By Harry Mottram: As covered previously in Axbridge News there was a gorse fire above Shute Shelve which took the Devon and Somerset Brigades several hours over night of the 29-30 July, to put out. Since then a report on social media of an attempt to set fire to the furlong field failed but a fire in the back garden in a home in the town caused damage to the property after a barbeque was left unattended. And today (7 August) a fire at a garage in Rooksbridge closed the A38 for a time while fire fighters doused the blaze. It goes without saying that caution around naked flames – even in your back garden – is the watch word.
No hosepipe ban
South West Water have introduced a hosepipe ban from the early hours of Saturday, 8th August, due to the extended dry period this summer with little prospect of rain soon. However it does not include Axbridge as Bristol Water has not imposed a ban. Exeter based Pennon Group own South West Water who in turn own Bristol Water and of course Cheddar Reservoir. They cover our drinking water for our area while Wessex Water provide the service that includes waste water and sewage – an arrangement dating back to the history of who owned the companies in the past. As it stands however the hosepipe ban does not include Bristol Water or Wessex Water – so no ban for Axbridge.
In a statement the utility company said: “A temporary hosepipe ban is being introduced for all our customers in Devon, Cornwall, parts of Dorset and Somerset and the Isles of Scilly. The ban will come into effect at 00:01am on Saturday 8th August to help protect water supplies during the current drought conditions.”
For some residents this may come as a surprise since Cheddar Reservoir is 66% full while this time last year it was much lower at 42% (figures from the utility) with the floor of the reservoir exposed in places by the end of the summer.
Meanwhile a burst water main in Draycott has closed the A371 until Saturday evening (8th August.)
The Environment Agency has declared half of England, including the South West, in drought. Most recently, the Met Office has announced that England and Wales have provisionally recorded their driest July on record, with Southern England seeing its driest month ever recorded, in a series dating back to 1836.
King John’s Hunting Lodge
The museum in the famous Tudor building has two special displays between now and the end of October. One is the Magnificent Mendip Hills, by pupils of Axbridge School, museum trustee Pauline Trapp writes: “Year 3 Class (Redwood Class) are showing the work they did about the Mendips and local area. Their fabulous display includes visitor guides to the area covering history, wildlife, visitor attractions and Axbridge (of course!). Their work shows a deep understanding of conservation and the need to protect the beautiful landscape. There are also some very appealing paintings of the natural landscape inspired by the painting of local artist Tilly Mortimer, who worked with the children, showing her paintings and helping them create their own works of art.”
The second display is about how the town looked in the 1950s and 1960s. Back then the town had a much smaller population – no Knightstone Close or Houlgate Way – a time when the town had a train station linking it to Wells and Yatton – and traffic flowed through the Square causing considerable congestion.
During last winter some major changes were made to the exhibitions, including an expanded display area featuring the Axbridge Workhouse, a new Romano-British room, and the relocation of the temporary exhibition space. Thanks to a team of volunteers, the museum is open every day 1pm to 4pm and from 10am to 4pm on the first Saturday of each month to coincide with the monthly Farmers’ Market.
Wessex Water
The BBC’s Hannah Miller reported on a demonstration by the Bath and North East Somerset Green party outside the offices of Wessex Water who supply sewage and waste water services to Axbridge. The reason was to protest the payout to the utility’s CEO Ruth Jefferson whose pay increased by almost 14% to £670,000.
The pay packet was in contrast to the amount of pollution entering local waterways. The Environment Agency (EA) data shows last year the company released 190,666 hours of raw sewage into waterways. In their defence the firm are building underground tanks across Bristol to store excess storm water and stop sewage from flowing into the River Avon. Wessex Water is planning to spend £50 million on upgrading the sewer network underneath Bristol to prevent sewage from polluting the city’s rivers. Their critics will say this work should have taken place many years ago – and the underground network is yet to begin. Our local MP Tessa Munt has also attacked the utility for their past failings and the slowness of beginning the clean-up work.
A Wessex Water spokesperson said: “While licensed overflows discharge mostly rainwater and groundwater, we agree they are outdated, which is why we have plans to invest more than £50 million at locations across Bristol to reduce how often they operate in our region.”
Cheddar Gorge
From now the speed limit has changed to a maximum of 30mph up to the Charterhouse junction, at the B3371 when it is 60mph. With sheep and goats often wandering into the road around the sharp bends – including those further up the gorge – this will hopefully reduce the number of animals hit by cars and improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians.
Road closure
The Wells Road and Draycott Road between Rodney Stoke and Cheddar will be closed from the 1st September 2026 for 28 days to allow Wales & West Utilities to carry out gas works along the A371. Please follow the link to view the road closure; https://one.network/?tm=GB149230796
For any further information about this closure please contact Wales & West Utilities on 0800 912 2999, quoting reference: ttro880315N.
Gypsy and Traveller site
The planning application to create a Gypsy and Traveller Site off the bypass near St Michaels is under planning consideration. It was listed as an item in the July meeting of the Axbridge Town Council as: “d) 02/25/00030 Change of use of land to Gypsy and Traveller Site to include 1 no. pitch and associated works on Land West of St Michaels and North of A371 Cheddar Road, Axbridge. This application was still under consideration.” It is noted in the draft minutes.
Houlgate Way estate
Axbridge Town Council had a request by a resident to clarify who is responsible for the new green areas around the new estate off Houlgate Way. The draft minutes state: “The Clerk had sought information from the Planning Department which had advised that the management of the open space and play provision lies with the applicant and their appointed management company. The Clerk would respond to the resident accordingly but also point out that the car park is a public car park (contrary to a recent social media post).”
The new playground remains fenced off.
Speed Watch
Again – these are from the draft minutes of the town council meeting in July: “Information from the Speed Watch Group would be considered at the next meeting of the Highways Advisory Group, which would also discuss the change of speed limit from 30mph to 20mph in Cheddar Road.”
You may recall that speeds of more than 70mph have been recorded in Cheddar Road – despite signage and the digital speed screens.
New recreation field
Axbridge Town Council’s draft minutes show they are ‘currently ploughing through the planning application process required to change the field, which was kindly donated to the town by the family of Derek Law, from an agricultural field to a recreation area.’
Money from the recent filming in the Square and around the town will be used towards the cost of changing the field into a park come recreation field. The field was donated by Derek Law who died aged 95 in 2021 – it lies between Knightstone Close and Portmead Drove and is linked to the Furlong Field by a hedge.
Axbridge Diary of Events
Some Axbridge dates coming up. Send Axbridge events to me and I’ll try to keep the list updated. Email: harryfmottram@gmail.com I’ll also post on my website at https://www.harrymottram.co.uk/diary/
Harry Mottram and Axbridge News
Note: I get asked this frequently so just to repeat I write up these stories from time to time out of personal interest – all the information is in the public domain – I put it together, so it makes sense to me. I am not paid – my main job is covering Bath for Bath Voice News and ICSM of Bridgwater which is about business insolvencies. I have lived in Old Church Road for over 25 years and am married to Linda – our four children went to the local state schools. I’ve always taken an interest in local affairs having worked as a journalist in Somerset for many years. More at at www.harrymottram.co.uk and social media on X as @harrythe spiv, Facebook, Blue Sky, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads and God knows where else!
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