This website has moved to https://devizesfutures.uk Everything on this site has been transferred to the new domain. There will be no further posts here, but I’ll leave it up for a while. If you have bookmarked the site, please update your bookmarks.
The proposals for the redevelopment of the town centre site, once the new Health Centre opens, are available here: https://www.devizeshospitalredevelopment.com/. There is some contradiction between statements on that site and those on the pages relating to the new Health Centre. The information on the redevelopment proposals says that all facilities on the hospital site, will … More Devizes Health Centre – access to dental services
I promised (in this post) a more detailed response to this document. That’s proving more difficult than I thought. The Improvement Plan had to be prepared by October 2021. It was intended to be the vehicle for additional government funding from the appallingly named ‘Bus Back Better’ programme. Wiltshire Council submitted the agreed BSIP in … More Wiltshire Bus Service Improvement Plan – comments
Several years ago I wrote a post setting out some ideas on how to ease the cost of affordable housing. At the time I was thinking primarily of first time buyers, but rereading it in the light of proposals to extend Right to Buy to tenants of Housing Associations, it seems to me that those … More Housing stories
Everything posted here is based on my ideas of what is important or interesting. Readers will I’m sure have their own views. I’ve already offered the chance for others to contribute by writing for the blog, but that isn’t the only way you can contribute. I’m not omniscient, as should be obvious by the fact … More What’s important?
Did you know that from 1st July, there is yet another change on the way. It’s all being pushed through very quickly. Under the Health and Care Act 2022, 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will be established on 1 July 2022. These will replace Clinical Commissioning Groups, although I get the impression these changed over … More Reorganisation (again) of the NHS
Wiltshire Council published this plan apparently in October 2021, although I saw no reference to it in the local press, nor so far as I can tell has there been any effort at publicising it in other ways. It is apparently a response to a Government initiative to improve public transport called, believe it or … More Public Transport in Wiltshire – the ‘Bus Service Improvement Plan’
Want to write for Devizes Futures? I’m looking for contributors to this blog. It began as a personal venture. I had been a member of one or two local groups on Facebook, but the algorithms of social media don’t encourage extended discussion. Grandstanding and attention seekers don’t help. I set up the site back in … More Contributors wanted
Ever since I came across his book, ‘Ripples from the Zambezi‘ I have been an admirer of the work of Ernesto Sirolli. Here’s a video from a TED talk, where he explains his approach. If you look back a few posts in this blog, you will find a post about Book Towns. The unlikely emergence … More What makes a town succeed?
Introduction This post looks at the current state of investigations into a possible railway station for Devizes. The idea has been around since at least 1989, when I came to Devizes as head of the Local Planning team for the then Kennet District Council. At that time Network Rail consistently argued that it would not … More Devizes Gateway Station – latest
Devizes Futures 