The campaign wants to create extra nursery places at Bishops Lydeard Church School. Picture: Google

Somerset village campaign for nursery places as parents face nightmare commutes

Paul JonesAugust 1, 20250 Comment0

A CAMPAIGN to bring much-needed nursery facilities to a village near Taunton has been backed by the area MP.

Rachel Gilmour (Lib Dem, Tiverton & Minehead) is supporting a big by the community to raise money to fund an expansion at the Bishops Lydeard Church School nursery.

The school has pledged to match fundraising efforts up to £150,000 to renovate the old schoolhouse in the village to create extra nursery places – as families currently face journeys to Taunton and beyond.

The Bath & Wells Multi Academy Trust, which manage Bishops Lydeard Church School, agreed to match any external grant funding towards the redevelopment, which is currently projected to cost around £370,000.

It comes after a recent application to the Department for Education (DfE) Capital Grant was unsuccessful, leaving the project on hold until more money is raised.

In the meantime, the Trust has applied for a change of use to the old schoolhouse building as it has fallen into disrepair.

The Old Schoolhouse could be refurbished to create more nursery places

Paul Wheatley and Rebecca Weatherly moved to Bishops Lydeard three years ago and are backing the bid for more places in the village – as they currently face a long and stressful commute to ensure their children are looked after.

Rebecca is a governor at Bishops Lydeard Church School, and both sit on the PTA, with Paul also holding the role of treasurer.

The couple have had to travel back into Norton Fitzwarren for wrap-around nursery care, meaning they travel in two separate directions each morning as they also have a child that has since started school in Bishops Lydeard.

“As two busy parents it is incredibly difficult having to drop children off in two separate directions each morning,” they said. “We have a six-year-old who is currently thriving at Bishops Lydeard Church school but unfortunately without the appropriate wrap-around care provision at the school nursery we are unable to utilise the current service and instead battle the main morning traffic route into Taunton each day to use an alternative in Norton Fitzwarren.

“With the busy A358 route into Taunton to consider, mornings are needlessly stressful without a decent and modern nursery service within the village.”

Meanwhile, Bishops Lydeard Parish Council has come under some criticism, following an award of £795,000 in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding.

Around £60,000 of the pot is said to have been paid to a Bristol-based traffic consultancy firm to provide plans for a ‘Roads and Traffic Project’. On August 13, the council is understood to be holding a review into the spending of CIL funds.

And families in the village – including the Bishops Lydeard Residents Action Group, backed by Rachel Gilmour MP – have been calling on councillors to prioritise the nursery expansion project.

They have also launched the Fund Our Future – Bishops Lydeard Nursery Campaign, as a growing number of people advocate for a new nursery building, which would be an extension of the primary school.

MP for Tiverton and Minehead, Rachel Gilmour, said: “Bishops Lydeard is a growing community. In commuting distance to Taunton, the village is obviously very attractive to young families. However, with any expansion, there must be the infrastructure in place to support the local community.

The campaign in Bishops Lydeard is being backed by MP Rachel Gilmour

“The conversion of the old schoolhouse would allow Bishops Lydeard Church School to potentially double the number of children they are able to care for, from around 12 to 24 children, in addition to plans to open a birth-to-two unit. This would be transformative for families in the area who require wrap-around care before and after a working day.

“There must be a focus on facilities and infrastructure – especially considering the recent announcement of plans to build 50 to 130 family homes in the west of the village. I urge both the Department for Education and the Bishops Lydeard Parish Council to do the right thing and prioritise this vital project.

“I would like to invite representatives from the Department for Education and the Bishops Lydeard Parish Council to have a meeting with me to discuss this project.”