COUNCILLORS from Trowbridge Town Council have slammed Wiltshire Council, accusing it of taking an ‘anything will do’ attitude towards the town.

Two members of the town development committee, Cllr Andrew Bryant and Cllr Glyn Bridges, have shared their frustration over with the county council in relation to poorly maintained pavements and industrial rubbish bins blocking the streets.

They claim companies contracted to carry out work in the town are replacing kerbstones with cheaper materials such as asphalt, which makes the pavements look ‘scruffy’ and should not be allowed.

Cllr Bryant said: “Pavements are an issue we have brought up with Wiltshire Council several times to no avail. It’s a matter of public safety and it makes the town centre look scruffy.

“In Castle Street by the zebra crossing and outside Fabric Magic in Silver Street, companies recently contracted to carry out work has put down asphalt instead of what was there previously.

"There should be an officer from Wiltshire Council ensuring it’s replaced with what was there before.

"It’s a case of ‘anything will do for Trowbridge’. The town council comes in for a lot of criticism for this sort of thing but it’s beyond our control.

“There’s a lack of monitoring from Wiltshire Council’s officers.”

Cllr Bridges agreed. He said: “It’s appalling. In Bradford on Avon there’s special stone everywhere, but in Trowbridge they’ll just chuck anything down.

"Over the years the pavements have been destroyed. After companies carry out work on them and they are supposed to leave them as they found them, but that isn’t happening.

“It also applies to bins. We’re still fighting to have them removed from the pavements as they are disgusting, especially outside the Post Office and Coffee #1, but instead they pile up and take up space.

“It’s just another example of them not caring about the county town.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “The kerb repairs mentioned have been in place for some years. Some have been replaced with a harder wearing material to reduce maintenance costs, and some replaced with tarmac as the damage there meant frequent repairs were proving costly.

“Safety issues will always be the priority to ensure we are making best use of the limited resources we have.

“It is the responsibility of local businesses to dispose of their waste. They also have a duty to local people and fellow businesses to ensure the town centre is an attractive place to visit.”