Local Democracy Reporting Service
Daniel Mumby

Part of Somerset County Council’s headquarters in Taunton could be sold off to provide an additional funding source for front-line services.

The council is currently carrying out a £9.9m refurbishment at County Hall, to "ensure the heating and electrical systems for both County Hall and Shire Hall are fit for purpose", before bringing staff from other locations back in-house.

Once all the work is completed, a separate section – known as C Block – will become “surplus to needs” due to the improved layout of offices elsewhere in the complex, the council says.

The council has said selling off this area could deliver a “substantial benefit”.

A spokesman said: “As an invest to save project, the A Block refurbishment will yield an immediate and ongoing payback for the council amounting to over £700,000 revenue savings annually.

"Over £6.4m, two thirds of the total cost, is taken up by the essential works including a replacement of the boiler and heating system, asbestos removal and electrical works which are needed to keep County Hall and the Crown Courts at Shire Hall functioning."

Image source, Google

Image source, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The head of MI6 has singled out Russia and the "flagrant hostile act" of the Salisbury nerve agent attack in a rare speech.

Alex Younger also warned Russia not to underestimate the UK's capabilities as he underlined the need for a new era of spying amid emerging threats.

Speaking to students at his alma mater the University of St Andrews, the chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) described how intelligence agencies are developing a "fourth generation of espionage" as adversaries take advantage of the "blurred lines" between the cyber and physical worlds.

Mr Younger described how MI6 helped expose the perpetrators said to be behind the attack, and how it helped co-ordinate the expulsion of Russian diplomats.

He said: "We exposed the perpetrators and co-ordinated the largest ever collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers from NATO and partner states, significantly degrading Russian intelligence capability.

"When faced by these kinds of attacks, our approach with our allies is to seek to attach a cost to the behaviour.

"Our intention is for the Russian state to conclude that, whatever benefits it thinks it is accruing from this activity, they are not worth the risk.

"We will do this in our own way, according to our laws, and our values. We will be successful nonetheless, and I urge Russia or any other state intent on subverting our way of life not to underestimate our determination and our capabilities, or those of our allies. We can do this to any opponent at any time."

A team of cyclists set off from Bristol over the weekend on a 450- mile bike ride to raise awareness of mental health issues.

Ten riders are cycling around the UK and will cover a total of 4,500 miles by 21st December.

The motto of the ride is "fight short days with long rides".

The journey around the UK is one of four challenges named Mind Over Mountain which are raising funds for the mental health charities Mind and Calm.

A tunnel passing underneath the railway line near Bath has been closed off for "emergency repairs".

Network Rail said: "Temporary repairs will take place this afternoon so that the road can safely reopen in time for peak traffic, with engineers returning to complete structural repair work overnight."

Network Rail said the repairs were not connected to the death of a woman thought to have been on a train between Bristol and Bath.

Secondary school tables just published show one in eight in England is below government standards.

A 35-year-old man is arrested after a body is found at a house in Amesbury

Primary school league tables show pupils with special needs are dropping further behind their classmates.

Flt Lt Parr died after a light aircraft he was piloting crashed near an airfield in Wiltshire.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder over the death of a woman in Amesbury, Wiltshire.

The woman, in her 30s, was found at an address in Bence Court in the town on Friday.

The 35-year-old suspect is being held at Melksham Police Station.

A 51-year-old man from Salisbury who was arrested over the weekend, was released on Sunday with no further action.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact police on 101.

Image source, Google

The leader of the UK's MI6 intelligence service has warned Russia "not to underestimate our determination and our capabilities".

A Tyndale Bible sells for £37,500 - four times more than its pre-sale estimate at Chiswick Auctions.

Police in Bristol have asked for the public's help to find this man.

Lee Bendall is wanted in connection with burglary offences in the Bristol area.

He has also failed to return to prison after not complying with his probation conditions.

Bendall is described as white, around 6ft tall, with brown hair and brown eyes.

He is known to have connections in the south of the city.

Woking defender Josh Casey says Swindon's weakened line-up for their FA Cup second round tie gave them "extra motivation".

Image source, PL Chadwick

Swindon Borough Council says that planning for a tunnel under the M4, close to Swindon's junction 16, is progressing well - and contracts are now out to tender.

The construction of the tunnel, is a requirement of the Wichelstowe development - which includes more than 4,000 new homes, four schools, a pub and hotel and a retirement village.

Eight hundred homes are finished with construction on the central Canalside area now well advanced.

Image source, Highways England

The M4 is now open again in both directions following an earlier crash in which a lorry went through the central reservation.

Two men were hit with baseball bats and bottles near a pizza takeaway in Cheltenham.

Police said the men were attacked near Domino's Pizza on the lower High Street at about 04:50 GMT on Sunday.

A 30-year-old man from Cheltenham was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and a 22-year-old man, also from Cheltenham, was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and possession of a class A drug, they have since been released under investigation.

Anybody with any information is asked to contact the police on 101.

A cyclist has been taken to hospital with a head injury after a crash with a car in Bristol.

The woman was cycling along Woodland Road at about 09:45 GMT when the crash happened - the exact circumstances are not known.

Police said she was taken to hospital with a head injury not thought to be life threatening or life changing.

Image source, Avon and Somerset Police

An inquest has begun into the death of a prisoner who was jailed for putting rashers of bacon on a door at a Bristol mosque.

Kevin Crehan's death, at Horfield Prison in Bristol, was confirmed on 27 December, 2016.

He had been given a 12-month sentence at Bristol Crown Court in July 2016, for a racially-aggravated public disorder, after placing bacon on the doors of the Jamia mosque in Totterdown.

He was 35 at the time of his death. It was thought at the time that he died of a suspected overdose.

A jury has been sworn in at Avon Coroner's Court in what is expected to be a two-week hearing.