Wivey Link Community Transport

01/04/2026

Future of Wiveliscombe Community Library secured.

We are delighted to let you know that the future of the Wiveliscombe Community Library has been secured.

For seven years, Wiveliscombe Area Partnership, the charity behind Wivey Link, has been central to the management of our Community Library. When the Library was at risk of closure all those years ago, the Trustees stepped in to work with Somerset Council and Wiveliscombe Town Council, meaning that it did not face closure as so many rural Libraries did at the time.

We have been honoured to be a part of the ongoing success of our Library, and remain proud of our Community Librarian and all she has accomplished, but sadly our time managing the Library has now come to an end.

We are pleased that another seven years of funding and support from Somerset Council and the Wiveliscombe Town Council means that the Library can plan for a future at the heart of the local community.

As part of the arrangements the Wiveliscombe Town Hall Trust has agreed to take on management of the library from the Wiveliscombe Area Partnership from the 1st April 2026. We thank and wish the Town Hall Trust the very best and we look forward to seeing the Library continue serving our community under their leadership.

The Town Hall Trust would like to thank everyone involved at Wiveliscombe Area Partnership for their support for the Library and the enormous effort they have made to help it thrive. They have been very supportive of us taking on the management and been generous in their time and advice.

Bec Briar and Nicky Saunter
Wiveliscombe Area Partnership and the Wiveliscombe Town Hall Trust

18/03/2026

On Saturday 21st, local community charity In The Mix Project are holding a food pantry, why not head down and meet them and find out more about their work.

Join us for our next Community Food Pantry - supporting our community with food resilience. The event will offer a wide variety of food items, including jars, tins, packets, baby food, and toiletries, as well as other items. Any 12 items for just £2, you can choose what you'd like to take home.

Our event will be taking place at The Hub Centre, TA4 2NE which can be accessed via Kingsmead School's car park.

Please bring along your own carrier bag if you can. Everyone is welcome and there is free tea and coffee and refreshments.

04/02/2026

We are moving!

On Friday, 13th February, Wivey Link is moving offices to our new space at Higher Ford Farm.

This means that we will have a removals van on the day outside our office. Please bear with us as we park as close to the office as we can, so that we can load up as fast as possible.

We apologise for any disruption on the day and ask people to be patient with us while we load up.

19/01/2026

Wivey Link is On The Move!

From 13th February, we will be moving our centre of operation and our 5 cars to a new location just outside of Wiveliscombe.

The new office at Higher Ford Farm will provide parking for the wheelchair accessible cars that drive across the 10 Parishes, taking residents to social, medical and shopping trips as far as Taunton and Dulverton.

The new office is perfectly suited to running the service, with room for the team of staff and volunteers who take bookings on the phonelines between 9.30am and 1pm on weekdays.

Wivey Link members will be able to pay their invoices in person at the new office, over the phone or via a link in their email. All members will be sent full details and timings with the new address in their next newsletter.

For more details visit https://wiveylink.co.uk/2026/01/19/we-are-moving/

16/12/2025

As we get close to the end of the year we look back at the successes of 2025 and the support that we have offered our community, all thanks to our many volunteers, donors and funders.

This year our fantastic volunteer drivers undertook 6,683 journeys across Wiveliscombe and the 10 Parishes, covering 56,607 miles!

We had 97 new passengers join our community transport scheme.

We had 10 new drivers trained and on the road volunteering to help their community.

We had 8 office volunteers answering your calls and taking bookings.

We funded one new wheelchair accessible vehicle.

For each £1 that we charge in fares, it costs the charity £2 to keep the car on the road - if you want to support our work, you can do so by joining our team of volunteer drivers, you can donate at the link below, or you can simply help by telling people about our service. We are open to everyone living in the 10 Parishes regardless of age or circumstance.

We are closing Friday 19th December and will reopen the phone lines on 5th January 2026.

We wish all of our supporters, customers, volunteers and our community the very best for Christmas and the New Year.

https://wiveylink.co.uk/donations/

26/11/2025

Thank you to Somerset County Gazette for their piece celebrating our new vehicle!

Wivey Link Community Transport expands its red fleet in West Somerset with Rural England Prosperity Fund support, boosting rural connectivity

24/11/2025

In the run up to Christmas, many of our local residents will struggle to do their Christmas shopping, get to flu clinics and meet up with friends - and we need your help to make sure everyone feels connected this winter.

https://wiveylink.co.uk/donations/

19/11/2025

A huge thank you to What's On Somerset for their article out today: Wivey Link has a new car in time for Christmas

Communities in West Somerset are to benefit from an addition to the fleet of vehicles operated by Wivey Link Community Transport.

The iconic red fleet was set up to help combat rural isolation by way of a membership taxi service. It can be used by people of all ages and for any reason if they have no access to transport be it public or private.

Wivey Link manager Bec Briar was recently delighted to learn that her bid to the Rural England Prosperity Fund had been successful and that a resulting new car would enable new areas and customers to be developed.

“West Somerset ranks very high nationally for poor social mobility and the inadequate transport connectivity exacerbates this,” Bec advised. “Wivey Link aims to facilitate transport throughout the community and this has widespread benefits to people’s lives and also the rural economy. That applies to young and old, whether for attending leisure activities, appointments or simply getting to work. The new car will enable our valuable service to grow further and help more people.”

Read the full article at:
https://whatsonsomerset.co.uk/news/wivey-link-has-a-new-car-in-time-for-christmas/

More details about Wivey Link and how to donate to our Christmas Appeal: www.wiveylink.co.uk/donations

Pictures: Aisling Magill

19/11/2025

Wivey Link has a fleet of 5 accessible vehicles that are located in Wiveliscombe and used by our volunteer drivers to transport our members on week days.

We are seeking someone with a few hours a week to check the cars for oil, check they are topped up with windscreen wash and adblue, check the tyre tread, and report any damage or dirt that needs to be rectified.

If there is any mechanical work to be done we work with a local mechanic, this role is for someone with an interest in cars to keep an eye on them weekly so that we can book them in if needed and prevent our drivers going out in cars that are not in tip top condition.

You will receive support from the office team and the volunteering can happen around your schedule.

Please contact [email protected] for details.

Wivey Link are seeking a motivated individual with experience in vehicle and fleet maintenance to support our community transport fleet.

18/11/2025

This winter, many of our residents will struggle to get out of their homes to medical appointments, weekly shopping trips, or to meet up with friends and family.

Darker, cold evenings means residents are less likely to drive or access public transport. Many need additional health care appointments, such as flu jabs.

Our residents rely on Wivey Link to help them from the door of their home to the car and on to their destination.

For every £1 that our passengers pay in fares, we have to find another £1 to cover the running costs of that journey, including insurance, vehicle maintenance, volunteer training, and office costs.

We want to keep fares affordable so that those that most need our service can afford it.

Help us to keep them connected to essential services and to their loved ones through the darker months, with a donation to Wivey Link Community Transport.

https://wiveylink.co.uk/donations/

20/10/2025

For the attention of Wiveliscombe Charities, Non Profits and Community Groups

Following a conversation at a Spark Somerset event about Community Collaborations, a small group of Wivey based charities have been discussing the benefits of convening non-profit groups in Wivey to discuss and share information about our front line service offerings so that we can keep our community informed, sign post people to other services and share best practice and training with each other. By working together we will all be better able to support the needs of our community.

Topics for the group could include:

* policies and procedures including safeguarding, GDPR
* volunteer engagement
* bookkeeping, accounting/reporting, banking, insurance
* fundraising and impact reporting
* digital and IT
* governance

We have arranged an event to be held at 10am to 12 midday, on Friday 21 November in the Upper Hall at Wiveliscombe Community Centre.

Spark Somerset have kindly offered to facilitate this initial conversation which could be the first of several.

If you are a non profit charity, CIC, Cooperative or other local group working for the community you are invited to nominate a representative to join this initial meeting.

Space means we are limited to 60 participants.

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available.

We will aim to produce a written summary for groups that can’t join us, please RSVP to [email protected] by Friday 7 November.