Friday 14th March

Friday, 14 March 2025 05:00

By Steve Haigh

Four Somerset businesses, including one in Yeovil, have been handed a total of £170,000 in civil penalties for employing illegal workers. National garage chain ATS Euromaster has closed its branch in Wincanton. A farmer in Wincanton is being hailed as a hero after rescuing his pigs from a burning barn...and more

Farmers in Somerset say the closure of a government-funded scheme is "another kick in the teeth". The Sustainable Farming Incentive, which pays farmers to deliver environmental benefits, was a key part of the post-Brexit payment scheme that replaced EU subsidies. The government says further applications to the scheme won’t be accepted. The National Farmers Union says it’s another example of the government 'slamming the door shut' on farmers.

Four Somerset businesses, including one in Yeovil, have been handed a total of £170,000 in civil penalties for employing illegal workers. The Mandarin Chinese Takeaway, run by Mandarin Dinner Limited, in Middle Street, Yeovil, was fined £40,000 for being a non-compliant employer. The Home Office define a non-compliant employer as one that employs a person without checking they have the correct immigration status to undertake work.

National garage chain ATS Euromaster has closed its branch in Wincanton. It’s one of 86 ATS outlets that have been shut since the start of the year. ATS Euromaster blames inflation and slow growth in the business for the closures.

Plans to build nine flats in Yeovil have been turned down. Studley Roofing Ltd had wanted to build an apartment block next to number 3 Everton Road together with a bin store, cycle store, and parking spaces. In rejecting the application, Somerset Council said the building would not integrate appropriately with its surroundings and cause harm to the character and appearance of the area.

The CEO of Visit Somerset is forecasting a better year for Somerset’s hospitality sector. John Turner thinks that world events and the cost of living will lead to more families booking holidays in the UK this summer, which should benefit Somerset.

A farmer in Wincanton is being hailed as a hero after rescuing his pigs from a burning barn. Roger Apsey's farm barn caught fire last weekend, threatening 12 piglets and their mother. The barn was destroyed but thankfully all of the animals - and Roger - got out safely.

More from News

Monday 16th June

The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.