Duncan Hames for Chippenham

Local Lib Dems have been celebrating the news that Winsley post office has reopened as of Friday 2nd January. The news follows a campaign to save the post office, organised by the Liberal Democrat Prospective MP for the area, Duncan Hames.

Duncan said: “This is truly excellent news. The Post Office provides essential services for some of the most vulnerable members of society. Losing the Post Office can tear out the hub of the local community. Many people will be relieved that this won’t now happen in Winsley.”

Duncan continued: “I want to thank the hundreds of local people who took the time to sign our petition. The sheer weight of local support undoubtedly helped to demonstrate that there is a future for the post office in Winsley. It just goes to show that when a community pulls together for a common goal we really can make a difference.”

Duncan Hames, the prospective Liberal Democrat MP for the new Chippenham constituency, has acted quickly to help ensure the survival of Winsley post office, near Bradford on Avon. The post office closed on Friday, after the Nearby Stores Group went into company administration.

Duncan said:

“After speaking with local people and listening to their concerns, I wrote to the Post Office’s Network Manager for Wiltshire, to express our opposition to the closure and to ask him to do everything in his power to bring the post office back to Winsley. I’m happy to say that he has now given me his assurance that he will work to re-establish the post office service in Winsley ‘as a matter of urgency.’ ”

Duncan continued:

“Wiltshire has lost too many post offices in recent years. Across the country, thousands have closed: first under the Tories, and then under Labour ministers’ orders. We can’t afford to lose another by the back door. The Lib Dems will continue to press all concerned to work together to re-open Winsley’s post office service as soon as practically possible.”

Duncan Hames, Liberal Democrat PPC for Chippenham constituency, took part in the National Climate March in London last Saturday, demanding action from the government on climate change.

The march, which made pleas for a “Green New Deal”, was addressed by Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats. Nick and Duncan recently visited Wiltshire College, Lackham in the constituency to promote the idea of buying food locally, reducing carbon emissions and helping the environment.

Duncan commented: “I’m really proud that, unlike some, our party isn’t only a fair-weather friend of the environment but continues to champion this cause which is so important for all our futures - the world over.”

Prospective Lib Dem MP Duncan Hames has welcomed Nick Clegg MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on a recent visit to the Chippenham constituency.

Nick and Duncan visited Wiltshire College, Lackham, where young people study agriculture and other land-based courses. After meeting students and being taken on a tour of the farm, Nick Clegg spoke about his wish to see the public made more aware of information on British products, so that they are confident in buying British.

Nick stressed that this was not about discriminating against foreign imports but supporting the local economy and improving the environment. He said, “What I would like to see is shoppers buying more locally-produced goods, and having more information about where these come from”.

As part of the visit to the college, Nick enjoyed a spot of tractor driving. He joked, “I really did enjoy driving the tractor, it was a childhood ambition. I did think about driving off into the sunset, and I’ve never done a three-point turn in a foot and a half of mud before!”

Nick and Duncan also visited Melksham to meet traders and hear their concerns. Duncan commented, “Buying local produce and shopping locally keeps more of our money in the Wiltshire economy. I regularly shop at the village store near my home in Holt.”

“Local traders need our support in these difficult times for the economy. There are already too many empty premises in our town centres.”

Duncan Hames, Prospective Lib Dem MP for Chippenham has expressed his concern over plans to build 3,500 houses on the flood plain of the river Avon.

The land which lies between the river Avon and Stanley Lane in Chippenham is being considered for development opportunities which could see an increase in housing in the town of 20%.

Duncan Hames commented:

“I am opposed to any development on the flood plain in Chippenham. You only need look at recent flooding in the region to see the problems this stores up for the future.

“We will work with local residents to fight these proposals which would just be the start of many more unwelcome and environmentally damaging extensions to the town.”

June Wood, local councillor, added:

“This has been a long running battle for local people. Similar proposals were presented to the County Council more than 10 years ago, we fought then to stop it and we will fight again.”

Duncan Hames, Prospective Lib Dem MP for the new Chippenham Constituency, has called for action to protect Wiltshire taxpayers after Wiltshire County Council and North Wiltshire District Council became the latest victims of the economic crisis.

The councils had £12m in parts of an Icelandic Bank, which went into administration yesterday (Wednesday). Duncan Hames, a former Audit Committee Chairman for West Wiltshire District Council, has called on the government to do all that it can to ensure the councils do not lose this essential taxpayers’ money.

Duncan Hames commented:

“If Wiltshire County Council can’t get our money back, it would cost Wiltshire Council Taxpayers an average £45 per household to make good the reserves. If North Wiltshire residents were left to make up the loss of their district council’s funds too, their bill would be more like £150.

“That would be devastating for local families and pensioners already facing higher fuel bills and an uncertain economy.

“These councils also have questions to answer: I think people will want to know why this money was not moved after another Icelandic bank collapsed days earlier.”

Local Liberal Democrats have hit out after the latest scandal involving the collection of waste in West Wiltshire.

Residents have complained after it emerged that the waste contractor, Focsa, had been instructed by the council not to collect wheelie bins if the wheels were on gravel.

Instead residents have been told that they must drag their bins onto the pavement in case the bins got stones stuck in their wheels and fell onto the refuse collectors.

This new policy comes just months after the Conservative-run council made the headlines after refusing to empty bins which could not be dragged with two fingers or which were over a footstep away from the kerb.

Rosemary Brown, Shadow Environment portfolio holder on the council said:

“This goes to show how ludicrous the council is being when dealing with basic needs for its residents. These policies will particularly hit the elderly, infirm and disabled who may not be able to drag their bins within the millimetre that the council demands. It is unfair and they should not be expected to do so.

“Local residents pay their council tax to get a number of services, including waste collection, and the Conservatives simply are not taking into account what is best for them.”

Duncan Hames, prospective Lib Dem MP for Bradford-on-Avon and Melksham, added:

“This isn’t an isolated case, this Conservative council has been issuing us with new rules over and over again and it is hard for people to keep up.

“When local people choose the team to run the new Wiltshire Council they will want one that instead puts the needs of residents before their paid contractors.”

Duncan Hames, prospective Liberal Democrat MP for the new Chippenham Constituency has championed Wiltshire’s environmental concerns at this year’s party conference in Bournemouth.

In his speech at an urgent issue debate on the environment this morning (Sunday), Duncan told of the excellent work of local environmental groups like the Bradford-on-Avon Climate Friends.

Yesterday, Duncan helped unveil the group’s polar bear ice statue at the town’s arts fair. The statue illustrated the urgency of taking action to look for solutions to climate change before time runs out.

Commenting after the speech, Duncan Hames said:

“Local groups of Climate Friends, like Bradford-on-Avon’s understand that climate change will affect us all. We must do everything we can to stop it.

“New green technologies take time to introduce, so we must act now to cut our climate changing pollution, before time runs out.”

Prospective local MP Duncan Hames, and Liberal Democrats from across Wiltshire, are preparing to head to Bournemouth for the party’s annual autumn conference.

The party will be voting on important policies on taxation, transport and health and will be giving a warm welcome to Nick Clegg at his first autumn conference as party leader.

Commenting before the conference Duncan Hames said:

“I hope to speak about the scandalous real cost of Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) in a debate on Sunday morning. The schemes often leave taxpayers shouldering large amounts of risk despite the charges to private contractors.

“There is also a huge range of the costs associated with these schemes, charges for installing a plug socket, for example, can vary from £30 to £300.

Duncan is a governor at George Ward School in Melksham, which was recently granted £25m in funding for a new school site, which will be built without resorting to PFI.

Duncan Hames has also been shortlisted for the party’s award for ‘Best use of blogging or social networking by a Liberal Democrat’.

The nomination is for Duncan’s ‘Twitter’ feed (www.twitter.com/duncanhames) which he uses to keep in touch with local people and allow his constituents to keep track of what he is doing. The winner of the award will be announced on Saturday.

Duncan Hames and Isabel Langsford are supporting local residents in Corsham to prevent the surgery relocating to a new site at Rudloe.

The plans would leave the town with no GP surgery of it’s own. The Rudloe site would be difficult to access, especially for those who need it the most.

Duncan Hames, prospective MP for Corsham said “Time and time again, budget-conscious decisions in the NHS leave patients picking up the cost of longer journeys. The government should fund public services, including the NHS, recognising the greater cost of serving smaller rural communities like ours.”

“We would like the Wiltshire NHS Trust to help the Porch Surgery stay in the town centre by expanding on it’s current site.”