Page 5 - link magazine

T138THILL LINK

freshbrook focus

On 1st April 1981 the Western Development area of Swindon
will at last become part of Thamesdown. Also going into
the Borough will be the village of Shaw and the rural areas
to the north of the new communities of Toothill, Freshbrook & Westlea.
The Toothill Link/Freshbrook Focus Community Newspaper is pleased to
bring residents of the area a message of Welcome from the Mayor of
Thamesdown, information about the forthcoming elections and inform-
ation about the candidates who are standing.

_ELECTION SPECIAL 1981

Borough of
Thamesdown

The Mayors Parlour, Civic Offic es, Swindon, Wilts, SN1 2JH. Telephone (0793) 26161

Dear Residents,

On behalf of the citizens of Thamesdown, I welcome every family brought in to
the newly created "Toothill Ward" of the Borough by the change of Borough boundaries.
The changeover from North Wiltshire District Council is not an abrupt one, since the
Borough Council has been providing numerous services for some time under agency agree-
ments, but from the first of April 1981 the whole area comes directly within the
Borough Council's jurisdiction.
From that date, residents of the area are entitled to the various services provided
by Thamesdown, including the concessionary bus fares scheme which benefits retirement
pensioners and certain categories of disabled people. Details of some of these services
are given in the enclosed information sheet.
Provision of the wide range of services and facilities expected of an urban
authority - the Wyvern Theatre and the Oasis Leisure Centre, for example, and the
provision of amenities in the areas of housing development - inevitably demands a higher
level of rates than applies in a predominantly rural area. To ease the transition, the
Government has provided that, for existing hereditaments, the increase will be spread
over a four-year period.
Despite the current financial difficulties affecting every local authority in the
country, Thamesdown Borough Council is continuing to provide and develop a wide range
of public services. The Civic Offices in Euclid Street, Swindon, are more accessible
to you than North Wiltshire's headquarters in Chippenham, and Thamesdown's members and
officers will do their best to resolve any questions you may have at any time concerning
local government services.

The Council have worked amicably with their counterparts at Chippenham in the lead-
up to the changeover and will endeavour to give you at least as good a service in the
years to come as you have received in the past.
I endorse the sentiments of Councillor Hartley elsewhere in this Newsletter in
urging all citizens to participate fully in local government and community affairs.
The few enthusiasts who put in so much time and effort to launch local community
services need the active support of the rest of the community. An important first
step towards taking your part in Borough Council affairs is to cast your vote in the
election of three Borough Councillors to represent the Toothill Ward, on 19th March,
and I very much hope that you will do so.
Councillor Reg Clarke,
Mayor of Thamesdown