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Stand together as a Council and Townsfolk 

A 'stand united' rallying call was loudly proclaimed by Councillor Paul Macdonald on Tuesday night to an extraordinary meeting of Warminster Town Council packed with local residents angry about its possible support up for a new development line allowing 3,000 new houses.
 
"I do not normally come with prepared notes as I like to listen to what is said and  then have my say," Cllr. Macdonald's voice boomed out as he stood shunning a problematic microphone. "But tonight is different."
 
"It is time to take a united stand as a town council and as a townsfolk.
 
"The question we face is do we set the limits of development as this issue is also called to take the maximum number of houses that developers can add from the core strategy inspectors request for an increase in the number for Wiltshire being thrown at our town?
 
"Or do we set the settlement line boundary in the best interest of the future of our town socially, economically and environmentally?
 
Councillor Macdonald spoke about his previous time as a councillor in the 1990s succeeding when the rural buffer zone was put  in place around the town as part of the District Plan that is now being replaced.
 
"The Core Strategy is not looking at things in isolation and quite rightly so," said Cllr. Macdonald.
 
"It is about the overall community in terms of employment, schooling, social and medical services to name a few and how changes in each impact on the other and how the overall mix should be in the best interests of the future of our town.
 
"And it is not a core strategy for independent parts of our town but for the best interests of the whole town.
 
"We should set the settlement line in those interests and if developers have to settle for less homes here that is their problem. Let them build houses where they are actually wanted." 
 
The public gallery burst into applause as Cllr. Macdonald sat down.