Corsham Almshouses saved - for now!

Wiltshire Council's planning meeting last night was livelier than usual with controversial plans for building nine single person's flats in the grounds of this grade 1 listed building on the agenda.

I spoke representing Corsham Town Council's unanimous recommendation for refusal of this this proposal and reminding the committee that this was backed up by overwhelming local opposition which demonstrated very strongly that this proposal is inappropriate.

As expected the meeting was packed with the good folk of Corsham (including a good few hecklers!). The debate lasted over an hour and a resolution was eventually proposed to reject the application which was carried by 6 votes to 3 (with one abstention).

So that is the end of round one! But I suspect this is not the end. The trustees may appeal - or submit an amended plan. But this must be costing them an enormous amount of money and questions may be asked as to whether this is an appropriate use of the charity's funds.

It was good to see how local opinion can make a difference - particularly when it is so strong, so vociferous and overwhelming that to override those views would be ill judged and a smack in the face of local democracy.

Horse Chestnut Disease hits Wiltshire

I wonder how many of you were aware that one of our grandest trees, the Horse Chestnut is under attack from an alien moth which is sweeping across Wiltshire?

The disease is caused by The Leaf Miner Moth (Cameraria ohridella) and was first identified in Macedonia in 1985, subsequently causing devastation to horse chestnuts across mainland Europe.

Since 2002 the disease has been sweeping across the UK from the South East and a recent survey has revealed how its effects are now being seen across Wiltshire: http://www.ourweboflife.org.uk/surveyresults.html

The moth lays its eggs in the leaves so that when the larvae hatch they eat and tunnel their way through the tissues of the leaves. The effects are all too obvious with the tell trail marks on the leaves of these majestic trees causing them to turning brown and wither. Over time this will seriously weaken the tree by preventing it to photosynthesise effectively so the tree starves to death.

Experts believe the effects of the disease could equal the devastation of the Elms 20 years ago.Forestry Research Scientists have estimated that some 35,000 to 50,000 trees are already infected and it is likely that many Horse Chestnuts are likely to be lost over the next decade.

Ongoing research by Dr Darren Evans of the University of Hull and Dr Michael Pocock of Bristolhave recently launched a study to try to discover just how big a problem is posed by the horse chestnut leaf miner. People across the UK are now being asked to help record the impact of the disease at http://www.ourweboflife.org.uk/

In my role as one of Tree Council's Tree Wardens I am keen to raise awareness of this disease so I am particularly pleased with Mike Wilkinson's coverage in this weeks Gazette and Herald: http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/8314574.Trees_in_Wiltshire_face_a_wipeout and also in the Wiltshire Times: http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/8317822.Fears_for_Wiltshire_s_trees/

One surprising ray of hope comes from the increased presence of a parasitic wasp, which is the leaf miner's natural predator as its feeds on the Leaf Miner Larvae. There is apparently a time lag between the moth infesting a tree and the wasps attacking the caterpillars. So let's hope they catch up!

However, to make matters worse the Horse Chestnut is being subjected to a three pronged assault as it not only the leaf miners causing problems for these trees. The second threat comes from the Leaf Blotch Fungus (Guignardia aesculi) which attacks the leaves so that reddish or brown blotches with yellow borders develop. However, the most damaging condition seems to be Bleeding Canker the cause of which is a fungus-like organism - Phytophthora. Varieties of this disease are known to be responsible for attacking more than Horse Chestnuts, such as sudden Oak Death. I think I have also seen this on some of our trees around Corsham.

Meanwhile - Back on the Buses

The announcement of the new ‘Zig Zag’ bus service by Wiltshire Council linking Chippenham, Corsham, Melksham, Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge sounds like a great success story for rural public transport.

However as the announcement came just days before the new service started on 1st August - and therefore days before a number of existing services were dropped it is no wonder that local people are wondering what on earth is going on.

Although I am in principle in favour of what this service claims to achieve I am appalled that there was no consultation with any local people or their elected representatives, the timetabling of the service is woefully thin and the complete lack of any information at nearly all the bus stops – while the now defunct ones continue to be listed - is exasperating.

As an example, the bus link from Corsham to Chippenham Community Hospital sounds wonderful but the reality is just two a day on weekdays only leaving Corsham at either 10.25 or 11.50 and leaving Chippenham Community Hospital for the return trip at 11.12 or 12.39. A tight turnaround for most appointments – and it doesn’t even go from Newlands road!

Will we be surprised to see the whole zig zag service cut in a few months due to a lack of customers?

Post Festival Ramblings

Corsham Festival 2010 came to an end two weeks ago, and that has given me the opportunity to reflect on this extraordinary annual event, the eleventh since Ian Martin and myself took over the festival and gave it the essential character it has today: 8 days of live performance, participatory events and visual arts with a strong contemporary focus over eight days at the end of June.

What we always aimed to do was bring something unique to Corsham which would not normally happen in a small town like this; to help put Corsham firmly on the cultural map and inspire people with something fantastic and amazing. At the same time the festival must also be Corsham’s Festival and have real relevance to the town, its history and identity.

So I think this year’s festival in particular was stronger with ever on so many levels. To give a few examples:

• Top quality international work including Flamenco Jazz from Spain, world cinema with Seraphine and Departures, Japanese puppetry form A Thousand Cranes, The exotic sounds of the middle East from Daphna & The Voyagers and Mamoru Iriguchi’s bizarre Pregnant

• Incredible fusions between different cultures and artforms such as one when digital filmmaking meets Ancient traditions from West Africa in Ancient Futures or when the specially commissioned score brings together musicians from India and the west in Shiraz

• Offering artists the opportunity to present new work for the first time whether it is the world premiere of a new string quartet as we had wit the ‘Hillman Quartet’ or some of the latest fascinating creations from our artist in residence, ceramicist Claire Baker with a Bit on the Side…

• Involving the wider community through our second Corsham Fringe Festival which was bigger, better, wider and involves more and more local groups, individuals, businesses – even the MoD in the High Street and in venues across the town. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for the future development of the Fringe.

All this happened simply because an amazing mix of people came together to make it ‘work’: staff from The Pound Arts Trust, technicians, volunteers, funders, press, artists and audiences, whose collective enthusiasm bring everything together to enable those extraordinary shared cultural experiences which make us human and our lives worthwhile. That to me is what a festival is all about and what takes it beyond the level of simple ‘entertainment’ and to a higher plane of inspiration and vision.

Double Standards

Many people have been following my ‘Double Standards’ theme on Twitter which has highlighted some great examples of how a certain political party seems to be speaking with a forked tongue (see the lower right hand column on this page)

The latest one is related to Corsham’s Hustings event we organised last week through the Community Partnership CCAN. As I have mentioned in my previous blogs a joint statement issued by the Tory and Labour party made it clear that neither of them were prepared to appear on the same platform as the BNP candidate. Lib Dem, Green and UKIP were prepared to debate with any legal candidate but we were nevertheless forced to come up with a compromise which split the event into two halves to appease these demands made by two of the major parties. In the event it all went fairly smoothly but it did give the BNP another opportunity to gain yet more unnecessary publicity.

So how is it that at yesterdays Independent newspaper public debate at the Morley and Outwood seat in West Yorkshire (Ed Ball’s seat) we see a line up consisting of UKIP, Lib Dem, Labour, Conservative and BNP all debating together?

At the Corsham Hustings our conservative candidate Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones said that he refused to share the platform with the BNP because it would ‘legitimise’ their views. The Labour party candidate, Greg Lovell for Labour said he was showing solidarity with Wilfred’s views. So what is going on in Morley and Outwood?

I firmly believe that the best way to expose crackpot political views such as those of the BNPs is simply to debate with them in public - it really doesn’t take much to show them up for what they are as their flimsy arguments, despite what they say, are clearly based on racial and social inequality.