Parish Council

Hello and welcome to the Castle Eaton Parish Council section of the Village Website.

Aircraft Activity

We have been advised that there is an exercise happening at RAF Fairford and there is likely to be some night flying by RAF Hercules aircraft from 6 - 8 September.

Village Signs

For some time, we have been discussing the replacement of the entrance signs to the village with Swindon Borough Council. They have now finally come back and say that some funding is available!

They are offering a choice of designs and would like to seek the views of residents and the Parish Council. We held a meeting on Wednesday 10 August , to discuss the options and SBC are planning to present more detailed proposals at the next Parish Council Meeting on Thursday 8 September at 7.30pm in the Village Hall .

Please come along and express your views.

Gravel Extraction

You may have heard via the press that Wiltshire Council has just approved their Draft Aggregates Minerals Site Allocations DPD. This document lsts all the potential sites in Wiltshire where gravel may be able to be extracted up to 2025. It does include 4 sites near Castle Eaton, but all are described as 'marginal'.

The Parish Council viewed this Draft Plan nearly 12 months ago and submitted comments in October, mainly expressing our concerns that further gravel extraction near to the River Thames could affect the water table and flooding. We specifically insisted that a detailed Hydrological Study is conducted, before any more sites are approved.

The Draft Plan is now going to be submitted to Central Government for comment, before it is opened to Public Consultation, later in the year. At that time all interested parties, including members of the public, can comment on individual sites and other proposals contained in the Draft Plan. The Parish Council will also be submitting further comment at that time.

If you want to view the draft document, please click on: http://consult.wiltshire.gov.uk/portal/spatial_planning/mineralssiteoptions 

Please note that this is the original draft from last year and several potential sites have already been withdrawn. The only ones around here that are still in are: U3, U4, U5 and U7.

Village Fete

The Village Fete on Sat 11 June was very succesful and raised £1250, which will be split amongst the various village groups. Many thanks to everyone who helped and supported the Fete. Particular thanks to Mel at The Red Lion for hosting it and providing all the services.

Post Office

We are pleased to confirm that Castle Eaton Post Office will re-open in the Village Hall on Thursday mornings from 9.30 - 11.30 each week, starting on 16 June 2011. 

A 419

There have been a few near-misses recently at the Seven Bridges junction, due to vehicles doing a U-turn from the northbound to the southbound carriageway of the A 419. This is apparently due to some Sat-Nav programmes not recognising the new junction at Blunsdon and confusion over the signage there. This is being discussed with Swindon BC and the Highways Agency.

Residents are warned to be aware of the risk of vehicles turning across in front of you, especially if you are heading north towards Cirencester.

The Highways Agency proposed some time ago to erect 'No U-Turns' signs on the approaches to the junction.