Welcome to the Radstock and Westfield 'Our Bigger Story' website. This is part of the multi media evaluation of 15 Big Local areas in England. The website is an opportunity to follow what is changing in Radstock and Westfield as a result of Big Local over a ten year period.
br/>The aim of the website is to share the learning from everything that is happening in Radstock and Westfield with other Big Local areas and highlight what works in communities with a wider audience of practitioners and policy makers.
Radstock Museum were one of the winners at our fifth Dragons' Den. Residents present at the event voted for them to receive £500 towards making the appearance of the museum even more stunning! Miranda Litchfield, the Development Programme Coordinator for Radstock Museum, has been in touch to let us know how the funds have made a positive difference in the local community. She said: "As a museum, we care hugely about and are extremely well connected to, our local community. Although the museum is situated in Radstock, we appreciate the importance of our supporters in Westfield, in conjunction with other nearby towns and villages. We felt as a museum that we could offer more visually, especially on the outside of the building. This was partially to attract a higher number of visitors by showcasing some of the subjects covered in the museum (Radstock's history, coal mining and the railways) but also, by creating a more vibrant "front window' for the hundreds if not thousands of commuters who pass through Radstock, every day. The project's main aim was to illustrate the wealth of photographs and artifacts stored in the museum, by actively using a selection of these to decorate entire panes of glass, which face the centre of Radstock. We would like to remind residents, and tourists, of the incredibly rich heritage of Radstock and on a wider scale, of the former Somerset Coalfield. The financial help from Big Local, Radstock & Westfield has without a doubt, brightened the museum's windows and therefore vastly helped to improve and modernise the museum's general appearance, both inside and out. The impact on the local community has so far only been measured with visitor and volunteer comments. All comments however, have praised the dramatic change to the Tea Room and comments were also made on how warm the museum now appears from outside, with its added decoration in a historic theme. As a result we are considering how we can illuminate the windows during the hours of darkness whilst the Museum is closed, to gain maximum benefit from the impact of the new window displays. We are also considering a similar approach to improving the windows in our Victorian School classroom. We believe and hope that these images are nostalgic for some, whilst they provoke curiosity in others. This will in time create a more inquisitive, knowledgeable and proud local community in the Radstock and Westfield area."