John Wimperis 📰

Bath Rugby stadium will get built after Government green light "We are thrilled to have received this news so swiftly"

Big news for #Bath

Bath Rugby says it has been told by the Secretary of State that he will not be calling in the plans for their stadium

It means that the council is now free to grant the planning permission councillors voted in favour of last week

www.somersetlive.co.uk/sport/other-...

Chippy told to remove picnic tables that 'could be used as weapons' The police have been locked in a bizarre furniture row with the owner of the Grand Pier

As Churchill so nearly said: "We will fight them with the benches"

My #LDReporter story on a bizarre row between the police and the owner of the Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare

www.somersetlive.co.uk/whats-on/wha...

Reform, buses, and taking over from Dan Norris - WECA mayor's first 100 days 100 days into being the West of England Metro Mayor, we speak to Helen Godwin

I sat down with Helen Godwin for a long chat about her first 100 days as WECA mayor

From how her transport plans remind me of Keir Starmer to how she plans to see off Reform and the Greens and be re-elected in 2029, read the #LDReporter story here:

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

Librarians 'shushed' at work over closure and cuts plans No talking (about council cuts) in the library!

As the area's #LDReporter, I've written a lot about these cuts this week. But when I tried to speak to a librarian, I got kicked out of Worle Library

It turns out there is a strict “no talking (to journalists) in the library" rule

Read the story here:

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

How major council cuts will affect your local library Three libraries face closure and all other council libraries will see their hours cut

While most libraries in the district will stay open, all will see their hours cut to some extent

The council is running a consultation on the plans until October 24 and I have gone through the cuts proposed at every library in North Somerset here:

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerse...

It is one of three libraries 'highly likely' to be closed as the council cuts its spending on libraries by about a fifth

The libraries in Pill and Winscombe are also facing closure, although the council says one of them could be saved if more cuts are made elsewhere

Library faces closure as building has 'extensive wet rot' It was moved out of its purpose built 1960s building into the more than 100-year-old former school eight years ago to save money

🧵 Eight years ago, North Somerset Council moved Worle Library out of its purpose built 1960s building into a more than 100-year-old former school

It was meant to cut costs but 'extensive wet rot' discovered in the old school means it now faces closure:

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerse...

Unique church to be demolished without a vote being cast It's been described as the 'sack' of the village

It's decided. A village near Bath's unique brutalist church will be demolished to make way for housing

Despite being locally listed last year, the plans have been approved without councillors even getting a vote

Full #LDReporter story here:
www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

New bin rule that could cost shops £3k to shut at 5pm The council wants to change Bath's business bin collection timings by an hour — but councillors say it has not been thought through

Nine councillors have launched a bid to stop a change to Bath's evening business waste collection

Why? The change could inadvertently cost shops upwards of £3k a year to close at 5pm

Read the full #LDReporter story here:

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

Ghost town car park losing council quarter of a million a year And the council has no choice but to keep paying the lease until 2058

This car park is losing North Somerset Council over a quarter of a million pounds a year

But, under a contract signed 13 years ago, the council is locked into leasing the mostly unusable car park for decades to come

Read the full #LDReporter story here:
www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerse...

North Somerset MP rebels against government for his disabled son 'North Somerset didn’t elect me to be robot'

Many normally loyal Labour MPs are rebelling against the government over the planned cuts to PIP

One of them is Sadik Al-Hassan, who was elected North Somerset's first ever Labour MP last year

And he has a very personal reason why

#LDReporter

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

Police officer dismissed over basketball row standing for Reform UK He was dismissed from Avon and Somerset Police in 2019

A former police officer dismissed over a “misuse of his position” in a row about a basketball is standing as a #ReformUK candidate

If elected, he would be Jacob Rees-Mogg's local councillor

Read the full #LDReporter story here:
www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

400 NHS redundancies expected with 50 per cent spending cut ordered “We feel devastated by what we are being asked to do”

About 400 people across the two integrated care boards covering Bristol, North Somerset, South Glos, and Gloucestershire proper could be made redundant

One CEO said: 'We feel devastated by what we are being asked to do.'

Read the #LDReporter story here:
www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerse...

Last night, a politician told me I write "clickbait"

So to clear up any confusion: I don't just write stories to get lots of clicks — I want to get lots of people to #buyapaper too :)

There's a great Bath Chronicle in shops all week

#LDReporter

Fight launched to stop 190 homes being built in flood zone A battle over plans to build 190 homes in Yatton has 'national significance'

A hugely important case not just for Yatton and North Somerset, but for the country

Do Labour's new housing targets mean councils have to allow homes to be built in flood zones?

The High Court will decide

Read the #LDReporter story here:

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerse...

Food truck faces £1,000 fine if customers don’t pay 10p 'The way their policy is written doesn’t cover people like me'

A Thai food truck from Cheddar is locked in a bizarre battle with North Somerset Council — all over 10p

Read the #LDReporter story here:

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

I spoke about the context behind this on Charlie Taylor on BBC Radio Somerset last week

As I said on the radio, we didn't then have the full details on pay protection but we now do (see two tweets above)

Full council should have say on council worker pay cuts, says Labour A committee of three councillors will decide on pay cuts affecting 106 council workers tomorrow

Labour and Unison have called for the decision on the new pay structure to be made by the full council — not the employment committee which is only three councillors

Independents for B&NES have called for the council workers to get a pay rise instead
www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

How pay protection will work for B&NES council workers facing pay cut 'It is possible no individual will see an overall reduction in pay'

Council workers whose pay is cut will continue to receive their current salary for three years, due to the council's 'pay protection policy'

Here's how that will work:
www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

Council workers 'devalued' as they await ‘gutting’ pay cut decision 'How can the council do this? What the hell?'

Tomorrow, B&NES' employment committee votes on the council's new pay structure — which means a pay cut for 106 council workers

Meanwhile, 245 more council workers could see a pay cut agreed in coming months

Read the #LDReporter story here &🧵below
www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

North Somerset’s youngest councillor wants to be Green Party deputy leader ' We are the best performing party among 18-24 year olds and there’s no one in our leadership that reflects that'

As Bristol Central MP Carla Denyer says she will step down as Green Party leader, another Green in the area says he is running for deputy leader of the party

And he's just 21

#LDReporter

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

There's a fantastic double page spread on the elections in this weekend's Western Daily Press

Including my coverage of the dramatic West of England Mayor election and the breakdown of the vote by council area

#LDReporter #buyapaper

New West of England Mayor says ‘It's going to be quite different’ 'I don’t see it as a fight against Reform or the Greens'

I am winding up this thread now and going to get some sleep

Thanks to everyone who's read this and to those of you who stayed up late following along last night

To round off, here's my interview with Helen Godwin, the new Labour West of England Mayor:
www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol...

See here for how each different council area voted:

(Spoiler alert, a different candidate was on top on in each different area)

bsky.app/profile/john...

How your area voted for West of England Mayor and who won where A different candidate came top in each different area

Here's how each different area in the West of England voted for the mayor

We often say its a politically diverse region and this shows it

A different candidate was on top in each different area

#LDReporter

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

Green dream crushed as party comes third in tight race for Weca Mayor 'I had such amazing plans and thoughts about how we could spend money better in this region'

The Greens had been tipped to win in the polls but ended in third place — despite strong support in Bristol

Here's my look at what happened

www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/green-d...

Reform's Arron Banks says narrow defeat in Mayor election 'pretty epic' 'Bristol and Bath should not be natural Reform territory and we aced it'

Arron Banks came a close second place in the West of England Mayor battle

Here's what he had to say to me about Reform's performance

www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/local-n...

Labour's Helen Godwin celebrates victory in Weca mayor contest She saw off Reform UK's Arron Banks

Labour’s Helen Godwin is the new West of England Mayor, seeing off challenges from Reform’s Arron Banks and Green Mary Page

www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol...

Labour have won the West of England Mayor election. Lots more from me to follow soon

Candidates and activists are all gathered round ready for the declaration to begin here