An inspirational vision for the future of North Wiltshire drawn up by the district council was branded 'typical modern gibberish' and so many 'woolly words' by members at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday.

North Wiltshire The Vision for 2020 sets out the district council's long- term vision for the future of the area and covers issues such as equality and diversity, waste and recycling, housing, planning, the economy and the need for sustainability.

The document says: "Everything is to be underpinned by partnership working and community engagement, working towards building true community spirit and a caring society."

The draft vision was brought together by lead members supported by the corporate management board, and was based on the objectives of the council, Government expectations and local people's views.

The draft was shared with all the district council staff at seminars last May and tested through the People's Voice questionnaire.

But Coun Philip Allnatt said the vision was short on specifics.

"These are so many woolly words and I would rather have specifics such as do we want to reopen Corsham Station," he said.

"It says here we want to celebrate the diversity of our district but what does that mean? It's typical modern gibberish.

"It says we want to be a zero biodegradable waste to landfill district but what about the 15 million windows thrown away every year? What about computer screens containing mercury, batteries and washing machines?

"It says we want to enhance the safety of our street scene so what is happening to CCTV in Chippenham?

"And it says we want to cover the cost of services without recourse to the council tax you can't possibly mean that. I wish people writing this stuff would think about what they were writing. This isn't Blue Peter it's grown up stuff and big issues this is nonsense."

Coun Toby Sturgis echoed these views and called for more quantified details in the vision statement.

He said they needed to know how the aspirations could be put together.

"It's a lot of rubbish," he said. "I cannot support this."

Coun Sturgis called for a decision on adopting the vision to be deferred so their comments could be taken on board but the proposal was defeated.

The majority of members of the district council voted to adopt the Vision for 2020.