Friday 13th December

Friday, 13 December 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

Somerset-based social housing provider, Stonewater, is urging caution over plans by the government to relax the planning rules. The Samaritans in Yeovil are gearing up for their busiest time of the year. The curtain goes up today on this year’s Yeovil panto, Jack and the Beanstalk, at the Westlands Entertainment venue...and more.

Somerset-based social housing provider Stonewater is urging caution over plans to relax the planning rules. The government has set a target to build 1.5 million new homes in the next five years by making it easier and quicker for developers to get applications approved. Jonathan Layzells from Stonewater says safeguards will be needed if the process is simplified.

NHS Somerset is urging those eligible to get a flu jab. It follows a warning that a "tidal wave of flu" is hitting hospitals. The latest figures show that the number of beds taken up by flu patients increased by 70 per cent last week.

A Chard business unit destroyed by fire in February is to be rebuilt. The unit on Leach Road within the Chard Business Park will be replaced with one of identical size and external appearance. Somerset Council’s Planning South Committee approved the rebuild under delegated powers.

The Samaritans in Yeovil are gearing up for their busiest time of the year. Nationally, more than one million phone calls are received by the Samaritans every year with a third of calls made over the festive and New Year period.

A new programme has been launched to help vulnerable young people in Yeovil, Chard and Stoke-sub-Hamdon. The Youth Adventure Trust's Resilience Programme will run for a year and use outdoor activities and one-to-one support to help young people gain life skills.

The curtain goes up today on this year’s Yeovil pantomime at the Westlands Entertainment venue. Jack and the Beanstalk, staring Lizzie Bea and Daniel Page, is on until January 5th.

Radio Ninesprings has joined with Somerset-based charity ‘Help for Homeless’ to provide comfort to those who will spend Christmas sleeping rough. The charity is asking for donations of warm clothing, toiletries and treats to give to men and women who face Christmas sleeping in the cold.

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Friday 31st July

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says July has been its busiest month ever for emergency calls. Police have recovered a 1970s Austin Mini pick-up stolen in Shepton Mallet. A specialist spinal injuries service at Yeovil Hospital has treated three hundred patients in its first year... and more
Thursday 30th July

The Environment Agency has declared a drought across Somerset as the hot weather takes its toll on the county's water supplies. Police are appealing for witnesses following a fatal road traffic accident near Crewkerne. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow...and more
Wednesday 29th July

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with a series of moped thefts in Chard. A combine harvester has been destroyed in a farm fire at Forton, near Chard. A bowls player from Yeovil has won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow... and more
Tuesday 28th July

The former Beales department store in Yeovil could be brought back into use as part of a wider masterplan for the future of the town. A yellow heat health alert is in place across Somerset from nine o’clock this morning until nine o’clock on Friday morning. A Somerset farmer says this year is the driest on his land since 1976... and more
Monday 27th July

Gooch and Housego, based in Ilminster and one of the town’s biggest employers, has been sold in a multi-million-pound deal to an American private equity firm. A father who shook his four-week-old baby to death at a house in Chard has been sentenced to life in prison. A doctor who works for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is one of five people to have jointly set a new world record for rowing around Great Britain... and more
Friday 24th July

Avon and Somerset Police are warning people to watch out for scammers posing as Amazon. The CEO of the company that provides Somerset's recycling is warning of a major incident if people continue to put used batteries in waste bins. A former Yeovil pub could be demolished to make way for a major hotel expansion.
Thursday 23rd July

The West Country is officially one step closer to being declared in drought. Somerset Council says it's remodelling its service after a children's home was closed following an inspection. A new McDonald's planned off the M5 at Bridgwater could create up to 120 local jobs... and more
Wednesday 22nd July

Two men have been jailed for stealing electrical items and cash from a property in Yeovil. Somerset Council has defended its use of Yeovil’s new performance area in The Triangle, in Lower Middle Street. Tintinhull Primary School, near Yeovil, has won a top national award for outdoor play... and more