The MOD section of Winterslow Road that crosses Porton Down Ranges will be closed to all traffic from the junction of the A30 to Blackbarn Road on the following dates – and during the prescribed hours as displayed in the table below. Diversions will be in place.
| Monday 13 October 2025 | 1700hrs – 0000hrs |
| Tuesday 14 October 2025 | 1700hrs – 0000hrs |
| Wednesday 15 October 2025 | 1700hrs – 0000hrs |
The section of the play area with the zip wire and climb frame has been closed and the gate locked shut as there is a colony of bees under the mat covering the tension anchor for the climb frame. The Parish Council have taken expert advice and we have decided to leave the bees to disperse naturally or die due to the cold weather of the autumn. This is more environmentally responsible than having the colony destroyed. The stile from the other part of the play area is roped off to prevent access into the closed section and warning notices explaining the reason are in place.
The following update has been provided by the Pitton Community Shop.
WOW! Thank you so much to our amazing community across Pitton, Farley, Firsdown and East Grimstead!
We have now reached our target of £210,000 in pledges towards the community shop.
This means we can move forward with building the shop and we are already working on the next steps. These include:
We will keep you informed at every step. In the meantime thank you again!
The audit of accounts for Firsdown Parish Council for the year ended 31st March has been completed and the accounts have been published.
Please see the links below.
The Pitton Community Shop has raised pledges of £173.5k. Their target for pledges is £210k. If you would like to support them (the eventual contribution if the pledge target is reached is tax deductible) then please fill in a pledge form ASAP.
The Parish Council together with our Wiltshire Unitary Councillor Rich Rogers, have been lobbying Wiltshire Highways to repair the surface of Firs Road. We are pleased to announce that a multistage repair process has now started.
The entire length of Firs Rd has been surveyed which found “surface deterioration is noted along the length of Firs Rd, particularly on the approach to the village from Winterslow and at the A30 junction. The old surface dressing is stripping and the High Friction Surface at the east end of the village is breaking up, with drainage issues present.”
Immediate repairs have been carried out at the east end of the village with the previous temporary repairs being planed out and replaced with new tarmac.
A further stage of works will see the surface at the A30 junction replaced, this is already in the maintenance works program to be completed by 1st April 2026.
The 3rd stage of works expected during mid 2026, will see a new surface dressing layer applied to the whole length of Firs Rd.
Malthouse Lane will see repair work on the 18th September.
The A30 Pheasant/ traffic light junction will see repairs by 1st April 2026, with additional repair work on the A30 to Lopcombe Corner during the same period.
A new youth group in Winterslow is being set up by the church and they want to know when/what you want it to be. It will be a friendly inclusive space.
An online survey is here. Parents please encourage your children to respond. A QR code is also available for the survey – click on the graphic above.
There will be a public meeting on Saturday 13th September at 1530 in the Pitton Village Hall to outline the current status of the project. Details of a community share offer will be provided to secure the remaining funding – pledges of £100k have already been received.
More details are on the PCSL website or email
A newsletter is available: PCSL update August 25
The soft plastic recycling scheme run by the Parish Council is withdrawn until further notice due to cross contamination by incorrect items which can be recycled via your Blue Top bin.
This is despite previous notices on our website.
Today, a bag of dog excrement was found in the bin.
The Parish Council is appalled that the actions of a minority ruin a scheme that benefits our environment.
The soft plastics recycling scheme that is run by the Parish Council is for plastic bags and plastic wrapping only. It is not for general hard plastics, many of which can be recycled via your blue top Wiltshire Council bin.
In the last few weeks the following items have been found in the soft plastics bin – on numerous occasions.
The first 3 items can go in your blue bin. Yogurt pots should be washed out. Unfortunately fruit netting cannot be recycled at present and should be placed in your household waste bin.
The Parish Council requests only soft plastics are placed in our bin.