Gerry Brooke looks at stories about Castle Park, Jefferies shipyard, Winterbourne tithe barn, the Portishead railway line and Ian Botham

Making the front pages this August week in 1983 were plans for a £30 million two storey shopping mall beneath the city's historic Castle Park.

Conceived by St John Hartnell of estate agents Hartnell, Taylor and Cook, and built by Sir Alfred McAlpine, it would run from Broadweir to the River Avon

Any old castle remains, the developer's said, would to carefully preserved.

History was not kind to this brave plan - within a few years we had The Galleries instead.

Bristol's - or should I say Avon's - social services were having a big shake up in 1983.

The Post recorded angry scenes at Meadow Sweet Old People's Home in Fishponds as 200 residents and their relatives were told that it's closure was likely.

And the future of the controversial Crescent School for Girls in Downend - the subject of a police investigation into prostitution - was also in doubt.

In the event both closed.

On the industrial front it was looking more and more likely that the long established Avonmouth ship repairers, Jefferies, would go to the wall.

The receivers, who were looking for a new buyer, had been called in following losses of around £1.8 million.

The Post reported that two ship owners had already diverted vessels to other yards.

Out at Winterbourne Richard Pearce was asking permission to turn the village's 13th century tithe barn at Court Farm into a restaurant.

"It has a unique roof and it looks like a church inside and we would want to make the most of that feature" he told the Post.

"There would be a restaurant on the ground floor and a dance floor on a new first floor - the barn could be used for wedding receptions" he added.

The historic barn, now in the hands of trustees, has since been fully renovated for community use.

The future of the Portishead railway line is still under debate but in 1983 it looked very likely that the track line into the town would be lost to industrial development.

But John Crockford-Hawley, a Weston councillor and in those days Woodspring district's planning chairman, appealed for a reprieve.

He said, quite rightly, that all options should be left open and nothing done to prejudice the future use of the line.

With the passing of the years we tend to forget just how good a sportsman Ian Botham was.

In 1983 the cricketer reached yet another peak in his glittering career by taking Somerset to the Nat West Trophy final virtually single handed,

With half of his side out for 52 he then hauled them from defeat to victory over Middlesex at Lords with an undefeated 96 before a crowd of 20,000.

"An important innings like that is one you remember for the rest of your life" he told the Post.