Row likely as Independents claim credit for Conservative projects

A POLITICAL row was looming in West Somerset after Independent district councillors elected only in May tried to claim credit for a series of economic development projects – all of which were started under the former Conservative administration.
A number of the now-trumpeted projects were bitterly opposed at the time when Independents and others on the council sought to attract newspaper headlines criticising the Conservative leadership in the months leading up to the elections.
Now, district council public relations officer Stacey Beaumont has issued a press release pointing out that West Somerset had secured more funding from Objective 2 transitional European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) than any other district Westcountry despite being the smallest council.
It followed the start of work on the development of the Barle Enterprise Centre, near Dulverton, and a £203,193 funding award for Minehead’s new Visitor Information and Interpretation Centre (VIIC), bringing the total of European money for West Somerset to more than £6.7 million.
The council’s economic development and tourism portfolio holder, Councillor Michael Downes, claimed: “We have completed, or are in the process of completing, 15 projects thanks to this funding.
“It has benefited a broad range of projects from developing local workspace, ICT provision and food links support through to tourism development via the organisation of events and festivals and the provision of the new VIIC.
“In all cases, the money needed to complete the project has to be at least doubled by the council and its partners so total funding in the district is much higher.
“For example, we have helped access £1.4 million for the New Horizons project but the actual investment by the council and its partners is in the region of £50 million.
“We know that businesses and tourism in the area need our support and we are doing our best to provide sustainable economic and tourism initiatives.
“We are also ensuring that local people’s social, health, and learning needs will be met by assisting with the provision of the new hospital, health complex, and skills and learning centre through New Horizons.”
The present leader of the council, Councillor Keith Ross – considered to have been an architect of many of the previous attacks on the development projects - said: “In the past we have been criticised for not delivering, but as this list shows, our staff have worked hard to deliver a substantial number of high-quality projects to help improve social and economic conditions for people and businesses across West Somerset.
“The workspace in Williton is nearing completion and work on the Dulverton workspace is now under way.
“Our staff are also putting a major amount of work into the provision of affordable housing for local people which is another area in which we are genuinely starting to deliver.
“We intend to build on our successes and prove ourselves as community leaders who deliver meaningful projects which bring social and economic benefits to the whole district.”
The list of projects for which credit was now being claimed included:

• Exmoor & Quantocks Foodlinks (£151,688) – project ongoing
• Exmoor Events & Festivals (£112,500) – project completed
• Rural Learning & Early Years Centre (£636,488) – project completed
• Williton ICT (£51,084) – project completed
• Stage 2 feasibility study into New Horizons (£25,000) – project completed
• Crisis loans for small businesses that suffered as a result of foot and mouth disease (£120,850) – project completed
• South West Wood Fuels (£81,450) – project completed
• Williton Workspace at Roughmoor (£788,672) – project ongoing
• Dulverton Workspace at the Barle Enterprise Centre (£806,711) – project ongoing
• Somerset Broadband (£180,960) – project ongoing
• Technical Assistance for the Broadband project (£84,349) – project ongoing
• Watchet Esplanade Enhancement (£138,380) – project ongoing
• Minehead Visitor Information & Interpretation Centre (£203,193) – application approved
• New Horizons (£1.4m) – application approved

The VIIC on the seafront at Minehead will replace the existing Tourist Information Centre in Friday Street and will be equipped with high-tech interactive touch-screen displays and will provide a centre of excellence for the delivery of tourism information, with the aim of attracting and developing potential and existing customer markets to support the tourism industry of the whole area.
Bridgwater-based H Pollard & Sons has been selected as the preferred developer and contract details are currently being finalised with a view to work starting shortly and being completed by the summer of next year.

• Our photograph taken at the start of work on the Barle Enterprise Centre shows (left to right) Councillor Keith Ross, Councillor Michael Downes, and site manager Jake Carless, of building contractors CS Williams Ltd. Photo submitted.

£5.4 million vocational education centre to open in autumn of 2008

A HUGE increase in learning opportunities is on the way for West Somerset with the final go-ahead being given for a new £5.4 million skills and enterprise centre based in the West Somerset Community College, Minehead.
The final element of funding required to create the new centre has been confirmed, which means the first students can expect to enrol for courses as soon as September of next year.
The skills and enterprise centre will give young people and adults in West Somerset an opportunity to access high quality vocational education and training, leading to qualifications and skills which will help them succeed in the future.
The new facilities will be used to provide training in subjects including automotive engineering, construction, health and beauty, hospitality and catering, health and social care, and land-based skills.
The centre has been funded by the Learning and Skills Council and the European Regional Development Fund.
It is the first part of a New Horizons Project which newly-elected Independent councillors on West Somerset Council were campaigning against during the run-up to this month’s elections.
However, the new leader of West Somerset Council, Councillor Keith Ross, said: “Children and adults will benefit from the learning and training opportunities that the new centre will provide, and local businesses will benefit from being able to recruit qualified local people.
“Better career opportunities lead to higher wages which will improve social and economic standards in West Somerset, so we welcome the confirmation of funding for the new centre.”
The project is a partnership between the district council, Somerset County Council, Somerset Primary Care Trust, and the community college.
It aims to create opportunities for people to lead healthy lifestyles and raise their skills levels, which in turn will contribute significantly to the economic development of West Somerset.
College principal Nick Swann said: “This national flagship project represents another major breakthrough for the college.
“For several years, staff have been working with other training partners and potential funding bodies to develop more innovative approaches to the delivery of specialist vocational courses.
“This state-of-the-art centre, with the excellent facilities it will provide, will enable us to extend our curriculum to meet the individual needs of many more students, as well as the wider community.
“The outcome will be a much broader range of career opportunities for learners in West Somerset.”
Minehead’s Somerset county Councillor Ian Galloway said: “The skills and enterprise centre will provide an important and much-needed resource. I am proud that it is set to be built in Minehead.”
County council education portfolio holder, Councillor Gloria Cawood, said: “Currently, students from this area hoping to study subjects such as construction have to travel to Bridgwater or Taunton.
“That is a challenge to their learning and the extra miles travelled increase pollution. I am very pleased that we have secured significant new educational opportunities in West Somerset.”
Photo submitted.

Doubts over £25 million new hospital start date

MORE news on the future of West Somerset’s planned new £25 million hospital could be revealed at a board meeting of the Somerset Primary Care Trust on February 21.
Although the trust has said it hoped the hospital could be open by the summer of 2009, the board will hear that it could be up to five years before work even starts.
And even though Government funding has been secured for the capital element of the hospital, the trust has yet to confirm it can fund the revenue side - the day-to-day running costs - of the scheme.
Minehead is one of three new community hospital projects planned by the trust in the next five years, the others being in Bridgwater and South Petherton.
The programme will run alongside an investment in a new cancer centre and surgical facilities at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton.
The new Minehead hospital will have only 20 inpatient beds as against the 34 in the present wards – 28 of which are medical beds and the other six surgical.
There will also be a clinical assessment unit for urgent care, expanded diagnostic and outpatient services, a drop-in treatment centre, and a patient support centre.
The hospital will be part of a larger, £32 million multi-agency development off Seaward Way, Minehead, called ‘New Horizons’.
Somerset PCT chief executive Ian Tipney said ahead of the board meeting: “These proposals represent a very exciting and ambitious future for community hospital services in Somerset.
“They are exactly in line with the new models of care set out in the White Paper ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’ last year, enabling more people to access services in their local community.
“The new hospitals will work in a very different way, with fewer beds than we have generally had in the past, but with more patients using the services.
“This will be achieved by increased staffing levels, more intensive rehabilitation, expanded diagnostic facilities, outpatient services, and one-stop shop clinics.
“The proposals will obviously be subject to detailed scrutiny, but we are giving a very clear service direction over the next five years.”
The trust board is being recommended that all three community hospital developments should go ahead within the next five years.

£30K refurbishment for Aquasplash despite closure plans

THE doomed Aquasplash leisure pool, in Minehead, is to undergo a £30,000 refurbishment of its gymnasium facilities.
West Somerset Council plans to close the loss-making pool and replace it with a new facility as part of a £32 million New Horizons health, leisure, business, and housing development nearby.
But first, it is spending £30,000 on sprucing up the centre and modernising some of its equipment.
The gym at Aquasplash is closing for two weeks to allow the work to be completed, from Friday, February 23, to Friday, March 9.
The council’s leisure services manager, Janice Malarkey, said: “As well as replacing all the carpets and redecorating, Aquasplash users will find all the television screens replaced and brand new X bikes installed.
“We are delighted we will be able to offer local fitness fans new and refurbished facilities.”
While the walls and woodwork will receive a new coat of paint, AG Flooring will be laying new carpets throughout the gyms and function rooms.
The gym machines are being re-upholstered and the health suite showers will be re-grouted.
Aquasplash supervisor Chris Gibbs said: “X bikes are similar to exercise bikes, but much better.
“Whereas exercise bikes are ‘fixed’ and only give a lower body workout, the handlebars on X bikes move from side to side so clients also get an upper body workout.
“Television screens will be installed in front of the bikes, so X bikers can watch DVDs which appear to take them on cycle rides or tracks, so it is as close as you can get to the real thing.
“Bikers can change the resistance on the bikes as the DVDs take them ‘uphill’. X bikes are great for full body workouts and the DVDs make it a lot more fun.”
Photo submitted.

Public opinions sought on Seaward Way development plans

AN informal information evening is being held on January 17 to give local residents an opportunity to have their say on a proposed of health and well-being development planned for a site off Seaward Way, in Minehead.
The proposed development includes a £24 million replacement for Minehead Hospital and a leisure centre which will encompass a replacement for the Aquasplash swimming pool as well as a range of other health facilities, plus business services, and some housing for local people.
The information evening is open to the public and takes place from 5 pm to 7:30 pm in the West Somerset Community College.
The public meeting is being arranged in order to inform local residents about the current proposal for the site and to consult on the leisure facilities which should be included in the proposed learning and leisure centre.
The evening will include full graphic displays demonstrating all aspects of the project, known as New Horizons, and the project steering group members will ask attendees about the specific facilities they want to see in the new leisure centre.
Evidence gathered at the information evening will help to influence future design proposals.
A strong attendance will also help to demonstrate local support for the project, which is critical for the securing the remainder of the funding for the project.
District council leader, Councillor Christine Lawrence, said: “This ambitious project is all about positive partnerships.
“It will demonstrate the power of effective partnership working between organisations coupled with the positive partnership forged with local people interested in securing first-class health, learning, and leisure facilities for the residents of West Somerset.
“We actively encourage everybody to attend this meeting because it is their opportunity to see what we are offering, and their chance to influence this development to ensure that it meets the needs of the whole community.”
Community college principal Nick Swann said: “Local people, including college staff, have worked for years to secure this groundbreaking project.
“Close community involvement will continue to be essential to its success. We welcome all local people who would like to give their views on the proposals.”
Minehead ward county Councillor Ian Galloway said: “This meeting will explain the exciting developments that we hope to bring to the site and will give local people a chance to have their say.
“That is absolutely vital in this project and we need to have facilities that meet the requirements of local people.”
County council portfolio holder for economic development, Councillor Paul Buchanan, said: “Engaging the public is an absolute priority for Somerset County Council with regards to this project.
“Demonstrable public support will have a positive effect on gaining future project-critical funding streams, so I hope many people turn out to have their say and influence the future of the Seaward Way site.”
New Horizons is a partnership between West Somerset Council, Somerset County Council, Somerset Primary Care Trust, and the West Somerset Community College.

Government promises £24.5 million for new West Somerset hospital

THE Health Minister, Lord Warner, has today (Thursday, December 21) announced a £750 million fund for new community hospitals and NHS services which includes a new hospital for West Somerset.
The £24.5 million hospital in Minehead is being planned on a site off Seaward Way in a partnership with West Somerset Council and other agencies.
The partnership, called New Horizons, recently submitted a planning application for the development which also includes a new swimming pool, leisure facilities, business support services, and housing for local people.
The new Minehead hospital will have 20 beds and include a new diagnostic centre and day theatre, as well as new dental facilities and urgent care unit.
It is set to be fully operational from late 2009.
Lord Warner said the Minehead hospital would be one of the first to be provided by the new funding package.
The fund was intended to allow NHS patients to have minor operations closer to their homes and to receive medical tests and follow-up care outside of large hospitals.
The money will be made available to the newly-created Somerset Primary Care Trust, which has recently been reviewing the business cases for several new community hospitals planned in the county.
They had been under threat due to lack of PCT funds and a Government formula which said Somerset should only have five community hospitals against the present 13.
However, Lord Warner said: “A modern health service needs a significant amount of care provided in state-of-the-art community hospitals.
“This model of care suits peoples’ daily lives and will help many patients maintain their independence.
“Today’s funding underlines our commitment to the future of community hospitals and shows our desire to replace outdated and unsuitable buildings with modern facilities fit for the future.
"These new NHS facilities will turn our “White Paper proposals for more care closer to home into reality for thousands of patients.
“This is just the first group of new hospitals and there will be more throughout 2007 as we invest £750 million in similar schemes over the next five years.”
Community Hospitals Association chief executive Barbara Moore said: “We are delighted to hear news of the first communities to benefit from funding to modernise and extend the services available from upgraded or new community hospitals.
“Many people will be very relieved that the future of their community facilities is now secured. We look forward to seeing this repeated in many other areas.”
Lord Warner also announced today that the Department of Health has completed a deal to become sole owner of Partnerships for Health (PfH), the public private partnership set up to encourage investment in GP premises and health centres.
The deal will assist the implementation of the community hospital programme.
NHS patients should benefit from a more focused delivery of the community hospital programme, as the Department will be able to use the skills within PfH to support community ventures.
Lord Warner said: “Gaining sole ownership of Partnerships for Health is good news for patients and the NHS in the long-term.
“This deal gives us access to the skilled and experienced people needed to take forward our plans for a new generation of NHS community hospitals.
“Patients will benefit from the continued delivery of these community hospitals, while the deal will also help ensure that the new PCTs can hit the ground running as they take forward the ongoing NHS LIFT programme.”

• Our photograph shows Health Minister Lord Warner. Photo submitted.

Planning application for Seaward Way hospital, housing, and leisure development

AN outline planning application is being submitted for a £26 million range of health and well-being facilities off Seaward Way, Minehead.
The project, known as New Horizons, is intended to replace Minehead Hospital and the Aquasplash leisure pool, plus provide additional health and learning facilities.
It is a partnership between West Somerset Council, Somerset County Council, Somerset Primary Care Trust, and the West Somerset Community College.
Outline planning permission is now needed to allow the New Horizons steering group to apply to a range of authorities for funding streams which will be vital to the success of the project.
The plans allow for:

• A new Minehead Community Hospital to be built above the flood plain
• A sports and leisure complex to be shared by residents and West Somerset Community College
• A Skills and Enterprise Centre
• Housing for local people
• Commercial facilities for health and well-being related businesses

The planning application is expected to be considered by district council planning committee members early in the New Year.
The project concept plans will be made available for public inspection and comment.
West Somerset Council leader, Councillor Christine Lawrence, said: “I am delighted that our long-term support and hard work to get this project off the ground is finally coming to fruition.
“We will continue to work hard to secure first-class, modern health, welfare, and educational facilities for residents in West Somerset.
“With local support, these plans will underpin the development of healthy, sustainable communities and encourage economic growth in the area.”
Jan Hull, interim chief executive of Somerset Primary Care Trust, said: “This outline planning application is the next step forward in this exciting project.
“It is particularly pleasing to see the way that all organisations involved are working together to seek ways of progressing the New Horizons facilities.”
County council portfolio holder for economic development, Councillor Paul Buchanan, said: “This is a complex project where the partners will face big challenges to deliver favourable outcomes for the health and well-being of local residents.
“The county council is committed to engaging with local residents, interest groups, and other stakeholders throughout this project so we can develop the best package for the people of West Somerset.”