Alex Parnham-Cope

The Commercial Inn in Bridgwater marked its second anniversary under owner Kayleigh Howitt with live music, food, entertainment and fundraising. Howitt has refurbished the kitchen and wider pub, reintroduced breakfasts and roast dinners, and increased sales compared with the previous owners. She says the pub’s future depends on creating a community space where people can meet, make connections and support local causes, rather than serving only as a place to drink.

A £17.8 million community diagnostic centre has opened beside Bridgwater Community Hospital, providing MRI and CT scans for patients across Somerset. Developed by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust with NHS England funding and Ergéa UK, the centre is expected to deliver nearly 25,000 additional scans annually, improve access to earlier diagnosis and reduce pressure on acute hospitals. A dedicated urology investigation unit is due to open later in the year.

Plans have been submitted to convert three underused agricultural barns at Tanyard Farm in North Wootton, Somerset, into eight two-bedroom homes. The proposal includes 16 parking spaces, a shared courtyard and improvements to the buildings while retaining their existing structures. The applicant says the farm’s reduced livestock operation has left the barns largely unused and that the conversion would reduce agricultural traffic on the narrow access road. Somerset Council will assess the application under Class Q permitted development rules, although the plans acknowledge limited visibility near the site entrance.

Fire damage was discovered on tinder-dry grass at Mansfield Park in Hamp, Bridgwater, prompting Bridgwater Town Council to warn residents and visitors about the heightened wildfire risk. The council urged people not to light fires in parks or open spaces and to dispose of litter and smoking materials responsibly, noting that dry vegetation can allow small fires to spread rapidly and that most UK wildfires are caused by human activity.

The Arty Attic, a Bridgwater fitness business founded in 2023, is moving from West House Farm in Chilton Polden to a larger venue at Small Moor Farm in Middlezoy. The new centre will bring together The Arty Attic, Fly Bungee Fitness and Charlie’s Chrome Angels, offering bungee workouts, aerial activities, pole fitness, movement classes, children’s clubs, parties and corporate events. A public open day is scheduled for August 22, with regular classes planned from September. Owner Jules Holder says the relocation will provide space for business growth and create a welcoming community hub for people of all ages and abilities.

Wessex Water introduced a legal hosepipe ban across Somerset, Bath, Dorset and Wiltshire after record demand, repeated heatwaves and below-average rainfall. The restrictions prohibit most non-essential domestic and commercial outdoor hosepipe use, including watering gardens, washing cars and filling pools, with breaches potentially leading to fines of up to £1,000. Watering cans, water butts and buckets remain permitted. Exemptions cover certain essential services, sports surfaces, plant nurseries and customers with qualifying medical, disability or mobility needs, although a Blue Badge or Priority Services Register membership alone does not guarantee exemption. The ban has no fixed end date and will remain until demand and water resources stabilise.

A person died after a medical incident at the Bell Inn on Preston Road in Yeovil. Avon and Somerset Police said the death was non-suspicious and that the coroner had been notified. South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust sent multiple ambulances and specialist response staff. The pub closed for the remainder of the day and reopened the following Monday.

Wessex Water will impose a temporary hosepipe ban from midnight on Tuesday across Somerset, Bath, Dorset and Wiltshire, affecting about 1.4 million customers. The company says record demand, sustained hot weather and limited rainfall have put pressure on its network, with daily usage more than 30% above average. It is also asking businesses and households to reduce non-essential water use. The ban is Wessex Water’s first in 50 years, following the 1976 drought, while the Met Office continues to warn of heat and limited meaningful rainfall in parts of England.

An unauthorised encampment of travellers with caravans and towing vehicles arrived at Winchester Park in Burnham-on-Sea on the evening of August 15. Avon and Somerset Police attended, issued a Section 60C notice under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 requiring those present to leave, and continued high-visibility patrols. The group was reportedly gone by August 16, while Somerset Council was approached for comment.

Ofsted rated Windwhistle Primary School in Weston-super-Mare as requiring improvement after finding that leadership and staffing turbulence had harmed pupils’ learning and outcomes. Only 31% of pupils achieved the expected reading, writing and maths standard over the latest three-year period, compared with 61% nationally, while absence and persistent absence were also substantially above average. New leaders have begun stabilising the school, improving behaviour, attendance and academic performance, and inspectors praised safeguarding, early years provision and pupils’ conduct, but identified continuing weaknesses in teaching, inclusion, leadership and support for vulnerable pupils.

Residents are calling for improvements to a 120-yard, 12-foot-wide section of Mountway beside St George’s Catholic School in Taunton, which has no pavement and is used by schoolchildren, families, pedestrians and larger vehicles. John Selwood and Su Ware say the route is increasingly hazardous and have supported creating a pavement or cycle path, potentially by removing and rebuilding a boundary wall. Taunton Town Council has encouraged discussions among Somerset Council, the school and landowners, but says Somerset Council controls the highway. Somerset Council says the location has been assessed, existing options were impractical or ineffective, and there are currently no approved plans to build a pavement.

Firefighters from Chard, Taunton, Yeovil and Honiton tackled a significant wildfire near Bishopswood after smoke prompted multiple 999 calls. One field and surrounding hedgerows were well alight, with a live fallen power line, hot weather and limited water access complicating the response. Additional pumping equipment, a water carrier and four-wheel-drive wildfire vehicles were deployed, and crews eventually brought the fire under control. Firefighters later thanked the Candlelight Inn for providing refreshments and warned the public to treat fallen power lines as live and dangerous.