As 2016 draws to a close, chief reporter Phil Hill charts the ups and downs as the County Gazette's celebrates 180 years of bringing the news to readers in the area.

JANUARY.

PLANS for a brighter future in the Taunton area were revealed - aspiring homeowners could get on the housing ladder with affordable homes on the agenda in a proposed garden town and a vision of creating a university in Somerset, potentially in the county town.

But elsewhere there was a warning from Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital that it was buckling under the strain of increased demand. People with minor ailments, injuries or illnesses were being asked to stay away, anyone attending A&E, which was to experience its busiest day ever, was told to expect long waits and in-patients were being sent home as soon as possible after Musgrove was placed on 'red alert'.

WATCHET mum Sarah Smith raised £2,600 for charity on a sponsored walk ahead of having her lower leg amputated following years of pain due to a congenital growth disorder.

FEBRUARY:

STORM Imogen wreaked havoc with several roads under water and impassable, train services disrupted, power cuts and trees brought down. Sports fixtures were called off and Curry Rivel Primary School was closed after classrooms were flooded.

AN robber wearing a balaclava and armed with a rounders bat got away with around £100 following a raid at the Texaco garage in Wellington Road, Taunton.

THE chief executive at Viridor, Ian McAuley, came under fire for buying almost £81,000 worth of shares in the parent company at the same time it was announced several jobs could go at the Taunton waste management firm. Mr McAuley left the company later in the year.

THE daughter of Taunton Deane MP Rebecca Pow, Verity, celebrated her sixth birthday - although she was born in 1992, Verity was a Leap Year Day baby with her actual birth date February 29.

MARCH:

MASKED raiders armed with a sledgehammer were foiled after they attempted a smash and grab raid at Michael Spiers jewellers in Taunton when staff from the neighbouring Timpson store chased them off. Five men who fled the scene in a Mini and then switched cars were later arrested after a police chase that ended in their vehicle crashing.

THERE were lengthy tailbacks along Station Road, Taunton, after a haulage lorry got stuck under the bridge at the junction with Kingston Road.

BRANDON Stone, aged nine, was among the Pride of Somerset Youth Awards winners in recognition of the care he helps give his older brother Tyler, who has cerebral palsy.

A GOVERNMENT department said it is in discussions to try to find an occupant for the never-used 999 regional call centre at Blackbrook, Taunton, which has cost taxpayers around £20 million, with costs rising by almost £2 million a year. It is still empty.

APRIL:

THERE were renewed calls for safety measures at an accident blackspot at Bishops Lydeard following the death of Luxborough woman Sally Eveleigh, 70, in an early morning crash.

A MOTORIST from Stoke St Gregory received a 14-day driving ban after being caught speeding five times in less than a fortnight on the same stretch of the A358 at Henlade - she received a 14-day driving ban.

PROPOSALS were unveiled for homes, restaurants, shops and work space on Coal Orchard car park, in Taunton. It also involved the demolition of the disused St James swimming pool.

A WOMAN aged 43 and her grown-up son were kicked out of their council flat in Laxton Road, Taunton, amid allegations of anti-social behaviour and drug dealing.

MAY:

WILFRED Isaacs died after being blasted by a shotgun on a travellers site at Ilton. Later in the year, three brothers were jailed for killing him and three other people received suspended sentences.

MOST of the 120 staff at WebberBus, which covered routes in Wellington and Minehead and ferried scores of children to school, lost their jobs as the company ceased trading

QUEEN'S College headmaster Chris Alcock resigned after governors discovered "inappropriate adult relationships" and he had downloaded "highly inappropriate material on the computers and phone" provided by the Taunton school.

BISHOPS Lydeard led the way as the county enjoyed the second Somerset Day, with yarnbombing, a craft fair, music, a dog show with vintage vehicles and food and drink.

JUNE:

FEARS that some shops could be lost to Taunton were voiced after a planning application was submitted to turn ten units in the Orchard Shopping Centre into three restaurants.

TAUNTON'S East Street was closed to traffic for eight weeks during work to update the junction where the street meets East Reach and Hurdle Way. Stalls were set up along the street as it was temporarily pedestrianised.

A FUND of £3.145 million was earmarked for highways projects in Taunton - but the county council declined to say what it was for. It was suspected to be extra money for the NIDR road being built between Staplegrove Road and Priory Way. The much-delayed road is due to be completed by the end of January 2017.

TAUNTON soldier Lee Phillips was arrested in France after allegedly throwing bottles at a woman during violence at the football European Championships.

TAUNTON Deane Council was looking at setting up a lottery, with a top payout of £25,000 and 60p in the £1 of the ticket price going to good causes.

JULY:

TAUNTON'S new £5.7million swimming pool and spa opened beside Blackbrook Pavilion - and was temporarily closed within days following a problem with the water supply. The 87-year-old pool in St James Street closed earlier in the month.

AN Aldi store is to be built at Bathpool after planners gave the go-ahead - but hopes of a Waitrose store at Firepool, in Taunton, were to be dashed later on when the firm announced cutbacks.

A TOTAL of 1,400 women took part in the Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK at The Castle School and Somerset College, which was later renamed Bridgwater and Taunton College following a merger with its Sedgemoor counterpart.

AUGUST:

TAUNTON Deane's oldest resident, Ivy Tooze, from Rockwell Green, celebrated her 105th birthday and advised anyone wanting to emulate her to "stay worry-free".

NYNEHEAD farmer Ed Ling won bronze in the men's trap event, while former King's College Taunton student Maddie Hinch was the star as Team GB women's hockey team scooped gold.

A BEGGAR police claim was on more than £1,000 a month in benefits was moved on in Taunton town centre, with officers warning they would clamp down on anyone preying on people's generosity.

THOUSANDS of visitors headed to the annual Taunton Flower Show in Vivary Park to enjoy record entries, entertainment and activities for the whole family.

SEPTEMBER:

PLANS to redevelop the Firepool wasteland were thrown into doubt when an application to build homes, shops, restaurants, pubs and a cinema were rejected by planners at Taunton Deane Borough Council, which owns the land.

PENSIONER Graham Teesdale, 83, died days after he drove the wrong way down the M5 in the outside lane, crashing into 15 vehicles on the northbound carriageway between Wellington and Taunton.

TAUNTON'S Station Road was temporarily closed as a new road bridge was lifted into place as part of the Northern Inner Distributor Road from Staplegrove Road to Priory Avenue. The road is due to be completed by January - almost two years late.

TAUNTON Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council voted to merge as one authority - they now need the Government to approve the move.

MYSTERY surrounded the sudden departure of Lisa Marchant, head teacher at Parkfield Primary School, and her deputy.

TAUNTON'S County Stores announced proposals to close in 2017 after 180 years trading.

OCTOBER:

A TOTAL of £160,000 in parking fines in Somerset's council car parks remained unpaid over the past four years - with 1,387 tickets in Taunton Deane ignored and 183 in West Somerset.

TAUNTON Deane Borough Council leader John Williams hit back after Andy Sharman stood down as chairman of Taunton Destination in protest at what he viewed a lack of progress in improving the area.

STORM Angus hit, with commuter chaos, roads shut, schools closed and people rescued.

MUSGROVE Park Hospital, in Taunton, stopped accepting new referrals to its dermatology unit after failing to attract new staff.

NOVEMBER:

HARVEY Millington, of Staplegrove, became a millionaire at 14 after selling a plot of land he bought for £40,000 for £2 million to a housing developer. He earned the money for the land after setting up a business reminding people when to renew their car tax.

NORTON Fitzwarren was devastated to hear the Ministry of Defence is to close Norton Manor Camp, home to 40 Commando Royal Marines by 2028.

FOOTBALL made the front page as Taunton Town appeared in the first round of the FA Cup for only the second time in their history, going out in a replay to Barrow, who went on to beat Bristol Rovers in the next round.

DECEMBER:

REFUSE bins in Taunton Deane could be emptied every three weeks instead of fortnightly and you cold soon be putting more materials in your recycling bins, which would still be emptied weekly.

TRIBUTES poured in following the tragic death of 15-year-old Silvia Diaz Sanz, who died after being hit by a vehicle in Greenway Road, Taunton, where she was studying at Taunton International School.

WEST Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger had to miss the shooting season after forgetting to renew his gun licence.