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THOSE attending the Warminster Area Board were assured that the budget for the work on the enhancement of the town centre had not run out.

Councillor Humphries said there were rumours going around that it had.

What is going to happen, however, is that the whole area will be left half done for four months before work starts again - in the next financial year.

Work will stop in the street until at least June - not that it is anything to do with money, of course,

When work gets under way the job should be finished by 24 November ‘but they think it will be finished long before that’ said cllr Humphries, in his most avuncular manner.

“Even if they finish by the date he says then the scheme will still be 51 weeks behind schedule,” said Steve Dancey.

“He gave these details out as a triumph but clearly has no conception about what has been happening in the town over the year. It has been commercial suicide for the town centre.

“The facts are that the county council issued a news release on Wednesday 28 March 2007 informing all and sundry that the work would be completed by December 2008. It hasn’t happened.

“Portfolio holder Fleur de Rhe-Philipe in this release said that the ‘scheme will achieve all the objectives of our residents’ desire’. Mind bogglingly out of touch.”

Cllr Humphries tried to pin the blame for the delay on a third party not there to defend itself - which is never very edifying.

Why didn’t WCC know about the gas main - perhaps they would have dropped the scheme if they were alive to what was going to happen?

We also heard that digging will start in East Street and, one bit of good news, that two way traffic should continue when paving work resumes.