Smart Meter Action Group (SMAG) update

Notice of Election

On Thursday 1st May two elections will be held in the Upper Deverills:

  • Wiltshire Council: one councillor (Wylye Valley)
  • Upper Deverills Parish Council: 5 councillors (Kingston Deverill 4, Brixton Deverill 1). The Notice of Election is attached.

Farmland Bird Survey – 2024

Information about the Farmland Bird Surveys, including the results of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 surveys can be found here.

Digital Voice

Digital Voice is the replacement for analogue telephone landlines. It is being rolled out nationwide.

  • Timescales for implementation have been pushed back. It was January 2025 for England but this is now January 2027. Each supplier is working to their own programme to meet that date.
  • Residents are migrated based on individual criteria such as: having the right equipment, e.g. the right router, usage of landline, mobile phone coverage in their location, vulnerability.
  • While no specific timescales are available, it is likely that the transition will not happen in the Deverills until 2025 and probably not until 2026.
  • If, before the migration, you decide to switch broadband provider you will only be offered a digital landline.
  • For those deemed to be or self-identify as vulnerable, providers will supply a stand-alone backup battery, otherwise known as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), for use in a power cut. This will be free of charge. The Office of Communications (OFCOM) requirement is that it lasts for one hour. Actual criteria will become clear closer to the implementation date. If you consider yourself to be vulnerable, please contact your supplier, e.g. EE/BT.
  • The needs of telecare users are understood and BT/EE have signed a data sharing agreement with Wiltshire Council, so they will have been identified and their needs will be met. There are various solutions available and this area is evolving as third parties develop and test equipment.
  • For existing phone extensions wired through the house, BT/EE will provide one free adaptor which has a phone socket on the top, into which the old phone should be plugged. Of course, this will still rely on the internet. Additional adaptors will be available at £20.
  • Anyone over 75 can ask for a free advisory site visit.

Further information on the date on implementation will be forthcoming. See:

Government website: gov.uk/guidance/uk-transition-from-analogue-to-digital-landlines

EE/BT customers: bt.com/help/landline/digital-voice-migration

EE/BT Business customers: business.bt.com/insights/uk-pstn-switch-off

Virgin Media customers: virginmedia.com/help/digital-voice-switchover

 

Road Safety Update

The latest Road Safety Update for the Warminster Area is attached.

Rights of Way Accessibility Monitoring

At its meeting on 21 August 2024 the Parish Council adopted a revised Rights of Way Accessibility Monitoring policy. See attached.

For further Rights of Way guidance see under the  Our Countryside drop down tab

Community Speed Watch

Volunteers are need for Community Speed Watch in the Upper Deverills. The commitment is only a couple of hours a month and you will always be working with someone else. The training is online and painless. Do contact Richard Munro if you would like to serve your community in a practical and meaningful way:

| 01985 844385

Parish Council Vacancy

There is a vacancy for a councillor on the Parish Council. Please contact the clerk or Chair if you are interested in being co-opted as a parish councillor.

Compulsory registration of poultry

New measures to protect the poultry sector better from future avian influenza (bird flu) outbreaks have been set out by the government. Under the changes announced there will be new requirements for all bird keepers – regardless of the size of their flock – to officially register their birds by 1st September 2024. Currently only those who keep 50 or more poultry must do so. See the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) post here.

 

Revamp your tank: septic tank upgrade scheme

As part of ongoing efforts to improve infrastructure to increase efficiency, minimise pollution potential and reduce its carbon footprint, Wiltshire Council are offering to fund the upgrade of the sewage systems of private homeowners. They and Wessex Rivers Trust are collaborating to improve water quality in the Hampshire Avon catchment using a government grant. Details can be found at:

wessexrt.org.uk/RevampYourTank.html

wiltshire.gov.uk/planning-bio-development