As a result of a petition produced by the residents of Derry Hill and Studley, a review has been initiated to look at the future of Calne Without Parish Council. The petition asked Wiltshire Council to create a Parish Council for Derry Hill, Studley and Pewsham on the grounds that they have grown in population considerably in recent years and now feel that they are large enough to form a council of their own.
As of May 2021 Calne Without Parish Council had 2,665 voters, Cherhill 603, Heddington 349 and Compton Bassett 194. Within Calne Without, West Ward (Derry Hill, Studley) and Pewsham had 1,433 voters, East Ward (including Calstone, Lower Compton) had 637, Middle Ward (including Stockley, Cherhill View, Mile Elm) had 520.
When Wiltshire Council first looked at this in 2019 no consideration has been given to what would happen to the rest of Calne Without, such as Calstone, Lower Compton, Stockley, Blackland, Mile Elm etc, and so no decision was made. To rectify this oversight Wiltshire Council is now conducting a wider review looking at all of the parish councils around Calne, and Calne Town Council, with a view to determining what should happen to the other parts of Calne Without should a separate council be formed for Studley and Derry Hill.
There are several options being considered, such as a reduced sized Calne Without, or possibly more likely neighbouring councils being extended to cover Calne Without. For example Cherhill being extended to cover Calstone and Lower Compton, and Heddington being extended to cover Stockley etc. It is also possible that the Calne town boundary could be extended to cover the new developments at Cherhill View and Low Lane.
There is an argument that Calstone and Lower Compton, for example, have more direct and closer links to Cherhill than they do to Derry Hill. They both are in the catchment area for Cherhill School and Cherhill has the nearest amenities, such as village hall and local pub.
No decisions have yet been made and wider consultations are just beginning. See here for the terms of reference and more details of the review. You will have the opportunity to make your view known at the appropriate time.
If any changes are made they will probably come into effect after the local government elections in 2025.
Calne Without Parish Council is quite a rich one in terms of cash reserves and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) money available for local projects – As of Oct’21 it had a little under £295,000 to support local services and projects (see full financial details here). At £21.72 Calne Without has the second lowest parish council tax element in the local area, with Bremhill having the lowest.
As an separate, and totally unrelated, point the local community within the Calne Without area is being asked to identify projects to help local people by providing additional services or infrastructure. This could be from improving footpaths & cycle paths to providing more bins for dogs mess! Projects are already well advanced looking at improving road safety at key locations, the River Marden access and quality, and other measures seeking to improve our local environment.