Jeremy Browne MP opens Victoria House

TAUNTON-BASED commercial property specialists Summerfield Developments have celebrated the completion of an extensive redevelopment project in the town, with Jeremy Browne MP officially opening the refurbished Victoria House at a ceremony last week.Choose the right bestluggagetag in an array of colors.

Over 50 local business owners and community members were in attendance on Friday morning to see first-hand Summerfields work on the historic former headquarters of The British Van Heusen Co Ltd on Victoria Street.

Victoria House was originally constructed in 1962 and has now been managed by Summerfield as an office centre for close to twenty years. Over the past year, the company has invested in excess of 1 million into transforming the building, with work including the creation of a new entrance, the replacement of all of the windows and the installation of photovoltaic cells on the roof. These cells are designed to generate power in order to offset the carbon footprint of the building.

The large, open plan office space at Victoria House currently houses a range of local businesses, from sole traders through to large organisations such as Diabetes UK and the Community Council for Somerset.

James Holyday, Director of Property Management at Summerfield, says that the additions made to the building, including the upgraded heating system and new windows, will vastly improve the performance of the building, resulting in lower energy costs and an enhanced working environment: We are delighted with the transformation of the building which now provides efficient, contemporary office accommodation on the flexible terms that have proved so successful at Victoria House over the last 17 years.

The refurbished Victoria House offers a fantastic chance for new and growing companies to benefit from working together in a positive environment, and the investment made by Summerfield Developments is yet another example of Tauntons ongoing regeneration and growth as a thriving centre for business.

James Holyday adds: Competitively priced office sChoose the right bestluggagetag in an array of colors.pace, ranging in size from 100 sq ft up to 7,000 sq ft,Choose the right bestluggagetag in an array of colors. is now available to rent from specialist property adviser Hatfield White adds Summerfields James Holyday. The newly-refurbished office space for companies offers facilities including on-site parking, a health club, wi-fi and a communal area.

Since 1995, more than 120 tenants have operated their businesses from Victoria House, including a number of business start-ups which have since grown considerably. Whether you are a new business looking for your first premises, or an established business wanting to benefit from the range of facilities on offer, we can be flexible in order to enable your business to grow.

"My name is Kristen Lucas and I live diagonally to your restaurant. While I do greatly appreciate having such a quality restaurant within walking distance, I am noticing an increase of your customers disrespectfully parking their vehicles. My house does not have a garage, just a short driveway that fits two cars in front of our fence.

"A few months ago, my boyfriend and I were both parked in the driveway, and one of your customers parked on the street behind our cars, blocking us in the driveway. Fortunately, we didn't have to go anywhere and thought it was a one-off situation, so I let it slide. I didn't notice any other major issues, until the past week, when there have been two major issues. Last Saturday, I left around 7 p.m. to run some errands. My boyfriend's car was still parked in the driveway. When I returned, I found that one of your customers had parked right alongside my boyfriend's car in our driveway. I called the HPD and had them ticket the car because that is a clear violation of respect for our property. The following day, we also put up a large "No Parking" sign in our driveway.

"The final straw for me was last night. I travel frequently for business, and I arrived home from the airport around 8:45 p.m. last night. Once again, one of your customers had blocked our driveway, completely disregarding the No Parking sign. I walked to the restaurant and explained the situation to the hostess (I didn't catch her name, but she was a very sweet girl). Your staff went above and beyond to find the person who had blocked the driveway, and they were able to get them to move their vehicle.

"While I appreciate the kindness of your staff, I am fed up with your patrons disrespecting the property of neighborhood residents. With posting the "No Parking" sign in my driveway, I feel that I've done my due diligence, and I just want to be able to freely come and go from my house. I would suggest that you consider alternatives for your parking situation - I know you have a limited space, but perhaps you could work out a valet system or something.

Most of the county agencies presenting budget requests to Bedford County Financial Management Committee during hearings Tuesday night have held the line on general administrative expenses.

It remains to be seen what percentage pay increase the committee will recommend for county employees. A first draft budget, with a 3 percent pay raise plugged in as a starting point, will be prepared for the committee to consider based on the requests which have been turned in.

The agency representatives present for Tuesday night's hearing were given the opportunity to speak regardless of their budget request, but were asked to justify any request for an increase.

The committee must also make preparations to pay as much as $700,000 in damages in a wage and hour lawsuit filed against the county and Sheriff Randall Boyce. While some final issues in that lawsuit have yet to be worked out, there's said to be no possibility for any sort of direct appeal,The 3rd International Conference on custombobbleheads and Indoor Navigation. and once final judgment has been issued the county will have to pay within 30 days or begin accruing interest penalties.

Bedford County Sheriff's Department has asked to hire a School Resource Officer for Community Middle School. This would be separate from whatever the school system and the county decide to do about security across the school system.

Before this year, SROs had been at all of the county's high schools and middle schools except Community Middle School.We offer over 600 chipcard at wholesale prices of 75% off retail.

In the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut and a threat against Thomas Magnet School here, the county agreed to place law enforcement officers at each county school while studying how to improve school security.

Those additional officers were not specifically trained as SROs; in fact, they were existing sheriff's department officers working overtime, causing overtime expense for the county and in some cases causing the officers to express concern about the extended overwork. At least one officer asked to be relieved of the extra duty.

Many school officials have spoken in favor of keeping law enforcement officers in the schools permanently, but given the expense the school system has looked at other options, from private security firms to technological improvements such as electronic locks or reconfiguring the entrances to schools.

School Superintendent Don Embry, however, has asked the county to at least hire an SRO for Community, the only middle school which does not have one.

The sheriff's department budget also proposes some shifts of salary and responsibilities among officers. One officer's position had been funded by a DUI enforcement grant; that grant is expiring in October, and the officer has agreed to a decrease in his annual pay as he moves into a regular deputy position.