We use some essential cookies to make this website work We’d also like to use analytics cookies so we can understand how you use our website and make improvements to your services The Somerset Libraries Winter Coat Exchange is celebrating even more success in providing essential support for those in need the Somerset Council initiative saw an incredible 2,470 coats for both adults and children donated and 2,086 coats taken by people in need – more than double the figure received last year which runs each year when the weather gets colder was designed to support the community by providing access to warm coats for everyone especially those who may struggle to afford them All coats that were not been taken by people in libraries were sent to a local refugee charity RAFT (Refugee Aid From Taunton) who support displaced people locally and further afield alongside working with other local charities/groups supporting a variety of different causes This effort not only provided people with warmth but also had an environmental impact by reducing waste was expanded to 15 libraries across Somerset Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts expressed her gratitude for the generous donations from the community The success of the Winter Coat Exchange is a testament to the power of community and the positive impact of collective efforts Somerset Libraries continue to be more than just places for reading and studying; they become warm The environmental benefits of the Winter Coat Exchange are equally impressive the initiative helps to reduce waste and promote sustainability Visit our Contact us page for more information and advice on how to get in touch with one of our support teams Bristol Live sends its condolences to the friends and family of those we lost in April 2025Announcing the passing of a loved one in local news media is a long standing tradition and we are proud of the trust placed in us to make these important announcements Every notice published to our newspaper and news site also appears on funeral-notices.co.uk - the UK’s number one site for death notices and memoriams Every notice remains online forever providing friends and families with a lifelong tribute to their loved one Each week we pay tribute to the loved ones remembered in our area with a funeral notice and online tribute page To read the latest announcements and add tributes to those from our area who have passed away, or to create a funeral notice yourself, click here you can create a notice by calling our helpful team on 01482 908084 Here are a selection of the death notices in Bristol posted throughout April 2025 grandmother of Megan and Holly and great grandmother of Violet Funeral service to be held at South Bristol Crematorium on Friday 25th April 2025 at 2.15pm will go to Guide Dogs for the Blind and may be given on the day or sent care of Thomas Davis Funeral Directors Southville Lodge Southville Road Southville BS3 1DJ 2025 peacefully at Bristol Royal Infirmary Funeral service at All Saint's Church Castle Cary on Monday 7th April at 2pm followed by private interment in the Cemetery donations in memory of Jay are being invited for PSC Support Charity c/o Harold F He will be greatly missed by All who knew him Funeral and Thanksgiving Service was onApril 3t South Bristol Crematorium He will be greatly missed by his family and all who knew him Funeral service was held at South Bristol Crematorium on April 15 She will be deeply missed by all her family and friends Doris's funeral service was held at Weston Crematorium on March 31 Died peacefully at home on 22nd February after a long illness A funeral service took place on April 7 at the Parish Church of St Peter and St Andrew Vernon sadly passed away peacefully at Grace fields Nursing Home on Tuesday 4th March he will be deeply missed by all who knew him Passed peacefully away at Dene Lodge Care Home on 16th March 2025 Funeral service was held on April 10th at South Bristol Crematorium Passed away at Southmead Hospital on Thursday 5th December 2024 aged 74 years Will be greatly missed by all the staff at Osborne Court Care Home The funeral service was held at South Bristol Crematorium on April 9 Sadly passed away at Southmead Hospital on 8th March 2025 aged 93 Funeral to be held on Friday 9th May 2025 at 12 noon at South Bristol Crematorium Passed away at Southmead Hospital on 14th March 2025 aged 57 years She will be greatly missed by her son Daniel and all of her loving family and friends The funeral service was on Wednesday April 16 in the Waterside Chapel at Westerleigh Crematorium Celebration of Janet's Life at 3 Stoke Hill A much loved Father and Grandfather who will be very sadly missed Passed away peacefully on Saturday 1st March 2025 Much loved and will be sadly missed by wife Nicola Funeral took place 1.30pm on April 11 at South Bristol Crematorium Unexpectedly passed away on 24th February 2025 Pete will be sadly missed by all of his family and friends Funeral service was held at Yeovil Crematorium on Friday 4th April (Nee Bracey) (Formerly Webster) Passed away at Little Heath Care Home on 20th March 2025 aged 85 years She will be greatly missed by all her loving family and friends Funeral service was held on Monday 7th April 2025 in the Waterside Chapel he will be greatly missed by all of his family and friends The Funeral Service washeld at All Saints' Church Sadly passed away at Warmley House Care Home on 7 April 2025. A dearly loved wife, who will be missed by all who knew her. Funeral Service on Friday 16 May to be held at Holy Trinity Church, Kingswood at 10.00am followed by a burial at Kingswood Remembrance Park at 11.00am A wake will be held afterwards at Warmley Community Centre and everyone who knew Phyl is welcome to come and share memories Donations in Phyl's memory for Warmley House Care Home can be left in the retiring collection at the church or may be sent c/o Alderwick Funeral Directors Passed away 5th March 2025 and 26th March 2025 aged 92 and 94 years respectively They will both be sadly missed by all their family and friends Ken and Joan's Memorial service was held on Monday 14th April passed away peacefully at Musgrove Park Hospital on Saturday 29th March 2025 aged 82 years beloved mum of Mark and of the late Scott also a loving grandmother who will be sadly missed by all her family and friends Funeral Service was held at Sedgemoor Crematorium on Wednesday 30th April 2025 Passed away peacefully on Thursday 27th March 2025 at Southampton General Hospital The funeral service took place on Thursday 1st May 2025 at Canford Crematorium at 3.00pm Funeral service was at South Bristol Crematorium on Friday 25th April Formerly of Portishead, passed away on 23rd March aged 81 years. Dearly loved father and grandfather. Funeral service at Weston-super-Mare Crematorium was on Tuesday 22nd April at 1.30pm. Of Baltonsborough, passed peacefully away on 25th March 2025 aged 94 years. A much loved wife of the late Michael Rutter, aunt, godmother and friend to many who will be sadly missed by family and friends. Funeral Service at Mendip Crematorium was on Thursday 24th April 2025 at 10:30am, followed by a Thanksgiving Service at St Dunstan's Church, Baltonsborough. Passed away peacefully on 27th March 2025. Now reunited with his beloved wife, June. He will be so greatly missed by his children, Clive, Trudie and Jo, his grandchildren Chloe, Charlotte, Francesca, Fred, Sophie, Alice and Joshua and great grandchildren Eva, Harrison, Rafi and Michael and their families. Rest in Peace, surrounded by Love. The Funeral Service was held at St Andrew's Church, Chew Magna on Monday, 28th April at 11.30 am. Loving memories of my brother Alan who will be so sadly missed. Our thoughts are with Pam & Ryan at this time. With love from his sister Enid & Family Lynne, Tim, Julie, Elkie & Sam. Trevor, aged 87, passed away peacefully on Tuesday 1st April. A kind, generous and devoted man who lived a full and active life until his very last days. He will be fondly missed by so many. A private family Cremation was held, followed by a Service of Thanksgiving at St Mary's Church, Olveston on Thursday 17th April at 1pm. Sadly passed away on the 4th of April 2025, aged 84 years. Beloved Husband of the late Margaret Banks. Much loved Father of Andrew, David and the late Elizabeth. A cherished Papa. He will be greatly missed. The Funeral Service was held at The Valley Chapel, Haycombe Crematorium on Wednesday, April 30th. Formerly of Chew Magna. Passed away peacefully aged 96 years on Tuesday 25th March 2025 at Nobles Hospital, Isle of Man. Beloved wife of the late Graham George, treasured mother of Mike and Carole, adored Nan of Joe, Aishlin, Frazer and Hugh, great Grandmother of Nico, Oshian and Onora. A service to celebrate the long life of Dorothy took place at 11.30am on Thursday 1st May 2025 at Douglas Borough Crematorium, Glencrutchery Road. (nee Yapp) (Fran) Much loved by family and friends, Fran sadly passed away at home aged 82. We will miss her kind heart and beautiful smile. Funeral service will take place on Wednesday 7th May, 2pm at The Woodland Chapel, Westerleigh Crematorium. Wear something green. Family flowers only please. Donations if desired for Cancer Research UK. Beloved Brother, Father and Grandfather died peacefully in his sleep in the Bristol Royal Infirmary on the 6th April after a long illness. Service to be held at South Bristol Crematorium on Monday May 12th at 1.30pm. You will be missed always. Love Steven, Debbie Kelly & Wayne. Shepton Mallet - Saturday 26th April - Event No 319 Today is a huge milestone for Shepton Mallet parkrun Its first event took place on Saturday 29th April 2017 when 344 turned up to participate Since that inaugural event over 10 000 different parkrunners have now run at this venue supported by around 900 different volunteers During the subsequent 317 events there have been over 54 000 finishes run or walked by 830 different groups; producing an amazing 8900 plus PB’s Shepton Mallet is a well established and a very well oiled entity Happy Birthday and congratulations to everyone involved in the organisation and participation of this parkrun venue I arrived bright and early to find that the local council had decided to keep the car park locked so had to do a detour to the Tesco car park A delightful quiet park awaited me and at first although I could see evidential signs of a parkrun due to take place was curious as to where the early morning team were gathering I found Caroline and Edric tucked in a corner of the park beyond the bandstand and pond They were both decked out in celebratory garb; although I was initially thrown by Edric’s beautifully blonde hair and ponytails as they didn’t quite match his beard and deep voice I was made to feel most welcome and chatted away to both of them sharing parkrun journeys and stories; whilst other volunteers arrived Stalwart volunteers (they volunteered at the very first parkrun event here) Sandra and her sister Marilyn arrived complete with balloons and made their way off to the far end turning point on the out and back section By the time Tim arrived a sizeable crowd of participants had materialised not only because it was Shepton Mallet’s 8th birthday event but because today was also designated by parkrun as a big ‘parkwalk’ event intended to get lots more people out being active It was also Lowri’s Hen-do weekend and she and friends had elected to visit here all the way from Newport today as part of those celebrations Hope all goes well with your wedding to James Naturally I couldn’t resist a photo with them all; and nor could several other people who decided to ‘photo-bomb’  camera shots of Tim and I with the pop-up signage venue name The run briefing was delivered expertly by Megan the aforementioned Newport and South Africa and Bristol were welcomed; and there was a big round of appreciative thanks for all the wonderful hi-viz volunteers who made the event possible Vitally important was the announcement that there was plenty of cake available to everybody post event  The eager throng on runners and walkers moved to the start line ready to be launched forth; and with the blow of a whistle the trap was sprung Today also marks a very significant ‘arbitrary milestone’ for my friend and fellow ‘Speedy Boy’ Tim has achieved running at 200 different parkrun venues; all within the context of an overall total of 425 parkruns Like many he felt that parkrun might be a good way to improve his fitness Coincidentally this was also the date that all ‘The Speedy Boys’ ran at the same event even though we didn’t form our group for a couple more years Since then it has become a healthy addiction a self driven passion that is shared by the rest of ‘The Speedy Boys.’ The paths were narrow and with the high numbers of people taking part meant there was a slow unfurling of the gathered human caterpillar The legs at the front end sped quickly across the ground leaving those in the middle and rear to uncoil more slowly The initial shuffling was also up a gradually inclining hill but no doubt on the second and third laps our legs would be interpreting it as ‘not as gentle and kind’ as it now looks After a few hundred yards when you thought that was the summit the course path veered left along the ‘out and back’ section albeit at a slightly less aggressive gradient I only realised it was ‘out and back’ when halfway along the front runners were charging back towards me at a pace With Tim tucked in just behind me we chugged our way along the length of the path to ‘Joan the Cone;’ thanked the two stalwart sisters marshalling this point and began our descent In only his third parkrun Tim became a ‘Tourist,’ running at Worcester It was clear Tim was hooked as he ran on Christmas Day that year and on New Year’s Day 2015 It took another whole year before he visited his second tourist venue Eighteen months into his parkrun journey a third venue ‘Hastings’ and ‘Roundshaw Downs’ were added to the list by the end of year three six different venues and two flags; not exactly prolific tourism The rest of the group were pretty much the same; mainly running at Riddlesdown although we were jealous of Tim’s Welsh flag During 2018 Tim added a Scottish flag to his profile during his epic John ‘O’Groats to Lands End walk that summer the parkrun tourism bug really got under his skin and it hasn’t abated since; and it’s clearly contagious because the rest of the group have become infected by the same virus Last week at Wycombe Rye parkrun Tim was feeling under the weather from a bug; this week he was again not feeling great however this time due to some over-indulgent socialising last night however for half an hour his head and stomach would be on a churning ‘mixed load cycle’ of responses Certainly for me the return path section felt ‘light and airy’ my legs and breathing feeling much less challenged As the course re-entered the more recognisable part of the park I shouted and waved a ‘Thanks’ to at least two marshals guiding everyone around the course We passed by the edge of the pond and ahead you could see runners strung out ahead all the way around the perimeter of the central grass must also take a fair amount of credit for providing the perfect platform for parkrun tourism Their promotion to the Football League in the 2020-21 season meant that almost every other week Sutton were playing away at clubs all around the country; and thus Tim’s touring has expanded far and wide Even when Sutton are playing at home it has been an aim of ‘The Speedy Boys’ to take in as many different venues as possible; either altogether or with various combinations of the group Gradually we have hoovered up all the relatively local venues and worked our way outwards like a stone being dropped into a pond A week before Christmas 2021 Tim reached his 250th parkrun milestone Lap One felt like a long way; I know it was for Tim were treated to lots of cheers and encouraging comments The so called gentle climb did seem just that bit more challenging this time and I was content to ease off pushing hard to ensure Tim didn’t drift off the back of me but it seemed more about ‘holding everything together’ was now more of a case of me checking in on how Tim was coping So let’s take a sideways look at where Tim has been on his parkrun travels The most commonly visited venues have taken place is various municipal parks including ‘Country Parks’ and the Mecca of parkrun ‘Bushy Park’ Following this are a whole series of ‘Woods’ including large woods called ‘Forests’; and some whose name suggests a ‘wood’ but there is none include venues that include water in the form of ‘Waters’ Some suggest an expansive amount of water with names including ‘Port’ or ‘Bay’ one of the wettest mornings overhead and underfoot that we’ve ever experienced There are even others that we visited that suggest warm summer sunny days like ‘Beach’ or ‘Promenade’; and to be fair we have unusually visited these in the summer months was a great coastal run and served as Tim’s 150th different venue… September 2023…..and we all celebrated this with a big hearty breakfast but this time the return leg was flooded with parkwalkers It was great to see so many people out participating and enjoying the early morning sunshine We slowly but steadily weaved our way up towards the far end of the path; it felt quite a bit further this time; the gradient of the course beginning to take a greater toll on the legs Tim’s hanging on in there; and we reach ‘Joan the Cone’ just a few metres apart It’s a relief to both of us to start the long descent Rarely have any venues Tim has visited been dead pan flat with the exception of possibly Dulwich; where he targeted going sub 25 minutes and ran a brilliant 24:46 in 2023 Tim has even visited a venue with ‘Flat’ in the name If it isn’t flat then the venues generally include one or more ‘Hills’ or as their websites sometimes refer to them as undulations ‘Hilly Fields’ was an accurate description of the venue felt as though it definitely should have ‘Hill’ within its name All the boys went to QE for Tim’s 100th different venue in March 2022 If there’s an up there is generally a ‘Down’ and Tim has visited three venues where this is included within the name Some downs went so low they have been called ‘Valleys’. It’s like being relieved of a couple of stones (that’s 12kg in new money) in weight allowing my body to recharge from the physical demands of the uphill climb The path is narrow and once again it is a case of weaving in and around people clearly in a faster current of the pathway stream The final short path descent brings us back around past the large pond again into the open part of the park The strung out line of runners around the large grass expanse are still evident Other geographical features that Tim has encountered within their venue names and run around are ‘Fields’ It also seems fairly apt that Tim and I ran at a ‘Recreation Ground’ There’s been some up market venues in the list too; including a few ‘Places’ Top eschelon venues where Tim has needed to wear his best bib and tucker running kit to visit include  ‘Royal’ Tunbridge Wells three trips to the ‘Palaces’; and audiences with ‘Victoria’ Almost in slow motion we ‘tickertape’ around the grass heading towards the finish funnel that we have to ignore for one more lap a number of the ‘jet pack brigade’ fly past us heading straight for the funnel It must be going through Tim’s mind…..it was through mine keep the pace relaxed and steady.’ As we head back up the inclined path Tim’s hands are on his hips and he presses past me trying to drive himself to the top I try and follow in his footsteps and am only half successful It doesn’t last; Tim slows as we start the out and back path and I catch and pass him; mindful that the gap between us stays quite close to try and metaphorically pull him along with me Tim…..and so have the boys when we’ve been to parkrun together….has made a whole host of new friends too Stanley and Brock!’ Tim’s escapades have taken him ‘North’ and ‘East’; however he was elsewhere when some of us travelled ‘West’ Alongside Tim we have run through two vineyards but didn’t have an opportunity to sample any wine Even though Tim travelled abroad to a ‘Chateau’ in France..and by sheer coincidence met PSH at the venue…..he has photographic evidence…he has also visited ‘California’ and ‘Jersey’ without leaving mainland Britain is that it rhymes with ‘Cone!’ We do often overthink things I was glad I wouldn’t be seeing them again Tethered by an invisible rope the pair of us strode in tandem down the path I was starting to fixate on the finish funnel and I knew it couldn’t come quick enough for Tim; His head was still on his shoulders; he hadn’t yet ‘chundered,’ so was doing pretty well all things considering Still I suspect he might remember this run for all the wrong reasons There have been fantasy parkruns; Tim has been on a visit to J.M Barrie’s children’s story; he ran the course rather than flew around it…….although to some Neither did he drive around a former motor racing circuit or jockey a horse at a ‘racecourse’; or even find the race course at ‘Wetherby’ but not as a result of racing cars or riding horses After another potential ‘flight of fancy’… on a ‘Lancaster’ …with a family of Finch’s (who had migrated on holiday from our home venue) …at an ‘Airfield’ How he ended up one Saturday morning in a ‘Goods Shed’ is anybody’s guess There have been injuries along the way that have affected his running…’Hoblingwell’; although a lot of the runs have been evaluated as wishing he had ‘Rushmoor’  Many a run it seems as though Tim has been powered by ‘Gunpowder’ and flies around courses like a ‘H..arrow’ I suppose we should all just be thankful that when Tim attended a ‘Memorial’ it wasn’t his own Just around the grass rec for the final time Tim presses once more as if ‘it’s all or nothing’ In a split second I have to make the decision as to whether I can go with him in for a pound,’ I deem I have no option but to elevate my pace too I’m actually not sure whether I consciously did this or it was a built in automatic response; whatever it was Finishing is a culmination of self induced pain and elation vocalising it was one of the toughest runs he had experienced……all down to an elective choice to be ‘over-social’ last night; nothing to do with the course itself but I can see the discomfort written all over him Still Tim’s made it to ‘200 Not Out’ and however he is currently feeling that’s a fantastic achievement….and we ran it pretty much on the average time taken to complete the course When I looked through the results later the first male finisher was Will Chivers in 18:43 First female finisher was Joanne Tibbatts with a new PB of 22:07 The highest age grading score of 80.03% was attained by 60-64 year old Simon Phillips with a time of 20:02 Congratulations to Paul Rothwell on his ‘arbitrary’ 300th parkrun milestone; to Helen Brice on her ‘arbitrary’ 200th parkrun milestone; to Alex Meadows on his ‘official’ 100th parkrun milestone run; to Hazel Parsons on her ‘official’ 50th parkrun milestone; well done also the JM10 Lorca McGauran on his ‘official’ 10th parkrun milestone Welcome to all the ‘First Timers’ at parkrun including all the ‘parkwalkers’ that turned up in force to take part I hope you really enjoyed the experience and choose to keep repeating it Thank you Shepton Mallet for allowing us to share your 8th birthday celebration………and all those tasty cakes………it was a fabulous occasion I hope my run report provides a vivid sensory experience of our run and is thought provoking enough to prompt you to investigate where some of the venues Tim has visited are located https://www.parkrun.org.uk/events/events/#geo=5.19/53.615/-1.3 it’s quite marvellous that like a ‘Phoenix’ Tim has so far survived all his travels to bring the hammer or ‘Mallet,’ down on his 200th different venue His journeys will continue to take him……and the ‘Speedy Boys’…around the country and potentially abroad to get a ‘Z’…and are only likely to cease when he and the rest of us are far too old and we are all housed in an ‘Old Deer Park!’ © parkrun Limited (Company Number: 07289574) No part of this site may be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response A Somerset man is speaking out about his experience living with multiple sclerosis (MS) after years of keeping it private in support of a national awareness campaign launched this week was diagnosed with progressive MS at the age of 61 Although he had experienced symptoms long before his diagnosis he said it was pride that initially stopped him from discussing his condition Stewart is now taking part in MS Conversations a new campaign for MS Awareness Week running from Monday There are currently over 150,000 people living with MS in the UK including an estimated 12,372 in the South West The condition affects the brain and spinal cord and can impact how individuals move Symptoms vary widely and are often invisible making it a confusing condition to understand Stewart said: “When I was first diagnosed with MS I didn’t like to talk about it But then one day I was on holiday in India and had to explain why I was having so much trouble getting in and out of a jeep and after that I realised I had to start talking about it “Opening up about MS is not as difficult as it seems It’s a daunting prospect telling people you’re not perfect and you worry how people’s perceptions of you will change finding out you have MS will never change how someone sees you then they’re not the person you thought they were.” Stewart now enjoys beekeeping and remains active despite experiencing difficulties with mobility and balance Some people have no idea at all what MS is and some get it confused with other conditions and it can be quite a confusing condition to understand because it varies so much from person to person “Having conversations about MS is hugely beneficial as it really does help inform people I think it’s really positive for people to see someone like me who’s 78 but is still active and isn’t letting MS stop me from doing the things I love.” Throughout the week, the coalition of charities is encouraging people living with MS to speak up about their condition, sharing tools, personal stories and promoting the hashtag #MSConversations on social media to spark dialogue George Pepper, co-founder and chief executive of Shift.ms said: “Hearing the words ‘You have MS’ can be earth-shattering but for so many MSers it’s not just one difficult conversation and then life continues on It’s the start of lots of difficult conversations.” Amy Woolf, chief executive of MS-UK added: “Starting a conversation about your MS can feel daunting and it’s all too easy to feel isolated as a result But the more those around you understand how MS affects you personally the more awareness we can build – not just for yourself Join Somerset Live’s WhatsApp community for top stories and breaking news sent directly to your phone Somerset Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community exclusives and much more straight to your phone To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’. 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Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right THE latest recipients of grants totalling more than £9,000 in Shepton Mallet have been announced The cash has been handed to community groups in the area by Shepton Mallet Town Council after nominations closed in March “We recognise the importance to local groups and organisations in the community and know that without additional funding many would struggle to deliver their essential services,” said a spokesperson “We run two rounds of grant funding a year and give groups one-off amounts as well as entering into service-level agreements to fund projects on a more long-term basis.” Shepton Mallet Town Council has awarded the following groups a grant in the latest round: Follow us on Facebook Subscribe to the Newsletter The New Blackmore Vale Magazine The New Stour & Avon Magazine Salisbury & Avon Gazette delivered by Jo Taylor told us all we needed to know about the course followed by RD Caroline Hobbs light-hearted briefing which included warnings to the dangers of bird poo underfoot on the path and above our heads from the trees A large contingent from Somer Athletics club had a jolly to Shepton Mallet today and increased the participant numbers to 167 Lots of happy volunteers were out on the course including a delightful lady jingling bells and a cute doll helping the marshals on the turnaround cone One Hi Viz hero was celebrating their 50th volunteering milestone and ended on the steam train with a yummy cream tea Somerset Council is working to create a traffic-free path from the Mendips to the sea along the former railway line The new bridge – which is as long as a double-decker bus – over the B3136 in Shepton Mallet is another step towards eventually connecting Ridge Road to Collett Park in the town centre Further works are underway to connect the bridge to new and existing paths which together will create a safer route for residents in South Shepton to walk and cycle to the playing fields football club and towards Shepton Mallet Community Hospital An official opening and ribbon cutting is planned for Friday Construction was supervised by volunteer led charitable organisation Greenways and Cycle routes and work carried out by local contractors MP and KM Golding The Strawberry Line volunteers together with volunteers from the neighbouring Friends of Windsor Hill Tunnels project have provided key support and helped with clearance and construction through regular weekly volunteer sessions and at Greenways workcamps This has included supporting with all aspects of the path vegetation clearing and preparatory works ahead of construction to planting the verges and surrounding areas managing the local ecology and maintaining the path itself Lead Member for Transport and Waste Services A huge thank you to our community groups and volunteers for progressing work your efforts have transformed the disused railway into a vibrant pathway for everyone to use We have been honoured to support you in making the Strawberry Line a success The Strawberry Line project encourages people out of cars while promoting active travel and a healthy lifestyle coupled with Shepton Town Council led improvements to Collett Park and future aspirations to create an Arts Trail and support local businesses along the route and gives Shepton Mallet a boost for now and generations to come More information can be found on the Strawberry Line’s Discover the line webpage PLANS for nine new bungalows on part of green space on a Shepton Mallet estate have been submitted would see the properties developed on almost half a hectare of ‘undeveloped open grassland/scrub’ land in Starling Way town planning consultant de Courcy details how the green space was originally envisaged as the site for a school as part of the original 360-home Tadley Acres planning approval in 1993 it said “no planning permission has been sought for the approval of reserved matters for a school on the land” “The school site is no longer required for a school because the site is deemed too small and alternative provision is planned on the land to the west of Cannards Grave Road in the form of a 210-place primary school with 60-place nursery in 1.2 hectares,” it went on How the nine bungalows could be laid out on the site Picture: Spicer Architects/Somerset Council A public consultation over the possible development was carried out in October 2022 with residents commenting on potential congestion in Starling Way and the need for green space for estate residents the application said the plans had been “amended to increase parking provision within the site to provide additional community parking” as part of a Section 106 planning agreement be transferred to the Tadley Acres Village Community Association (TAVCA) or other public body along with funding for its maintenance for five years “The scheme would deliver nine dwellings which would make a significant contribution to housing land supply given the poor housing supply in the district and would facilitate public open space for the benefit of the community in perpetuity,” the application concluded log on to somerset.gov.uk and search application reference 2025/0452/OUT