Simon Hacker

Cotswolds

Columnist at Diesel Car & Eco Car

Journalist at Freelance

Reporter at Punchline-Gloucester

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Articles

Month-long road closure to hit Stroud

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

Businesses and commuters in the Cotswolds will face a new headache after the Easter break with the closure of a key route into Stroud for work on a gas pipeline – and the work, which coincides with a closure at nearby Dudbridge Hill, is scheduled to last for four weeks. Wales and West Utilities (WWU) began an operation to upgrade gas infrastructure around the Stonehouse area, west of Stroud, on Monday.
Profits drop at WHSmith amid Modella sale

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

Takings at the tills for WHSmiths, which has seven branches across Gloucestershire, took a hit in the last six months amid an update after news of the 233 year-old retail name being bought up by Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital. Latest financial updates from the high street chain show how trading profit dipped more than 30% to deliver a figure of £15m in the six months to 28 February – a result that was down 31.8% from £22m the same time last year. Revenue dropped 7%, to £239m.
EXCLUSIVE: Gloucestershire Airport shares its flight path for growth

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

Gloucestershire Airport has appointed Graham Carter in a new role as Head of Business Development. Born in Bredon and living in Tewkesbury, Graham, 38, has a CV which has seen him pioneer aviation projects around the globe, but he's now plotting the coordinates to ensure his home county's £25m aviation hub delivers a new level of success for the region.
Former police officer steps up to key county role

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

Succeeding Roger Deeks, who held the commission for three years, Richard Bradley is the new Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Gloucestershire and will hold the responsibility until the end of July 2028. Mr Bradley, 58, has lived in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire for more than 50 years and currently lives in Willersey. He was appointed as Deputy Lieutenant in 2024 and, prior to that, served as a Police Officer with Gloucestershire Constabulary while he has also worked for the Local Authority.
IT'S SONY MONEY: Playstation5 price rises £40 in Trump's tariff war

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

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has praised Westminster on its move to pause the existing 10% UK Global Tariff on dozens of products – just as the impact of Donald Trump's trade war comes home with emerging evidence of price rises on products for UK consumers.
First aid firm says Shire Hall competition risks bleeding its profits

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

A first aid and trauma training specialist says his firm's ability to turn a profit is being sabotaged by direct competition from Gloucestershire County Council. Ben Limbrick, 44, a former Royal Marine, established First Aid and Trauma Training Ltd (FATT) 13 years ago and, based at the Glenmore Centre in Quedgeley, runs professional courses for clients throughout Gloucestershire and the West Country.
what is defining Gloucestershire property after the stamp duty change

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

Estate agents across Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds are used to a pleasant warm front in April, but the latest stats from the UK's biggest online sales platform suggest this month heralds particularly prime conditions for people making a move. With the average asking price hitting a new record of just over £377,000, recorded new homebuyer demand in March went up 5% on this time last year, says Rightmove, while new sellers popped up in the listings to the tune of a 4% rise.
New chapter for flagship Cotswold hotel

2 weeks ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

Cirencester's hospitality sector is set for a shot in the arm with its flagship hotel, which went into administration last December, now rescued by an Oxfordshire chain for a revamp and takeover. The 66-room Kings Head, which dominates the town's Market Square and dates back in parts to the 1400s, was owned by KHH Cirencester Ltd, who called in administators last Christmas amid an annual loss, recorded the previous March, of more than £1.8m.
LOCAL ELECTIONS: Forest timetable set out for May 1

2 weeks ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

Forest of Dean residents who aren't going to be around for the local elections on May 1 have until next Monday before they lose their chance for a say in who governs the district. Shire Hall is revisiting the ballot box for the entire Forest District, with one council seat up for grabs for each of these eight divisions: Blakeney (and Bream), Cinderford, Coleford, Drybrook (and Lydbrook), Lydney, Mitcheldean, Newent and Sedbury.
Lydney's £23m vertical farming business calls in administrators

2 weeks ago | punchline-gloucester.com | Simon Hacker

It's been hailed as the vertical "snack stack" approach to growing salad and herbs which will revolutionise farming - and the Forest of Dean stood at the forefront of this smart agritech revolution when it welcomed the arrival of key player Jones Food Company (JFC) in February last year. But just over a year down the line, the space age food producer which with the backing of Ocado set up what became the world's biggest layered production plant at Lydney, has called in administrators RSM UK.