Graham Ellis - my blog
Melksham Trains - some questions addressed
Answering Questions asked on Facebook. Questions in bold, my comments in regular text.Background - far too many trains are cancelled at Melksham, and when even one is there isn't another alomg just behind it - it's usually hours later - so it's a serious issue. This blog addresses some of the issues raised in answer to a public question of Facebook a couple of days ago.
Over Christmas and for most of January, enngineering works a Westbury will decimate our services - but this IS notified ahead and alternative road tranport will be provided. Not as good (slower, connections fail, need to change at Chippenham, bumpier, don't take dogs or cycles or heaviest luggage, not real time tracked, no on board loos) but at least e have something. And your rail ticket IS valid on the Faresaver buses x34 to Chippenham and Trowbridge on the 271/2/3 to Bath if you're headed West. Train services resume in full on 24th January, though folowed by a couple more weekend closures to adjust new tracks as they bed in.
Thanks for the update and the work you do Graham Ellis please do continue your work making the case for a consistent and reliable rail service for Melksham
My pleasure (really, it is!) meeting so many wonderful people, helping inform them (and to pass comments back to the service providers to keep them informed and aware and perhaps reactive too to customer desires and issues). I am currently a Town Council in Melksham - I am not standing for re-election in May but I WILL be continuing in my rail passenger activities - MTUG, WWRUG, TWSW and the Coffee Shop forum. In many ways, the Town Council role has proven to be a yoke around my neck (electorate wonderful, mind you) and I will be able to be far more positively effective into the future.
You are utterly correct to empathise consistency and reliability as they are key issues for which a case is to be made. Just thank goodness that we do NOT have other overarching concerns such as safety.
As a regular weekday user (for commuting) there is, as you say, real impact when trains are cancelled.
Too true ... 85% of trains are running on the day, and for one-off users that may work. For commuters though it's three journeys in a fortnight that get cancelled. IF there is an alternative easily and hassle free to hand, OK - but that is rare and for Melksham the next train is 120 minutes later rather than the 20 minutes it would be elsewhere.
Employers rely on staff and in many roles it's vital to have you there on time. Jobs can be lost on the cancellation (and not able to get there till much later) if it happens more than very, very rarelt.
I’m interested to see how the proposed TOC approval for Go-Op shakes up the service from the end of next year. That’s clearly not going to fix the issues now…
Go-op have a license allowing them to run services from December 2025 which much be made use of within a year of that date. Best bet - if they manage it - would be for a service to start in May 2026. There are many different ways it could go - not only for Go-op but for the services on the line and for Melksham ranging from the wonderful (more trains filling gaps) to the distaster (GWR gives way for Go-op who fail to deliver).
The ongoing works I understand are for point work and signalling? Do these improvements then lead to faster and more frequent services and updated timetable?
No. They are said to be for improved reliability at Westbury; that has not been the biggest concern, but if equipment is near life end then it makes sense to do it before it becomes yet another problem to add to the ones we have. The works do NOT include another platform available at Westbury nor any extra tracks.
When Melksham is used as a diversion can the class 800’s not have SDO programmed in? Would they not already have the route in the train control systems and thus when on diversionary working can stop and open relevant doors for short platforms? (No doubt it’s been asked)
It has indeed been asked on a number of occasion.
Melksham has not been in the IET (that's classes 800 and 802) database so the trains haven't been programmed to be able to stop here in normal operation - for sure in an emergency I would expect them to be able to open a door. From time to time new stations are added to the database - for example Freshford, Bruton and Pilning have been added and I caught my first (electric!) departure from Pilning a couple of months ago.
The answer to request to add it in and stop at Melksham at times the local service is not running to allow diverted long distance expresses has consistency met with three reasons why not:
1. It will cost [a lot] of money and not be in anyone's budget
2. The diverted trains go through at different times to the local services normally call so it would be no use
3. The diverted trains are carrying a lot of people between big important places and they are already delayed. Adding a stop at Melksham would mean we would have to stop them at Trowbridge and Chippenham too and three extra stops would add too long to the time taken
We have pointed out that it also costs money to put of replacement buses, that with warning (or even without) people can plan to the changes and would appreciate the options, and that the long distance expresses typically divert through Bristol so the extra 12 to 15 minutes would only be on semi-fasts for passengers from places like Castle Cary and Westbury to London.
Good to report - it seems we are being heard. The front 5 doors are being added to the database. It then needs to be tested, "stop" boards checked and perhaps aded, a risk assessment study done and when those things are completed it will be a possible option.
No change over the Christmas / January shutdown, as there are no IETs coming through anyway and it will take much longer. But I do suspect that sometime in the next year to 18 months we may see this tested at least.
What plans do GwR have in general, to manage the lack of weekend working across the network? Mondays are often also being impacted with lack of rolling stock/ still not enough crew and colleagues have often reported how Sunday travel on GWR is rather ‘hit and miss’.
There are three matters ...
* Lack of appropriate trains
* Lack of appropriate staff
* Lack of open line due to engineering.
Lack of trains ... GWR are very tight on trains - however they are expecting to have class 175 in use in Devon and Cornwall from May, phasing out the remaining "Castle Class" sets and also allowing a whole host of other replacements, some of which release class 158 from the Barnstaple line to the Bristol area which should relive the situation. Even before that, I have not heard of as many problems of late - perhaps because new source have been found for parts that come from Ukraine or those supply lines are back. Longer term ... I have been today on GWR's battery train and there's a long story there.
Lack of open lines ... There's a lot more health and safety that there use to be so lines are closed more to protect the workforce. More work is done as things get ever more complex. And at times, cost wins over passenger convenience - much easier to do one closure of 48 hours than 6 nights of 8 hours each. Add to that the extra expense of weekend staff, and lots more passengers at the weekend meaning that these days engineering may be done midweek as it's just as quiet. No easy solution here - and the line through Melksham tends to get it "in the neck" as not only is it closed for its own engineering, but also if work is being done between Westbury and Reading, of between Trowbridge and Bath. Some hope here if IETs can stop (when Trowbridge / Bath is closed, those trains do stop already).
Lack of staff ... this is the biggie for cancellations on the day (the worst type for passengers) and the total story you are told seems to differ depending on who's telling who! My view / interpretation is that GWR have enough staff - IF the are not off on training / off sick, if they are happy to be working overtime to a sensible level, and if there is no train disruption, special workings or engineering which calls for more crew / different route knowledge Problem is that this perfect railway only exists on occasional days. When it doesn't, there's a scramble.
At present, there's a reluctance to work much overtime and there has been for s while. Goodwill to work overtime has been lost by the long and very sore strikes for multiple years. In the summer, drivers and train managers wanted time with family. In the autumn, pay packets with back pay as part of the settlement have meant they don't need to work as much, and who wants to work extra on the run up to Christmas? There is much talk of 60% of drivers not having Sunday in their working week. I suspect that the other 40% are very heavily programmed in to fill the Sunday gaps at present, leaving staff shortages on the other days of the week too - spread the misery!
Route knowledge costs money and needs to be renewed / kept up to date too, and so there's a reluctance to invest in wide knowledge. This means lots more crew changes along the way than there used to be. The line through Melksham is interesting in that it's a diversion route and route knowledge for long distance drivers is maintained on the 12:17 round trip from Westbury amongst others - with staff coming off the Paddington to Exeter train with a 20 minute swap at Westbury. Anything goes wrong / delay on the main line and - oops - cancelation at Melksham and a 2 hour gap! And it's so operationally easy simply to cancel the round trip; the folks who make the decision (and with the cards they are dealt, they probably have no choice on the day) are far, far away in a control room and not having to support the passengers with ruined journeys.
Services from Trowbridge and Chippenham tend to more consistent and less impacted during the week. Both of these stations can and do offer an alternative route for commuting (if you can get to them). And I agree that of something goes wrong, and safe to use the roads, GWR have to get you home; I’ve had some excellent support at Chippenham when this has happened, as you say you need to ask but stations staff have always been very helpful
Indeed - I must conclude with an appreciation of the staff we as passengers meet on the ground, day to day who are a great bunch. At times of perturbation, though, they may not be able to be around, and if they are they may lack the tools to be effective.
I have written very long already - but happy to fill you in further.
Not on the street but still here
My first blog in nearly a fortnight. Am I away? Yes, and no.I am not away - there has been so much going on. Much has been visible of social media and to the wider circle of friends in other arenas. Much I am obliged to hide from the public concerning things like next year's council budget and council tax level, where an enormous amount of time has been spent in minute detail so that what comes to a public council meeting will only need to be rubber stamped. You may consider this work behind closed doors to be less that open - I do - but I respect the rules and work within them. And some of it (prior to the next paragraph) has been out and about and doing things in relation to Bert and Darragh which aren't headlines or campaign opportunities.
I am away - I have pulled my back and am now laid up; just about managing the stairs once or twice a day. But that to some extent is an efficiency - letting me off Monday's budget meeting that was briefly published then taken private, and allowing me to Zoom in to Economic Development though only as a member of the public (officers can attend their roles remotely, but councillors cannot!). And I will be attending a meeting with GWR remotely today.
Being less physically available than normal does not really make me less available to residents; if I know you're popping round ahead of time, you're welcome - though knocking on the door unannounced this week is likely to frustrate us both as I'll struggle to get to the door before you give up. Drop ins are rare anyway, since I am normally out and about so much that people usually check with me ahead.
Published Wednesday, 11th December 2024
Long term plans - Wiltshire
Three consultation opportunities for you to express your view (below the text) and a piece of news about the Wessex regionI spent much of yesterday evening discussing the planning strategy for Wiltshire on Social Media, where opinions expressed include:
- "They" never ask us or listen what we say (1)
- "We" don't want more houses here (2)
- Big new houses are built for rich incomers (3)
- The road and drainage won't cope. (4)
- We need to build more doctors surgeries and schools (5)
- Councillors never listen, are overcompensated, incompetent, and in it for themselves (6)
OK - let me answer as a Town Councillor
(1) Listed below are three consultations opened in the last few days. The cynical will suggest that these are sometimes biased towards the results wanted and indeed they are sometimes written in a way to encourage certain results - especially late on in a process where much consultation opportunity has been available, if not always obviously so or taken up. Input via Social media is unlikely to make it directly into the process, and just because you ask for something and the proposals aren't changed as a result, that's not a failure of the system. Compromises are needed, and very often what seem like sensible suggestions would have unfortunate consequences. Having your suggestions considered is not the same as having them implemented. But, please, keep asking; that informs the teams and it can and sometimes does make a difference
(2) No more houses - OK - but where will people live? The average household size is down - perhaps just from 2.4 to 2.3 people, but that's millions of new homes. Housing stock needs to be renewed. People want a better standard of living that in the past so you're replacing at a lower density. There is a rise in population - though contrary to rhetoric only 1 new arrival in the UK out of 30 arrives illegally, and the crime rate amongst people arrival on visa is typically very low indeed. Green fields, I agree, are the simplest to build on, but there is sense in building on "brown field" sites first; in Melksham Town, the Neighbourhood Plan has proposed the Cooper Tires site and the old library site, and we have given in to the already-accepted house and care home building just south of the A365 filling in land between Melksham and Bowerhill. Wiltshire Council in their "local plan" IS proposing to allow building on certain green fields and to do so in line with and providing some supporting infrastructure and services. There is an interesting alternative option to build some 3 or 4 story blocks on the Cooper Tires site, businesses and leisure at ground level, and close to public transport hubs, for a high quality town lifestyle.
(3) It's all big new houses. There are some big houses - but many smaller ones too, and the proportion is worked out by a local study and imposed on developers. Interestingly, developers have learned that by providing more smaller "affordable" homes, they can get planning decisions to go their way on appeal where otherwise they would fail.
(4) The drainage volume of clean / rain water does not vary whether it falls on farmland or homes, though where it flows as it disperses and at what rates does. Dirty (sewage) water goes into existing drains or new drains where they need to be provided, and modern dirty water systems are far better at not doubling up as storm drains than old ones. Serious issues. The wider road network WILL be in trouble unless we build more roads, or reduce our travel, or persuade many more people to use public or shared transport - and that is something we must provide before people chose to move in to an area which is car dependent.
(5) Building doctor and dentist surgeries is easy and the developers would love to do it - just another building and not specialised work. However, where would the doctors and dentists to work there come from; there is no point in having an empty surgery.
(6) As a Town Councillor, my role is voluntary and I don't get paid a penny even in expenses. The best I get is a cup of coffee which I can help myself to during council meetings. Even attendance at events I'm expected to attend (such as the Lion's 50th) I pay out of my own pocket; in that latter case, I unexpectedly declined - happy to give my time for free and if they really want me they can at least feed and water me. I will go along to (and support and pay) at local causes where I choose to do so. This is a far cry from "overcompensated"; our staff at the Town Council are properly and correctly paid on national scales, and county councillors get an allowance to compensate for all the time they put in. Never listen (?) - well - what have I done (and addressed) in this article. Incompetent (?) - hmmm - certainly frustrated at the difficulty of progressing even the simplest of projects and disappointed at how little I have achieved in nearly 4 years. I'm in it for the love of the town; others may be there with more of a bias to political or personal promotion.
Consultations and input streams for you - new, late November 2024
Draft Joint Melksham Neighbourhood Plan 2 (2020 - 2038) Regulation 16 consultation
From 27/11/2024 09:00AM to 22/01/2025 05:00PM
https://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/kse/event/38226
Draft (Wiltshire) Local Transport Plan
"The consultation is open (from 28th November) until 24th January 2025. Have your say today!"
https://wiltshireltp.commonplace.is
28 November 2024 - Wiltshire Local Plan 2020 - 2038 submitted for Examination.
https://www.localplanservices.co.uk/wiltshirelpexamination
"IAN KEMP - PROGRAMME OFFICER ... My role is to act as the point contact for any person who has an interest in the Examination and as a liaison between the Inspector, Local Planning Authority and Representors. I am an independent Officer of the Examination and work on behalf of the Inspector to organise and manage the administrative and procedural elements of the Examination process. Any matters that anyone wishes to raise with the Inspector should be submitted to me in the first instance.
Revised Expression of Interest in devolution by Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire Councils
Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire Councils have revised their Expression of Interest in devolution, committing to a Mayoral Combined Authority for the Heart of Wessex region.
Published 29 November 2024
see here
Published Saturday, 30th November 2024
Going Forward - Melksham Transport User Group
Big Question - Should the Melksham Transport User Group roll in the another group such as the West Wiltshire Rail User Group?Answer - Absolutely we are not going to. Melksham Transport User Group - the job continues
Reason - We have a separate job to do, representing the Melksham Area community, to other groups around and we sit alongside them and we already work with them well. We fit like jigsaw pieces with them.
The only reason in favour of winding up was a lack of key volunteers for the key roles. Previous Trasurer, Secratary and Chair have done a fantastic job over many years, and huge thanks to them. You get to a point even if having achieved a lot that you step back; I have stepped across from Vice Chair to Chair but am looking for that to be to help with the restart until the next AGM.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
An excellent meeting last night (28.11.2024) - the decision is that there is still very much a place for the Melksham Transport User Group. New committee / officer group:
* Clive Jefferies (Signatory)
* Graham Ellis (acting chair and Signatory)
* John Glover
* Mark Harris (Membership Secretary)
* Julie Colegate (Vice Treasurer)
* Pete Colegate (Treasurer and signatory)
The group fills a gap / need and the encouragement / push to continue feels universal with us interfacing and partnering with so many other parties.
Thank you - so many of your - for your emails of support even though you could not make it last night (sorry this is circular - I have so much happening today). You'll notice that we still have a handful of roles which can be usefully filled and if you want to get involved we would be delighted to see you on correction Thursday 19th December which is the follow-up meeting ( from 18:00 for 18:30 at 48, Spa Road, SN12 7NY )
There has been so much ongoing transport news this month that it'e hard to know where to start. Yesterday, Wiltshire's Local Transport Plan consultation opened and just this morning, we have had the resignation of the Secretary of State for Transport and the appointment of Heidi Alexander, MP for Swindon South. I'll be writing a newsletter over the next few days including their implications and opportunities.
A week tomorrow - Saturday 7th December - the Christmas lights are switched on, and I have arranged to have a table in the bus stops in the thick of the crowd where I and others who have offered to help (I will write individually with suggested times) direct people to alternative bus stops, and also had out immediate information and promotion - tricky one that; we need to be really careful not promoting rail travel over the holidays, for example, with all the engineering reductions until late January.
Email addresses - [forename]@mtug.org.uk (such as graham@mtug.org.uk ) ... general email address info@mtug.org.uk ... facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MelkshamTUG/ ... website at https://mtug.org.uk
There are many transport challenges around for Melksham and West Wilts at present, and many feel insurmountable and we wonder what we can do. But look back a few years, the challenges were different other ones, and many have been met for the best, promoted and tuned for best local residents, visitors and businesses. We have had, and will have, opportunities to help steer and support, and the final outcome may be significantly better than without us. And it's rewarding fun working together as a team of volunteers too.
Questions / comments / anything … please ask / get in touch
Graham
Graham Ellis
48 Spa Road, Melksham - 07974 925 928
https://grahamellis.uk - graham@sn12.net
My emailling policy: https://grahamellis.uk/email
Published Friday, 29th November 2024
Reset meeting - Melksham Transport User Group - 28 November 2024
To those who came along last month, and those with an interest in helping with Melksham's public transport from the community over next months and yearsThank you for coming along to the "Melksham Transport User Group - what now" meeting at the Melksham Campus late last month, or other expression of interest. This [email] is to invite you if you may able to be an active helper / supporter to a meeting this Thursday evening - 28th November 2024 - in the cottage meeting room at Well House Manor (48 Spa Road, SN12 7NY). Arrive any time from 18:00 onwards - tea, coffee, biscuits and a couple of hours in which YOU can really help start to make a difference is on offer. Under way more formally underway at 18:30
There has been a very great deal of bus and train news recently. I will summarise (headline) it below but that is not what this particular meeting is mainly about. This meeting is about resetting the Melksham Transport User Group's organisation up - so that we have a coherent passenger voice across the town. "MTUG" already has links / contacts with partner organisations, and it is already a member of wider area groups, so it is well placed to hit the ground running.
Who will we be looking for? Ambassadors for public and sustainable transport across the wider Melksham Area. Committee members to help keep us informed as they travel. People who have ideas about what we should be doing short term, what we wish to see medium term and how this fits to the long term strategy for the region. Knowledgable people from both the rail industry and the passenger side, and newcomers who are happy point out where those of us who already know a lot make too many assumptions. People willing to take or to grow into our officer roles such as Chair, Vice, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Agenda - 18:30, 28th November 2024, at 48, Spa Road - Melksham Transport User Group
1. Welcome, and brief status update
2. Setting the scene for MTUG and what we should be doing
3. Around the room - who can do what
4. Next Steps for MTUG / "date of next meeting" but more than that
5. Community public transport strategy
6. Informing at the Christmas lights
7. AOB
Melksham Transport User Group is an unassociated association under the terms of its constitution; read more at https://mtug.org.uk/index.html about what it is and what the objectives are
P.S. The venue is at what three words ///rail.weary.stability which I felt was apt. If you drive, we have plenty of free parking here.
News this month - as told to the Melksham Environment Group last week
Rail
* RAIL Study for Wiltshire published
* Open Access operator Go-op given conditional permission to serve Melksham
* Reliability Issues
* A chat with GWR on their (First Group) intent and prognosis for Melksham Train Service
* Station Usage figures for 2023/24
* Engineering near-closure from 11 to 14 December and 24 December to 24 January
Bus
* New Bus service and Bus running
* Settlement for Wiltshire - Capital and Operational amounts and what we want from it
* Real Time Bus Information
All / both
* LTP4 Consultation starts 28th November
* Town and other councils support (?) for 2024/25 - early budget meetings
Published Sunday, 24th November 2024
MTC - Planning funding for next year
Melksham Town Council's income in the year to 31st March 2025 is expected to be around £1.21 million pounds of which the lion's share (£1.05 million) is from the precept on Melksham Town residents. The difference of £116,000 - our other income - comes from various sources, with the lion's share of around £75,000 of that from the Assembly Hall.The majority of our expenditure is on staff (salaries, national insurance, office accommodation, tools of trade, arrival and departure costs, training, etc) which I estimate based on public current figures will come in at around £780,000 this same year. That's around two thirds of our annual budget. And, I understand, is not out of the norm for lowest tier councils.
What should we - in my opinion only - be charging for next year? Let's look at what we and our rsidents want and need, and this article is based on public information. Read through to discover what this has to do with a third of a chocolate bar ...
Staffing - strategy and budget
I advocate rewarding our staff well for doing their jobs well - not only in terms of financial reward, but also making each of their roles enjoyable. That includes providing them with the tools to do their jobs well, and directions from the council itself that are reasonable (a fine word is "Reasonable"). Not everyone who's taken on by an organisation stays in the long term, but since I became a Town Councillor in 2021, it's felt like waves of enthusiasm as staff arrive, building up as they learn in and then break on the shore of pressure. Jean Harris, who finished with Melksham Town Council in 2018, was hailed as an icon even before she passed, and since her I can give you five more names for Town Clerk. We currently have a locum (a locum "is a person who temporarily fulfils the duties of another") and so I would expect a further change in the next year - do I make that seven town clerks in seven years? And in my view this is a cycle that must be broken.
It's not just the "head poncho" role that turns over too fast either ... another hard worker who had a love of Melksham left last week, and I was reconning we have a list of over 2 dozen staff and councillors leaving since I was elected - at least double what it should be.
My priority in budget setting would be to have enough resources, and policies to retain good people. The breaking of waves I have described above is very expensive in cost, very expensive if available practical staff time as people learn in and wind down, and very expensive in things not getting done. It's also very expensive in the personal lives of the people we break.
Sinking funds and reserves - strategy and budget
We have a backlog. Of repair works on the Town Hall, Assembly Hall, and the MIN office. Of replacing play equipment. The Splashpad needs resurfacing every 4 years. The IT equipment replaced everyb5 years. The Town Council vehicles every so often. One-off projects such as the East of Melksham Village Hall, the Sensory Garden, the BMX track, and the Blue Pool future. And we also need to be able to fund unexpected emergencies - such as immediate needs that came up at the start of Covid, or the extra £120,000 we required in the staffing budget this Autumn; these are our General Reserve.
Boring stuff, I know, but, we need to put away or plan for these projects and replacements years ahead. And we also need to have enough in hand to be able to pay for the expected and unexpected. If you look back at Finance Committee agendas, which include account details, you'll find that our general reserve has dropped significantly. We can't go on doing that year after year.
So - after staffing - we should be putting back sinking funds and replenishing our general reserves. Anything we have not spent this year will go back into general reserves but really - if our main budget is right - there should not be much of that, with detailed underspends and overspends balancing.
Other Income
I mentioned £116,000 this year. For next year, we should be able to do better. The earmarked reserve for the East of Melksham Hall (it's money that's come from CIL and section 106) is sitting in our bank and should be earning a lot better interest than it has been. Now that it's well established the rental for the cafe in the park, which had a low start point, increases. And now that we're long past covid, we should revert to Assembly Hall bookings for major shows on a more standard basis where we trust our manager, take a little more risk on each show, and make more substantially more income. MWPC already provide income to help with the town toilet, but perhaps they shouls also help financially with other town facilities which their residents make heavy use of. I am leaving number off the individual items here, but the £116,000 should rise to just shy of £200,000 next year for "other income".
Other Expenditure
This is where the other (this year) about £400,000 comes in. A big chunk goes for grants to outside bodies - let's say £50,000. There's £40,000 on insurance. Perhaps £30,000 goes on election expenses. £20,000 on two public loos (more next year?) . £30,000 on grass cutting in the park. £20,000 on bar supplies for the Assembly Hall. Over £20,000 on a maintenance depot in Bowerhill. Perhaps £15,000 on water, chemicals and electricity for the Splashpad. £20,000 on software licenses, and that's over a half of the extra money gone already. We spend around £50,000 a year on events around the town - Christmas lights, Last night of the Proms and Remembrance this autumn, for example. It's really not leaving us with very much, is it?
What else could / should we be doing?
A number of these items - in my view - are investments that will make us more efficient in the future. I've already mentioned the cost of hiring waves of staff, and we could make their jobs so much easier. And there are things we could do to reduce other costs too.
* Sort out the Web Site and systems behind for staff efficiency including Virtual Hub. It's a struggle to find out what's going on at times - for staff as well as councillors and the public and what a waste chasing up the same things time and again. "Openness costs" one of my fellow councillors told me. In some ways it does, but if we get twice the questions and can answer them each with a quick link - or have people able to look for themselves - it's a saving and a transparency in the medium and long term. Another councillor was going on about how open we must be recently - in a confidential session so I can't tell you more.
* Sort out what is a grant, what is grantable, and what is a contract. At present, IMHO it's a mess. Massive subject - we should be helping with provision that perhaps needs topping up through repetitive grants (and remember that £1.00 in grant is worth £4.00 in delivery through volunteers - old figure). Some of those grants should perhaps be contracts to enable the council to have a better insight into how the money goes. And one-off grants should be much less admin work to apply for and evaluate - we are very unclear as to our criteria and often ignore our own rules - "no discrimination on age" we say so why are we funding older persons or youth projects - it's silly!
* Deal with the awful Committee Room and other meeting spaces. Dark walls, no projector, no screen to plug into. And with the clerk insisting that groups of volunteers meet there it's enough to put people off volunteering.
* A volunteer's hub. This likely rolls in with other items but we have a need to properly support volunteers who work - for free - for the Town Council. We are really pretty poor at this, especially of late.
* Complete the purchase of the Blue Pool and initial development works. I would really hope we have the purchase completed this year. We then have some insurance and tick-over costs for the empty building and also the work on planning which options we are taking. The business plan suggested over a year ago by the Friends of Melksham Assembly Hall looked at the options of making use of the existing buildings, knock down and build new, or sell off the whole site for development (which I add to the list for completeness). For 2025/26 budget, the costs of all three options are likely to be similar. Beyond that, a new build by MTC would mean a loan from the Public Works Loan Board and a substantial increase in precept to cover the capital costs until the 2040s, and I don't think we would gain all that much from knocking down buildings that have many years life in them if properly maintained, a big flat roof on which solar panels will generate all of our power, and space for our maintenance shed, a museum, and a smaller theatre / cinema to supplement our current Assembly Hall which is getting very hard to book because it's so popular, and a car park with perhaps 40 spaces replacing what we used to have for free in the Market Place.
* Progress East of Melksham Community Hall. A building committent, and experience of other local halls such as Berryfield suggests it will be well used if properly managed. Big "thank you" to Melksham Without Parish Council for their help in having this go forward. Now that we at MTC have the staff to progress this, our budget needs to include that spend though it will come from extra monies and not the precept on town residents nor a loan taken out.
* Move the maintenance base from Bowerhill onsite. It's kinda absurd that we pay every year for a base that's out of the council's area, and pay our staff time and fossil fuel costs for then driving out there and back. It's come about for various reasons, but over the next year we should be moving them back (old Blue Pool?) so it's a one off payment that saves time and money every year into the future.
* Restore the green budget, trees and commitments made by MTC. In the current year, £10000 was remove from the budget from the previous year for biodiversity, and the commitment made by this council to hold an event to encourage local climate awareness and global warming action was zeroed out. And we really should be taking the lead by moving to electric vehicles (especially if we can charge them from the Blue Pool roof!). Much could be done by working better with Volunteers who are keen and available in the whole Melksham area such as Melksham Green Spaces and the Melksham Environment Group.
* Sell the building that's let to commercial tenants on the Market Place. I can't see a council use ourselves for this which has long term tenants, and looking after and maintaining it is a distraction on staff and, frankly, the income doesn't cover what we do to the place. As it's let to the local free newspaper who have to make editorial decisions on what of ours they cover, I could also question how healthy the relationship is.
* Real Time Bus information at 6 bus stops where most people are picked up. There should already by a couple coming in this year, but as I write that seems lost as it's in the hands of people who only joined after a supposed installation date of the first two. Locations - Market Place, King's Arms, The Bear, Opposite The Bear, Buds, and the railway ststion.
* Seeding support for electric bus. Wiltshire Council has just been granted £3 million in capital and £2 million in revenue support for next year's bus improvements and launches a consultation on their strategy this time next week. As the 4th largest town in Wiltshire, though the LTP makes special cases of the top 3, we are well positioned to make a business case and argue for a 2 vehicle system, modernise from what we had pre-covid into a network. Some seeding support from MTC in terms of specialist advice will be necessary to get this right for the town.
* Economic Development engagement. See previous blog (scroll down to read). Much of this - and some other activities - should be done in partnership with Melksham Without Parish Council who virtually surround us and have a much longer knowledge base on their team of these longer term issues.
Other projects already costed / earmarked in this current year
These are significant ongoing projects which should be more or less complete in the next few monthes,
* EcoLoos convert to standard
* Sensory Garden
* BMX Track
* Town Centre Projects
* Awdry Avenue Play Area
Monies for the Town Centre projects and the Awdry Avenue Play are coming from grants applied for rather than from the local taxpayer. If not complete this year, monies typically go into general or earmarked reserves and are available to spend in the following year; this sort of thing really depends on conditions on the grant.
So what would I suggest?
It is very presumptive of this current council, some of whom including myself are not seeking re-election next year and won't be there to implement plans, to details what the next council you elect should do. However, it is our right and duty to provide a solid base for them to fulfil their role, and provide enough for them to have some flexibility on doing what they are elected to do. So I listen carefully, and I have the luxury of being able to make some suggestions which will be unpopular in the short term but will set up the next council to be able to do really well for the town if so minded without another series of crashing waves.
On that basis, I would propose a precept of £228.00 on a band D home. That's a pound a week per household increase - the cost of a third of a bar or chocolate. It's not per person, remember - it's per household. We are told that "the pips are squeezing" for many and indeed so; in the case of this particular increase, there are rebates and systems in place such that they will only pay a part or not even all of it - "the poorest don't pay" someone said. That will not stop screams at a 29% rise (gotta love stats); inflation is strange beast and different on different products - I was seeing on TV that it's 39% over 2 years on fresh fruit and veg, and that is on far bigger spends.
A precept increase of around that amount would get my vote when it comes to a public council meeting - anticipated next month. Much lower and I think we would be setting up problems for our successors. Very much higher would be a problem for me - but we should make it enough for our current team of staff to both make the councils's systems work for Melksham residents efficiently, happily and long term stable, and help take our town forward for the next decade.
Published Wednesday, 20th November 2024
More trains for Melksham with Go-op?
The Office of Rail and Road has granted a conditional license to Go-op to run passenger trains from Taunton to Swindon via Westbury for five years from December 2025, via Melksham.
The current Melksham timetable is thin - it's very useful if there's a train when you want it, and provided there's one back when you want it too. But that only works for a minority; still good in that passenger journeys are up from 8 per day in 2008 to over 200 per day in 2018 (my last year as Community Rail Officer) or 165 in the most recent data.
As an example, services to Swindon are timetabled to run (Monday to Friday in this example) at
07:21, 08:02, 10:02, 12:33, 14:34, 16:39, 18:53, 20:22, 21:32
returning from Swindon at
06:02, 08:45, 11:05, 13:15, 15:15, 17:35, 18:44, 20:14, 22:31
And with extra services that could be to Swindon at
06:12, 07:21, 08:02, 08:50, 10:02, 11:10, 12:33, 13:20, 14:34, 15:20, 16:39, 17:45, 18:53, 20:22, and 21:32
returning from Swindon at
06:02, 07:10, 08:45, 10:05, 11:05, 11:50, 13:15, 13:50, 15:15, 16:35, 17:35, 18:44, 19:30, 20:14, and 22:31
Should we celebrate? Yes - if that's what happens, if it actually runs reliably, if the current trains don't get withdrawn (the DfT has a habit of withdrawing what it deems "duplicate" services), if the commercial business case is proven by the trains running without a subsidy safety net, if tickets are interchangeable between the trains. Passenger numbers ... I forecast up from 8 per day in 2008 to 205 per day in 2018 to around 1500 per day in 2028. And I can justify that projection.
But there are so many ifs in there it worries me.
If we believe it's possible on the timescale (and Go-op does have a history of missed deadlines - the service will be at least a dozen years late) we should all be working together. GWR. ORR. NR. GBR. DfT. WC. TWCRP. WWRUG. MTUG. FoCS. TWSW. FOCs. Passenger Focus. Western Gateway SnTB. MTC, MWPC and other local councils. and of course Go-op.
* - yes, I can fill in all those initials and I have a working relatinship with most of them
* - the possible train service does take account of single line occupancy
* - freight operation and main line paths and platforms need to be considered
* - same time every hour would need more trains or a passing loop or onward services
* - the possible train service adds just a single extra train going up and down
* - the extra passenger numbers will make a Melkshan rail linked local bus blindingly obvious
* - extra traffic will justify even more a human presence at Melksham station
* - note also massive extra through traffic from Chippenham to Trowbridge and beyond
* - projections based on current population - probably should be higher
Illustration - Melksham Station with and without a train
Published Monday, 18th November 2024
sn12.net, BlueSky and other social media plans
The BlueSky social media platform is exploding as X, formerly known as Twitter, implodes.A million new users a day sounds a lot - though that's only one in 8000 of the world's population. Stats talk of between 200 and 500 million users of Twitter / X versus perhaps 20 million as I write but growing so fast that this will be out of date by the time I publish on BlueSky.
I was never in love with Twitter - it is so transient that posting felt like pouring a carefully prepared dish into a sieve and watching it run away though the holes, and the same may well be said to some extent of Facebook - stories especially. I much prefer a platform with continuity and friends where we can look back and that's where the niche at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/ Great Western Coffee Shop has become my social mainstay - with discussions with new friends right across the South West of England and the ability to look back at how things have progressed over the years.
The Coffee Shop was intended as an 18 week project that has been running for 18 years. And by this time next year it will be working well on your small phone screen, using the "https" protocol, and with some other significant enhancements, fit to align with the seismic changes coming along in public transport. There are some test pages available already (you can read public areas of the Coffee Shop on your phone) at https://www.greatwesternrailway.info.
I have signed up for BlueSky and ask you - if you are there - to follow these accounts and to share them with others:
@sn12.net - for the Melksham area
@greatwesternrailway.info - Rail in the wedge west from London
@passenger.chat - public transport use
@grahamaellis.uk - personal and friends feed
It is not my intent to have these as widely active social media 'chat' accounts but rather to headline news there with links to articles and contacts elsewhere.
Will the BlueSky world evolves into a robust continuing platform or burst like a balloon? I don't know, but in my mind I have "Option A" and "Option B" and will roll with either. For people, signing up is one thing but visiting daily of hourly and posting regularly enough to be effective is another and indeed other campaigners will comment that Twitter was a lot of work for limited traction.
I am learning BlueSky and I have more questions than answers about it and how I will use it. But I do promise to visit the above accounts for feedback, and to read feeds I follow, most days to the end of the year. 2025 is going to be a very different year to recent ones; I intend to be around for the wider Melksham area for its medium and long term future, and for public transport and its environmental effect and future. Don't thank me too much for that - I enjoy it that's my motivation, seeing things coming together and succeeding with friends with whom I don't necessarily agree but can debate and work with.
Finally - yes, I know, a very "I" based post. Successive paragraphs all starting "I" are not what a reader-focused post should usually be - but I wanted to give you a view of my personal way forward today.
Published Sunday, 17th November 2024
Planning and Economic Developement - what is missing?
The Economic Development and Planning Committee of Melksham Town Council meets every three weeks - next meeting next Tuesday (19th November) where we consider planning requests:3 x Tree work
2 x Advertising signage
1 x 2 Bungalows in rear garden
1 x Erection of substation
Link to Agenda ((here))
We are official consultees making inputs to Wiltshire Council on these matters; we have no powers of decision though we can help influence the people at WC who do. In practise, in 9 cases out of 10 our inputs align with the decisions taken. I'm pretty sure that for the most part, that's aligning with mutual planning common sense - most applications make obvious sense, sometimes we point out a local issue, and very occasionally we rise against a try-on. That is a general comment - I have only scanned next week's list briefly; on the 2 x bungalows I look forward to hearing the views of the ward councillors who should be studied in by Tuesday. Not at this meeting, but sometimes there are far bigger planning considerations which require much more input.
Although the committee is termed "Economic Development and Planning", there is nothing on next Tuesday's agenda that I would term "Economic Development". The Town Council can, if it wishes, take actions to learn what's needed, lead and encourage our way forward into the future. But there is no obligation on us to do so. Yes, we are doing some of this stuff under things like the Neighbourhood Plan, but the current council does not have a business development officer as the previous council did (my colleagues declared him redundant). In my view, we have chosen to now be very light on an important set of topics.
With 2,000 new homes planned (the Wiltshire Local Plan) for the Melksham Area for the next decade or so, uplifted by 80% (so that's 3,600) by the new government, and with the typical household being 2.3 people, we're looking at a population up from 25,000 to around 33,000. For our town centre shops, useful news. And for the provision of local services the extra number will help justify and support them, but I do worry about roads, schools, doctors, public transport keeping pace. All of these services cope well (enough) up to a certain level, but when they get overwhelmed by a relatively small increase in numbers they can fail badly. These things could be planned for with the Town Council taking a lead in informing people and advocating a priority for the people in the growth. I would love to see "EcDev" really grasping the "EcDev" nettle - it should be perhaps 25% to 50% of each agenda and taking a lead, not just reacting to unco-ordinated planning requests as we are next week.
Published Thursday, 14th November 2024
Next year - setting how we tax and spend
At the weekend I posted inviting inputs to me to inform me for our budgeting process in preparation for discussions between councillors. I would far rather have your inputs to inform and update me than to assume I am up to date. Although we started our discussions on Monday, such is the detail we are going into that it was just the first of several sessions, and once again I invite inputs over next weekend.My previous blog was reported to the Town Clerk by a fellow councillor as being "wildly irresponsible", wondering if it could be considered misconduct. I chatted with the Town Clerk and have confirmed there is nothing in the blog that meets those descriptions, and it stays. If you have not read it yet, you might like to scroll down (it will appear below this blog) and see what clearly struck raw nerves.
In due course, a draft budget will come to the Town Council - Finance Committee first perhaps, but certainly full council, and they will be in public. As is standard at public meetings, members of the public will be able to address the council before the main agenda, during which councillors will debate the content and the resulting proposed precept. It will be possible during that meeting for councillors to suggest changes, and indeed do so in consideration of public input.
The precept sets the element of the Council Tax which is levied by Melksham Town Council for the 2025/26 year. Although it is usual (and I would expect) there to be a very great deal of data and many line items in the budget as to what we expect to be spent where, and where we expect other income to come from, it is quite within the remit of the new council to be elected in May 2025 to move items around. It will also be within the remit of the new council, and not mandated by the current process, to do things like take a loan from the Public Works Loan Body if they wish, or reduce their expenditure in order to lower the precept for following years or build up an increased safety buffer.
Image under Collective Commons license - see details
Published Wednesday, 13th November 2024