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00:00 Greetings once again, people of Somerset. It's Daniel Mumby, your local democracy reporter,
00:06 and you join me on a sunny and crisp Sunday morning on the outskirts of Wellington. You
00:12 might just be able to hear church bells chiming away in the background. I am here in front
00:17 of Tone Dale Mill. I'm standing in the Foxes Field community space right near the railway
00:22 line on the northern edge of Wellington. And for the next half hour or so, we're going
00:26 to be walking from this historic building, not far from the Tone Works site, just a little
00:30 further up the road. We're going to be walking all the way to the Great Western Canal site
00:36 and the new site of Wellington's newest railway station, which will be opening up within the
00:41 next two years. As per usual, if you're familiar with the live streams that we do every weekend,
00:48 if you have any questions or comments, please drop them in. I will get to as many of them
00:52 as I can live as we're walking through this green space, and those that I don't get to
00:57 live we'll do retrospectively. So why are we here today, aside from the fact that it
01:02 is a glorious day to be out in Somerset and exploring some of this fantastic industrial
01:07 heritage? So, a few weeks ago, if you were following the Conservative Party conference,
01:14 when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled the HS2 project between Birmingham and Manchester,
01:21 and that freed up a certain amount of money, £36 billion altogether, which has been reallocated
01:26 for transport projects across the UK. Now, some of that money has come to the South West,
01:32 and one of the big coups of that announcement was that it was the final commitment of funding
01:38 for the new railway station for Wellington. Wellington has had no direct rail services
01:44 since it lost its original railway station in 1964, as part of the infamous Beeching
01:49 cuts. Since then, if you've lived in Wellington, you've had to drive either to Taunton or Civeton
01:55 Parkway if you wanted to access the main line to Exeter or to London Paddington. But the
02:03 final business case is now being examined by the Department for Transport. £15 million
02:10 has been committed with Network Rail leading the project, and the hope is that that project
02:16 will be getting off the ground very shortly, with the new station accepting services by
02:21 September 2025. And what we're doing today is we are walking from the historic Tonedale
02:29 Mill. We are going to show how easy it will be to access the new railway station from
02:37 what is becoming a key employment site in the town, and which has been earmarked for
02:41 regeneration for many years. Tonedale Mill is currently in private hands, unlike the
02:46 neighbouring Toneworks site, which is owned by Somerset Council. They've been spending
02:50 about £1 million of government funding securing the building. We had a tour of the building
02:56 earlier this year, and I'll post the links to that in the description. And essentially
03:00 what we're going to do with this live stream is to demonstrate how easy it will be to walk
03:05 from the new platforms where the trains will stop, to what will hopefully become a major
03:11 commercial sector in Wellington. We've just walked through Fox's Field, so named because
03:18 this area was once the heart of the Fox Brothers textile empire. The Tonedale Mill factory
03:24 and its associated buildings employed hundreds of local people in Wellington and the surrounding
03:29 area. The business closed down in 2000 at this site, but it does still operate in some
03:34 respect producing its specialist products. And the hope is, as a result of regeneration
03:42 that's been done in small stages as we cross over Birchells Lane, and hopefully with the
03:47 injection of government funding, that this whole area will be revitalised. And what we're
03:53 going to do now is head down this footpath, and this footpath will lead us onto the B3187
04:02 Milverton Road, which will take us onto a separate footpath through the industrial area,
04:08 and we will walk that all the way towards the Ninehead Boatlift, and show you where
04:13 the northbound platform of the new railway station will come. We should point out that
04:18 in order to deliver the station, there will be a certain amount of housing development
04:23 in the area. Currently the station site lies to the north of Wellington's Liddell supermarket,
04:29 which opened quite recently, and as part of the delivery of the station, the current
04:34 access road to that Liddell store off Ninehead Road will be extended up to the railway line,
04:42 and West of England Developments Taunton, which is a local housing developer, as the
04:46 name probably suggests, they have put forward plans for 220 new houses, along with a certain
04:52 amount of commercial space, and a care home, and building the car parking area near the
04:58 southern platform of the new station, and the idea being that that puts the infrastructure
05:03 in place so that Network Rail can come along and spend £15 million of its own money, well
05:09 the government's own money, to actually construct the platforms, the lifts, the other facilities
05:16 that are in place. Now the access to the station from the southern side will be via that access
05:22 road, and there will be a new park created off the junction with Lillebomb Way and Taunton
05:28 Road, allowing walking and cycling facilities to link up with the Cades Farm site, and allow
05:33 access from the town centre. But the northbound platform will skirt very close to the Great
05:41 Western Canal area, and we've been asking Somerset Council about whether there's going
05:47 to be any money available to upgrade the existing footpaths that we're walking along at the
05:52 moment, with a view to creating a cycle link between the new railway station and Tonedale
06:00 Mill. And fortunately enough, on this occasion, they have come back to us with a statement
06:04 which I will read to you now. "The link between the delivery of the new railway station in
06:10 Wellington and regeneration works at Tonedale Mill and the Council-owned Toneworks is already
06:16 well established. The development of the station and the regeneration of Tonedale Mill and
06:21 Toneworks are seen by the Council and all parties as intrinsically linked. This is about
06:27 working towards the mutual benefit of both projects and, importantly, the town as a whole."
06:32 I'm just going to quickly head through this kissing gate before we continue. "These aspirations,"
06:39 they continue, "are reflected in the Wellington Place Plan, which was adopted in March, which
06:44 identified the preferred area of growth in North Tonedale," that's the area around the
06:49 mill, "the strategic outline business case for the railway station, and bids for pots
06:55 of funding for Tonedale Mill and Toneworks, including the levelling up fund," which we'll
06:59 come on to in a second. "We can't at this stage be specific about routes, but we can
07:03 confirm that discussions continue around public rights of way in and around the town and station
07:09 and links to North Tonedale, the town centre, as well as in and around the town. There are
07:13 also confidential ongoing discussions about developer contributions." So there's quite
07:17 a lot to unpack there, and before I go into the business of unpacking it, I just need
07:22 to make sure that we are heading in the right direction. And we are. So, for those of you
07:28 who aren't familiar with the Tonedale Mill saga, Somerset Western Torneson Council, as
07:34 it then was, now Somerset Council, has been trying for numerous years to both secure ownership
07:39 of Tonedale Mill, which has been in private hands for a number of years and they've served
07:44 a number of enforcement notices to stop the building falling into disrepair. They've been
07:48 trying to secure funding to secure the site and then regenerate it to build, to bring
07:53 the whole mill complex back in for commercial use, for culture and leisure purposes. There
08:00 may be some additional housing in the mix as well, alongside the original development
08:03 on Weaver's Reach, which we were quite close to when we started our journey. There have
08:08 been two bids so far to the government's levelling up fund for £20 million to regenerate
08:15 that whole area around Tonedale Mill, Toneworks and Fox's Field. Unfortunately, neither of
08:21 those bids were successful, though the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities did
08:27 provide some very glowing feedback and we found out just on Friday afternoon that the
08:32 third round of the levelling up fund, which is likely to be the final round, will probably
08:37 be announced sometime around the autumn statement in mid-November, meaning that applications
08:42 may be early in the new year and therefore we might get a decision on whether some of
08:48 that £20 million will come to Somerset by the spring, assuming of course we don't get
08:54 a general election before then. So we've just come out onto Milverton Road, the B3187. You
08:58 can see there's quite limited footpaths here. Certainly there's no designated cycle routes,
09:03 but we have been following public rights of way, as we have done for pretty much all of
09:07 the streams that we've done, and we're now going to safely cross and pick up this footpath,
09:14 which leads down the back of RW Gale and leads all the way past the sewage works to the Ninehead
09:21 Boat Lift. Just to put into context, the Toneworks site lies beyond those buildings, round to
09:27 the left, and you can see the railings, chimneys and so forth, just sort of hinting as to where
09:33 it is. That is not currently accessible to the public, though the council have been doing
09:39 a number of private tours. We were very fortunate enough to get an inside look into the building
09:45 back in January or February, I think it was, and we will post a link to that in the description.
09:50 Some extraordinary photographs, with all the listed machinery still there. It really has
09:56 the potential to be a fantastic, multifunction space for the community, but of course it's
10:02 one thing to get the funding to keep it standing and stable, it's another thing to get funding
10:08 to actually make it a viable working project. If you've only just joined me, it's Daniel
10:13 Mumby, your local democracy reporter. I'm in Wellington today. We started our journey
10:17 at the Foxes Field green space, in the shadow of the historic Tonedale Mill on the northern
10:22 edge of Wellington. We are now walking down a footpath at the northern edge of town, towards
10:28 the town's wastewater treatment plant. We are heading towards the site where the new
10:33 Wellington railway station will be open, hopefully within about two years. We had the funding
10:39 confirmation following the cancellation of HS2 that this £15 million project would go
10:44 ahead, pending the final business case being approved, which will hopefully be around Christmas.
10:49 And we are also expecting various decisions on the plans for new housing near the site
10:57 in the coming months. And as with all of the walks that we are doing on these live streams,
11:03 everywhere we go is a public right of way. I hope this will encourage you to explore
11:09 this part of Wellington before it changes forever, because as we know from past experience,
11:14 whenever railway stations come to towns, it does lead to more housing, it does lead to
11:20 a fundamental change in the character of the local area, for better or worse. And while
11:24 I'm sure none of us would say no to more jobs coming to Wellington, there is a fundamental
11:31 need to safeguard green space in the process, and to encourage car-free transport, which
11:37 is why it's so key that footpaths and cycle routes such as the one on which we're currently
11:43 walking are maintained and upgraded wherever possible. Now the statement we mentioned just
11:49 now from Somerset Council referenced something called the Wellington Place Plan. Now that
11:54 essentially lays out over the next decade or so the needs for Wellington in terms of
12:00 new homes, new commercial space, new transport projects that may be needed, and also the
12:08 need to protect and enhance the town's existing green spaces, along with those in the neighbouring
12:13 village of Rockwell Green. You may have seen a stream that we did earlier in the year talking
12:18 about the basins and the green wedge between Rockwell Green and Wellington, which is now
12:24 in public hands and has been protected for the next hundred or so years under a long-term
12:29 lease. And the Place Plan of Wellington does identify a number of possible improvements,
12:36 including a new park and ride service which would link up with the railway station built
12:41 near junction 26 of the M5, and looking at other improvements including active travel,
12:48 which will encourage people who are using the new station not just to use the new car
12:53 park, but if possible to cycle there, to walk there, or to use their mobility scooters if
12:59 need be, because this is not just about the well-being of the able-bodied. This is about
13:04 the new station being accessible for everyone. We're now passing the water recycling centre.
13:11 I'm glad that this isn't in smell-o-vision because it is a little on the pungent side
13:16 this morning. It is surprisingly warm for a late October day, and you can see it's still
13:22 pretty damp underfoot, so Wellington Boots was definitely the right call. And we are
13:28 now going to move into this adjoining field at the end of this lane, where we will start
13:34 following the route of the former Great Western Canal. We won't get as far as the Ninehead
13:40 Boatlift itself, but we will get very close to it, and looking at that little segment
13:47 that cuts through the trees and goes right up to the railway line, you can see there
13:52 are various footpaths that already interweave and snake in and out of this area, so there
13:57 is great scope for this becoming a main thoroughfare for people using the new station, so long
14:04 as it is done with the cooperation of the landowners, and in a sensitive manner, because
14:09 we want Wellington to thrive, we want its character to be enhanced, you have to do it
14:15 sensitively, not just to avoid upsetting locals, but to ensure that the town remains attractive
14:21 for new people in the decades to come. Just also to point out, it's been a while since
14:27 I've been back in this part of Wellington, how low-lying this area is, so when the new
14:33 station is delivered, it will require a certain amount in terms of mitigating any flood risk,
14:41 that will obviously come under the remit of Network Rail, and the Rail Operator Great
14:46 Western Railway will have its own prevention measures in place to ensure that the project
14:51 is future-proofed. If you've only just joined me, it's Daniel Mumby, your local democracy
14:56 reporter. I am out on the northern edge of Wellington, we started our journey at Tonedale
15:02 Mill, the historic home of the Fox Brothers Company, we are walking to the new Wellington
15:09 Railway Station site, that is a bit of a tongue-twister, and we are talking about how this link could
15:15 become enhanced to provide a car-free route between the new station and the Tonedale area,
15:24 which is set to receive a huge amount of investment, or hopefully a certain amount of investment
15:30 from the government to regenerate the area and encourage economic growth. Now, we should
15:36 point out, when it comes to the services that the new station will receive, there has been
15:42 a big push from the government when it comes to new stations, saying you can have a new
15:47 station, but you have to ensure that journey times between London and the provinces, for
15:53 want of a better word, my word, not theirs, are not adversely affected. So, in the first
16:01 instance, once services do start in September of 2025, give or take, the services are initially
16:09 likely to be once every two hours in each direction, to ensure that the fast trains
16:15 between Bristol and Exeter, and the faster ones on to Taunton, which go straight through
16:21 to London Paddington, are not upheld adversely. However, as we have seen with the growth in
16:28 the demand for the new Oakhampton station on the edge of Dartmoor, which started with
16:32 very irregular services and is now, I think, once every 30 minutes in each direction, it
16:37 is very easy to find capacity on the route to make those hourly services. So, you'll
16:44 be able to travel to and from Wellington with the greatest of ease. Obviously, there's a
16:50 separate discussion to be had about the affordability of tickets, and that is a question for the
16:55 operators rather than the local authority, but clearly Great Western Railway see an opportunity
17:03 in this site, otherwise they would not have supported the business case. And I'm just
17:08 going to reiterate, it was a very good idea to do Wellington Boots today because the path
17:12 is narrow and muddy, but it is navigable just about. I'm going to let this couple go past
17:18 as we just take a look back over the industrial edge of Wellington, blending into the neighbouring
17:26 parishes of Ninehead and Langford Budville. We are, of course, very much in the Taunton
17:34 Dean area, and not too far removed from Exmoor, just a short trip up towards Wiverlyskom,
17:44 and all of these factors will become crucial in marketing Wellington when the new station
17:48 arrives. Passing through another kissing gate and trying not to trip over in the process.
17:56 We're now heading into the woods, following part of what was the former Great Western
18:05 Canal. Like I said, we won't get all the way to the Ninehead boat lift, which is extraordinary
18:11 if you ever get the chance, particularly if you go on a foggy day. It has this really
18:16 eerie ethereal quality to it. What we're going to do is just carry on through the wooded
18:21 area and this route will eventually bend south towards the railway line. It doesn't move
18:28 quite alongside it, but there is a section where we can cut through the trees and get
18:34 very close to the line. Obviously, we're not going to trespass on the line itself because
18:38 that would get us into all kinds of legal trouble and I don't want to get hit by a train.
18:43 But it will give you an indication as to the opportunities for a northern link to the new
18:48 station, ensuring that not all of the traffic, whether it's motorised or foot-based, will
18:55 go through the town centre. Thank you for all your comments so far. Apologies if I haven't
19:03 got to all of them, but I will respond retrospectively and there will be links in the description
19:08 once we've finished streaming, if I don't fall in this puddle. Not quite as treacherous
19:15 as the canal way loop we tried to do around Ilminster about a month ago, but you still
19:21 have to be careful. If you haven't, you can just join me. It's Daniel Mumby, your local
19:26 democracy reporter, out for another live stream on a glorious Sunday morning here on the edge
19:32 of Wellington. We've been walking from Tonedale Mill and Fox's Field. We are heading towards
19:41 the proposed site of Wellington's new railway station, which, thanks to the cancellation
19:46 of the northern leg of HS2, has now got the green light to go ahead, pending, of course,
19:52 planning permission and the final business case. But I think, from everyone that we've
19:57 spoken to about the project, whether it's the Taunton Dean MP, Rebecca Pow, Somerset
20:02 Council, Network Rail, everyone seems very confident that the project will proceed. Lord
20:07 knows it's taken us long enough to get this far, so turning back now would be disappointing,
20:14 to say the least, not to say expensive. Now, as we come to this section here, you can just
20:20 see, through the trees there, the edges of the Longforth Farm development, which has
20:28 been delivered by Bloor Homes South West. And there are various footpaths that do cut
20:35 through towards the railway line. And Bloor Homes, the area to the east of the current
20:43 housing, around 400 homes, was allocated for commercial use within the local plan, so putting
20:50 a station here is actually quite in keeping with that. Now, the Bloor development isn't
20:55 going to grow any further up to the railway line. They're already in the final phase of
20:59 delivery of that. Like I say, there will be the 220 homes that West of England Developments
21:05 will be hoping to get permission for in the not-too-distant future. The big question,
21:10 I suppose, is, once the new station is in place and once we have an improvement to this
21:15 northern route, whether it will lead to further homes along the northern side of the railway
21:19 line. The short answer to that is we don't know. The long answer is that land is not
21:25 allocated for housing within the current Taunton Dean core strategy. The Somerset Wide local
21:31 plan, which will be finished by 2028, will be looking at not just the currently available
21:37 sites but new opportunities for housing as well. And so theoretically, it is possible
21:42 that those sites could come forward for housing. But at this stage, that is pure speculation.
21:47 We've seen from looking back towards the sewage treatment plant how low-lying a lot of the
21:53 area is. So if you were to build houses here, you'd either have to have one hell of a flood
21:58 prevention scheme or you'd have to raise the entire land quite considerably. Neither are
22:04 impossible, but again, it brings into question about viability and developers being willing
22:10 to pay for that stuff. And also, from a more conservation point of view, I think it's perfectly
22:17 healthy to have a green wedge near major commercial development or transport infrastructure. We
22:25 read a lot about the impact on wildlife, and Barry Jones clearly shares my views on this.
22:33 Sometimes it is important to insist upon certain areas being kept as they are, albeit with
22:39 a few tweaks here and there to make them more accessible. And you can just see how close
22:46 we are to the line now with the homes rearing up through the trees, but we've got a little
22:50 further to go before we can cut through there. And it would be a shame if all of these historic
22:57 woods had to be pared back or torn down just to squeeze in another 100 homes or so. You
23:04 can see this section of the path may need a little more work than the other bits because
23:08 it is narrow and riddled with tree roots and stones, so it may not be quite as simple as
23:14 just tarmacking along here. I was hoping we were going to run into a train sooner or later.
23:23 You can just see through the trees and hear it. Hopefully we'll get a clearer view of
23:32 another service as it passes through. And just to think, in two years' time, those trains
23:37 will be slowing down and stopping very close by here. So there may be scope for doing an
23:43 agreement with landowners trying to get permissive paths leading up to the lane area, which we
23:48 looked at just now. There are all kinds of discussions going on about developer contributions,
23:55 how the new homes going south of the station could potentially fund footpaths and cycle
24:00 routes to the other side. It all depends on how much the developers are willing to pay,
24:06 on who owns the land, and how quickly those can be delivered. We are just heading, you
24:14 can see we're skirting very close to the railway line now. We're coming towards the end of
24:19 our stream. I don't know exactly how close we'll be able to get, but I will do my best.
24:24 You can see there is quite a steep drop as well into that gully. That's quite all right.
24:35 Don't be rude. Off you go. Always nice to be put in my place, by a dog. Yeah, as I was
24:46 saying, there is quite a steep ravine down here, so that does present its own challenges
24:50 in terms of accessing the railway line from here. Theoretically, of course, if you do
24:56 live to the north of the station and a northern link isn't delivered, you can follow this
25:01 footpath all the way to the Ninehead Boatlift and then walk down Ninehead Road. It is a
25:07 bit of a long-winded loop compared to going through the town centre, but it's nice to
25:12 have multiple options. I'm thinking because things are so steep, there is a limit to how
25:22 much closer we can get, but I'm going to pursue this a little bit further. If you have missed
25:27 any part of this stream so far, and thank you very much if you've stayed with us for
25:30 the entirety, you are very welcome. This stream will be available indefinitely on our Facebook
25:36 page once I'm concluded here. We will post links in the descriptions and in the comments
25:42 section to relevant articles. We've done a lot on the Tone Down Mill and Toneworks site.
25:46 We've done a lot on the new railway station over the last few years, so hopefully that
25:51 will help to put it all into context. As per usual, there will be a report out in the next
25:55 couple of days summarising where things stand, including that lengthy statement I read at
26:00 the start from Somerset Council. Like I say, this is the stretch where Wellington boots
26:08 are not quite so useful. Not only because it's drier, but because these tree roots are
26:14 very easy to trip over. So, if my narration has to take a back seat for a minute, that
26:21 is why. That and hoping to not be hounded by any more dogs. So, just to put this into
26:29 further context, if we look back, this thick, gorgeous woodland, which if you come out here
26:35 on a foggy day is so atmospheric, it's like being in an Emily's Bronte novel. It does
26:43 bend right down, skirting near the railway line before picking back up towards Ninehead
26:50 and the boat lift. You can just see through the trees how close we are now. And in fact,
26:57 this is the cut-through that I'm looking for. We are just going to ease our way down where
27:04 the bank is a lot gentler. Not every footpath is as well maintained as every other in Somerset,
27:17 but you get the idea of how close we are. What I'm going to do is just walk along the
27:22 edge of this field. Even if we can't get precisely close to the new station site, this will certainly
27:31 give you a very clear idea of the possibilities. You can see the existing commercial development
27:38 just in the distance there. Apologies for the glare off the near midday sun. Regardless
27:46 of whether the footwear choice was correct, it is still very much t-shirt weather when
27:50 you're walking and talking like this. Thanks for bearing with me if I've ever seemed out
27:55 of breath. If you haven't, you just join me, don't worry. There's still a little bit to
28:03 see. It's Daniel Mumby, your local democracy reporter. I'm currently in a field on the
28:08 northern edge of Wellington. We are following footpaths towards the railway station site,
28:13 which will be up and running within the next two years. We started our journey today at
28:18 Tone Dale Mill, which Somerset Council is hoping will become the vibrant commercial
28:24 heart of the town once again, celebrating its industrial heritage and also looking very
28:34 much at the future of high quality manufacturing. You can see there's another cut through just
28:42 as easy, which we could have used. I'm just going to take a little stride across. Putting
28:47 this into context, you can see the Longfell Farm development. You can see the edge of
28:51 the Tone Dale area with its chimneys and the mill just visible in the distance as we work
28:58 our way across this field. Obviously there are thick hedgerows in place to prevent people
29:07 just sneaking onto the railway line and we're not going to go too close because, well, there
29:13 are trains still running today. But this should give you an idea of how relatively straightforward
29:20 it is with a few improvements here or there to connect the new station site, which is
29:27 just around this area, maybe a little further along that way, with the Tone Dale section
29:32 of Wellington and on into the town centre. This area is going to fundamentally change
29:38 in the next two years and you local residents and people who are visiting Wellington for
29:43 the first time have a vital role to play in ensuring that that development is done properly,
29:49 carefully and with the best interests of the town at heart, not just the best interests
29:54 of the train operator or the government. So there we have it. Thank you very much for
29:59 joining me on this Facebook Live. Like I say, if you missed any section of it, this
30:04 will be available indefinitely on our Facebook page once we finish streaming. I will retrospectively
30:09 answer any comments or questions I didn't get to. Apologies if I missed you. There will
30:13 be links in the comments section later today to relevant articles surrounding Tone Dale
30:19 Mill, Tone Works and the new railway station site and there'll be a full summary early
30:24 next week appearing in various news outlets. In the meantime, this is Daniel Mumby, your
30:29 local democracy reporter, wishing you a splendid rest of your Sunday and now I'm going to grab
30:36 a cup of coffee. Thanks very much for your time.