2026 - Firsdown Parish Council

Brian Edgeley

2nd June, 2026/in News /by Simon

The Parish Council have been informed that one of its former chairmen Brian Edgeley has passed away.

Brian was a member of the Parish Council for over 20 years and its chairman for around 10 years. He was well known in Firsdown and spearheaded the campaign for the transfer of ownership of the play area land from Wiltshire Council to the parish, in order that it could be better maintained and updated.

He was well known to other Parish Councils and Wiltshire Council members.

Brian had been suffering from ill health in recent years and passed away in his sleep on the 28th May. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

The danger to cattle from dog waste

1st June, 2026/in News /by Simon

Most dog owners are responsible and clean up after their pets, however dog owners may not be aware that the waste can spread neospora which can cause abortions in cattle.

“The parasite in dog faeces that causes cows to abort is Neospora caninum. Dogs are the definitive hosts for this protozoan parasite. They shed microscopic eggs (oocysts) in their faeces, which can contaminate pasture grass or silage. When cows ingest this contaminated feed, they contract a disease called neosporosis, frequently resulting in miscarriages or stillborn calves.

Because an infected cow carries the parasite for life, it can significantly impact both breeding and milk production. For this reason, farmers, veterinarians, and wildlife trusts strongly urge dog owners and walkers to pick up and properly dispose of their dog’s waste whenever they are near grazing land or public rights of way.”

Please always pick up after your dog.

Road repairs at Dunstable Crossroads and the road to the A30 traffic lights

27th May, 2026/in News /by Simon

Wiltshire Council’s roadworks website is showing the following work in the next few weeks:

5th June, road repairs at the Dunstable Crossroads with temporary traffic lights in operation.
16th June – carriageway repairs near the New Manor Farm entrance on the road to the A30 traffic lights. This is a few hundred yards north of the Dunstable Crossroads. These works are showing as a full road closure with diversions in place.

Dog fouling by byway picnic benches

20th May, 2026/in News /by Simon

It is an offence to let your dog foul in a public place and not clean up after it. An irresponsible owner has let their pet foul right next to the picnic tables on the byway. This is not the first time the Parish Council has found fouling in this location.

There is more fouling on the footpath from Firs Road.

Annual review of the work of the Parish Council

11th May, 2026/in News /by Simon

On 7th May 2026, the Annual Parish meeting which is a review of the work of the Parish Council over the previous year, took place. All town and parish councils are legally required to hold one such meeting a year – but it is not a meeting of the Parish Council.

The transcript of the Chairman’s statement is available here.

Play area bench refurbishment

2nd May, 2026/in News /by Simon

The Chairman of the Parish Council, has stripped down and treated the wood of the 2 memorial benches in the play area.

Annual Parish, electors meeting 7th May 2026, 7.30pm

1st May, 2026/in News /by Simon

The Annual Parish meeting will take place in the committee room of the Winterslow Village Hall on Thursday 7th May 2026 at 7.30pm.

All town and parish councils are legally required to hold one such meeting a year – it is not a meeting of the Parish Council.

The meeting will be a review of the work of the Parish Council over the last year. This is also an opportunity for electors to raise any issues of their choice.

The agenda can be found here.

A30/ Firs Road new 50mph limit

30th April, 2026/in News /by Simon

The Parish Council are delighted to report that the new 50mph limit on the A30 is now in place at the Firs Road junction.

This has taken over 3 years to achieve. The Parish Council had to commission a study to verify the safety benefits – we ideally wanted a 40mph limit, but the junction didn’t meet this criteria. There was a statutory legal process to undertake by Wiltshire Council to reduce the speed limit, and this process has been revised which caused delay. Finally the physical works needed to be programmed into the highways maintenance schedule.

This is littering!

18th April, 2026/in News /by Simon

The Parish Council is appalled and disgusted by the actions of some dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets. Bags of dog waste left around full bins is littering. Dog waste has been left discarded by the children’s play area bin which is irresponsible behaviour. Even more disappointing is the action of some owners in breaking open one of the dog bins in an attempt to force more waste in.

Dog owners are legally required to clean up after their pets in public areas.

If a dog waste bin is full, use a litter bin or take the waste home with you and put it in your black bin. Do NOT leave it around an already full bin.

The contractors that empty the bins do not operate over public holidays, so hence the delay in them being emptied.

Play area spring clean

4th April, 2026/in News /by Simon

The play area on the byway is entirely owned by the Parish Council – this includes both the land and the equipment. The equipment is checked by trained members of the Parish Council at least every 14 days with an annual safety inspection by a 3rd party.

The rubber safety mats of both sections of the play area have recently been treated to remove moss that had grown on them over the winter.

Over the next few months the benches in the junior section will be refurbished and parts of the perimeter fence that are life expired and rotten will be replaced with recycled plastic materials (imitation wood).

Maintenance activities within the Parish are carried out entirely be volunteers. If parishioners have a few spare hours to assist, then please get in touch.

Archive for year: 2026