£6m Regeneration Project for Minehead

Ian is joined by Justin Robinson while the turntable is under construction

At the official opening of this wonderful project, Cllr. Ian Galloway said: "I am very proud that we are now able to open this hugely significant development which the residents of Minehead have helped to shape. We owe them all a huge vote of thanks and I am confident that together we will make the most of the opportunities created by Somerset County Council and its partners, and that the local economy will soon see a good return."

The new Mart Road development provides modern workspaces for businesses, retail opportunities and 110-space car park. There will also be a cafe and the facility for different events to be held at the site, such as trade fairs and farmers' markets The site will also include a viewing area for the new West Somerset Railway turntable, which will enable visitors to see close-up the spectacle of 165-ton locomotives being moved by just two people.

At last - Large Lorries re-directed by SatNav!

Lorries will soon be able to trust their SatNavs not to lead them down a dead end or an inappropriate route through a small village. In some areas they have become completely stuck and had to be rescued with heavy lifting gear, to say nothing of the chaos caused to the flow of traffic!

Councillor Hazel Prior-Sankey (Portfolio Holder for Transport, Planning & Waste) was greatly in demand when the media heard the news. She was pleased to be able to tell them that Somerset County Council and Suffolk County Council have agreed to work in partnership to help improve the quality of information presented by SatNav systems, as well as sharing information on other highways matters.

During a recent meeting at the offices of the Department for Transport in Westminster, the two county councils forged a common stance on what information the satellite navigation systems should be providing for HGVs as a minimum.

Counterfeit Haul Totals £200K

Henry works successfully with the police in his community

1,200 counterfeit items including DVDs, CDs and textile brands such as Burberry, Prada, Versace, Chanel, Ralph Lauren and Armani were seized by the council's Trading Standards team, in their biggest ever single seizure. A local transport company alerted the council after picking up a suspicious consignment from Exeter Airport. Heading for Northern Europe, the counterfeit goods originally came from China and would have retailed for between £30 (for items of underwear) to hundreds of pounds for sunglasses, handbags and running shoes. The estimated total value of £200,000 shows how big this business is and what an important job Trading Standards do for the residents of Somerset.

Gold Health & Social Care Award (for the South West Region)

It will come as no surprise to people who follow the success of our care services, to learn that our Learning Disability Services, together with health colleagues, won a Gold Health & Social Care award for the south west region.

The award recognised the staff's success in meeting the communication needs of people with the most complex needs and enabling them to take back control of their own lives.

For one individual, this enabled him to move from a position of isolation and self-harm, to taking part in activities such as abseiling and canoeing. There can be no greater reward for everyone's hard work, than experiences such as this.

School Improvements - we never stand still!

Cllr Pauline Clarke helps with the final touch at Cotford St. Luke - the weather vane

Over the past year, 11 building projects have been completed and a further 14 are under construction on school sites, including new classrooms, children's centre, a drama studio and sports hall. There are another 8 projects in the pipeline, including new Skills and Enterprise Centres and specialist sixth forms. There are also 2 new schools being developed in connection with housing developments at Somerset Bridge and West Monkton. In addition to this, we have replaced, or will be replacing, a number of life expired temporary classrooms on various school sites.

SafeCam Looks Back over Five Years 2002-07

Road safety cameras are not everybody's favourite but the Lib Dems at County take the issue of deaths and injuries on Somerset's roads very seriously indeed. First launched in April '02, the Safety Camera Partnership (now called Safecam) looks back over five years. Their review shows that:

• Deaths and serious injuries on Avon and Somerset roads covered by cameras dropped by 24.6% in the first five years of operations.

• Costs and fines fell again last year - an indication that more drivers are keeping to speed limits.

• Driver education is playing an increasingly important role in the campaign to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads and create safer communities.

• A more flexible approach to road safety has been adopted, using a mix of education, engineering and enforcement to ensure there is a range of measures to tackle all potential road safety issues.

Somerset Believes Biofuel is BEST

In line with the group's commitment to renewable energy, Somerset County Council became the UK local authority for the BEST Project (Bio-ethanol for sustainable transport) which attracted EU funding, and took delivery of 10 new pool cars. A network of E85 fuel pumps were installed across the county and as a result SCC won many environmental awards. This initiative is helping the community to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and to tackle the causes of climate change. Even better, local partners Green Spirit Fuels, aim to begin production of ethanol in the county, from locally grown wheat, by the end of 2008.

Nick tries out the environmentally-friendly option at Conference

The group were delighted to showcase the car at Liberal Democrat Conference in Liverpool in the spring. The Somerset councillors were especially hoping to draw their MPs attention to the fact that in order to encourage people to buy these vehicles, the government must first reduce the tax on environmentally-friendly fuel. Otherwise, we are left with a 'chicken & egg' situation, where people don't buy the cars for lack of ethanol pumps and there aren't many pumps because of too few cars!

WAVE Funding Update

The European WAVE project (Water Adaptability - Valuable for Everyone) is an initiative that will bring £815K of European funding to Somerset over the next 5 years through the EU Interreg IVB programme. SCC has recently had confirmation that not only has the bid been successful but it received the top assessment out of 28 bids submitted.

The project aims to tackle issues related to climate change and water management. Particular focus will be applied to the already flood-prone Levels and Moors, where it is essential that water should be managed in a way that sustains both wildlife and the economic viability of agriculture.

Somerset Landscape Scheme

The Somerset Landscape Scheme aims to conserve and restore the best features of our landscape. In 2006-07, 240 projects were funded by the Scheme and 2007-08 has already seen that number increase to 262. In the last year, the SLS has helped landowners to plant in excess of 8,000 new trees throughout the county, in addition to various other types of scheme, proving that landscape conservation continues to be a high priority for the residents of Somerset.

Stars come out (again) for Adult Social Care!

Somerset County Council (SCC) has been awarded the highest rating for its Adult Social Services for the fourth year running, putting the County Council among the elite in the country. The report (by the Commission for Social Care Inspection) says that our social care is of a 'very good quality and reflecting value for money'. It particularly highlights the council's strengths in developing partnerships with the private sector and other stakeholders.

Exciting Museum of Taunton Project comes nearer to fruition!

The council's vision to restore Taunton Castle and build a new state-of-the-art museum, to house all the wonderful artefacts Somerset has to display, came nearer with our submission for planning permission in October. The £6.5m project also includes a café, extended opening times and a large temporary gallery for holding touring exhibitions. Visitor numbers will hopefully double to over 60,000 annually.

A mobile library service with a difference was launched at the beginning of November. As well as carrying 2,500 books and DVDs, it has eight solar panels on its roof to help charge its batteries. This green energy means the library doesn't need to carry a generator to power the two public computer terminals and other electric facilities on board.

Not forgetting our Young People

A new website for young people in Somerset (created by the council, but designed by young people), aims to put 11-19 year-olds in touch with local activities by drawing information from thousands of sources. The AWSOM (Activities Within Somerset for Young People) website gives them dates, times, costs and transport details to participate in things as diverse as sky diving and submarine excursions!