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News roundup
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L-R: Jonathan Higman, Clllr Bill Revans, Angela Kerr, Katherine Nolan, Paul von der Heyde and Duncan Sharkey
Leaders from the voluntary sector, NHS and Somerset Council, gathered in Taunton to sign an historic document outlining a shared vision and commitment to work more closely together to achieve better health and wellbeing for the people of Somerset.
The event, attended by over 60 representatives from the county’s charities, NHS and Somerset Council, was the first time that leaders have come together at such scale, to demonstrate their shared commitment to working together.
Residents are being reminded that Taunton Recycling Site will be closed this weekend and until further notice following a major fire this week.
The Material Recovery Facility (MRF) has been badly damaged, and some small fires persist.
The weekend is a popular time for visitors, with more than 1,200 people usually coming to the site in Priorswood which is run by Biffa on behalf of Somerset Council.
Somerset Council’s recycling sites in Wellington and Bridgwater will open this weekend as usual, and every day next week to give residents an alternative if they have waste that has to go.
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Cllr Tessa Munt with Sky Academy pupils and Headteacher
The official opening ceremony for the new facilities at The Sky Academy in Taunton was held on 28 September 2023.
Invited guests from Somerset Council, academy staff and governors, and representatives of the school’s parent trust Cabot Learning Federation attended a cake-cutting ceremony to unveil the extension.
The Sky Academy is a special school for boys with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) and is currently the only special school of its type within the County.
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Bus It for ‘Less than a latte’ is the message from Somerset Council as it kicks-off a campaign to drive up passenger numbers on four key bus routes.
The campaign is being launched with news that £2 countywide fares are set to continue to December 2024 thanks to continued Government support announced this week.
The latest round of the ‘Bus It’ campaign – supported by bus passenger group the Somerset Bus Partnership, aims to support four at risk First South routes serving Taunton, Yeovil, Minehead, Dulverton and Wincanton.
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October marks the start of Stoptober, an annual national campaign to help smokers kick the habit. The campaign runs throughout the month, because people are five times more likely to quit for good if they can make it to at least 28 days smoke free.
This year, the campaign focuses on the mental health benefits of quitting. Many people believe that smoking helps reduce anxiety and depression, but studies show that once people have got past the short-term withdrawal stage of quitting, they have reduced anxiety, depression and stress and increased positive mood compared with people who continue to smoke.
The Museum of Somerset welcomed record-breaking numbers of visitors this summer with its hugely popular family exhibition ‘Axel Scheffler: A Life in Illustration’. During the school holidays, 29,366 people visited, making it the best summer on record for the Museum.
Axel Scheffler is the UK’s number one bestselling illustrator and the creative force behind some of the most instantly recognisable characters in children’s books – from The Gruffalo to Stick Man and beyond. The exhibition, which opened on 15 July, features artwork from across his prolific career.
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A very rare early medieval brooch, that lay hidden for many centuries, is going on display at The Museum of Somerset in Taunton.
It comes from a time when the survival of Saxon Wessex was in doubt and Somerset provided a refuge for King Alfred the Great at Athelney.
Dating from about AD 800 to 900, the large silver and copper alloy disc brooch is well over a thousand years old and is one of the most important single objects ever found in the county.
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Chard residents are being urged to back a new phase of the drive to reduce historic local issues with flooding by joining a pilot project that could see more than 800 water butts handed out to homes in the Somerset town.
The butts, which are being provided free by Wessex Water, are the latest in a package of measures being trialled by the partnership of organisations that includes the water company, Somerset Council and the Somerset Rivers Authority, to reduce flood risk in the area and neighbouring parishes.
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Towns across Somerset have received numerous awards at the famous gardening competition, South West in Bloom, following the awards ceremony in Cornwall.
South West in Bloom is part of the Britain in Bloom campaign, established by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
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Somerset is at the forefront of urban design, winning a national award for its creative, engaging and forward-thinking approach to complex planning issues.
The Somerset West and Taunton District wide Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document won the National Urban Design Award 2023 (Design Code category), beating off strong competition from nationally recognised planning and design consultancies.
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A major refurbishment and carbon-cutting makeover of Wellington Sports Centre has been given the green light.
Somerset Council has given final approval for essential maintenance and grant-funded ‘decarbonisation’ improvements at the centre which is owned by the Council and managed by Everyone Active.
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In the lead up to National Adoption Week, Somerset Council is praising the vital role foster carers play in helping children settle into life with their adopted family.
Many children and babies, while awaiting adoption, will live with a foster carer. Tracy, who has been a foster carer for four years, has been involved with two fostering placements that led to adoption.
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Somerset Council launched a new consultation, asking for the public’s views on some of the ways education is funded.
In Somerset, £568m is spent on education each year and supports 70,000 children and young people in the county.
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A specially commissioned artwork has been installed along a multi-user path in Shepton Mallet to mark the Covid-19 lockdowns, and the importance active travel had on people’s lives during that time.
The art commission by Somerset artist, Michael Fairfax, features a series of bronze plaques representing different forms of active travel, including walking, cycling and horse riding. There’s also one depicting the Covid virus itself.
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Following on from the success of previous national initiatives, Somerset West Lottery is taking part in a new bolt-on prize draw. This monthly draw is now called the Super Draw.
Everyone who signs up to purchase one or more tickets between 1 October and 28 October 2023 will be in with the chance to win a Luxury Theatre Trip of their choice to the value of £1,500.
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