ONE YEAR AGO

AUGUST 7, 2014

TAUNTON'S proposed new Centre for Outdoor Activity and Community Hub (COACH) in French Weir Park beside the River Tome received a £450,000 lottery grant boost.

Taunton Deane Council executive member Cllr Norman Cavill welcomed the lottery grant for the“state-of-the-art modern clubhouse”.

An intrepid Taunton man and his friend became only the second pair to row across the Atlantic from New York to the Scilly Isles.

Chris Walters and Elliot Dale rowed 3,246 miles in 60 days raising more than £110,000 for Children's Hospice South West.

FIVE YEARS AGO

TAUNTON won the South-West crown in the Enterprising Britain competition.

The town was praised for encouraging budding entrepreneurs with its Business Initiative for Schools which helps develop skills in 14-18-year-olds with Dragons' Den-style activities.

A MARINE from Taunton was setting his sights on running a marathon inside his camp in Afghanistan to raise money for Norton Manor camp-based Royal Marines injured in the conflict.

Mel Melville, 46, who planned to run 19 laps around the compound in Afghanistan, met up with his 20-year-old son William also serving with the 40 Commando Royal Marines in the conflict.

TEN YEARS AGO

MUSIC lovers were left disappointed by the cancellation of the two-day Party in the Park event due to poor ticket sales.

The Vivary Park concerts which traditionally finished with a classical proms concert had been running for nearly a decade before 2005's cancellation.

Taunton's very own version of Billy Elliot was celebrating winning a place at one of the top ballet schools in the country.

Richard Huish student Matthew Bailey was still only halfway through his A-levels before being snapped up by the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds.

THIRTY YEARS AGO

TAUNTON Crown Court was the scene of an international gold fraud trial. The court was told that the £1.6 million gold bullion fraud involving two men from Cornwall featured a Mafia-style gang and read like a John Le Carre novel.

More than 200 people attended the 100th birthday celebrations of Ruth Whitaker who was principal at the Gloucester Training College of Domestic Science from 1924-1944.

Town bus services in Taunton were set for a drastic change with 25 new look red and white mini-buses coming in to replace the green double decker buses used before.