Devizes News

Claire Perry-Conservative Member of Parliament for the Devizes constituency-announced yesterday (Friday, 6^th September) that she will not seek re-election but will instead concentrate on her role as President of next year's major UN conference on climate (COP 26). There is no bigger or more important political job for Claire to take on. I wish her every success in COP 26's task of extracting detailed greenhouse gas reduction plans from the world's governments.

For the past three years, while the Conservative Party has torn itself apart over Brexit and Labour has dodged, ducked and danced around it, Liberal Democrats have been delivering a clear, consistent message: that Britain's best future is to remain in the EU and that crashing out without a deal would be disastrous for our country.

While the European elections were a great success for us, the risk of a disastrous no-deal break from Europe is now greater than ever.

We need to do more. Nigel Farage and his crew crafted a powerful message, but with the European elections out of the way, the greater risk is from a different source - from a failed and divided Tory party.

The Government has dragged the country towards a disaster. While the Tories push for a deal just to avoid a party split, local plans and priorities in Wiltshire are being distorted to favour a Brexit that nobody wants.

Does anyone believe the Government's promises to end austerity? In the last year, support for local services have continued to be cut with schools and local NHS trusts suffering at every point. Despite clever words, our road budgets are being reduced, police and fire services cut while investment in social and community care is at rock bottom.

At the weekend, Jo Waltham was selected by the Devizes Constituency Liberal Democrats to be their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate.

Local party chair James Kay said:

I am very pleased to announce on behalf of the Executive Committee that members selected Jo Waltham to the position of Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Devizes Constituency. Jo lives in Marlborough and has worked hard for the local Party since joining during the General election campaign in 2017. We look forward to giving her our support in building the Liberal Democrat vote within the constituency in the run up to the next General Election, whenever that may be.

I love living in Devizes having moved here 20 years ago. My son Henry and daughter Verity both went to Wansdyke Primary and Devizes School. Verity is still there, studying hard for her A levels. She wants to be a doctor. Henry is in his second year at Southampton University.

I work as the Deputy Manager of Townsend Barn Nursery at Poulshot. In 2016 I graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Early Years Education and Development. It was a struggle working, studying and, as a single parent, making a home for my children but I'm very proud of this achievement.

Last week Wiltshire Council's cabinet voted to close three special schools. Larkrise (Trowbridge), St Nicholas (Chippenham) and Rowdeford (Devizes) will be replaced by one new, academy-run, special school in Devizes.

The vote was unanimous even after many heartfelt pleas - from teachers, governors and parents -expressing concerns over increased travel times, lack of an A&E facility in Devizes, reduction of parental choice and the education of their children outside their communities.

A three-school solution was supported by 71 per cent of respondents to a consultation on these changes. So why did the cabinet vote for a single school instead?

Wiltshire Council needs more places for children with Special Education Need and/or Disability (SEND) and they need to improve the quality of that provision. The council also wants to reduce the cost of having Wiltshire children placed in independent and out of county schools.

They believe that one "centre of excellence" will solve these problems and that the only real question was where it should be. The Rowdeford site, in Devizes, was selected as it has excellent outdoor education facilities, room for growth, and is a central location for the whole of North Wiltshire.

I've been following this consultation closely as I've been campaigning to reduce the travel times SEND children in Marlborough experience. It is not just the time to travel from Marlborough to Devizes but the fact that these minibuses travel around the county picking up many children, resulting in some highly vulnerable children being on the bus for nearly two hours, each way, every day.

On hearing that the location of the new school was to be Devizes I felt relief that our Marlborough children will not have to travel even further to school, as would have happened if their school had been relocated to Chippenham or Trowbridge. But I do feel for the parents and children in Chippenham and Trowbridge who are now faced with the prospect of their children having to travel so far to school.

Wiltshire Council are holding a three-month pre-consultation on the future of the county's special schools - for children with Special Education Need and Disability (SEND). On Monday (July 16) a meeting was held in Marlborough to discuss the consultation and to hear the views of Wiltshire councillors and parents.