somerset

Joe SkirkowskiWest of EnglandGetty ImagesPolice forces have warned people to be aware of the law if they have received an e-scooter for ChristmasE-scooters have seen a big surge in popularity in recent years, but if you got one for Christmas this year, what are the rules around where they can be used? In the West, legal rental schemes are already operating in Bristol, Bath, Cheltenham and Gloucester, and those e-scooters can be ridden on the road.But these trial…

BBCAlexandra Pickford has danced ballet since she was 11-years-old and never stoppedA ballet dancer in her 70s who is still touring and has started her own theatre company says it is "wonderful" to still succeed in her profession.Alexandra Picford, 77, learned ballet at the Bristol School of Dancing aged 11 and has had a long and successful career touring the world. After her retirement, she decided to start her own theatre company, which has performed at the Edinburgh…

Joe SkirkowskiWest of EnglandSomerset CouncilIf approved, work could start on the theatre as soon as next yearA theatre could get a new auditorium and rehearsal spaces as part of a £15m revamp.Plans for Yeovil's Octagon Theatre - which shut in 2023 - have been submitted to Somerset Council, after being developed as part of a partnership between the local authority and Yeovil Town Council.The proposals include work to make the building more environmentally efficient and improve its structural…

Carys NallyWest of England PA MediaA cold health alert has been issued for the South West from Thursday to SundayA emergency weather provision has been activated over the festive period.Somerset Council's Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP) will ensure rough sleepers can access emergency accommodation from Christmas Eve to 5 January to prevent harm or death due to the severe weather.The response is used by many local authorities when there is a forecast of 0C or below. A cold…

Daniel MumbyLocal Democracy Reporting ServiceBBCThe Nexus 25 business park in Taunton remains a fieldA business park which has been empty for more than five years has received "serious interest" from developers.The commercial site dubbed "Nexus 25", close to the M5 in Taunton, Somerset, is subject to a local development order, designed to streamline the planning process and allow the site to be developed quickly.Somerset Council has confirmed it is at the early stages of negotiations with a potential…

Conservationists in Somerset are attempting to save one of the UK's rarest plants from the brink of extinction.The starved wood-sedge (also known as Carex depauperate) is only found in two sites nationwide, one of which is in Axbridge in Somerset.It has been struggling to survive and so The Species Recovery Trust has moved some plants into captivity to "bulk up" its numbers in the hope of establishing two new populations within the Mendip Hills National Landscape.The starved wood-sedge…

Bea SwallowWest of EnglandNorth Somerset CouncilWinterstoke Road Bridge was built in the early 1940s and is now reaching the end of its safe lifespanA historic bridge which played a vital role in a town's war effort will be demolished when the railway tracks fall quiet on Christmas Day.Winterstoke Road Bridge in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, was built in 1941 to provide access to the RAF's aeroplane production factory in Oldmixon.North Somerset Council said due to its age, "it is now…