Pitton Community Shop – vacancy for assistant manager
The Pitton Community Shop has a vacancy for an assistant manager. The closing date is 30th June. Details are here.
Archive for year: 2026
Brian Edgeley
The Parish Council have been informed that its former chairman, Brian Edgeley has passed away. He was 92.
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 land that forms the play area 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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!
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.