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00:00Good day to you once again people of Somerset. It's Daniel Mumby, your local democracy reporter,
00:08at the end of another week, and you join me on the outskirts of Taunton. I'm on the A358
00:13Staplegrove Road at the north-western edge of the town, very close to the Staplegrove roundabout,
00:19not far from the neighbouring village of Norton Fitzwarren, and we are standing opposite the
00:25entrance, more or less where the entrance will be, to the Staplegrove Urban Extension, where more
00:31than 1,600 new homes are planned to provide the bulk of this part of Taunton's new housing for
00:38the coming decade, and what we're going to do today, it's going to be a rather long stream,
00:41though it may be curtailed by sudden battery loss, I'm going to keep a close eye on things,
00:46is we're going to walk all the way from the edge of this proposed housing development,
00:51down through the Silk Mills area, through the Park and Ride, right through Longrow Meadow,
00:56coming out through Goodland Gardens, and ending up on Bridge Street. It's going to take us around
01:0040 minutes, based upon the reconnaissance that I just did, that's why I might sound a bit out
01:05of breath, because I've just walked the best part of two miles, and it's designed to illustrate,
01:09not just the status of the development as it currently stands, but also the infrastructure
01:15that's currently in place to enable these journeys, whether it's to the Park and Ride,
01:19Musgrove Park Hospital, out towards Wellington, or anything else. As usual with these live
01:25streams, if you have any comments or questions, do drop them in and I will respond to them live,
01:29if I can, any that I don't get around to, we will do retrospectively. It's quite busy here at
01:35lunchtime, this is the Staple Grove roundabout off Silk Mills Lane, the A358 carries on out
01:42towards Willerton, where it joins the A39 all the way to Minehead, it's essentially the main road
01:48in and out of West Somerset, if you discount the A39 going north of the Cornstalk Hills.
01:54So, if you're not familiar with Taunton, particularly this part of Taunton, like I say
01:59we're at the north-western edge of the town, in the Robarton and Staple Grove division,
02:04if you're talking Somerset Council, the wi-fi here is a little patchy, so we may get occasional bits
02:09of slow connectivity, but please bear with me, I'm going to walk and talk as briskly and as clearly
02:14as I can, walk briskly, talk clearly, not the other way around, and let me give you a bit of
02:20background about the Staple Grove urban extension. So, back in the days when Taunton Dean Borough
02:26Council ruled this area, before the unitary authority that we're under at the moment,
02:31as part of its core strategy, essentially its version of the local plan,
02:36there were three urban extensions that were identified, which would deliver on the housing
02:42needs for Somerset's county town for at least the coming 10 years. Those three are, in order of
02:50how far they've been built out, the Moncton Heathfield urban extension at the north-eastern
02:54edge of the town, where phase one is largely complete and we're expecting a final decision
03:00on the plans for phase two for more than 1,400 homes sometime before Christmas, might be later
03:07this month for all we know. There is the Orchard Grove site out at Comitro, which I've only just
03:12learned that's how you pronounce it, it's not Comitro, that will deliver 2,000 homes along
03:18with the primary school, park and bus site and other commercial space, and that is well into
03:23building, though how much of that will be delivered with the current phosphate mitigation remains to
03:28be seen, and then you have the Staple Grove urban extension where we started our journey today.
03:34Now, Staple Grove is one of those sites which got outline planning permission ostensibly
03:42several years ago. There was a big meeting of Taunton Dean Borough Council's planning committee
03:48attended by dozens of concerned local residents, I think it was back in 2017 or 2018 if memory serves,
03:54and for expediency's sake, excuse me, the site has been split into two halves.
04:03Staple Grove West, which comprises 713 new homes and will include a new care home and
04:11some commercial space, and Staple Grove East further along towards Kingston Road,
04:17which will also include, I believe, the new primary school that's been allocated for that
04:22area, so we're talking a total of 1,628 new houses along with various infrastructure and
04:30there'll be a spine road running through it from the A358 at Pen Elm, which is about a quarter of
04:36a mile up in that direction, not far from the Cross Keys pub. Now, one of the things that is
04:43quite a feature of local planning is that even if a planning committee makes a decision in public,
04:49there are still legal documents that need to be signed to grant that planning permission,
04:53including the securing of developer contributions through section 106 agreements where a developer
04:59will set aside money for improving roads, new cycle lanes like the ones we're walking on at
05:04the moment down Stilt Mills Road, contributions towards primary schools, medical centres, dentists,
05:13you know the drill, and those legal agreements, certainly for the west site and for the east,
05:20were not signed off before the Natural England ruling on phosphates in August 2020, so
05:27the entire area has been delayed in its delivery because now additional phosphate
05:33litigation had to be found. A couple of years ago there was a decision by Somerset Western Taunton
05:40to allow new wetlands to be built way to the north towards Nailsbourne area,
05:46which would allow a certain number of homes within the western portion of the site to be unlocked.
05:51We think it's around 250 and the idea being that subsequently more mitigation would come on stream
05:58if you'll pardon the pun, but since then things have gone a little quiet regarding Staple Grove
06:06and we've asked a number of questions to Somerset Council and we hope to hear back in the not too
06:11distant future about where things stand, including the status of a grant from the
06:19Government's Housing Infrastructure Fund, it was around £14 million if memory serves,
06:24which was designed to essentially front load funding for the new spine road that would run
06:30through the site and some of which would go towards the new primary school, and I'll bring
06:35you some more information on where things stood with that while we wait for this crossing to turn
06:40green. We're observing the highway code as best we can, this is a very busy junction coming off
06:45Bindon Road near the industrial estate, we're also not far from the Langford Mead housing
06:51development on the edge of Norton Fitzwarren, so we don't want to do anything stupid or disrespectful.
06:59And like I say, if you have any comments or questions about anything that I've raised so
07:03far, I know that I'm rattling through even though we've got a long time together today,
07:09then just drop something in the comments. I think I'm going to cross here because those
07:12like to know I'm red. So, back in December 2023,
07:22Bloor Homes South West, which is the developer that has been tasked with
07:27bringing forward the western part of the Staple Grove urban extension,
07:35they sought planning permission to delay the delivery of the school. Originally it was
07:41a case that the new primary school within the western part of the site, clarifying for myself,
07:46would have to be built before the first 250 homes had been occupied,
07:51but Bloor are currently trying to renegotiate so that they can build 575 new homes before that
07:58school is finished. And those negotiations are still ongoing after nearly a year, there is a
08:05shortage of planning officers at the new Somerset Council and that problem is only going to get
08:10worse as a result of the transformation programme and the redundancies that are currently in the
08:16offing. There's a staff consultation going on at the moment and we'll find out the results of that
08:21in the new year, but it looks like 450 positions around the middle management level will be going
08:28and that will include in the planning, licensing and enforcement departments. So,
08:33the decisions are taking a long time now, they're going to continue to take a long time
08:38into the future and one of the reasons that we're talking about Staple Grove today is
08:45reinforcing to you, not only the opportunities that the site presents in terms of
08:51its links to existing employment and the town centre, but also the challenges with bringing
08:56forward a development of this scale and even if the Labour government does bring forward its
09:03promised liberalisation of planning law making it easier for developers to get permission, not just
09:08for houses but for employment and infrastructure too, if you don't have the actual manpower to
09:15implement those decisions then it all looks good on paper but you won't be laying a single brick
09:22in the ground and the council is still working closely with Natural England and Wessex Water
09:30and other partners as well on long-term solutions to the phosphate crisis so that
09:36more of these homes can be unlocked and therefore Somerset's housing crisis can be eased.
09:44If you've only just joined me, it's Daniel Mumby, your local democracy reporter.
09:49Sorry if I sound a little out of breath, I know it's relatively flat but I've already walked two
09:53miles this morning to get out from Taunton Town Centre to where we started our stream today
10:00on the A358 Staple Grove Road and we're now retracing our steps. We've come down the A3065
10:08Silk Mills Road and we are just a short distance away from the entrance to the park and ride site
10:16here on the western edge of Taunton. We're about to go over the railway line
10:20and from there we will cut through Long Run Meadow skirting along the southern edge of it
10:27past the Castle School and the College and we will end up going through near French Way Park.
10:36We'll just skirt around the edge of it and reach our destination through Goodlands Gardens.
10:42Incidentally, Taunton Town Council consultation on the possible replacement for the former footbridge
10:51in Goodlands Gardens I believe is still active at least until the end of today so
10:56please go onto their website you'll find the email address
11:01for applying to that consultation and give your views if you haven't already.
11:06Now like I say the Staple Grove Urban Extension we're talking 1,628 new homes that have been
11:17part and parcel of the council's planning policy for more than a decade now
11:21but we haven't really seen any progress in the last well at least the last year the
11:29the Bloor amendments in terms of the delivery of the primary school are still being negotiated
11:34as far as we know and that's taken the best part of 12 months and still no resolution
11:40but one of the issues that we have with Staple Grove aside from the phosphate mitigation that's
11:49being put in place as we make room for these cyclists
11:55great to see people actually using the lanes I know it's a common complaint when we've done
11:59stories about cycling and active travel of people saying you build loads of cycle lanes
12:03but the cyclists don't use them well here they are and I've seen quite a few people
12:08on my travels this morning using the lanes crossing in the right places and at the right time so
12:13if you put this infrastructure in place they will be used
12:17anyway to get back on track after that rather pro cycling tangent so one of the issues with
12:24the viability of the site aside from phosphates aside from the delivery of the school which is
12:30not just tied up with the developer's profit margin but also the the number of pupils that
12:37are expected to come forward in the Taunton area over the coming years bearing in mind that Britain
12:42if you take immigration out of the equation it has a falling birth rate like a lot of developing
12:47like a lot of countries in the developed world certainly a lot of countries in Western Europe
12:52so you can understand up to a point people not wanting to build schools if they're only
12:57be half empty for their entire lifespan but one of the other issues which I will flag up in detail
13:05once we've beaten off this crossing is that money from the government's housing infrastructure fund
13:12which is distributed through homes england if memory serves correctly that's the
13:16the body that provides funding for decontaminating brownfield sites unlocking housing developments
13:22through relief roads and contributing affordable housing to housing associations that's the body
13:27for instance that provided money to clear the saxonvale site out in Froome
13:30now the housing infrastructure fund it provided £14,216,000 to Taunton Dean Borough Council back in March 2019
13:42which would help to deliver the development and back in November 2022 Somerset Western
13:49Taunton Council approved in principle the first phase of the western part of the Staple Grove site
13:55which included green landscaping at the western end of the Spine Road to offset some of those
14:00phosphate issues and provide a barrier between the new homes Cross Keys and Norton Fitzwarren
14:06this is surprisingly busy but then the park and ride is very well used and we're not too far from
14:11Musgrove Park itself so I guess we shouldn't be too surprised let alone disappointed I'm going to
14:16just make a break for now you know should be waiting for all the signals but time is of the
14:23essence and we've got a lot of ground still to cover just let these three roll past we are going
14:34to be skirting around the middle of the park and ride building using the zebra crossings that will
14:41then take us into the western edge of Long Run Meadow and the cycle path does continue down
14:49Silk Mills Road all the way to the other roundabout so you can carry on your journey
14:53in that direction. If you cycle to the park and ride or to Musgrove do let us know in the
15:00comments or if you walk here rather than driving just because it says park and ride it doesn't
15:04mean you have to use a car to get here and unfortunately it is one of these sites that
15:10has had issues with traveler incursion unauthorized encampments over the years it's much like the
15:16gateway site on the other side of Thornton it has had people camping out here and sleeping here
15:22when they shouldn't because it's not an authorized transit site or temporary campsite of any kind
15:28Somerset council is doing some work to install new barriers and concrete blocks to discourage people
15:34stop them getting vehicles through here that don't belong but we don't yet have a date for when that
15:39will be implemented. So getting back on track with the HIF funding housing infrastructure fund
15:46now the bulk of that was allocated towards the new primary school and delivering the first section
15:56of the Spine Road which eventually will run all the way from the A358 Penelope
16:02through the site cutting it in half essentially and ending up with a new junction
16:07at it's either Thornton Road or Kingston Road it changes name halfway up but it's the road
16:13that leads out to the surrounding parish of Kingston St Mary not too far I believe from
16:20the Wellsprings Leisure Centre certainly a short walk away. Now the fly in the ointment with that
16:27funding is that it had to be spent in its entirety or at least drawn down that means
16:33taken from the treasury or the relevant government department in this case the ministry for housing
16:39communities and local government it had to be drawn down by March 31st this year and what we
16:46don't have as of yet is confirmation from Somerset Council as to whether they have done that
16:53and whether any of that money has been spent. It may be of course that the then Conservative
17:00government which was still in power by that point may have quietly extended that deadline
17:05just as the Homes England funding that went on Saxon Vale was extended multiple times and
17:11the council ended up not using all of it. The way the Homes England funding works is that they don't
17:16just give you the money in a pot and then ask for it back if you don't spend it. It's one of those
17:22things where you have to invoice the treasury for certain tranches of those grants and then
17:28they're drawn down to the local authorities accounts. So it's possible that that deadline
17:32for spending the HIF funding may have been extended because as you can see from the start
17:36of the stream no spine road has started being built there's certainly no school on the site
17:41and there is a worry that certainly from my perspective if that money has had to be
17:49handed back to the treasury it's great for the taxpayer in terms of balancing the books although
17:5514.2 million is a drop in the ocean compared to the overall sums involved but it does mean
18:02that the viability of the Staple Grove urban extension may be threatened and where viability
18:07is threatened the first thing that goes is the social housing and the affordable housing
18:12which is the thing we need most from these developments with new employment being a
18:16close second I would say. If you've only just joined me it's Daniel Mumby here your local
18:23democracy reporter in Taunton once again on a humid overcast and drizzly November day.
18:31We're talking about the Staple Grove urban extension of more than 1,600 new homes that
18:36are planned for the northwestern edge of Somerset County town. We started our journey today
18:44on the A358 Staple Grove road near the planned entrance for the site where the new spine road
18:48will be coming out and we are currently having just come through the silk mills park and ride
18:54we are now in the early reaches of Long Run Meadow this huge extraordinary green lung
19:00in the western part of Taunton and one thing I should point out before we get back to the issue
19:07of funding from central government the person I know that is in light of the budget is that
19:13part of the route that we are walking on at the moment or certainly skirting very close to
19:19will if plans go ahead form part of the Grand Western Greenway which is being pursued
19:28as an active travel off-road car-free route linking Taunton and Wellington. You might have
19:34seen the stream that we did with Charles Biscoe all those months ago looking at the Wellington
19:39end of the route which skirts along the planned site of the new railway station that we hope the
19:46town will still be getting but it's one of those things where it wasn't mentioned in the budget
19:50and we are awaiting clarification from the department for transport on that hopefully
19:56Gideon Amos your local MP will have some news on that before Christmas and we hope it's nice news
20:01but the Grand Western Greenway will run from the railway station side and possibly out as
20:05far as Tonedale Mill when that's regenerated all the way north of the A38 without going anywhere
20:13near the main road itself and linking up with the Freeze Hill Orchard running across
20:20Silk Mills and linking up with these existing paths as well as potentially running all the way
20:28to Taunton railway station via the existing bridge that's near Chip Lane and if you've not
20:36walked through Long Run Meadow it is an absolute maze of paths. I've been here multiple times over
20:40the years and every time I come I find a new route to explore. For this purpose we're going
20:45to stick to the ones that seem most cycle friendly along with the ones which are shall we say the
20:54driest. We haven't had too much rain overnight so you won't hear too much squelching underfoot
21:01and there's plenty of people out with their dogs as well and we don't want to interfere too greatly
21:05let's just get over to this side
21:07so to get us back on track because the Grand Western Greenway if it goes ahead is still
21:12years in the making though there are some positive signs coming out of Taunton Town Council about
21:17delivering their stretch of the route. Now whatever happens with the housing infrastructure
21:26fund grant and like I say we're awaiting clarification from Somerset Council about
21:30the fate of that spending. The council has put in a bid for some funding from a new pot of money
21:38that the incoming Labour government announced shortly after they won the election in July
21:43called, just to make it confusing, the Housing Accelerator Fund or HAF and essentially they've
21:50had an initial call for sites where Somerset Council along with every other local authority
21:54in the land has put forward a list of sites that they're going to be building and they've
21:59has put forward a list of sites which could benefit from funding to unlock development
22:06not just brownfield sites but greenfields as well and we understand that there are six sites that
22:12have been put forward in Somerset for some of that funding as we just nipped through here
22:19of which several of them are in Taunton including the Tangier Gas Works site
22:25and Staple Grove. Now we don't know at this stage how long it will take Angela Rayner and her
22:33friends at MHCLG to decide which of those sites are worthy of how much funding if any. We hope for a
22:43decision before Christmas but the government has a lot on its plate besides that so it may be early
22:50in the new year but even if we are only successful in securing a small fraction of what we otherwise
22:57would have got from the HIF funding then that could help to at least kick-start the Bloor side
23:04of the urban extension and we can take it from there as we head over the River Tone over one
23:11of the many beautiful bridges in this part of Taunton and into the meadow proper. We've done
23:19a couple of live streams from this area I think the last time I was here was about a month maybe
23:25two months ago further towards the river itself when we were talking about the waterways strategy
23:33Somerset Council laying out its ideas for how to improve not just the River Taunton but also
23:41all of the streams that feed it including the Mill Stream and the Norton Brook and enhancing
23:47its end of the Bridgewater and Taunton Canal a vital historic waterway and also a vital
23:55flood defence because to stop the Tone bursting its banks when there's heavy rain
24:00water often gets sent down the canal from Firepool Lock coming out at the Northgate Docks
24:07which as you may have been following with our coverage at that end of things will soon be
24:13regenerated under the Bridgewater Town Deal. One of the nice things about being a journalist
24:17with a kind of specialism like this is that when all of these different parts fit together and you
24:22see how one story knits into another and flows into a third and it's I don't know about you I
24:28just find it really edifying and rewarding you might think it's totally dull but if you thought
24:32I was dull I don't think you'd be watching these streams and I'm very grateful for all of your
24:36company thus far. What I'm going to do is just quicken my pace a little bit so that we can get
24:43past this group and head on our merry way as we pass the Circle of Peace. It's quite hard to see
24:50today but it's very much there still appears on the maps and we will carry on our journey through
24:59the meadow. You can see there are numerous paths that snake off all the various desire lines
25:05and we're going to be carrying on in that direction towards the church.
25:13Let's just power on through here.
25:16Right then we turn left here to carry on into the town centre and you might just be able to see
25:40as an assurance that I'm not getting lost this time
25:44the floodlights of Somerset County Cricket Club just looming in the distance. I happen to think
25:51they look really beautiful. I remember when they were first erected ahead of the Cricket World Cup
25:56five years ago. Has it really been that long? Someone described them as like the tripods from
26:02the War of the Worlds just looming over the landscape. Rest assured I think that was a
26:07minority view and I think they look rather splendid and I would love it for Taunton to
26:12get a lot more matches if and when England hosts the Cricket World Cup again. Hopefully
26:18that won't be too long to wait. So if you don't know this part of Taunton very well
26:26Long Run Meadow is this fantastic green lung that stretches huge distances all the way out
26:33from Silk Mills Road down to the neighbouring French Weir Park which is a field in trust.
26:40Means essentially that it can't be built upon. It will remain a green lung for the town in
26:46perpetuity. As you can see a lot of the land is low-lying and prone to flooding anyway so building
26:52on it would be a tall order I would suggest. But you certainly get the idea of how beautiful it is
27:00even on a a grim autumn day like today. So far the rain has held off. It's just the odd bit of
27:06drizzle. It's one of those days where you you can sort of get out and about but it's not quite dry
27:11enough to put the washing outside and hope for the best. And I love coming to here. I love exploring
27:18all these routes and this is not the most direct route across the park if you were trying to reach
27:25French Weir quickly but it is the widest and the smoothest in terms of cycling or
27:32using a mobility scooter or however else you would wheel across this landscape.
27:41As you can see a lot of it is a little undulating and
27:45marked but there's no big risks of punches here I would venture.
27:47And we are sort of skirting very close to Long Run Lane as well and we'll be coming past the
27:58Castle School before too much longer. If you have any just join me. It is a rather rambling
28:05and meandering stream but I hope that this is putting you in a relaxed mindset for the weekend
28:10as well as hopefully being informative. It's Daniel Mumby here, your local democracy reporter.
28:15I'm currently in Long Run Meadow in the heart of Taunton. We started our journey today on the 8358
28:22Staple Grove Road near Pen Elm, the planned site of the Staple Grove Urban Extension.
28:30Yeah, Terence, I feel your pain with washing not drying in this weather. In fact, the last time I
28:35put stuff out in this weather it was wetter when I took it in than when I put it out. It's very
28:39depressing but we do what we can and frankly I wouldn't miss these autumn colours for the world.
28:47So just a quick recap. If you're just popping on the stream now you're more than welcome.
28:52We are walking from the Staple Grove Urban Extension to the town centre following these
28:58very helpful blue, I don't know if you call them roundels or something like that, but signs. Anyway,
29:06we've come down the 358, down the A3065, past the Norton Fitzwarren development whose name
29:17suddenly escapes me, near the Burbindon Road Industrial Estate, Langford Mead, that's it.
29:22We came through the Silk Mills Park and Ride using those zebra crossings, weaving our way
29:27into Long Run Meadow with the river always on our left and the railway line a long way to our west
29:34to our north, I should say. We're heading east at the moment and we are working our way through
29:38Long Run Meadow, demonstrating the relative ease, I would say, of getting into the town
29:46from these planned 1600 new homes. Now, I will say, as you probably have already gathered,
29:52this is not the most direct route if you were driving. If you were coming from the site you
29:56would probably go down Staple Grove Road, get onto the A3027, go over the bridge in the town centre
30:03and take it from there. But what we're trying to show with these live streams, as well as
30:09encouraging you to get out and about on foot and see more of Somerset for yourself rather than just
30:14driving past it to take a picture, is while not all of the infrastructure is 100% up to snuff
30:22and there are a number of missing links that need to be tackled by the council and volunteer groups
30:28like the Taunton Area Cycling Campaign, that we do have a lot of good walking and cycling routes
30:35already in place which will link up to these major housing estates,
30:40even if huge amounts of money aren't made available in the short term.
30:47And, sorry, another comment from Terence there. I'm glad this is informing you parts of Taunton
30:55you may not have known about. It's designed to demonstrate the links from those new houses that
31:01are already there so that if you don't feel like driving or you're unable to drive or you simply
31:06get up one day and decide I don't feel like getting in the car, I want to go on a bike
31:10or I want to walk or something like that, that you can do it.
31:16Antoinette, you are very welcome all the way from Texas, 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm trying to do the
31:22calculations in my head as to why that isn't Celsius on the basis that 100 Fahrenheit is 37 or
31:2838. So high 20s, early 30s, either way it's a lot hotter than here and you are very very welcome.
31:36Thank you again Terence for your comment. So we are now just coming down the back of the
31:40Castle School. We're now on demarcated pedestrian and cycle link. I'm actually walking on the wrong
31:46side, silly me. Naughty naughty. We're also passing the Air Training Corps meeting hut
31:55home of 41F Scroggin and from here it's a smooth tarmac walk
32:02skirting around these schools. We've got the college in the distance through those trees
32:06and from here we go over the narrow metal bridge skirting around the bottom of French Boy Park
32:13and then we end up in Goodlands Gardens in about 5-10 minutes time. That's if the battery can go
32:18this long. Live stream even if it's just showing you parts of Taunton that you didn't really know
32:23were there. Like I say we've asked a lot of questions to Somerset Council about the timing
32:32of the Staple Grove Urban Extension. Obviously there's work going on in earnest at Orchard Grove
32:37and Munson Heathfield so I can understand them not wanting to have three major sets of roadworks
32:42happening across Taunton at the same time. If you want to experience that just go to Bridgewater
32:47where the Dumbo roundabout construction will start on Monday in addition to the
32:53Agritas works near the Gigafactory and the delivery of the Celebration Mile on Eastover
33:00and we've done numerous articles on why that's all happening now.
33:04Long story short, government funding has to be spent on that and it has to be spent by a certain
33:08date. Thank you Terence for your continuous encouragement. We presented ourselves with a bit
33:13of a problem of school lunch time so we're having to pan slightly so we don't run into
33:18too many safeguarding issues but you get the idea. Like I say we've only got a little further to go
33:32and my knees haven't started buckling just yet so I'm more worried actually about my throat
33:37going completely dry. I do have an emergency bottle of water in my backpack but I haven't
33:41had to reach for that reserve just yet. I'm just going to see if we can power past these young people.
33:56There we go.
34:01Path is clear again even if it's not always quiet. So many beautiful autumn leaves around here.
34:07So like I said before we run into those obstacles we we are expecting statements
34:12through from Somerset Council later this month clarifying the status not just of
34:17the individual planning applications surrounding the Staple Grove site. It's after 12 Terence so
34:23I could have a cider but uh off on that just for a little longer if we can. But we're also
34:30expecting clarification on the status of that government funding that was promised back in 2019.
34:36How much of that's been spent if any whether they could still use it there are so many variables
34:42so many uh different balls being juggled in the air and uh I can understand it's hard to keep
34:48track of all these things but it's hard to believe that it's been about two years since
34:53the revised proposals that allow the wetlands to go ahead were put through.
34:58All right we need to turn left here skirting down this way we're not heading towards the
35:06hospital today unless something drastic happens in the next five minutes and we will head
35:12just south of French Weir where the big test goes to our right and over the bridge.
35:22So we will get some clarification on all the points that I've raised today about that funding
35:27and when development could start. Bear in mind of course that if the council and the developers
35:35get all their ducks in a row with Whitehall it doesn't mean that all 1600 homes could be
35:39delivered like that. These kinds of developments are always phased and one of the big issues when
35:45the plans were first approved was with the delivery of the Spine Road whether they would have to use
35:51Corkscrew Lane near the Staple Grove Village as a construction route and suffice to say
35:59residents that I've spoken to over the years are not thrilled by that prospect.
36:04Corkscrew Lane being narrow and predominantly rural in nature I think people want to keep
36:10the eastern side of that neighbourhood as rural as it can until the homes start creeping out that
36:15way which we're talking maybe end of this decade early 2030s as we put French Weir behind us
36:22and power forwards with what I believe is the Mill Stream to my right, correct me if I'm wrong,
36:33and so many autumn leaves. I was reminded when I was checking this route out in reverse order
36:40before this live stream, if you're old enough to remember Tommy Cooper,
36:45there was a fantastic sketch that he used to do called Autumn Leaves where he would be sitting
36:49at a piano and there'd be some ladies dancing and singing about autumn leaves falling and
36:54gradually more and more leaves would be dumped on the piano until he was covered in them and could
36:58no longer play. I remember seeing that when I was about five years old and thinking it was the
37:04funniest thing in the world. I've always wanted to try and reenact it on stage but
37:08while autumn leaves themselves are probably not expensive,
37:11finding a stage with high enough rafters to drop it and then clearing it up afterwards probably is.
37:18Yeah, I have to agree with you Terrence, it really is beautiful. In fact the whole of Long
37:23Run Meadow and French Weir are absolutely stunning which makes it all the more edifying that they've
37:28been protected for future generations. We hear so much about green spaces being in jeopardy,
37:35being in jeopardy about our green fields being built over because it's cheaper to do that than
37:41building on brownfield sites but, you know, areas like this should be protected not just for us but
37:46for ecology and biodiversity and in Long Run Meadows case it serves a crucial role in flood
37:53prevention because all the water that we saw on Long Run Meadow is water that would otherwise go
38:00straight into the River Tone into the town centre and before we know it homes and businesses would
38:05be having to put out the sandbags. So we're just coming up now towards Castle Street.
38:16So far the battery is just about holding so we should get all the way to Bridge Street if we're
38:21brisk and just admiring some of the distinctive graffiti. Since we're walking past it I'll
38:36reiterate what I was saying. We are near the Tangier Gas Works site here and you may remember
38:43back in 2018 there was a planned redevelopment of this site of around 180 flats if memory serves,
38:51put forward by a company called Galliford Try that ultimately came to nothing because of
38:56viability concerns with the company. So we understand that Somerset Council has applied for
39:04housing accelerator funding to bring that site back into contention. As far as we're aware it is
39:11actually in council ownership now because I believe Somerset Western Taunton Council bought it
39:16at the end of 2020 early 2021 but we're trying to get that confirmed as well. If it is in public
39:22ownership then you could be looking at another miniature firepool regeneration scheme going
39:28forwards although hopefully it'll take a lot less time to come to fruition and hopefully we'll get
39:35some exciting news about firepool early in the new year. If nothing else we'll be getting the
39:40new bridge linking it up with the coal orchard site and that cycle route along the river.
39:49So we're coming on to Tangier Way where we have to cross a couple more times and then we'll head
39:55down that ramp into Goodlands Gardens past where the footbridge once stood and then we will end
40:02our journey with a brisk stride up the rainbow path that was put in several years ago and that's
40:08where we'll wrap things up. I realise this has devolved slightly from a stream into a
40:14sightseeing tour but there's only so much information that you can cover in a certain
40:19amount of time and isn't he friendly? Or maybe he just likes being on camera. Who can say?
40:28So we're just waiting for a quick gap in the traffic.
40:32Like I say, with the Staple Grove site there are so many uncertainties and unknowns
40:37and not just the known unknowns but the unknown unknowns, to paraphrase the late Donald Rumsfeld.
40:45So I wouldn't want to fill the remainder of this stream with speculation just for the sake of
40:50filling time only to be proven wrong in a couple of weeks. Suffice to say it's not very professional
40:56or ethical of me as a giant list. So we're now coming down the ramp into Goodlands Gardens,
41:01not Goodland Gardens as numerous Taunton residents have pointed out to me. We always forget that it's
41:06double plurals and from here it's just a very short, safe and picturesque walk under these
41:15willow trees. I used to think they're willow trees. This one isn't. We will end up on Bridge Street
41:21where I'll be getting some lunch off-camera and more beautiful autumn colours. One thing I will
41:30also point out as we go past this part of the Mill Stream and this particular bridge,
41:36one of the other things that we have to look forward to in 2025 is essentially the reopening
41:43of Taunton bus station, off in that direction, as Taunton's new transport hub. Terence, I reckon
41:51it's about two miles each way. It's seven kilometres altogether and I'm trying to do
41:57the maths in my head. The stream at the moment is covering three and a half kilometres which
42:01I think is just over two miles and most of it is reasonably flat so I haven't been too out of
42:06breath today which is good. As I was saying, Taunton's transport hub which will allow more
42:12regular bus services along with coaches, a designated base, there'll be electric vehicle
42:17charging to allow electric buses to use the area, there'll be improved facilities for passengers
42:24waiting including some kind of commercial space within the bus station building. The
42:28Town Street building at the moment is a bit of a mess. It's a bit of a mess but it's a
42:34The Town Street building at the moment is occupied by the NHS as a vaccination centre. We don't yet
42:39have confirmation from them as to when they'll move out but that funding for that transport hub
42:46comes from central government with certain conditions. It has to be spent by a certain
42:50date. You know the drill by now and we hope to get more information on that around January,
42:55February time with delivery starting in the spring. We've just come over
43:03this little bridge. There's a whirlpool and weir that you mustn't go near
43:08while messing about on the river as the children's song goes.
43:12And our final little jaunt. It looks a little faded these days but at least it's still here.
43:18Taunton's rainbow path leading up
43:24towards the recently repaired bridge over the River Tome which had its famous lanterns
43:33refitted only in the last couple of weeks finishing the repainting work that was on
43:38not so long ago when all of this was covered in scaffolding. It looks a lot better now
43:42and we have reached journey's end. I hope that this has given you a very good indication.
43:48All right it's a long walk but it's a pleasant one and it's already available. 90% of the
43:54infrastructure to cycle from Staple Grove to the middle of town is already in place and even on an
44:01autumnal day like this there is so much good stuff to see. So that's where we're going to
44:06leave things. If you missed any part of this live stream