The 70-seater Pullman Restaurant has been designed to be the social centre for residents at the Sandford Station retirement village and getting it off the ground has been a central focus for Julie Joyner, Head of Catering and Housekeeping at both Sandford Station and The Russets.

Julie joined the Trust in April this year and in the run up to first residents moving in to the site, has been responsible for recruiting and supporting the catering and housekeeping teams across the site. She has also been busy equipping and preparing the main restaurant kitchens for opening where her new team expect to serve up more than 100 meals every day.

An innovative new care home in Sandford, North Somerset has been recognised as the best facility for dementia care in the UK.

Sandford Station part of Somerset’s historic ‘Strawberry Line’ connecting Yatton and Shepton Mallet, is undergoing a major restoration, returning it to its former glory and securing a rare piece of railway heritage for local enthusiasts and visitors. The ticket office and platform which closed in 1963, will re-open this year as part of the St Monica Trust development, looking exactly as it would have in the 1950's, with traditional GWR paintwork in cream and chocolate brown colours.