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Graham Ellis - Regular updates - my diary

Links in this page:
Getting to Melksham Campus by Bus
A dozen updates from full council
Assembly Hall Working Group
Should your Town Council be involved?
Is everyone welcome?
Working for the community
Collecting a national award for MTUG
Peter Blackburn, R.I.P.
Please don't overhang
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Some other pages on this site:

Graham Ellis - blog and • blog index
Graham Ellis - background and • views
Philosophies of working as a town councillor
The Role of the Town Council and Councillors
How YOU can help and • Contact me
Links to other web sites and • pictures
Through April 2021, I posted most days. Thereafter (elected) you hear from me here at least once a week.

"Homes for Ukraine" - an update


A scheme that went beyond expectations

When The Government launched "Homes for Ukraine" it did so in a surge of public opinion, an emotion to help. I don't know, but I suspect that expectations were that perhaps 10,000 or 20,000 hosts would sign up, and many of them would drop out when they thought it through further, or when they had problems contacting anyone from Ukraine, of got bogged down in systems and paperwork. And from the viewpoint of people in Ukraine fleeing a war zone, why try and jump the high hurdles to reach the UK when those hurdles did not exist on the way to Poland or Germany or the Czech Republic?

Well - the scheme has grown beyond all of those expectations or suspicions. It's a source of huge pride in my countrymen and women that they have opened their homes ad hearts, and rather than a few thousand guests in this country, we now have over a hundred thousand. We ourselves have four guests staying with us - a major change here, and a delight. In our home town of Melksham (population 25,000) there would be around 40 guests here pro-rata, but actual numbers are around 100 - and that's ten times what I suspect The Government expected. And I don't think we're at final numbers here yet - wouldn't be surprised to peak at around 150.

I read that over 100,000 have actually arrived, and indeed there have been 200,000 applications.

A major change for everyone concerned

Now - just imagine that YOU "ran for your life" from your home and ended up in a town you didn't know, 3000km away, staying with people you didn't know and with whom you didn't share a language or even a character set. With a passport and a right to work, but with just a suitcase of clothes, with no bank account, no job, no doctor, no school for the children and no money. A disconnect from friends and family back a home, a new culture, a new climate; a mad combination of so much to worry about, and yet so little you can do initially. Sharing bathrooms, laundry, kitchen, sitting rooms. And no answer to "what next?"

It's a major change for us who have lived in Melksham for decades. And it's a life change for our guests. We were matched (in March in our case) almost at random - an introduction at three degrees of separation, and a short international conference video call huddled around phone screens, all words translated for us by one of the intermediaries. We have - as it turn out - fallen on our feet, as have many - raw humanity at its finest - but there have been challenges for everyone to overcome. Online I read of so many problems (and indeed I hear about some in Wiltshire) but those tend to receive publicity and attention out of proportion to their numbers; if things are working, they get no attention, but if there are issues it's news.

Where are we now?

So where are we now? Phase 1 - get people the heck out of harm's way and to a safe refuge for the medium term - largely done. Phase 2 - get those people established in guest homes and schools and jobs and with a new life here - we're getting there. Learning enough English is a huge part of phase 2. Phase 3 - "what next?".

When hosts signed up, they were asked how long they could host for, ranging from "up to six months" to "indefinite". There is a further cut-off at one year; hosts who have jumped through all the local council hoops receive a payment of £350 per family hosted as a "thank you" monthly for up to a year. The payment does not really cover all the extra costs and is considered such, but its ceasing after 12 month will necessitate a rethink for many.

Looking forward

When guests signed up and arrived, their primary concern was for a safe haven in which they could go ahead with their lives. There may have been some thought as to what the next stage would be, but there was little knowledge. And for many it remains that way - but for some we are already three months into their six month initial window.

For a very few guests, the war in Ukraine has retrenched back to the east of the country, they are feeling homesick, and they are returning to take their chances.

For many others, they are looking forward to returning to Ukraine as and when they can, but aren't seeing that happening any time soon - and are seeing it as returning to a very, very different land to one they knew this time last year.

And for some, there is a feeling that they may never return to live in Ukraine. Indeed there are some (arguably not refugees but economic migrants) who left with the intent of setting up a whole new life in a different country.

Few of our guests were without friends and family in Ukraine, so almost all of them have their familiar group of contacts torn apart, and wonder when and where they will see each other again. And with the passage of time - which is more likely to be measures in years than months - families will grow up and new relationships flourish amongst individuals catapulted here from different parts of Ukraine, and indeed between guests and people who were around here prior to their arrival ... for some families who have moved here together, next moves may be apart as their lives move on.

Coming months

So - "what next?" for most guests. Long term plans are not fixed.

* Many have jobs, but many of the jobs may not be suitable for more that a short period. People who have left roles as computer security experts, teachers, Human Resource specialists, architects, lawyers, civil servants and vets are ill-suited in anything but the short term to take on repetitive tasks where they will get bored to put it mildly, but yet their qualifications may not transfer easily, and their prospective employers may be loathe to invest in them as they may be moving on soon

* The idea is that in 6 months of hosting, many guests will find their feet, be earning money, and move on to their own rented homes. The problem is that there is little to rent in this area, and landlords require a deposit of many months, British employer references and proof of long term prospects in the area. When a property comes up for let, many apply for it ... and the chance of a landlord choosing to rent to guest without meeting their requirements is slim indeed.

In reality, some hosts and guests have already parted company even within the first six months, and it may happen with others. Wiltshire Council are obliged to step in when this happens, but they are stretched and it is scarcely comfortable to anyone involved.

And on the other side of the coin, many hosts are flexible about the six months or year. We'll see what happens, as we will when the "three years in the UK" expires under the "Home for Ukraine" scheme. I would be very surprised, should it still be unsafe or inappropriate for people to return, for us to kick them out.

We have in Melksham the same number of guests as some northern cities of 10 times the size, and those cities have little or no housing shortage. There is scope for guests to move "up North" or to the North East - accommodation is available, sensibly priced, but at the cost of a further upheaval of friends, family and job to another very different place (and IMHO or course, to one that's nothing like as nice as Melksham!)

I'm not sure if it was clever and intentional, or an unplanned side effect of the scheme, that by its very complexity it reached those Ukrainians who have passports, drive and are well educated. We have a very great number of guests who can and will be a great asset to this country, and indeed are already showing that.

What has this got to do with the Town Council?

Formally - nothing. Informally - everything. A huge "thank you" is due to Town Council Officers and Councillors and Volunteers for helping those of us involved with this with enabling support (and there has been a lot of hard work in doing that enabling) - you and the community have maded - and continue to make - a massive difference in your support of both our guests and our sponsors


Published Friday, 29th July 2022

Getting to Melksham Campus by Bus

Melksham Community Campus opens from next Monday (1st August 2022). Yes, there will be car parking available, but why not walk, cycle, or take the bus? The following routes will bring you to the Market Place (weekday, daytime) or Lowbourne (marked *):
14 from Melksham Forest and Queensway (Fromebus)
14 from Portman Road and Addison Road (Fromebus)
15 from Cranesbill and Skylark Roads - * (Fromebus)
x34 from Chippenham and Lacock (Faresaver)
x34 from Frome, Trowbridge, Hilperton and Semington (Faresaver)
68 and 69 from Corsham (Faresaver)
68 from Staverton, Holt and Broughton Gifford (Faresaver)
69 from Bradford-on-Avon, Holt and Broughton Gifford (Faresaver)
x76 from Marlborough, Calne and Bromham - * (Swindon's Bus Company)
271 from Bath, Bathford, Atworth and Whitley (Faresaver)
271 from Bowerhill (Faresaver)
272 from Bath, Box, Atworth and Shaw (Faresaver)
272 from Devizes, Sells Green and Bowerhill (Faresaver)

Evenings and Sundays only:
273 from Bath, Box, Atworth and Whitley (Faresaver)
273 from Devizes, Sells Green, Bowerhill and Melksham Forest (Faresaver)

Timetables:
Faresaver ( (here) )
Fromebus ( (here) )
Swindon's Bus Company ( (here) )



Published Thursday, 28th July 2022

A dozen updates from full council

The following are my personal recollections (26.7.2022 meeting)- "Errors and Omission Excepted" and written up next morning. Please ask if you have any questions. In no particular order ... and brought to you in line with my promise to keep people informed.

1. When it receives a planning application, Wiltshire Council still writes to close neighbours, but it no longer puts up signs in the neighbourhood to let passers by know. This means that if you may wish to make inputs to applications effecting routes you travel along you will now need to check the weekly lists; within Melksham Town, councillors also discuss applications at their Economic Development and Planning meetings (every three weeks) and make their views known to Wiltshire Council who make decisions.

2. I have been appointed to the Steering Group for the Neighbourhood Plan to represent Melksham Town alongside councillor Pat Aves. I replace the previous rep who resigned last night

3. A first meeting of the Assembly Hall Working Group has been called for Monday 1st August. It will set up its terms of reference and will be supported by officers. Several members of the Working Group spoke in favour of a wide membership for the group and sample terms of reference from the Events Working Group and the Environment and Climate Working Group will be used to inform that meeting.

4. The Town Council unanimously passed a motion "This council supports the concept of an environment friendly town bus service to update and enhance the current service to meet new and future needs. It supports the work being undertaken to consult further on, provide a business case analysis for, and if favourable work towards the implementation of an appropriate service.

5. Councillor Alford revealed in open session that tomorrow's (now today's) full council meeting, which it is proposed will be held confidentially, will be following up on the work of the public assets working group - a joint group with Wiltshire Council mandated to look at the future provision and use of buildings and sites in the town.

6. My proposal that an advertising enhancement for the Assembly Hall - be it a TV/sign on the roof, a display in the window of the hall, a dynamic stand-alone sign in the Market Place or something else be delegated to the Assembly Hall Working Group (meeting 1st August) to make recommendations including a review of how effective each option would be was rejected (only 2 votes in favour) with the council choosing to ask the officer concerned for a further report for a later meeting. A suggestion that a display be placed on the bus stop to attract the attention of passing cars was clarified to suggest that the intent is to attract the attention of passengers in passing cars.

7. Sgt Twyford of Wiltshire Constabulary presented PCSO Janet Gould with a bouquet and thanked her for 18 years of wonderful work in Melksham and nearby parishes - and there were unanimous thanks. Janet told us how much she still enjoyed the job, but was now of an age she should retire and make way for younger feet

8. Sgt Twyford reviewed the recent HMICFRS (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services) PEEL (Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy) inspection which found 3 areas that were "inadequate" and a further areas that "require improvement". In questioning, he revealed that extra police on the beat in Melksham - stated as an aim - will take some time because new officers all spend a time on the response teams before they specialise and it'll be several years before they specialise as beat bobbies. In answer to my question, he told me that there ARE only the 8 factors measured by PEEL, so the inspection revealed no area that were outstanding, good or adequate.

9. The Council was unable to agree a policy on the use of electronic devices such as mobile phones in meetings. Although there is a consensus of agreement that such devices are necessary in modern meetings for some purposes, that they can also be disruptive, and that we should all be responsible about their use, no form of wording that we could adopt was found. A mature sample supplied by councillor Price from Holme Valley Parish will be reviewed by council staff in association with councillor Price and will come back to a later meeting.

10. There is a view held amongst councillors that major projects over the past couple of years have not gone as well as they might, and we held a long discussion as to how we might update our procedures to make things better in the future. This discussion was held in confidence, as outlined from the previous full council meeting where it was element no. 2 in a proposal from councillor Goodhind, postponed from open session.

11. We were asked to appoint a permanent substitute for the staffing committee for when a regular member is unable to attend a meeting, and that was agreed with Councillor Lewis taking the role.

12. For this Thursday's staffing meeting, I had already been asked to stand in for a councillor who is unable to attend, but in light of (11) I suggested I withdraw in favour of councillor Lewis. Councillor Lewis, however, confirmed that she is already standing in for another councillor that evening so is unable to take on the sub role I have been asked to cover. I am withdrawing my offer to sub as both the mayor and councillor Hubbard felt it would be inappopriate for me to attend staffing as a sub. Apparently, they want councillors not involved in staffing matters to stay clear and uninformed so that can form an clean appeals panel if necessary, as we did in the run up to last Christmas.


Published Tuesday, 26th July 2022

Assembly Hall Working Group

On May 12th, your Town Council set new hire charges for the Assembly Hall. This was done based on a dynamic spread sheet during the meeting, based on an example published 3 days earlier.

An "Assembly Hall Working Group" (AHWG) to monitor the new charges over a six month period and to look wider and further ahead was created as part of the motion which I supported - as I stated at the time, that group was a key element in my accepting - even proposing - the autumn hire charges.

Full Council on 16th May appointed Councillors Aves, Ellis, Houghton, Hubbard and Oatley to the AHWG. Four good people and myself, with Councillors Houghton, Oatley and Hubbard all having experience of working (or with or at) the Canberra Centre on Spa Road, and Councillor Aves with considerable Melksham community and council experience.

I am frustrated at the lack of any further follow up. It looks to me that without further intervention, work to support the future of the Assembly Hall will be left in the long grass, with so much of community value potentially being lost. Not only are we on a short timescale to review prices for 2023, but also to consider the wider future. The Blue Pool - part of the same building and intimately linked - closes today. Work is ongoing on Wiltshire Council's Melksham House which has become something of a solution looking for a problem. Likewise, the future use of the old library is uncertain. The Assembly Hall has maintenance and promotion needs, and the needs and desires of the community that use and support it need to be considered.

I have submitted a councillor's motion for tomorrow night's Town Council meeting (25.7.2022) asking for the AHWG to include a wider range of interested parties (such as people who use the hall and run or help with the running of events) in the same way that the Environment and Climate Working Group does already, and for it to meet with all interested parties present on 15th August.

The motion IS in the agenda, in spite of my being challenged as to whether it was appropriate. Apparently, meetings are set up by officers as required, and so I am at a loss as to why the May requirement to set the working group up did not trigger a meeting last month. I have rejected a couple of suggestions such as having a meeting of the five councillor in September to look at how we set up the working group's membership. Darn it, to have even five months of data for a sensible rates suggestion for December council we should have been gathering data from the beginning of this month. I agreed a compromise of an organisational setup meeting on 1st August with a view to getting down to the actual business with a fully representational meeting on 15th August, but I was advised at the tail end of last week that's now not considered practical because of the absence of the key council officer prior to 15th August, or for an estimated six weeks thereafter. I have every sympathy with the reasons for absence, but really we should be in a position where the show can go on!

Do I illustrate this article with a picture of long grass, of a stable door being shut with a horse bolting, or "the show must go on". I don't know - but I do think of the current and future users of the hall, of the taxpayer support funding that could be reduced if we have the hall in better use, and of whether we are sleepwalking into a poor outcome.


Published Sunday, 24th July 2022

Should your Town Council be involved?

In recent years, Melksham Town Council and the Town Hall have been a drop off location for Shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Gift - run by Samaritain's Purse. They say:

"The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to show God's love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

"Since 1990, more than 186 million children in over 160 countries have experienced God's love through the power of simple shoebox gifts from Operation Christmas Child."


Over the last day or so, there has been a major discussion between your councillors as to whether we should continue with this - a healthy discussion. On one hand I'm in very much in favour, but on the other hand some elements that really concern me. I ask myself

* Why (and as a council) are we doing this?
* Is this what our electorate want us to do?
* Are we happy with the messaging results?
* Are we happy with the results for the recipients?
* Could we be doing it signficantly better?
* How does it impact on officers time which is in short supply?
* How "big" is this - does it merit the resources of a review?

What do YOU think?


Published Saturday, 23rd July 2022

Is everyone welcome?

Should Extinction Rebellion be invited to talk at Melksham's ClimateFest in September? A question that's exercising the organising committee. Should such event be a promotion of the views of that subcommittee lead by the Town Council, or a forum in which all views can be promoted?

My personal view is that ClimateFest is taking place to help publicises the various environment and climate challenges we face, and will be strengthened in that intent by having a wide range of presenters, stalls and exhibits there, subject only to a test of relevance and adhering to law at the event. It will make us richer for the variety of views expressed, even though it may be more challenging for some in sharing an event with others they may not be aligned with.

When elected last year, I stressed three major pillars that mould my views and would be considered with pragmatism in decisions made and votes taken. Those were an openness to everyone, equality and the environment. You elected me with those pillar policies.

Illustration - from my election literature - supporting an event where everyone came together to help wake up the world to the need to change our ways for the sake of the environment. Disparate groups, different views, common cause. This was the visit of Greta Thunberg to Bristol two years ago; not expecting anything like that in Melksham in September, just as our Black Lives Matter support differed so much from the activities in Bristol.



Published Tuesday, 19th July 2022

Working for the community

I've submitted two councillor motions for consideration next Monday. More details to follow in the next few days once they're published; both could be key steps in something much bigger.

There's much more to being a councillor, community representative of campaigner than just attending meetings. Let's say that something substantive comes to light ... there's a series of steps to taking it forward.

Here's a set of guidelines I've been in the habit of applying over the years:
1. Make people aware there is something to look at
2. Work out what needs to be done (if anything)
3. Work to actually get it done
4. Work to ensure it works, sustains and improves
and notice that it's work, work, work, work with much of that work behind the scenes.

Major things take time.

I first got involved with Melksham's Train service in 2005, making people aware that 2 trains each way per day was "neither use nor ornament" to most people and it took until 2014 for us to get a usable (though still poor) service. Later work has filled a couple of key gaps and got passenger numbers of 25 times, but much remains to be done.

Over a decade ago, Wiltshire Council proposed merging 8 separate facilities in Melksham into a single facility - a Campus - on the Devizes road beyond the new school. Good principle to put them all together, but moving a number of things out of town was perverse, and we helped the council work out what was really needed and - in just two weeks time - the Campus will open in the town.

Bus services to Bath, Chippenham and Trowbridge all used to be operated by two companies competing on the same route. Combined services of two-per-hour but with the buses running directly behind each other and overtaking to get to the next stop ahead of each other were daft. Sanity has returned and on the Bath service (at least), community input has helped shape what was actualy done.

None of these is a completed project - still working of step 4, and in all three cases the community / campaigner element has been overtaken by a Tsunami of professional officialdom. Much of the knack of getting things done is to have them become the obvious policy of those who know what they're doing and letting them take on the project, and the ownership, and the credit when it works.

Image source and copyright - see (here)



Published Monday, 18th July 2022

Collecting a national award for MTUG

The Melksham Transport User Group was awarded the bronze award for its web site at the Railfuture national Rail User Group awards yesterday. As a member of Railfuture, I was there at the organsation's AGM anyway and picked up the ward on behalf of the group.

The presenter of the awards commented that the judges applauded the groups move from purely a railway group to a public transport group - considering both trains and buses as part of the network. As if illustraing the point, I left Melkshan on the train in the morning, and arrived back late afternoon on the bus. And that was done because it was best on the day, and not actually on principle.

Travel and transport has a "Melksham Element" but is something that needs looking at far wider - whether you're talking about cars on a bypass, trains on the railway, or bus services between town Melksham is just one end, or one intermediate point in the story, and being informed on a regional and national angle is vital. Appearing on that stage as an example of good practise is not only a help to others in seeing what we have done, but also a help to us as it builds our visibility and "street cred".

The Melksham Transport User Group website is (here)



Published Sunday, 17th July 2022

Peter Blackburn, R.I.P.

Yesterday (13th July 2022), we said "Goodbye" to our friend Peter Blackburn who passed away with his family around him.

I first met Peter in around 2005, when, as chair of the Melksham Rail User Group, he welcomed the upstart online "Save the Train" campaign - the start of a long, and happy friendship. As well as public transport campaign work, Peter was an experienced politician and political agent. Listening to (and taking much of) his advice has been so helpful not only on rail, but also more recently on bus and local political issues and he will be sorely missed. I have further at http://www.passenger.chat/26552

Peter lived outside Purlpit (Atworth) for many years on a dirt track in the heart of the countryside, but a couple of years back he moved into a much more practical bungalow in Melksham - walking distance from where we live, and what earlier this year became a favoured destination for our dog Lulu. Peter's lifelong partner and wife Margaret still lives there, though no longer in the best of health herself. Peter leaves three sons who have been a huge comfort and support to him.

Pictured - even in old age and as we re-opened from Covid, Peter was out supporting us in fair weather and foul as we promoted public transport in Melksham.


Social Media discussion - ((here)) ... Published Thursday, 14th July 2022

Please don't overhang

Please help us help our residents - please keep your overgrowth under control. Our warming climate means that many trees and bushes grow faster than they did when we were younger, and they need more attention these days than they used to.

Your overgrowth may (for example)
* limit the footpath so pedestrians have to walk in to the road
* create a trip hazard for those with sight of other limitations
* prevent pushchairs, mobility scooters or wheelchairs from getting past
* obstruct sight lines for vehicle users
* obstruct street lights

At the time of writing (early summer) please moderate your trimming to take care of nesting birds, and at any time don't overdo it as we want to lose as little "green" as possible.

Every month or two, the parish steward and sparkle team visits Melksham to tidy up roadways and paths in the care of Wiltshire Council, and your Town Council's Economic Development and Planning Committee aids their work by directing them towards areas that need particular attention. But these teams cannot deal with overhang from private properties without a rigmarole ahead of time - it's the responsibility of the property owner to do these things, and the best bet in the first place is for you the owner to keep boundaries tidy unprompted. Second possibility is for someone (councillor or council) to nudge you to take a look at things they're concerned about. Only if issues remain after these two steps have been taken (or there is immediate danger) will there, reluctantly, be any sort of enforcement. See ((here)) for a much fuller explanation - a different council's guidance, but much the same applies through England.

As per usual, this is a personal post on my blog from one councillor - but very much in line with sentiment at last night's meeting and you know it makes sense!




Social Media discussion - ((here)) ... Published Monday, 11th July 2022
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Thank you for voting Graham Ellis onto Melksham Town Council

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