Archive for month: December, 2025

The Chairman of the Parish Council has cut back the vegetation and cleared the scrub from the footpath that runs from the woods to the field gate near the top of Firs Rd. The path now has twice the walking width, with the narrow pinch point by the transformer poles now removed.

Further work is planned over the winter for the remaining section from the field gate to the A30, and also the section from 99 Firs Rd alongside the woods. If any residents would like to volunteer to assist, then please get in touch with the Parish Council.

The Parish Council has a number of Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) that are deployed along Firs Rd to remind drivers of the 30mph speed limit and encourage more responsible driving. The devices provide a clear visual alert when the speed limit is exceeded. Statistical data from the SIDs is provided to Wiltshire Police on a monthly basis which allows them to undertake targeted enforcement patrols.

One SID is owned by the Parish Council and is permanently located in the centre section of Firs Rd near the Maple Drive junction. The other SID is shared with Winterslow and is positioned either at the A30 end of Firs Rd, or the Firs Close end, for a 2 week period every other month.

To provide a greater deterrence against excessive speed, the Parish Council have purchased a 2nd wholly owned SID. This will allow a permanent SID presence, alternating at either end of Firs Rd. We will still have access to the Winterslow shared SID, so for some periods there will be a device at both ends of Firs Rd simultaneously. The new SID will be operational in the first week of January.

In addition, there will still be a SID in the centre section of Firs Rd.

The following update has been provided by PCSL.

The community share scheme closed on Sunday and we are absolutely delighted to report that we reached £202,450 in share purchases.  This means that with the grant from the Wiltshire Shared Prosperity Fund we have secured enough funding to cover the vast majority of the project. Given the overwhelming support from the community we are confident of securing a small grant for the finishing touches – such as new signage for the shop and village hall, and crockery for the cafe.  

The contract with the builder has been signed and the build will start on 5th January.  In advance of the build, local volunteers will remove the tree (we are very grateful for this help which saves some money).

Pitton Village Hall Committee has also recognised the need for improved access at the rear of the hall.  The committee will work with the community shop team to widen the rear steps, add a handrail and improve the lighting.  Detailed guidance for hall users accessing the hall and parking during the build will be circulated in mid-December.  

Over the past few weeks we have also had discussions with Broad Chalke Community Shop and Winchester Farm Shop.  These have been very helpful in a number of areas including shop layout, operating processes and how they organise staff and volunteers.  

This month we aim to issue paperwork to all of our investors, update our plans and web site and start a detailed design of the shop interior.

Once again, thank you so much for your support!  Have a great Christmas.

Best wishes

Lorna Taylor

On behalf of Pitton Community Shop