Author: Lesley Webb

Police Notice

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Between April and September 2025, Action Fraud has received 2,790 crime reports relating to Winter Fuel Payment scams, with victims reporting losses totalling over £27,000.

Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically, you do not need to do anything. If you receive any text messages about Winter Fuel Payments, it’s a scam.

Not sure if a message is real? Contact the organisation directly using the contact details on their official website, not the number or web address in the message. Your bank (or any other official source) won’t ask you to supply personal information by email or text message.

If you have spotted a suspicious SMS or RCS message, you can report it for FREE by forwarding it to 7726.

If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud online at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040, or call Police Scotland on 101.

Timberscombe Village Hall retains Hallmarks 1,2 and 3

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Following a thorough external assessment over the summer, Timberscombe Village Hall Committee is delighted to announce that we have once again retained Hallmarks 1,2 and 3 (level 3 being the highest possible level).

Timberscombe Village Hall was the first hall in West Somerset to achieve a Hallmark 3 in 2007 and we are proud to have retained this level for 18 years. It is testament to the hard work of the Village Hall Committee that we have been able to do so.

Hallmark is a nationally recognised quality assurance scheme which is open to any village or community hall management committee. It aims to:

  • Support, establish and reward good practice.
  • Encourage improvement in established customs and procedures.
  • Obtain recognition from other bodies for the standard of management of community buildings.
  • Hallmark 1: Focuses on the management and administration of the hall or building.
  • Hallmark 2: Health, safety, security & licensing
  • Hallmark 3 : Requires the hall or building to have a community and social awareness, with forward planning and communication being key.

The Village Hall is always on the look out for new ideas to keep the Hall vibrant and responsive to the needs of the village, so if you feel like getting involved on the Village Hall Committee please respond to this post. We meet just 6 times each year.

Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP) – ACTIVE in Somerset 

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This is to inform you that Somerset’s Severe Weather Emergency Provision is ACTIVE in Somerset.

This will be active from Wednesday night (19/11/25) and will be in place until Friday (21/11/25) when it will be reviewed. The provision will be reviewed daily and if anything changes, we will keep you informed.

Suitable accommodation may be available for rough sleepers during the severe weather. Please check if you can access the service by calling 0300 123 22 24 during office hours and 0300 123 23 27 out of office hours. To access this service, call the numbers above as early as possible.

Outreach are currently contacting clients to encourage them to take up the offer of emergency accommodation and will offer additional support for anyone continuing to sleep rough during SWEP.

The SWEP response is used by many local authorities when there is a forecast of zero degrees or below zero. Severe weather also includes heat waves, high winds and flooding.

In Somerset we have a common-sense approach based on the severity of the weather conditions and may activate SWEP when the conditions are particularly harsh for less than three nights.

SWEP in Somerset has two aims:

  • To ensure that no one dies or is caused serious harm on the streets due to severe weather
  • To ensure that every effort is made to engage individuals with support

This provision is for people sleeping rough in Somerset only.

Messages are being shared on the Council’s website and with relevant stakeholders.

When SWEP is active, important information can be found on a temporary webpage here: www.somerset.gov.uk/swep.

Learn about rough sleeping here: www.somerset.gov.uk/housing-support/homelessness-and-prevention/help-for-people-who-are-rough-sleeping

Kind regards

 Emma Plummer

Senior Parish and Community Development Officer
Somerset Council
07917227933