosm of the sort of improvements you may see elsewhere too. So good that the improved services are the natural way to travel.
Links from this article
Coffee Shop: https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/
Coffee shop daily: https://www.passenger.chat/
TravelWatch SouthWest: https://www.travelwatchsouthwest.org.uk/
Melksham Transport User Group: https://www.mtug.org.uk
Published Sunday, 26th January 2025
Real Time Bus Information in Melksham
It's good to see a display at two bus stops in Melksham Town Centre telling you when your bus is expected - this is called "Real Time Bus Information".
The picture on the left here is of the display from Friday morning at 08:06 and shows a bus on route 272 to Devizes expected in 23 minutes (so at 08:29) and on route x34 to Frome expected in 36 minutes (so at 08:42). This information is a prediction, based on a tracking device on the bus. If a traffic jam develops and the bus gets held up, it will be later. And if a bus takes longer than normal at a bus stop on the way for any reason, it will also be later. However, the bus is tracked along the way so that if it does get held up, the estimate will be changed.
The picture on the right shows scheduled times - the word "scheduled" is displayed and it gives a time and not a number of minutes. This is a bus that is not being tracked. Most commonly, it's because the bus hasn't even started its journey yet. It can also be because there is no device on the bus tracking it, or it is switched off or it is out of order. Most often, you'll find that a scheduled time switches to a "due" indication when the bus is on its way.
A few "caveats". If a bus shows as "scheduled" but yet it's due in a couple of minutes, there is no indication available as to whether it is actually running. It might not be tracking, or it might be cancelled. And when it doesn't show up at the scheduled time, it will then disappear off the screen but it may still turn up late. There is no mechanism in place (a national issue) to update the "scheduled" time to tell you if a bus is cancelled during the day - where a time is given, it is what the operator put into the system as his timetable. The displays are just a summary - so you'll need to look elsewhere if you want to know where the bus calls along the way, or to know what time it gets to your destination. I am also aware that the new displays are not brightly lit and can be hard to see after dark
These displays have been funded from the Community Infrastrucure Levy paid by new housing developer to Melkshshan Town and Melksham Without Parish Councils. The extra money to pay for them has become available to the councils because we have an adopted Neighbourhood Plan in place.
There are a handful of displays showing similar data at the busier bus stops in Melksham Without too. Although the displays themselves may look different, the same guidance applies to how you read them. At less busy bus stops, new printed signs include a QR code which let you check the same information on your phone.
Published Saturday, 25th January 2025
Local Transport Plan 4
The Consultation on the Local Transport Plan for Wiltshire through to 2038 closes on Friday. Here's what I'm saying in case you want to make any inputs too - and please feel free to give me feedback on my inputs by 9 O'Clock on Friday (24th) morning too. Draft consultation response from Graham Ellis (details at base)
Version 0.92, 22nd January 2025
Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on Wiltshire's Local Transport Plan 4.
Overarching principles are an important framework and for the most part good and well stated. Specifics are thinner than I would like to see, and the whole therefore needs to be read in conjunction with other policies and documents. I also note that the total document is some 350 pages, put together by a professional expert team remunerated for the work and at best all I can do is raise some questions/concerns that may help you tune the document. I look forward to working with you to implement improvements in local transport AND regional and through transport too for the benefit of users, current and future, the community and the environment.
The headline.
I applaud the principle of avoid - shift - improve - support although starting with "avoid" puts a negative word first and foremost - Ouch! How about analyse - shift - improve - support?
Shift INCLUDES "avoid" anyway where it is logical to move away from current practice, and "analyse" encourages us to work out what we are doing before we start avoiding it for the sake of avoidance. We do need to be careful that analysis doesn’t become, or indeed remain, an end it itself - we do need to move on from the analysis to actually shifting to implement the desirable improvements, and then to tune and support them to make sure they are working, working well, understood and used to bring planned (or unplanned?) benefits and from which we learn and adapt further.
On "Local"
This is a Wiltshire plan for transport for the next 15 years or so, but I understand that we are looking for public transport in the region to be passed to a new Mayoral authority. This is very recent news and I worry about changing a long-term plan over the news of current weeks - but how will the whole of this document apply in the future? What comes in from Somerset, Dorset, BCP and (as I write) I think the jury is out on whether Swindon joins us.
I have sympathy with the LTP4 drafters as the document for consultation was written prior to the "Mayor of Wessex" business, but nevertheless I am concerned and wonder how (for example) policies effective for Poole or Weymouth will colour decisions local to Chippenham or Melksham.
There is sense in planning transport especially across a wider area; the major flow from Melksham is to Bath, which isn't in Wiltshire and isn't in Wessex either - the question has been raised and thought about but "who's in charge" remains a concern and do we risk considerable transport schemes being dumbed down by committee rather than specified by an inspirational local view.
It is also noted that Wiltshire is in the centre of England, and whilst we are looking at local travel in this policy, we also have substantive flows of people travelling through our county. And it's the nature of best public transport that a single provision takes the related flows along the same corridor and makes "mass" use of them. For example - Chippenham to Bath, which is local, shares a railway line and probably a train with London to Bristol, which is NOT local.
On future population
The local plan looks at significant housing development in Wiltshire. In round terms 2000 homes in Melksham, for example. But again very recent news after LTP4 has been drafted is an 80% uplift - suggesting 3600 homes which is an extra population of approaching 9000 rather than 5000.
This is a concern as we hit the tipping point of gridlock (a few extra vehicles leads to a much slower journey) and we are close to that tipping point already. One cheer (not three) for electric cars - there is a danger of us replacing a queue of "dirty" vehicles with a queue of clean ones, but a queue nevertheless, which stifles the efficiency and economy as people wait to move around, and leads to more and more space needed to park up vehicles and maintain and monitor that space.
It is also an opportunity. I note that Wiltshire, again, has key town strategies for Salisbury, Trowbridge and Chippenham and then a dramatically different layer for "Market Towns". Salisbury has 23 (now increased to 30) electric buses planned for 2026. Melksham - over half the size - had zero and a single vehicle on the town bus route, trying to do everything and doing much of it pretty poorly - one bus a day from the Town Centre to Holbrook Vale and just two picking up in Skylark, below the level of being useful to more than a handful of people.
I am reminded of my campaigning for improved train services in Melksham. When we had two trains each way per day, we had around 3,000 journeys per annum to and from the town by rail. "3000" may sound like a big number, but it's just five arrivals and five departures a day. Taking Swindon as an example, there was just one round-trip opportunity per day. We are now up from two to nine train round-trips per day, with between 35 and 40 passenger round-trip opportunities - 450% train numbers, but 2500% passenger numbers (75,000) and trains that were carrying fresh air are now carrying lots of passengers. Analysis (my first aim principle ;-)) suggests the optimum is 16 round trips and with reliable services the passenger numbers would exceed 300,000. Growth is not limitless; there is no call for a "London Underground" frequency.
The same principle MUST be applied to buses, and the Salisbury example is a good starting point or seems so. The same principles should be applied to larger market towns too. Town buses bring people into the town and connect with other buses and trains onwards. We have an opportunity to apply these principles now as houses are built. The Local Transport Plan should emphasise the provision of mass public transport, combining the flows to make them efficient and frequent and providing them before new residents feel the need to purchase additional private vehicles.
Geometry tells me that a doubling of population (and Salisbury is less than twice the population of Melksham) results in a maximum journey length of just 1.4 times. So Melksham would not be looking at 30 vehicles (Salisbury) down to 15 based on population, but perhaps down to somewhere between five and ten. The algorithm is a complex one as more people are closer to the centre, and both Salisbury and Melksham are not circular developments because of flood plain issues.
Melksham and perhaps some others need to be considered strategic.
On dormitories
Land for employment is not being increased in the same way that land for housing is - certainty here in Melksham. There are major flows from Melksham to a number of towns around, and as our population grows that suggests a disproportionate growth of routine travel to work. This is not entirely a one-way street - modern remote working reduces the number of commutes per person with many working from home, but we are still within societal change. Some jobs must be done away from home, and some management policies require heavy office attendance. Home working for many established employees can work well, but learning from remote peers can be problematic in the medium to long term.
Key bus and train routes between settlements, the "connected cities" approach, buses and trains running all day (and evening) every day are waymarked in the LTP. Good to see the adoption of both inter-town and local services on the same broad corridor to meet the differing needs - Chippenham to Bath is a good example where the increase from two to three buses per hour has provided the impetus for one express and two "round the houses". It makes not only for better quality travel for people going longer distances, but also a need for fewer buses and drivers on the route. Hourly Chippenham to Bath taking 45 minutes (x31) can be run hourly on two vehicles, but taking 75 minutes (231) takes three vehicles. The principle of fast and slow makes sense at the level of use and service we are now seeing. Note D1 and D1x too.
How the bus network is specified
Yet another recent change since LTP4 was drafted. The bus network of routes and timetables has for decades been specified by commercial operators competing with each other for profitable business, with the local authority (WC) stepping in to buy services that it wishes, that are socially necessary and it elects to buy. It's actually much more complicated than that, but it leaves crevices between "commercial" and "supported" routes, minimal integrations, even "bus wars". Enhance Partnership and Bus Service Improvement Plans help paper over some of the cracks in this system, but it's changing. New Government, mayoral authorities, needs to be reflected on LTP4.
Under the new system, the network will be overarched by the mayoral authority as a network giving the opportunity to have a single integrated plan for what are currently "commercial", "supported" and rail. We have many superb expert operators locally and it's planned that they will still run the buses, but under franchises; somewhat ironic as in rail, franchises are ending and operation is by a nationalised body. Our mayor (who will it be?) could run the buses again in the future back to Western National - but I would rather we don't go that route; local skilled management with an incentive to look after the passenger and also the purse strings makes sense.
"Analyse - shift - improve - support". Good. A big shift is coming and needs reflecting in LTP4 - if LTP4 is relevant to it in just Wiltshire.
S2.4
"This measure focuses on support for enhancing the frequency of rail services, introducing new direct routes and therefore improving connections between different lines and stations. This policy would support and prioritise improvements which seek to make rail travel more convenient across Wiltshire. The Western Gateway Rail Strategy sets minimum aspirational frequencies of two trains per hour for intercity services, at least one train per hour for regional services, and one train per hour for local services."
The Western Gateway aspiration is a minimum - clarify please to one train per hour IN EACH DIRECTION and please confirm that LTP4 is in support of that minimum. Stations at Melksham, Dilton Marsh and Pewsey currently fall below the minimum service level. Portsmouth, Southampton, Salisbury, Bath, Bristol, Newport and Cardiff are all cities and so the Portsmouth to Cardiff service is an intercity one. It currently runs once an hour and I note the aspiration is for two.
There should also be an aspiration for service reliability.
Relating to other plans and strategies
LTP4 should be taken as just one of a number of documents in addition to studies such as Network Rail/GBR development plans, Western Gateway STB proposals including their SiP which is currently out for consultation, etc. Additional rail capacity, with a fourth platform at Westbury and a loop or doubling through Melksham is noted, as are parallel aspirations to those in LTP4 though not necessarily repeated.
The NPPF, Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plan elements also reflect as they should on the LTP4. As do BSIPs and EPs on bus provision.
Footnote – the Author
Graham Ellis, retired, former IT trainer and hotelier in Melksham. In my working time I was President of the Melksham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Community Rail Officer at the formation and growth of the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership.
I am currently a Town Councillor in Melksham, stepping down at the May 2025 election as I somewhat wind down, and that will let me concentrate on transport interests; I am acting chair of the Melksham Transport User Group, and a board member of TravelWatch SouthWest. I also run an active online public transport passenger forum (https://www.passenger.chat) covering the Thames Valley through Wessex and WECA to the South West of England.
Happy for follow up questions/contacts/graham@sn12.net and 07974 925928.
Published Wednesday, 22nd January 2025
Blue Pool and Assembly Hall - status and 27.1.2025 meeting
Status: Wiltshire Council have offered Melksham Town Council (MTC) the old Blue Pool for purchase at a peppercorn price. It makes sense for MTC to purchase the building - it is adjoined and shares a wall with the Assembly Hall. Options were looked at as long ago as the summer of 2023 and are set out best in the business plan ((here)) drawn up by the Friends of Melksham Assembly Hall and since then, MTC has decided to go ahead on principle - in other words ruling out the "no, thank you" option. A great deal of (paper)work has been going on behind the scenes and the purchase - and much larger the follow up - comes back to council.There are enormous opportunities to provide something which really enhances the Melksham Community and that's also what people want - ((here)) is a need assessment from 2 years ago and is an element in the town centre master plan - see ((here)) where it is a part the Civic Quarter - also known as "Cluster One" in section 8.3 ... there are also enormous risks - both the capital spend while facilities are updated/replaced to meet future needs, and then the ongoing revenue / business operation to ensure that Melksham benefit is maximised at a cost (worst case) not exceeding the acceptable to Melksham precept payers.
A structural survey was undertaken about a year ago to inform MTC on the condition of the Blue Pool prior to purchase, and architects were invited to make overview suggestions. Due to changes and departure of staff at the time, architects enquiries were not followed up as the remainder of the team concentrated on day to day operation. Only now, with many new team members, is the future project being picked up. Architects have been invited again to submit ideas, there's full Town Council meeting on 27th January to progress matters (though the published agenda is minimal in suggestions for public involvement) and on 28th and 29th, architects are invited to see / tour the buildings involved to help inform them.
A very great deal of work has been done over the years looking forward for the Assembly Hall and Blue Pool and I have helped assemble it in the "Friends of Melksham Assembly Hall" library ((here)) ... which includes council documents from MTC records. These documents should be of especial use to the professionals we are inviting to pitch make proposals, both in getting them off to a flying start and helping them tune their proposals to our needs. In particular, I highlight the presentation of summer 2023 to MTC ((here)).
An update following on from that document - now coming up for two years old - is appropriate and Lisa writes to the Locum Clerk (via my submission as a Town Councillor):
| There is a council meeting in January when I understand, specifics about the Blue Pool will be discussed. I have too many thoughts and ideas to be given enough time in public discussion before the meeting starts to cover the items I feel are important to take into consideration by the councillors making the decisions. I have asked Graham Ellis to submit this in hopes it can be part of that evening's agenda. There are a few things that residents have wanted to see in town -- my statement below does not mention healthcare facilities and more retail stores, which need to be addressed by others more capable, and as a separate matter. In bringing these issues to your attention, I strongly feel the redundant Blue Pool (BP) site can offer solutions to: • Free in-town parking • Improved council staff offices • Museum • Expansion of entertainment venue including appropriate entrance, adequate bar and increased lavatory facilities • Additional facilities, such as meeting rooms, cinema, etc. • Better/safer access to the Assembly Hall events PARKING If the land surrounding the BP was included in the acquisition (and agreeing Wiltshire Council the right of access), the outer area of the BP can be enlarged by removing the outer wall that enlarges the area to create a car park with approximately 30 spaces, including parent/child and handicap. This still leaves an area of trees in front where seating and greenery -- a small park -- can be placed to add to the attractiveness of the building. The parking would be used for town residents, visitors, Assembly Hall (AH) facilities and Town Hall. (Note: parking at the campus is for intended campus use only and will be a matter of time before this is strongly enforced.) Solar panels on top of a parking roof could add much to saving on electrical expenses for all three buildings. Note: Parking in Melksham has historically been a major topic of controversy. To show their frustration, some will happily admit to showing protest by shopping in other towns -- never mind the cost to get there and having to pay another town's parking fees. Free parking and in-town location are the two sticking points. For years, compromises with Wiltshire Council have been attempted to purchase spots for in-town parking, but their offerings have been insulting. A free car park as described above would be a huge step in gaining back supporters of Town Council agendas. Presently, with so many private parking companies and other parking restrictions now springing up overnight in Melksham, you are going to see increased furore about town parking. I can also relate what happened with parking at Melksham Station, but that's a long story of defeat/success/defeat. Trust me when I state that parking is a major Melksham topic. [About 15-20 years ago I was told by a long-time resident and former councillor of Melksham that years prior a restrictive covenant had been placed on the parking area in front of the Town Hall -- that it remain free and for use for Melksham residents. He added that the paperwork had mysteriously vanished. For now a rumour I've not been able to prove at this point.] COUNCIL STAFF OFFICES Anyone who has visited the Town Hall for information and advice is aware of the awkwardness of the small reception window. Visitors can peer behind and see cramped office space. Meetings have been sometimes hampered by technology limitations. The decor on the ground floor is dark and uninviting; accessible facilities are awkward. A move to the existing BP site for staff offices enables a proper front counter at the entrance and staff rooms behind. There would be interior alterations and existing redundant pool equipment to remove, but the structure itself is sound. This move would treble the existing staff space. I point you to the MWPC facilities afforded by the new build of the campus. MTC could have the same available with new equipment and furnishings. The former gym area of the BP can be used for Town Council meetings. Having two separate entrances and a large storage area, it is possible to have a flexible room divider to make two meeting rooms (small/large) that can be hired out when council is not meeting. There is also an easily accessed emergency exit to the outside. One floor level; no requirement for a lift. There would also be no confusion as to where to get information and purchase tickets for events -- it's all there and manned by AH and/or TC staff. MUSEUM I'd been campaigning for a proper town museum to be located in the BP gym room, but I can imagine this going into the Town Hall once staff has been relocated. The only problem I see is staffing. This would be wholly dependant on volunteers. But the building itself being historic -- and a place where a lot of history happened -- would add to the atmosphere. EXPANSION OF ENTERTAINMENT, etc.; ADDITIONAL FACILITIES, etc. The existing entrance, bar and lavatory facilities of the AH are inadequate. Expanding into the BP would solve this problem very quickly with minimal to moderate construction. (Internal only; as I mentioned earlier, the BP outer structure is sound.) The original plans of the AH show doorways and pass-throughs into the bP that can easily be reinstated and expanded. Obviously, the shower rooms and bathroom facilities and can made much smaller, even a quarter of the current size, to allow adequate toilet facilities that are required for public use of a combined venue this size. This extra left-over space can be used for several things, such as an open seating area, closed-in meeting room, etc. The 1848-built, three-storey structure between the BP and AH is awkward and I've not given too much thought into it other than storage, backstage use and for the kitchen area. As for the kitchen, with pass-throughs already on both sides (BP side currently covered with thin board), I can envision this being turned into a tea/coffee/snack service, removing all the cooking facilities and making it more of a Bistro-type area. The hallway on the BP side having small tables with chairs. I do not see the need to provide full catering facilities when there are very few town events that require dinner service (1, 2 a year?). These in the past have been arranged quite well with using local caterers to bring in food, and this should be encouraged, rather than competed with. All that remains is the large indoor pool area. Personally, I would like to take advantage of the pool depth instead of just filling it with hard core and covering it over. My thought was an intimate theatre/cinema/lecture hall, seating about 150 people. The obstacles of creating an enclosed space with non-natural lighting and sound proofing would be partially solved with the depth already chiselled out. (From looking at plans, I believe there might even be an underfloor heating feed???) I've drawn up plans for a possible layout if anyone is interested in seeing it. There would be adequate space left for a large room of some sort, or even an amenity storage area with separate entrance at the back to transfer from the currently rented facilities on Bowerhill. (That last is not a popular idea by some councillors given the aesthetics, but it would be saving the rent spent on the separate Bowerhill unit.) BETTER ACCESS The AH is currently accessed by the public through a small entrance. As tickets are processed, a backlog of people not only block those needing access to the toilets, but also stand in the entrance with doors open to foul weather. With the main entrance moved to the BP, this smaller entrance can be used by staff. There have also been comments made by smokers that this entrance is convenient for them, and frankly, if kept for that purpose too, would eliminate "discomfort" at the main entrance. The addition of a car park answers the parking/handicap aspect. Currently, when the only allotted parking spot by the AH entrance (which is also the only handicap spot) is taken, performers setting up cannot easily get their vehicles in when loading and unloading. Then, their vehicles block the way when the performance is about to start and patrons are trying to get in. The addition of a car park can also incorporate easier access to the back of the property for performers, and vehicles/vans/lorries can have direct access to the back door by the stage itself; the vehicles remaining out of public sight, and kept more safe from theft possibilities. I know many disagree with me about keeping the shell of the BP. There is thought that the BP building should just be torn down, the pool filled in and a new leisure facility built on top. In a perfect world where money is no object, I would have fewer disagreements with that plan. But. I have been in the BP, used its facilities in the past and have seen it in its current empty state. I agree with the recent structural survey that the building is sound, and aside from some interior changes, the BP can be quickly brought into use at a far less expense than starting over from scratch. Construction can also been done in a way where performances can continue as improvements are made to each BP and AH on alternating schedules. Some have expressed a desire for demolition purely on the basis of aesthetics -- how the building looks on the outside. The existing AH brickwork isn't modern. Although it would be nice to have something new, shiny and modern, I look at some of the buildings in Melksham that were considered a new, modern style in the 1960s and '70s, which we all now detest. How long, for instance, will the campus design still be in vogue? A modern covered entrance and an extension/improvement of the bricking of AH is really all that's needed. Look at the Cheese and Grain in Frome for something that's historic but fits quite well in modern society -- it's virtually timeless. Wiltshire Council had set aside £300,000 for the expense of demolish/fill when they had plans to sell this property as vacant. They tried to find buyers, and even though it's in a prime location, it's just too small and too close to the AH to be commercially viable for a private company. Tidworth not long ago built a civic centre that incorporated their policing facilities, and, if memory serves, their cost was around/just under £20M for all new. Just after they completed, the architects/builders approached Melksham Town Council with an interest in bidding for the BP project -- this was a few years ago. The size is comparable. It would be a good idea to visit several venues on new builds to get an idea of cost and which builders came in on time and budget. And studying blueprints will not be enough. You need a site visit. I personally found some meeting rooms and long hallways far too small to be useable for more than a few people at a time at Tidworth, for example. As for the cost of doing the recommendations I proposed, they would be easy enough to sort. But the biggest factor is being able to get it up and running very quickly, even if certain areas were blocked off while construction continued (for instance, the pool area could be closed while the front desk, staff offices and council chambers would be open; improved entrance to the AH; museum in Town Hall are underway and functioning...). Thank you for allowing to express my views here. - Lisa Ellis |
A massive amount to consider
Published Tuesday, 21st January 2025
Blue Pool and Assembly Hall - secrets
A full Melksham Town Council will be held on Monday 27th January starting at 7 p.m ... but agenda information for consideration ahead of the meeting is far from full.Agenda item 5: We will "receive a verbal report on Assembly Hall procedures" which is pretty unsatisfactory in my view as anything substantive we learn will only be spoken to as an immediate reaction by councillors and not with the thought it probable deserves, and members of the public will have no opportunity to question. And if there is nothing substantive to say, why is it on the agenda?
Agenda item 6: "To confirm the future vision for the Assembly Hall and Blue Pool." But - err - there are no supporting documents there to describe what that future vision is. I did provide the staff team with links to their own needs assessment, to the business case work done by friends of the hall, and to wider illustration of some of the options we did 18 months ago with a request for them or the links at least to be included in the agenda pack. Also an update on the case that Lisa wrote. However - they are NOT in the Agenda pack - "Tracy's view is that these be distributed to members rather than put on the agenda" I am told. Interesting - I thought the Clerk's job was to help the councillors and not to go against their wishes / requests for the council agenda, but I can quite understand how circulating the documents in public could lead to much more public interest than just circulating councillors.
Agenda item 7: We are requested to go into confidential session for
Agenda item 8: "To receive updated documents regarding the transfer of the Blue Pool and to agree to the definition 'Excluded disposition' in the TR1 document." "Not in front of the children" again? I have a whole stack of extra documents by email. And, no, I don't know why they all have to be confidential; having them such excludes them from public scrutiny.
The future of the Blue Pool and Assembly Hall are too important to submerge below what to me has the markings of actions that will (and may be designed to) limit discussions, so I'm going to post now and follow up shortly in my next article about where we are going with the Assembly Hall and Blue Pool, being careful to not reference data that's exclusively in that confidential stack. You will find the article at https://grahamellis.uk/blog1482.html
Published Monday, 20th January 2025
Why I support petition "Create a path to settlement for Ukrainians in the UK"
I support and have signed this petition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/700776 . Let me explain why and invite you to sign..It'll be three years ago this spring when the first of our guests arrived from Ukraine, looking to us for a place of safety from a war that had broken out in their home country. I'm proud of how the people of my home county of Wiltshire, and indeed people across the UK, opened their homes to receive people who were looking for temporary refuge from a conflict that in some cases had seen them literally running for their lives - literally in some cases and emotionally in many others.
It was very brave of these people to make a decision to move from Ukraine, and very brave of people in the Uk to offer them accommodation and support in their own homes too. And it was a messy and risky business too, with families torn asunder (families are not neatly wrapped packages with boundaries), people arriving into an unknown place where even the character set of the written word was new to them, and residents quietly living here in Wiltshire welcoming people in need of substantial help into their homes not for a couple of days or weeks but for 6 months or years. I am proud that Lisa and I helped and received guests. I am proud of our community that did so much to help them sort out issues, learn, feel and be safe here. And I am proud of the team of staff at Wiltshire Council who provided help and a safety net as these people settled in for "the duration" - to sit out the war with a view to returning to Ukraine to help rebuild in due course.
Our guests arrived in the UK 'for the short term'. That's the short term in life terms - in transit and as a phase in their lives, looking at their short term survival and not their long term life plans. After a surprisingly short period - leaning some of the language, recovering from the transit, setting up the trappings of society in the UK such as IDs, phones, bank accounts, learning to get around, they found gainful employment, or schooling / education, and most have become a part of the economy of our society. And yet these people have no permanence - no ability to take on a mortgage, sign a long term housing least, meaningfully build up a pension. They have been in limbo - in a fog where they can't see ahead beyond a year or two.
It was right that in the Spring of 2022 we re-acted to an immediate crisis and provided short term help, without any committent to the longer term. To have given such a committent - even to give a hint at it - would have encouraged economic migration and not people coming purely as temporary refugees. But times change. The war in Ukraines is not over. And many of these people are now very much members of our society - and useful and respected members too. And so now in early 2025, I have signed the petition to government asking them to "Create a path to Settlement for Ukrainians in the UK", an I commend it to you. It is at [url].
In my view, guests who have already been in the UK for a year or more under "Homes for Ukraine" should be offered a path to stay here permanently. They have become a part of our community very much like others from all over the world have in various ways, and they benefit us too - so this is not just a sympathy "thing" - it's also common sense. But it's bound to be messy around the edges - life is. So this path to permanence should be offered to the people who have been here for a while - this is not my support (but neither a rejection - I'm taking no view) of the tailed off trickle of new arrivals - it applies, wholeheartedly - to the initial flood and following flow – those who had no “forever” thought.
Yes, I know that our guests started off as being welcomed and identified as Ukrainian. I look forward and commend to you a future in which (if they wish) they are people who live here - a part of our community - and we don't even think about where they happened to have been born. People who are part of Great Britain and in the fabric that helps keep it a great place to live.
Published Saturday, 18th January 2025