Midsomer Norton - Industry and Commerce

Industry and Commerce

For hundreds of years mining was an important industry for the area, and there were a number of mines in Midsomer Norton. e.g. Old Mills, Norton Hill, and Welton. However the seams were thin and with the hilly nature around, not easily worked. Generations of miners who worked in the difficult conditions of the local collieries are remembered at the Radstock Museum. The coming of the railways, particularly the Bath extension of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&D) in 1874, transformed the conveyance of coal out of the area.

The last pit in the town, at Norton Hill, closed in 1966. Despite modernisation in the early 1960s, this final pit lapsed into unprofitability due to local geological difficulties and manpower shortages.

Midsomer Norton traditionally hosted other industries and became a major manufacturing centre for printing and packaging. Some 2,000 people (27% of total employment) work in this industry locally. Following the decline of mining, these companies expanded on local trading estates and in Welton. The sites of the disused collieries in the area have subsequently been developed for light industry.

In recent years some of the larger firms have disappeared or relocated, with poor transport links being cited as a handicap. A large packaging company, Alcan Mardon closed in 2006, although the social club remains. Another extremely important plant, Polestar Purnell, based in nearby Paulton also closed the same year with the loss of 400 jobs. In August 2011, the town's largest remaining employer, Welton, Bibby & Baron, the largest producer of recyclable paper bags in Europe, announced the closure of its site in Welton, which it occupied for 150 years. The company, known locally as ‘Welton Bag’ plans to move to larger premises at Westbury in Wiltshire, but promises to transfer all 400 jobs to the new site.

The business parks remain busy however, and the town and environs has its share of national trading companies including supermarkets and retail outlets. The town's High Street has free parking. Many inhabitants commute to Bath and Bristol for employment and shopping.

Dial-a-Ride services for the elderly and handicapped are well used, along with the local Community minibus set up by the local Rotary Club in 1967 under Midsomer Norton & Radstock Community Service Vehicle Trust. This vehicle is for use primarily by organisations in the area serving the disabled and infirm.