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