Agenda item

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling - Cabinet Member for Leisure, Libraries, Governance, Facilities Management and Operational Assets and Louise Cary - Head of Capital Projects, Wiltshire Council gave an update on the Melksham Campus and Melksham House projects.

Points made included:

·         That the Campus project had been a huge commitment for Wiltshire Council taking over 10 years to get us where we were today.

·         A challenging and exciting project for the residents of the Melksham community area.

·         A great building – all that we could have wished for when the plans were conceived.

·         That construction was nearing completion, once construction concluded, the fit-out period would then begin.

·         That the parking order had now been approved.

·         That the signage planning application had been approved.

·         The campus will open to the public in early August 2022. More details for the opening day will be announced closer to the time

Library - Relocation

·         That the Melksham library would need to close for approx two weeks. Date to be confirmed.

·         During the closure, stock and ICT equipment would be moved to the campus and staff would receive training on the new building.

·         That customers could use nearby libraries during the closure. Online resources, digital formats and the library app would also be available.

·         That books would be issued for a longer loan period in the lead up to the closure and a few weeks after reopening. Customers could take more items to cover the closure period.

·         That the library team were working to develop an activities and events programme.

Blue Pool – Relocation

·         That the Blue Pool would be closed for a week. Date to be confirmed.

·         That members would be able to use neighbouring facilities during the closure period.

·         That the leisure team would be contacting leisure members directly with further information.

·         To register to become a leisure member prior to the campus opening, you could do this online – search Wiltshire Leisure Hub. Or enquire at the Blue Pool.

·         To find out about making regular or club bookings please email – melkshamcampus@wiltshire.gov.uk.

·         Details of all the leisure facilities that would be available at the campus could be found on the Melksham Community Campus webpage.

Melksham Without Parish Council

·         MWPC will be relocating their office to Melksham Campus. Their current office at the Pavilion at Bowerhill Sports Field will close shortly before the campus opens.

The Campus programme

The opening of the campus is a key milestone in a much wider programme of investment in Melksham:

•      Oakfields Football and Rugby stadium

•      King George Fifth Skate Park

•      Melksham Market Place remodeling

•      Replacing Melksham Cricket Pavilion

•      Refurbishment of Melksham tennis courts

Melksham House

·         Wiltshire Council is working closely with Melksham Town Council to look at how best to utilise the current Melksham Library and Blue Pool sites and how this interacts with plans for the publicly owned assets in the town. This will ensure a long-term strategic approach is taken for the benefit of Melksham and surrounding areas.

·         The refurbishment of Melksham House will commence in the next couple of months.

·         A contractor has been appointed.

·         The project will create community and business accommodation.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Blair-Pilling and Louise Cary for their updates.