Area Boards across Wiltshire are to have their funding boosted so they can support volunteer local Link transport projects as a result of the intervention of Independent councillors Jeff Osborn and Terry Chivers.
They tabled an amendment to Wiltshire Council’s budget proposals at Tuesday’s meeting of the unitary authority calling for the restoration of £25,000 funding about to cut from the council tax budget for the coming financial year.
Councillor Osborn pointed out the invaluable work carried out by the transport Link and alternative systems run by volunteer drivers in various towns and received support from all parties in the council chamber.
He then agreed to withdraw the amendment when Tory Cabinet member Councillor John Thomson accepted the need to reorganise their funding by boosting the budgets available to Wiltshire’s respective area boards to cope with local demands.
“I intervened to say that I was not against such a move, if it made the schemes more manageable, but I would expect extra funds to go to the area boards to ensure the schemes could grow,” Councillor Osborn told Marlborough News Online.
“This is important because money put in there can save much more in the long term in health and care budgets. I received some agreement on that – though I will have to monitor the reality in practice – but on that basis I agreed to withdraw the amendment as we had achieved our purpose.”
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