Leader of North Somerset Council, Cllr Mike Bell has issued a scathing statement against the Weston-super-Mare branch of Reform after they claimed £650,000 had been spent by the council on catering in a social media post about council expenditure. Weston Reform Facebook post that Cllr Mike Bell challenged (Photo: Reform UK - Weston) Cllr Mike Bell said; “ Reform UK are back at it with their politics of lies and misinformation that trash services people rely on. They talking a

by Laura Chalmers “The Weston-super-Mare First National Spiritualist Church has been based on Stafford Road for over 80 years and has long been an active and valued part of the local community. We are deeply concerned that proposed parking restrictions being introduced by North Somerset Council may force us to significantly curtail our services. Under the current plans, parking restrictions would operate from 8am to 7pm, leaving our premises realistically usable for only one

Families and children across Weston-super-Mare will soon benefit from free, daily breakfast clubs, as the government confirms the next 500 schools to join the scheme from April. Four Weston schools have been selected: • Oldmixon Primary School • Windwhistle Primary School • Westhaven School • Bournville Primary School The announcement represents a campaign win for Weston-super-Mare’s Labour MP, Dan Aldridge, who has consistently pushed for greater investment in children and f

Police have issued an appeal for two teenage boys that are missing and could be in the Weston-super-Mare area. Harry aged 14yrs old has been missing since Thursday 29th January and Jamie aged 16yrs old has been missing since Wednesday 28th January. Police are urging for anyone who knows where they are to call 999 quoting reference 5226029184, or call 101 with any other information.

The University of Exeter will mark LGBT+ History Month in the UK with a series of events and the launch of free classroom resources for secondary schools and museums that highlight the achievements of LGBT+ individuals working in maths and science. The teaching resources were announced in November and are now free to access and download to mark LGBT+ History Month in February. The resources pack includes slides, posters, postcards, videos and class activities, produced in col

A new booking system to use North Somerset’s recycling centres will launch today at the Weston-super-Mare site.  From today, anyone wishing to visit the Weston‑super‑Mare recycling centre will need to book a time slot in advance. After a monitoring period at Weston-super-Mare, the council will look to extend the system to the Portishead and Backwell sites from Monday 2 March.  The new approach is designed to make visits faster, safer and more efficient for residents, while en

Martin Fear, Terry Wells and Richard Spindler all received Royal National Lifeboat Institution long service medals presented by the High Sheriff of Somerset, Janet Montgomery and The Mayor of Weston-super-Mare, Councillor Martin Williams on Sunday 25th January 2026. From left to Right, Martin Fear, Janet Montgomery, Richard Spindler, Terry Wells, Cllr Martin Williams, (Photo: RNLI) Volunteers are the heart of the RNLI and make up the vast majority of their staff, 97% of their

Work to restore Birnbeck Pier will continue next week with North Somerset Council’s contractor Mackley on site from Monday (2 February) in preparation for works to start on the pier itself. Double-stacked office cabins will arrive next week with a 100-tonne Long Reach excavator planned to arrive by mid-February. This will shortly be followed by a 100-tonne crane which will begin works to the foreshore and first Pier. Later this year, a long-reach excavator with a cherry picke

17.16hrs update: The slip road of J21 at Weston-super-Mare is now closed Northbound on the M5 The M5 is currently closed between J18 (M49) and J19 (Portishead) due to a welfare incident. A spokesperson for Avon & Somerset Police said; “ We are grateful for your patience and understanding while emergency services respond to this matter.” People are being urged to avoid the area. There accident has lead to lengthy delays with some motorists stuck in their cars for hours since

Avon & Somerset Police’s Neighbourhood Team for Weston-Supe-Mare have arrested three males on conspiracy to supply a Class B drug “A spokesperson for Avon & Somerset Police said; “We work closely with education providers, and information was shared with police that Weston Supermarket on St James Street had been supplying college‑age students with THC vapes.” “Several students subsequently became unwell.” “Earlier today, officers from the Town Centre Neighbourhood Policing Tea

At a budget meeting held on 19th January 2026, the Labour-led Weston-super-Mare Town Council officially voted for a 0% change to its budget for the 2026/27 financial year. Despite inflationary pressures, Weston Town Council has successfully maintained its precept at £164 per year for an average Band D property (aside from a minor 14p technical adjustment). This means that for approximately £3.15 per week, the Town Council will continue to deliver many local services valued by

All traffic was being held on the M5 after a crash during rush hour today (Tuesday, January 27). The accident happened on the Northbound carriageway of the M5 in Somerset where all traffic was brought to a stop at 6:45am this morning. It occurred between junction 22 at Burnham-on-Sea and Junction 21 near the A370 at Weston-super-Mare. The motorway is now cleared of the incident but reports are traffic is currently backed up along the Somerset Avenue as far back as Airport R

The Purple Ball is being held on Saturday 7th March at The Grand Pier Johdi Russell who sadly passed away in 2017, aged just 17yrs old, from Sudden Unexpected Death In Epilepsy (SUDEP) Organisers are looking for raffle and silent auction prizes and tickets can be purchased here Organiser Aimie Russell said; “ We organise The Purple Ball event in memory of my sister, Johdi Kate Russell, who sadly passed away from SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death In Epilepsy) in 2017. At the tim

Two Bristol-based organisations have come together to create new resources aimed at helping people know what to do when someone dies. North Bristol NHS Trust and Bristol Memorial Woodland Trust, alongside health psychologist Mireille Hayden, have produced two booklets, ‘ Guide to End-of-Life Planning ’ and ‘ When Someone Dies ’, which are available now for the public and healthcare professionals, and provide invaluable advice. The guides are free to anyone who is facing the p

by Paul Howe Weston-super-Mare has enough real problems without importing American culture-war politics into local public life. We need councillors focused on what affects residents day to day: decent housing standards, safer neighbourhoods, reliable transport, and services people can actually access when they need them. Instead, what we are increasingly being offered is something else entirely — grievance politics, “strongman” admiration, and ideological theatre that belongs

The Bank of England is interested to hear from the people of Somerset about the impact of the cost of living on their finances, as part of their Citizens’ Forum programme which has been running across the UK since 2018. The event is designed to gather information from local people, which will complement existing data and analysis, and help inform the Bank’s policy decisions. Monetary policy has been guided by the need to squeeze inflation out of the economy to achieve the 2%

The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority is set to approve the start of a consultation on the combined authority expanding to include North Somerset Council.   Negotiations with the national government have already unlocked an additional £15 million in the short-term for projects in the region, should North Somerset join. An additional £1 million has been offered to assist with the process of the local authority joining Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, and South Glo

Prolific shoplifter, Ashley Watson. was arrested by the Weston Town Centre Team of Avon & Somerset Police and charged with 34 counts of shop theft. He appeared at Magistrates’ Court on 13 January 2026, where he was issued a 24‑week suspended sentence along with a three‑year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO). However, just hours after leaving court, Watson entered the Co‑Op and stole a £6 pizza - immediately breaching his CBO. He was quickly located and arrested by Avon & Somerse

Dan Aldridge MP has met with Marks & Spencer to press the case for new investment in Weston-super-Mare, as momentum continues to build following the recent success of securing Poundland’s future on the High Street. The confirmation that Poundland will remain open and invest further in Weston has been widely welcomed by residents and businesses, reinforcing confidence in the town as a place worth backing. Building on that progress, Dan Aldridge met with Adam Hawksbee from Mark

Police are appealing for witnesses and anybody with information relating to an incident where a man exposed himself to a teenage girl in Weston-super-Mare. A man, in his mid-twenties, was riding a small black bicycle when he approached the girl before committing the offence on Lyndhurst Road, between the junctions for Moorland Road and Southend Road, at about 5pm on Friday 19 December. The man was described as white, with a ginger/brown beard, who was wearing a blue jacket, a