Headlines: Miniature railway and a cider taproom
Here's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media.
Our pick of local website stories
A former alcoholic from Bridgwater has "turned his life around" and opened a fitness business in the town. He told the Bridgwater Mercury that it was a "dream come true".The Swindon Advertiser reported that travellers have set up on the unopened road under the M4 in Swindon.And a fire engine got stuck behind bollards marking the edge of the East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhood, according to Bristol Live.Plans for 315 homes on the Old Sarum Airfield have been approved, according to the Salisbury Journal, after a "drawn out appeal inquiry".The Somerset Leveller, meanwhile, features a new cider taproom, which showcases the "best Somerset tipples".And families can ride the miniature railway in West Huntspill on Sunday as part of a fundraiser for charity, Burnham-On-Sea.com reported.
Our top three from yesterday
What to watch on social media
A tree in Longlevens has been a source of amusement on Facebook, apparently having been planted somewhat inconveniently in the middle of a footpath.An update is expected at the end of the week in regards to Filton Leisure Centre, the Horfield News group on Facebook says. Operator Active Nation went into administration earlier this month.The Webbs Wood footbridge in Bradley Stoke has been shut, a council group says, after the timber was found to be rotten and unsafe.
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BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
New historic audio archive tells stories of rural life on Exmoor
Interview recordings that capture personal stories and pivotal moments in Exmoor's history have been published for the first audio was recorded between 2000 and 2002 by archivist Birdie Johnson, to capture life at the national recordings are now available to listen to on the South West Heritage Trust's website and cover topics ranging from farming and mole catching to the Lynmouth flood in 1952 and the formation of the new National Park Johnson, who is from Exmoor, said: "As my father got older, we would sit at the table talking about his life. I used to say 'I must record you'. Then he died and I never had. That's how I got interested in oral history." The Exmoor Oral History Archive features 78 interviews, totalling more than 200 hours, and covers both the North Devon and West Somerset sides of the national recordings include memories stretching back to before World War One, offering insights into local life and work, which for many began when they were 14. There are also stories about how women used to do their laundry in iron furnaces over the fire and gave birth at home. The audio comes with black and white portraits of the interviewees by taken by photographer Mark J Rattenbury."It's not just a personal vanity thing, it's enormously useful and valuable to researchers and people chasing family connections," Ms Johnson said."Those recordings are going to be preserved forevermore and when formats change they will be automatically upgraded. It's a huge thing." 'Labour of love' Ms Johnson said that after her father died, she trained to become an oral archive was originally recorded as part of a Dulverton and District Civic Society project to capture for posterity life on Exmoor at the turn of the century."It gradually built up. What I thought would be a small project became a really established one, with the Civic Society behind us," she added."It was very egalitarian and democratic. Our cart went around all of Exmoor, into post offices and community centres, asking people to suggest people and why."It was a labour of love."South West Heritage Trust archivist Liz Grant added: "The contributors – farmers, doctors, teachers, postmen, local councillors and more – reveal a deep connection to Exmoor, with recollections that highlight strong community ties."It's incredibly exciting... to know that the archive will now be safeguarded, not only for future generations but forever."
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Compton Dundon church bells to ring for first time in 90 years
A set of Somerset church bells which have been silent for most of the past century are set to ring once bell mechanism at St Andrew's Church, in Compton Dundon, fell into disrepair in the 1900s and, by 1935, the bells themselves were 'hung dead' in a fixed position facing meant it was only possible to ring the bells using a hammer to hit their sides, and so they instead fell now, after a six-year campaign by villagers to raise £160,000, the bells have been brought back to life and will ring at a service later. "I think they weren't rung much after World War Two, and within living memory they haven't been rung at all," said Somerset architect Mark Taylor, who designed the new fixtures in the bell tower."The oldest bell dates from 1630, and there's no reason we won't get another 400 years out of it," he added. The project saw five of the church's bells restored while two others were acquired from former churches in Lancashire and two oldest, from 1630 and 1668, were originally cast in the village by local family the Austens.A seventh bell in the church has been turned into a clock chime, after it was found to be "not so in tune with the others", Mr Taylor said. Judy Skelding, chair of the bell appeal committee, said the group had been fundraising since 2019."Once the bells stopped ringing, people just got used to them not sounding," she said. The group raised the money through a variety of sponsored events and applications for grant funding."People have been so supportive and have enjoyed the fact we are restoring part of the village tradition."We've had a lovely response from people who have never rung bells in the village and are now learning to do so," Ms Skelding bells will ring later, and dedicated in a service by The Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Right Reverend Michael Beasley.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Hope for Somerset special school after extra £1.5m of funding
Nearly £1.5m of extra council funding will be provided to prevent a new special needs school from closing after less than a View School in Somerset was funded by the Department for Education (DfE), but "significant operational difficulties", including water ingress and faulty gates, meant it was not able to welcome more students in have criticised the DfE for not putting in enough money, with one saying it was "outrageous" for the council to have to "carry the can".The DfE has been contacted for comment. The government funded the building of Hill View Special School, near Yeovil, after accepting a bid by Somerset County Council to create more SEND spaces, the Local Democracy Reporting Service free school opened in September 2024 for 60 children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and is run by the Oak Partnership Trust. But within the first month, it reported "significant operational difficulties", including substantial problems with the fabric of the included water ingress (forcing several classrooms to close), faulty gates on the car park (presenting a safeguarding issue), door fastenings which easily broke off, incorrectly installed "non-climb fences" and staff school put short-term emergency measures in place, but the disruption had caused its pupils to "become significantly dysregulated", damaging their education and wider quality of life, according to a report to the council's a series of visits, the DfE agreed to provide £684,000, allowing off-limits classrooms to be gradually the trust is still forecasting a deficit of £868,000 for the end of this academic year – and without a significant increase in pupil numbers and associated funding, it would have to "surrender" the school back to the DfE to avoid bankruptcy, it said. At a meeting on Wednesday, Somerset Council's executive agreed to allocate £1,433,000 from its dedicated schools grant (DSG) to the a statement, councillor Frances Nicholson said: "The DfE's official insisted on their design and contractor, saying they knew best – and they failed. They have put some money in to rectify their mistakes, but it's not enough."What is absolutely outrageous is that the council is being asked to carry the can for the DfE."Claire Winter, the council's executive director for children, families and education, said that not providing this funding would lead to even higher costs for the council in the years ahead. She said: "The cost of providing alternative spaces for children who could not be schooled at Hill View runs into the many millions of pounds. "Fixing this is the least these children deserve."By September they should be able to use the bulk of the building, and we are expecting 20 more children to enter the school in the autumn, with a further 20 pupils joining in February 2026."Demand for SEND education resources has vastly exceeded government funding for years, with Somerset's own Dedicated Schools Grant deficit now predicted to exceed £100m in light of this Liberal Democrat leader of Somerset Council, Bill Revans, is to write to the DfE to express the council's concerns about the school's delivery.
