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Compton Bassett Village Website
A village in the rural heart of Ancient Wiltshire
Compton Bassett Main News
We include here a selection of main stories from around the area and within the village which we believe may be of interest to you.
Compton Bassett Main News
New High Sheriff for Wiltshire and Swindon 2025-26
Wiltshire's new High Sheriff was sworn in on Friday, 4th April 2025 in a ceremony which dates back to Saxon times. Mr Martin Nye made his Declaration at St Martin's Church, Bremhill, nr Calne, taking over from Dr Olivia Chapple. Around 80 guests attended the ceremony and reception
Wiltshire's new High Sheriff was sworn in on Friday, 4 April 2025 in a ceremony which dates back to Saxon times. Mr Martin Nye made his Declaration at St Martin's Church, Bremhill, nr Calne, taking over from Dr Olivia Chapple. Around 80 guests attended the ceremony and reception.
Mr Martin Nye has had a broad-ranging business career, including several chief executive roles in private and public companies, and now has a portfolio of non-executive and chair positions. He is chair of the Soil Association, and a Council member of the National Trust. He was chair of the Wiltshire Museum until 2024, and continues to be a trustee of the Devizes Assize Court Trust which aims to revitalise the Assize Court as a new home for the Museum. He is a trustee of Worldreader and the World of Books Foundation, both of which support literacy. He read History at the University of Cambridge.
Martin lives on a farm in Foxham near Chippenham where his wife Victoria breeds organic grass-fed beef shorthorn cattle and opens their garden for the National Gardens Scheme and to support local charities. After a career in financial services, Victoria is active with charities and community projects in the county as a Deputy Lieutenant, a trustee of the Wiltshire Gardens Trust, the chair of the local farm cluster and a school governor. They have three adult children.
In addition to the customary role of supporting the Judiciary, Police, Emergency services and the voluntary sector, Martin has chosen as his theme for the year "Food", to encompass all aspects of food from farm to fork. He looks forward to meeting charities and other organisations working across the food sector.
The links below will take you to the full stories around the whole site. Whilst you are with us, please take a moment to browse some of the other pages.
Inclusion of stories is at the discretion of the site
Compton Bassett Main News
Don't forget to renew your garden waste collections
The cost of having your garden waste collected will be from £75 per bin, to be emptied until June 2025.
- To renew your garden waste subscription this year, you will need to create a new Wiltshire Council account, or log in to your existing account.
- For a full explanation the scale of charges and all relevant advice on your garden waste collection service, please go to The Wiltshire Council website.
- Your payment will cover the emptying of one 180 litre bin, every two weeks, until 30 June each year. You may request as many bins as you wish, each charged at the same rate and paid as separate payments.
- In areas where we think the storage space or point of collection is unsuitable for wheeled bins, we will provide and empty up to four green reusable bags.
- Once you have subscribed, your address will be added to a collection round so the crew knows to empty your bin. Make sure your house name or number is clearly displayed on the back of your garden waste bin, below the handle.
Waste Collecion Calendar
You can find your rubbish and recycling and any chargeable garden waste collection days relevant to your property. You can also download a printable waste collection calendar containing the same information.
We regularly update this page with service updates related to your household collections.
VE Day 80th Anniversary in Compton Bassett
The world watched as Europe marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Europe from the control of Nazi Germany
With celebration events taking place in cities, towns and villages across the entire country and the continent beyond here, in Compton Bassett. The Parish Council and The Benson Hall laid on a full evening of celebration of the 80th anniversary
There was an exhibition including photographs and stories of local residents. Bringing the stories of those who sadly perished and those who happily returned to the home and the life they had left behind them whilst they did their bit to protect their country in battles over land, sea, or air.
Thus, 65 people in the hall were entertained or 'educated' by two residents from the village, Eugenie Brooks & Brian Shaw, whose business is Battlefield Tours. They kept everyone ennthralled by their stories for a long time
The screen at The Benson Hall was then tuned in to the concert being played out on the stage built at Horse Guards Parade in London.
Top Three Local Fuel Prices
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Wadworth Shire Horses
Wadworth Shire horses retirement 'end of an era' for Devizes
This is not quite local to us here in Compton Bassett but seeing it in print planted a seed in my mind that I just wanted to share.
Wadworth recently announced the retirement of its beloved Shire horses which, barring a brief interruption, had been delivering beers to pubs in Devizes and the surrounding villages for 125 years. Explaining the decision, managing director Toby Bartholomew cited the difficulties of carrying out local deliveries following the relocation of the brewery to Folly Road alongside rising financial pressures worsened by the government’s autumn budget.
It is a political/commercial decision about which I am not qualified to have an opinion on. However, when I first came to the area 30 years or more ago, I was learning my way around living here. Which shops to use, which pubs and where to spend my time. One Sunday morning I was sitting in my car in Devizes Square as I read the headlines in my Sunday paper, enjoying the early morning sunshine. Two magificent Shire horses with their handlers, such beautiful, powerful, animals who were being lead from their stables at the brewery down to wherever their Sunday paddock was. They were like two spaniel puppies going for their first walkies after a long wet week. Except they were over a tonne in weight and just as excitable, more than a single handler could properly control. ut they were wonderful and immediately became part of my Sunday morning program after collecting my paper. My grandparents used to have their milk delivered by a horse drawn milk float. The horse used to know his route and where each delivery was. The float had a chain through the spokes of the back wheel which offered little resistance to this giant powerful animal and when the milkman reappeared from his previous delivery his horse and float was already waiting at the next stop on his route. My grandparents house was on the edge of the footpath beside the road and the horse knew Gramps was there and always had a peppermint in hia pocket that the horse wouldn't pass until he had got. I often remember the sight of that giant of an animala coming across the footpath and up the steps. His front hairy hooves in the doorway and his huge head through the door looking for his peppermint. As an 8year old boy I was so sad when the horses were retired and the milk floats were all replaced with elecric floats. Interesting but they had no soul.
I'll miss the old Shires in Devizes with the same sadness as that young boy many years ago stood at the door of his granddads house in Peterborough
Temporary disruption to recycling collection service
Due to severe staff shortages, the waste collection service provider, Hills Municipal Collections, is unable to provide all waste collection services as they are obliged to.
To enable the collection of essential waste and recycling such as clinical, residual waste, and garden waste some recycling rounds are running one, two, or in some instances three days late.
Wiltshire Council have set up a webpage to provide a daily update of the locations of any rescheduled collections. Residents are asked to check that webpage prior to reporting a missed bin collection to the council. The page can be found at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling-collection-service-disruption.
If your recycling container is not emptied on the scheduled collection day, please leave it out and it will be emptied as soon as possible.
Don't forget to renew your garden waste collections
The cost of having your garden waste collected will be from £75 per bin, to be emptied until June 2026.
- To renew your garden waste subscription this year, you will need to create a new Wiltshire Council account, or log in to your existing account.
- For a full explanation the scale of charges and all relevant advice on your garden waste collection service, please go to The Wiltshire Council website.
- Your payment will cover the emptying of one 180 litre bin, every two weeks, until 30 June each year. You may request as many bins as you wish, each charged at the same rate and paid as separate payments.
- In areas where we think the storage space or point of collection is unsuitable for wheeled bins, we will provide and empty up to four green reusable bags.
- Once you have subscribed, your address will be added to a collection round so the crew knows to empty your bin. Make sure your house name or number is clearly displayed on the back of your garden waste bin, below the handle.
The spring 2025 COVID-19 vaccination campaign
Notifications recieved from Wiltshire Council
There are still many people aged 75 and over that have not come forward for their Spring Covid booster. It is important that people don’t wait to be called by their GP for this booster but book their booster as soon as possible if there first booster was more than six months ago.
Lower Compton Bassett Landfill Site Fire
Hills respond to Parish Council after their recent landfill fires
The full response from Hills and the parish councils subsequent observations can be found on page 4 of "Compton Bassett Matters"
- Hills play down the fact that they have had 3 fires in 4 years (not 5, as they state) and mitigate the impact by saying these were not classified as serious.
- Hills Waste Management argue that the wind was not blowing in the direction of the village so we were unaffected.
- The tyres which caught fire and produced vile noxious fumes are described in a dismissive tone as “baled tyres”. This does not make them any less of a pollutant
- The effect this incident has had on the local environment may never be known as rather than carry out any air quality monitoring, the environment agency did not have enough time to set up their equipment.
Traffic Mirrors Policy
Compton Bassett Parish Council do not believe it appropriate to have traffic mirrors in a conservation area, they are unsightly and distracting.
The Parish Council strongly advise against traffic mirrors and would object to any applications for traffic mirrors. Neither is it the practice of Wiltshire Council to authorise the use of mirrors as their road safety benefits are very much in doubt.
Experience shows that mirrors on public highways can increase safety risks, which include:
- reflected light and interference with adriver’s vision
- reduced ability to judge an oncoming vehicle’s speed
- creating an unreasonable dependence on the mirror
- if dirty, the mirror may distort or restrict the view
- mirrors may be a target for vandals.
Drivers involved in accidents often seek to apportion blame and the erection of a mirror on the highway could result in claims against the Highway Authority. Other solutions may be available, for example cutting backvegetation or realigning boundary fences.
Cllr Pete Szczesiak
Chair - Compton Bassett Parish Council
April 2022
New Speed Indicator Device
A new speed indicator device (SID) has now been installed in Compton Bassett as part of the ongoing speed management initiative.
- The SID will register any vehicles exceeding 27 mph and flash a warning that they are entering a 30 mph
- In addition to controlling traffic, the SID is also equipped with metrics which allow it to count vehicles, and record their speed with time and date.
- Even if the device is in “covert” mode, with the display switched off, it stillrecords the data.
Other News
Smaller items and other news are shown here
Village Hall - Social Evening
Thursday 14th July 7:00 pm
Wine & Nibbles free; cash bar available
Competition for a prize donated by Tesco
Tell us what you want to see in the village hall in the future
Catch up with neighbours old and new
Wessex Water
Wessex Water will carry out interim to permanent reinstatement from outside property known as The Old School for approximately 120m in a north easterly direction.
Speed Watch
Speedwatch has been carried out here since 2011. At this time, around 10-20% of the traffic was going through the village at speeds of over 36 mph with top speeds of over 50 mph being quite common.
How to Use a Defibrillator
If someone is unresponsive and not breathing normally, you may need to use an AED (automated external defibrillator) to restart their heart.
This St John Ambulance training video shows you what a defibrillator is and how to use an AED.
Village Hall Goes Digital
The big news is that Wi-Fi is now freely available for hall users. Superfast Fibre Broadband was installed at the beginning of May and means that internet connectivity will benefit a wide variety of people and businesses. It will also enable the hall to accept cashless payments for occasions where this is worthwhile.
Patching Potholes
Every village, town and city in the county places demands on Wiltshire Highways to fill in the ever-growing holes in our roads and we were pleased to see the workmen out in Compton Bassett earlier last week. It is not as good as road resurfacing but any work to improve our roads is appreciated.
Bus Shelter Seat
The bench which used to be near the playground has been cleaned up and moved to a new position in front of the bus shelter, where we think it looks better and enhances the improvements already made to the corner of Briar Leaze/village road.
Village Speed Zones
The independent traffic consultant who was commissioned by Wiltshire Council to ratify their view of recommending the parish councils proposals for better speed zones in the village, an extended 30mph zone and the 40mph to be taken out to the parish boundary near Breach Farm, has yet to submit his report
News from The Parish Council
Public Notices
Parish Council Public Notices and Agendas of forthcoming meetings
Draft Minutes
Minutes of the last Parish Council meetings as yet awaiting approval.
Approved Minutes
Approved minutes of previous meetings of Compton Bassett Parish Council
News from St Swithin's
Church News
Our church is now open again for regular worship, subject to some restrictions. The benefice parish office is still closed due to COVID
From The Pulpit
The monthly message from the rector or his helpers as appears in The Villages Magazine
The Latest Thought
The Bishop of Salisbury's thought for the month, taken from The Grapevine