5th January news update
from Weston Central Ward Councillors Mike Bell, Robert Payne and Caroline Reynolds
Hello everyone - welcome to issue 83 of our regular local email newsletter - and a Happy New Year to you.
In this edition we’ve got some more good news on town centre improvements, details of the return of ParkPlay and a flooding update.
Best wishes
Mike Bell, Robert Payne and Caroline Reynolds
Your Liberal Democrat councillors for Weston-super-Mare Central Ward
More town centre improvements
More restoration work starts this week to buildings in Walliscote Road as part of the Weston-super-Mare Heritage Action Zone project. These schemes have already been very successful in not just improving the appearance of historic buildings, but also attracting new businesses into the town centre.
Restoration work starts this week on 10 and 12 Walliscote Road. One of the two units, which sit opposite the recently reopened Plaza cinema, is occupied by the Frame Station and Studio Galleries. The other unit is currently vacant, having most recently operated as TSB bank.
Work is expected to be completed within a month. It will include replacing the existing shopfronts including surrounds, stallrisers, new timber framed glazing, entrance doors, windows and fascia boards for shop signage.
At the same time, the stonework will be cleaned on the upper floors of 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 Walliscote Road.
The work is funded by the UK government’s Levelling Up Fund, Historic England and the owners of the buildings.
Previous businesses to take advantage of the town’s Shopfront Enhancement Scheme are:
Walker and Ling, a family-run department store (84-86 High Street).
The Fork n Ale Taproom and Kitchen, a popular town centre independent restaurant, bar and music venue (18 Walliscote Road).
The old Kendall’s building, now housing eleven business units including Greggs, Weston Hospicecare and Coffee #1 (corner of the High Street and Regent Street).
The Albert, formerly The Lamplighters pub (132 High Street).
The ‘Stage Door’ restaurant, café and bar (134 High Street).
4, 6 and 8 Walliscote Road, which now includes Sustenance Bakery and MiMi’s Thai Bistro.
As announced last month, the Plaza cinema in Weston-super-Mare is set to be the seventh project to be delivered.
ParkPlay is back for 2024
ParkPlay is back for 2024 in Ellenborough Park West every Saturday from 11.30am to 1.00pm. A great opportunity for families and young people to come together to enjoy fun, games and some outdoor exercise.
Find out more and register here.
Have your say on local bus services
As part of the council's Bus Service Improvement Plan, and to support existing bus services, they are running a consultation to identify areas within public transport in North Somerset that would benefit with additional improvement.
Your answers will help to:
develop new services to help you get where you need to go
make services more reliable and on time
create transport areas that have improved connectivity and are more pleasant to use.
You have until Wednesday 31 January 2024 to share your thoughts and ideas.
Funding gives old quarry plan a boost
Great news that Weston-super-Mare Town Council has secured nearly £700,000 from the Community Ownership Fund to further progress improvements at the Old Town Quarry.
The site is owned by North Somerset Council and was recently taken back after many years of operation by the Weston-super-Mare Civic Society. Essential health and safety works are being completed by North Somerset Council before the site is transferred to the Town Council for further work to create a culture and arts hub and reopen it to the public.
With the new funding exciting project can progress at pace in the new year.
Action on flooding
We've had a lot of rain this week - on the back of a wet December. Some parts of North Somerset have had about half of our usual rainfall for the month of January in just four days!
This means that surface and ground water levels remain high across North Somerset and therefore we don’t have the usual levels of resilience in the drainage systems. Rivers are also flowing above usual levels for this time of year meaning it is difficult to deal with significant additional rainfall. We’ve already experienced localised flooding this week, including in Long Ashton, Wrington, Sandford, Portbury, Portishead and Flax Bourton. We are especially concerned about the amount of water running off the Mendips at the moment, which is likely to impact Churchill, Langford, Sandford and Banwell.
North Somerset Council teams are continuing our programme of cyclical gulley and drain maintenance on our 697 miles of road and we have also secured two additional high-powered jetters to support our clearance work in the coming days. The council is also responsible for monitoring critical flood infrastructure such as Summer Lane Ponds, flood storage at Wrington and the Haywood Reservoir, all of which are working as required at the moment.
If you need to let us know about flooding issues please do it on the website at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/reportaflood This is the quickest and most effective way to get issues dealt with. You can also report incidents of flooding by calling 01934 888 888 during office hours. In an emergency out of office hours, please call 01934 622 669. If it looks like a property is going to flood please call 999.
Have your say on Weston’s Christmas Lights
The holiday season has now passed and one of the key ingredients was the Christmas lights display. As we look ahead to 2024, we want to ensure that our town shines even brighter during this time of year. That’s why Weston-super-Mare Town Council, who fund and organised the lights, are inviting you to give your thoughts on a new Christmas lights design.
Closing date 20th January 2024.
Get in touch
Contact Councillor Mike Bell on 07881 320 279 or email mike.bell@n-somerset.gov.uk or follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Mike serves on North Somerset Council and Weston Town Council.
Contact Councillor Robert Payne on 07904 026 096 or email robert.payne@n-somerset.gov.uk or follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Robert serves on North Somerset Council and Weston Town Council.
Contact Councillor Caroline Reynolds by emailing caroline.reynolds@wsm-tc.gov.uk. Caroline serves on Weston Town Council.