WELCOME to the parish of MELKSHAM WITHOUT
in the heart of WEST WILTSHIRE

Zoom Link to tonight

Click here for the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2791815985?pwd=Y2x5T25DRlVWVU54UW1YWWE4NkNrZz09&omn=87410177429

Or go to www.zoom.us or Phone 0131 4601196 and enter: Meeting ID: 279 181 5985 Passcode: 070920 If you have difficulties accessing the meeting please call (do not text) the out of hours mobile: 07341 474234

OUT OF HOURS CONTACT DETAILS

The parish council's out of hours number is 07341 474234Please ring (do NOT TEXT as diverted to a member of staff's mobile phone)

CONTACT YOUR COUNCILLOR

Information on how to contact your councillor can be found on the Councillors and Representatives page. Their email addresses are provided, but if you wish to ring or write a letter to your councillor please contact the office on 01225 705700 or email: office@melkshamwithout-pc.gov.uk for their details.

The Parish of Melksham Without is in the Melksham Community Area.

Map showing Melksham Without within the Melksham Community Area

It surrounds the Town of Melksham and has thirteen Members. It is the largest rural parish in Wiltshire and has a population of approximately 7,500. It covers an area of 2,904 hectares (7,173 acres).

The next Full Council Meeting is on Monday 20th April 2026

There are several villages and communities in the parish, each with its own distinct character and needs.

Beanacre, Berryfield, Bowerhill, Shaw, The Spa, Whitley, Other Rural Settlements

Your Council is Here to Serve You

If you are a resident of Melksham Without and have an issue you would like raised with your local council, please get in touch with the Clerk or your local Councillors.

If you have any comments about our web site or suggestions for information or resources that you would like to see added, please let us know via the feedback page.

New term of Office – May 2025 onwards

All Parish Councillors are volunteers; they are passionate about their communities and seek to make a change to help improve residents' lives. They give up their time, and spend a lot of energy, working to get the best for the communities that they live in, and represent. The Melksham Without Parish Councillors have good local knowledge and a unique understanding of the distinct characteristics of the five villages, two hamlets and rural areas that they represent.

Where they don’t have direct decision making authority, they will engage with those who do, for the good of the community. They strive to :

have a holistic view across the parish
influence decision makers
join up the dots and look at the bigger picture
look at highways and speeding issues

They are committed to achieving the right infrastructure, from community facilities to health and education provision, for all parish residents. At the start of the new term of four years, they have broken that down into more specific priorities and objectives, which are listed in no particular order.

Objectives & Priorities for 2025/26

To progress the review of the joint Melksham Neighbourhood Plan through Examination and Referendum*
To implement, monitor and use the policies in the current and reviewed Melksham Neighbourhood Plan*
To progress the installation of a drinking water refill point at Shaw Sports Field
To review the Emergency Plan*
To progress the Shurnhold Fields car park and improved entrance project*
To continue to maintain a good working relationship with Wiltshire Council, the Area Board and all the neighbouring parishes who abut Melksham Without.
To agree a new lease for Shaw Village Hall with the Management Trust
To ensure the best outcome for the parish from any major National Infrastructure projects
To build funds for a new East of Melksham Community Centre
To review and update the parish council website (both content and to meet new accessibility criteria)
To progress project for a footbridge over the brook to connect Buckley Gardens development to Bowood View development (off Semington Road, Berryfield)
To support village halls and community groups with any impact of new legislation e.g.: change in Waste rules, Martyn’s Law

Objectives & Priorities for Term of Council (2025-2029)

To assess and make best use of evolving technology such as AI and Microsoft tools
To work towards obtaining the Local Council Quality Gold Award
To continue to provide enhanced access to council meetings via remote technology to improve community engagement.
To achieve the best outcome for the parish, for the proposed A350 Bypass.
To continue to progress wider Realtime Information (RTI) in bus shelters across the parish and town*
To obtain higher speed internet access in the parish
To improve drainage at Bowerhill Sports Field
To continue the Melksham Community Support project with Age UK* and look to develop a similar project for younger age groups
To campaign and progress an improved Melksham health facility/hospital
To progress an East of Melksham Community Centre*
To progress Road Safety improvements
To achieve the best outcome for the community from current and future planning applications for major development in the parish
To facilitate 3G pitch/es as per the identified need for two pitches in the Melksham community area
To progress the Bowerhill Sports Field enhancement project with teen shelter/gym equipment

* Working with Melksham Town Council

Website Disclaimer
Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information given on the website is correct, Melksham Without Parish Council does not accept any responsibility for any errors shown. Opinions expressed or implied by material on the website are not necessarily those of the Council at any given time. All material on this website; text photos and graphics, are owned by Melksham Without Parish Council and copyright of the Council.

Melksham Without Parish Council Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to the website www.melkshamwithout-pc.gov.uk.

Using this website

This website is run by Melksham Without Parish Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

· change colours, contrast levels and fonts

· zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen

· navigate most of the website using just a keyboard

· navigate most of the website using speech recognition software

· listen to most of the website using a screen reader

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

· many PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software

· some images may not have appropriate alternative text

· some headings and page structures may not be fully consistent

· some links may not clearly describe their purpose

· some colour contrast issues may exist

This reflects the limitations of the current website platform.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format (for example accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille), please contact:

· Email: clerk@melkshamwithout-pc.gov.uk

· Call: 01225 705700

· Write to us or visit our office: First Floor, Melksham Community Campus, Market Place, Melksham, SN12 6ES.

We will consider your request and respond within 10 working days.

Access to meeting information

Recordings of Council meetings are published on the Parish Council’s YouTube channel prior to approval of the minutes. These recordings are provided to support transparency but may not be fully accessible.

Once minutes are approved, recordings are removed and written minutes are published on the website.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or believe we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact:

· Email: clerk@melkshamwithout-pc.gov.uk

· Call: 01225 705700

· Write to us or visit our office: First Floor, Melksham Community Campus, Market Place, Melksham, SN12 6ES.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Melksham Without Parish Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

· Some images do not have text alternatives (WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content)

· Some documents are not accessible (WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships)

· Some links are not sufficiently descriptive (WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose)

· Some pages may not meet colour contrast requirements (WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum)

Disproportionate burden

The Parish Council is currently procuring a replacement website. Minutes of Council meetings and IT Working Party discussions during 2025 and 2026 record the decision to replace the existing website platform in order to improve accessibility and usability.

Given this planned replacement, it would be a disproportionate burden to make extensive accessibility improvements to the current website.

However, we will ensure that any new content added is as accessible as possible.