1 Nov

Little Adventures Nursery now open at Victoria Park

Mayor Liz Leavy opens new nursery at Victoria Park

Today saw the new Little Adventures Nursery at Victoria Park officially opening its doors with the ribbon being cut by Mayor of Bridgwater, Cllr Liz Leavy. A number of parents with children at the Nursery turned up alongside VPCC staff and Bridgwater Town Councillors and  were all shown round both the very popular baby room and garden and then the age 2-5 area room complete with dressing up area, role play and sensory room and outside space which also comes with a Forest School area. Victoria ward town Councillor Liz Marsh said “The facilities are amazing and the staff were welcoming and clearly already much loved by the children and parents alike. Although the official opening is today, the Nursery opened its doors to children in September. It has a fantastic atmosphere and extra features such as the sensory room are clearly setting this facility apart and are clearly much enjoyed. The other new idea of flexible childcare for those parents and carers working shifts or various different hours is absolutely brilliant and much needed as well.”

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16 Oct

Town Council Call for Ukrainian Winter Aid

Town Council leader Brian Smedley has been on Points West pushing the Ukraine appeal

People will have seen on their news and in their papers images of the intensification of the war in Ukraine as winter approaches in that troubled part of the world and now Bridgwater Town Hall is opening its doors again for a new collection. Town Council Leader Cllr Brian Smedley (Westover) says “When the conflict started in February Bridgwater Town Council set aside the town hall for people to bring donations -which they generously did in large quantities, which we then paid for a lorry to be sent to the Polish border with the hard work and help of local community group ‘You are not alone’.  Now the Ukrainian community in Somerset is asking us for help again with the onset of winter. We have  cleared a room for the collection of the things they need most at the town hall and the intention is to get a vehicle right to the front line by Kharkiv  by the end of the month. We are asking people to bring donations to Town Hall reception Monday to Friday 9.30 to 4.30 and our staff will receive them, store them and then get them to the frontline in co-operation with the Ukrainian community. Since the news story broke on BBC Points West this week donations have flooded in and we are almost ready to send the shipment out in time for the Ukrainian winter”

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16 Oct

World War Two “Brown Babies” Exhibition at the Engine Room

“The Brown Babies” Exhibition, showing at Studio Two in the Engine Room, High St, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 10am to 4pm, Monday 17th October to Friday 21st October, is the hidden story about the sons and daughters of African American servicemen who were stationed in Somerset and Britain is told in this exhibition. The exhibition, curated by Professor Lucy Bland following on from her award-winning book Britain’s ‘Brown Babies’. It tells the moving personal stories of how the stigma of illegitimacy coupled with racism shaped the experiences of children born to white British women and African American GI’s during and in the aftermath of World War ll. The exhibition has toured nationally in the Black Cultural Archives Museum, city libraries, university libraries and has been touring Somerset throughout the year.

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16 Oct

Hidden Voices at Bridgwater Library

Mayor Liz Leavy with Sian Owen from Hidden Voices at Bridgwater Library

Hidden Voices is a pressure group devoted to raising public awareness about the existence of modern slavery. This week they have an exhibition at Bridgwater Library from 15 to 22nd October which is freely available for the public to drop in and learn more about the campaign through the medium of art inspired by opposition to modern slavery. On Saturday 15 October , Mayor of Bridgwater Cllr Liz Leavy and a group of town councillors attended the launch. HV points to the existence of labour exploitation, the sex trade, child sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced marriage, organ harvesting and drug trafficking, specifically the ‘county lines’ variant whereby people from large cities are sent to smaller towns to sell drugs. A booklet produced by Hidden Voices claims ‘there are over 40 million people held in modern slavery around the world ‘ and is therefore a ‘global problem’. The booklet is available at the Library exhibition.

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14 Oct

The Car Parks They Are A Changing

Cllr Smedley has a look at some car parks

Eagle-eyed residents, visitors and shoppers in Bridgwater may have noticed new signs in the old Northgate Car park. With the opening of the new Northgate Yard complex approaching and to help avoid confusion the old Northgate car park is now called West Quay Car park. Which is a welcome development because the actual ‘North Gate’ of the town was nowhere near there.  If you need to find it then it’s just at the end of Angel Crescent before you hit Mount street. So West Quay car park (the big one by the job centre) (now called ‘The People’s Emporium of Employment Opportunity’) has some new machines in it and sign posts that tell you where the Council think you are. Meanwhile, changes are also happening in Blake Car park. (this is the one next to Northgate primary school and Aldi) (but not the actual Aldi car park) .With effect from 17 October Blake car park will become a pay and display car park rather than permit only. And theres signs there telling you this. As well as paying with cash or card, all SDC car parks operate a pay by phone option.

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