COUNCILLORS in Malmesbury have issued a vote of no confidence in county council leadership in light of decisions which they claim ‘have not followed best practice or consultation’.

Malmesbury Town Council councillors chose to go public with their anger at Wiltshire Council at a meeting in early October.

The vote of no confidence relates to two planning applications, as well as Wiltshire Council’s decision on the future of the Riverside Community Centre in Gloucester Road.

This community centre for the Malmesbury Community Area is run by volunteer organisation Friends of Riverside.

The building is privately owned and is leased to Wiltshire Council.

According to Malmesbury Town Council, the decision on the future of the centre could mean its closure in the spring of 2026.

The town council said that the first case for the vote involves a planning application for up to 26 self-build homes on land alongside the A429 bypass opposite Waitrose in St Paul Malmesbury Without.

The application was turned down before going to appeal.

“The inspector allowed the application because Wiltshire Council has failed in its duty to provide sufficient plots of self-build across the county,” a spokesperson for the town council said.

According to Malmesbury Town Council, the second case for the vote involves a plot of agricultural land running down to the River Avon behind Waitrose.

A planning application to erect a large farm building here was submitted in May 2023, with the town council objecting.

“Wiltshire Council failed to decide on the application, which they were minded to refuse, within the designated period of time,” the town council spokesperson said.

“As a result, the application has now gone to appeal to be decided by a planning inspector.”

Town councillor and Wiltshire councillor for Malmesbury Cllr Gavin Grant said: “The failure of Wiltshire Council to decide to accept or reject this application in a timely manner has denied Wiltshire councillors the opportunity to examine the application and make a decision based on its merits.”

The town council said that the final straw relates to the future of the Riverside Community Centre.

“Without consultation or involving Malmesbury Town Council or Friends of Riverside, Wiltshire Council has decided it will exercise an early exit clause in July 2025 and will not continue with the lease after spring 2026,” the town council spokesperson said.

“This is a valuable community facility used by many groups, including social clubs for the elderly, activity sessions for toddlers and exercise and interest classes for everyone as well as the NHS and police on occasions,” Councillor Steve D’Arcy, chair of Malmesbury Town Council’s Policy & Resources Committee, added.

“Behind the scenes we’ve asked Councillor Richard Clewer [leader of Wiltshire Council] why this successful centre is now under threat, and he has told us that Wiltshire Council wants Malmesbury Town Council to take on this responsibility.

“It has offered to pay the rent for the community centre only up to February 2025 if Malmesbury Town Council then takes on the long-term lease and the responsibilities which go with running and maintaining it as a local asset.”

The town council is formally asking Wiltshire Council to reverse its decision around the centre.

In a statement, Cllr Clewer said: “Wiltshire Council shares Malmesbury’s frustration with the planning process which is being driven through development by appeal rather than plan-led development.

“Wiltshire has 18,837 planning permissions which could be developed yet only just over 8,000 are currently seen as deliverable by developers, leading to a housing land supply of under four years and opening up the planning process to developers who use that to bring forward sites that are not in the local plan or neighbourhood plans.

“We need developers to build the permissions that they have rather than just focus on banking more planning permissions.

“I have raised this issue with new government ministers in my role as housing spokesperson for the County Councils Network.”

With regard to the Riverside Community Centre, Cllr Clewer said: “We recognise the work that takes place at the Riverside Community Centre, but this continues to be a challenging and unpredictable time for local authority finances.

“Therefore, we are considering bringing our involvement in this unique lease agreement of the Riverside Centre to an end, though formal notice has not yet been served.

“This is the only facility funded by us in this way and while that in itself is not a reason to end the lease agreement, this arrangement is not viable for the long term.

“We have provided as much informal notice as we can so that conversations can take place to look at the options available.

“We remain keen to find a sustainable solution and welcome further conversations with the relevant local stakeholders.”