Simon Hacker

Cotswolds

Columnist at Diesel Car & Eco Car

Journalist at Freelance

Reporter at Punchline-Gloucester

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Articles

EXCLUSIVE: TV crew spotted for return of Disney+ drama Rivals

6 days ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

It's not being trumpeted from the battlements, but after production firm Happy Prince confirmed the go-ahead of the long-awaited second season in December last year, Punchline-Gloucester.com can reveal that filming has got under way for the second series of sex romp Rivals at Berkeley Castle.
PUMPED DRY: one in three pubs at risk of closure

6 days ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

Pubs, restaurants and hotels across Gloucestershire and the UK have warned that up to one in every three of their businesses was on the line in the first three months of this year, with their books revealing losses that spell out the risk of looming closure.
Cash and grab: thieves hit market town

6 days ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

One of Newent's last two remaining cashpoints was hit by raiders on Friday – and police are still searching for the thieves who escaped with an unspecified haul of cash. The raiders struck at the Spar convenience store ATM, on Broad Street, in the early hours of the morning (May 30) and Gloucestershire Police said they came equipped to gain entry to the inside of the machine.
INSIGHT: Increase in deaths points to transport failures

1 week ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

More people are dying on UK roads, according to new figures which look at deaths and injuries in 2024. The Department for Transport (DfT) says the rise in road deaths in Great Britain, based on estimates from police force data for the full year, came to 1,633 fatalities – an increase of 1% compared to 2023. The data will resonate here in Gloucestershire where life on the county's roads remains far from safe.
EXCLUSIVE: Cotswold firms celebrate end to road closure

1 week ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

It's been "purgatory" for traders and shops in Wotton-under-Edge, but an epic wait for the main B4058 road into the Cotswold town to be re-opened may finally be drawing to a close. In a final update on the geotechnical repair billed at £2.5m, Worcester-based Montel Civil Engineering said the job is on track for completion by July 4 – the significance of the date as Independence Day not being lost on businesses in the area.
rise in Gloucestershire rail crime reports welcomed by police

1 week ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

More than 500 crimes have been reported to British Transport Police (BTP) at Gloucestershire railway stations since 2022. The shocking milestone is revealed in new data reported by a legal firm and based on BTP data. The recording of crime for the report covered all Gloucestershire train stations since 2022 and the statistics included 10 sexual offences.
Infrastar reveals new owner in strategic move

1 week ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

Quedgeley-based computer infrastructure and networking specialist Infrastar has been acquired by the Frazer-Nash Consultancy, which is a leading provider of networking and IT solutions in the secure government sector. With some 1,000 employees working from a network of nine UK and four Australian locations, the Gloucester addition to Frazer-Nash's extensive operations has been welcomed as a "significant milestone" for the consultancy in its ongoing quest for growth.
SICK RIVERS: Could this bird-brained project deliver key answers?

1 week ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

A feather-brained boffin from Gloucestershire University is seeking help on a new research project which promises to unlock the secrets of a little-known bird in Stroud's Five Valleys. The findings may well deliver valuable insight into the state of the area's rivers along the way. Dr Mark O'Connell, Senior Lecturer in Practical Ecology at the university's School of Education and Science wants volunteers from across the community to take part in monitoring of the shy species.
Work starts for 35 new homes

1 week ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

Work has begun on a new housing development that promises 35 affordable homes in Coney Hill after permission for the plan on a former NHS site was granted last autumn. Tewkesbury-based housing association and developer Bromford, having identified Gloucestershire as a key growth area, says its project, on West Lodge Drive, will be a key strategic addition to its housing stock in the county. Some 33 houses and two bungalows are planned.
INSIGHT: Why is the car industry driving back to 1952?

1 week ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

If demand for car production in the UK is stuttering, no one seems to have told the biggest vendor in the new and used market. Latest data today from the Society for Motor Manufactuters (SMMT) shows that UK car and commercial vehicle output took an 8.6% dent in April, while CV production saw a comparatively monumental 68.6% drop, the autosector trade body ascribing the constricted numbers at the factory gates to a later Easter, model changeovers and restructuring.