Our roll out of the government’s rapid COVID-19 community testing initiative locally to help drive down transmission rates continues, with bookings now being taken for the Chippenham centre.

The programme, in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care, is specifically aimed at asymptomatic people at small businesses who cannot work from home, and private early years settings and childminders. Eligible people will take a Lateral Flow Test.

You can now book a test at our centres at Devizes Leisure Centre, Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre in Salisbury and now Monkton Park in Chippenham. Another centre will open in due course in Trowbridge but for the time being you can only book a place at Devizes, Salisbury and Chippenham.  

The centres cannot accept people dropping in, and everyone must book an appointment and not have any symptoms of COVID-19.

The self-administered test should take no more than 15 minutes and results should be known within half an hour.

This is not to be confused with surge testing. Surge testing is increased testing (including door-to-door testing) and enhanced contact tracing in specific locations in England and is not currently taking place in Wiltshire.

Free testing continues to be available to everyone in Wiltshire who has COVID-19 symptoms – high temperature, continuous cough or loss of/change in taste or smell. You should go online or call 119 to book a test in that instance.

Anyone who receives a positive Lateral Flow Test result automatically activate legal obligations to self-isolate, and may also claim for a Test and Trace payment if they are eligible.

You can book your place on our website, where you will also find additional information, including FAQs.

Wiltshire COVID-19 Public update – Live!

We will be hosting another COVID-19 public update webinar from 5.30pm on Tuesday 2 March, to provide the latest update on COVID-19 in Wiltshire and to answer your questions.

Wiltshire Council Leader Cllr Philip Whitehead will be joined by Terence Herbert, Chief Executive of Wiltshire Council, and Kate Blackburn, Director of Public Health for Wiltshire, to help guide people through the latest information and regulations.

The broadcast will be an opportunity to hear about the latest rates of COVID-19 cases in Wiltshire, the arrangements in place to mitigate the spread of the virus and how the council is continuing to support residents and businesses at this time.

You can submit your questions about COVID-19 and the local response in advance by emailing communications@wiltshire.gov.uk no later than 12 noon on Monday 1 March.

The live briefing will be broadcast via Microsoft Teams on Tuesday 2 March.

There is still time to take part in the Wiltshire Local Plan review consultation

There are now less than two weeks to take part in the Wiltshire Local Plan review consultation, and for you to have your say on where future developments may be built in the county in the next 15 years.

All the Local Plan documents and an online form to have your say are on our website, but if you know someone without internet access who wants to have their say, they can call 0300 456 0100 to speak to our Spatial Planning team to discuss the plan in their area and submit their comments. They can also request printed copies of the documents and write to us to submit their comments.

The consultation is open until 9 March, so please have your say.

To find out more about the Local Plan review, view documents and have your say, please visit our website.